| Taylor was on his way out of the kitchen, after talking with Day and his mom a few more minutes. He had seen Day start to gather up her things and sit down to put her shoes back on, so was going to get himself ready to pick her up. His father came striding in from the other direction, planted a kiss on his wife's cheek and grinned. "Oooh baby, there's a scandal a'brewin' " he joked. His wife looked expectantly at him, "Oh really? What's the scoop, town gossip?" she asked. "Oh, what's-her-name..I can never remember it..down the road..took a likin' to her limo driver and ran off...oh the scandal!" he rolled his eyes. He was joking, but Taylor saw Dayna stop tying her shoes for a second and close her eyes. "Walker!" Diana cautioned, but he was completely oblivious. Dayna resumed tying her shoes, more quickly. "What will the neighbors say?" Walker kept joking, unaware of the toll his horsing around was taking on the other occupants of the room. "Walker.." Diana, laid her hand on her husband's arm, trying to forestall anymore comments as Day picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder and grabbed the door knob without looking up. "Thank you, Ms. Hanson. I'm late for something I had totally forgotten about..you can just mail my check or add it to next week.." she said, still not looking at anyone. "Dayna..I didn't even see you there.." Walker smiled at her, but she didn't see it. "Hello and goodbye Mr. Hanson..I really have to get going.." she said and hurried out the door. "Aw, man.." Taylor looked at the ceiling then closed his eyes. He looked at his mother, who jerked her head toward the door. "Jeez, Dad!" he muttered and ran out the door after Day. "What?" Walker looked at his wife completely lost. Diana sighed and took her husband's arm. "Honey, we need to talk..." she said and guided him to the other room. |
| Taylor was down the steps in a flash, but not fast enough. Dayna was already in her car and pulling out of the drive. "DAY!!" Taylor yelled, trying to keep her from leaving. He saw her wipe her eye, as she adjusted her rear view mirror and disappear down the long driveway. "DAMN IT!" he hollered into the air, and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He stormed back inside, through the kitchen past his parents and into his room. He rummaged through his dresser drawer, changed his shirt, grabbed his keys and his wallet and sped back out of the house without saying a word to anyone. He jumped in his car, started the engine, gunned it and pulled out of the driveway to find her. Dayna had to wipe her eyes a few times to be able to see to drive. She silently berated herself for thinking that she and Taylor even stood a chance. "Why?" she asked herself, "Why him of all people?" But she knew in her heart that there would never be anyone else for her. She finally pulled in her own driveway, jumped out of her car and went inside. She flopped down on the couch and buried her head in her folded arms, and sobbed. As she took another deep breath, she realized that her couch still smelled like Taylor. "Oh god.." she groaned and jumped off the couch as if it had burned her. She shook her head, hard, and then stuffed her keys in her pocket and ran out the door. She slammed it behind her and walked, aimlessly, she thought, but wound up at the little park down the street from her apartment. When she realized where she was she sat down on a picnic table, rested her feet on the bench and buried her face in her hands. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, the sun was setting and it was getting cold, but she didn't care. She welcomed it. It was making her numb. Numb to the feel of his arms around her, his lips on hers. She sat there longer hoping the cold would numb her heart, because it felt like it was shattering into a thousand pieces. Taylor drove to Day's apartment as fast as he could without breaking the law. When he pulled into the driveway, her car was there, but he could tell from looking that she wasn't in there. He jumped out of his car and knocked, just to be sure, but there was no answer. "Shit! Where could she be?" he asked himself. He jumped back in his car and drove over to the coffee house. He went inside, bought two cups of coffee and asked the girl who usually worked there if Day had come in, then got even more worried when the girl said she hadn't seen her. "Thanks anyway.." he told her and got back in his car. He drove around for a bit, getting steadily more worried beacuse it was cold, Day was upset and it was getting dark. He started back toward her apartment and noticed the entrance to the little park. "Shit! I should have done that first.." he swore to himself as he swung the car around and pulled into the tiny parking lot. |
| At first Taylor didn't see her. She was sitting on top of a picnic table, knees drawn to her chin, feet crossed at the ankles, arms wrapped around her knees and her head down. He only saw her when she moved slightly and he saw the white stripe on her black t-shirt. He walked toward her, wondering how she could sit so still in this cold. As he moved closer he realized she was shivering, her whole body shook with the effort to warm itself. He pulled off his coat, slipped up behind her, and threw it over her shoulders. "How long you been sittin' here Day? You'll freeze to death.." he said softly. She pulled her hands from her knees and put them over her head, keeping her face hidden from him. "Day? Come on...you have to know he was kidding.." he told her, sliding next to her and putting his arm around her shoulder. Her body was still shaking, not only from the cold, but from sobs she was trying to hold back. Taylor pulled her closer and put his other arm around her, trying to warm her and calm her at the same time. "Day? Please..please talk to me.." he begged. She shook her head and shrunk further into herself. "Day, baby, please.." he urged. "He was kidding...he wasn't serious..baby, look at me." She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and lifted her head, but didn't look at Taylor. She stared straight ahead, still silent. "Day, TALK to me.." "Your daddy might have been kidding, angel..." she said after a long silence, "but do you really wanna put yourself through that? There are alot of people who will say those kind of things and mean every word. I don't wanna put you through it." she told him. "I won't. Go on home now angel. I'll see you soon..." she said as if nothing had happened between them in the last couple of days. "NO!" he yelled, and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her look him in the eyes. "NO! How many times do I have to say it, Day? What do I have to do? I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS!! DO YOU HEAR ME? It's nobody's buisness, Day, but my own..and whether you wanna believe it or not, my parents will not have a problem with it. My mother alredy doesn't..and if she did, I STILL WOULDN'T CARE. I love you, Day...I love you.." he pulled her to him, took handful of her hair and pressed his lips to hers, trying to prove his point. |