fic - barback
fandom: the oc
title: barback
rating: NC-17
disclaimer: I don't own anything oc related.
author's notes: Very AU. Taylor/Ryan. There are no Cohens in this story. Once you go crack, you can never go back. This fic turned out much crackier than I expected. But I shouldn't expect my muses to make sense. (And I kind of like it.)
part 1/3
part 2/3
She didn't want to go home.
She had her seatbelt on, but was leaning against Ryan with it stretched as far as it would go.
"I'm mad at you," Ryan said, not taking his eyes off the road.
"What? Why?" she asked, her heart pounding with worry. What had she done?
"Because I really like you," he said evenly.
"Oh. Well, I won't apologize for that. I really like you, too," she replied, confused.
"No, like, I have a plan. Save money, stay out of trouble, graduate and work for a year, keep my rent paid and then go to college…but if I have a girlfriend, it's…something I haven't considered."
"I can help," she said as her heart slowed down with the glee of being a 'girlfriend'. "I'm good with plans. And we can study together and figure out all your real name paperwork to get your accomplishments all above board."
"You don't have to do that…" Ryan said.
"I don't want a 'girlfriend' to be a bad thing, especially if it's going to be me. And I'm an assistant in the guidance office so I know all about the college application stuff, SAT scores, all of that. I think you're awesome and should get to go to school where your brains can take you and not where your wallet wants you to go."
"Let's just…not worry about any of that right now. It's too soon for me to get all stressed about it. I had fun this weekend," Ryan said.
"Me and Candi had fun, too," she replied.
---------------
Taylor's mom was a bitch but she knew the woman wouldn't hurt her. She was more about painful words than actual strikes.
She was used to it by now, and as much as it upset her, it was a relief that Veronica didn't care enough to get involved in her life.
Taylor had disappointed her so much already that her mother couldn't dislike her any more than she already did.
Still, she didn't want Ryan to meet her mother. Ever. So when she came downstairs and found him talking to Veronica, she felt like her 'girlfriend' status was about to be ripped away.
Her mother turned to her, raking her up and down with her eyes before nodding.
"You kids have fun. But Ryan? Make sure you use protection, my daughter's been around," she said.
"Mother," Taylor whispered.
But Ryan put his hand on her back. "Enjoy your evening, Mrs. Townsend," he said, guiding her out of the house.
"I'm sorry," she said once they were outside.
Ryan just shrugged. "My mom's, kind of, a bitch. We can't pick our family."
She accepted his kiss but it didn't make her hate her mother any less.
"So you'll stay over tonight, I'll drop you at school tomorrow," Ryan said easily as he opened the car door for her.
If that was the outcome, maybe she should thank her mother.
---------------
She started spending a lot of nights at Ryan's. Enough that he gave her a drawer to keep her clothes in and moved his shower things to the side to make room for her toiletries.
She seemed to have much better days at school when she woke up beside him.
And it was nice to see him doing normal teenage things like flipping through flash cards over cereal and coffee.
He hadn't told her much more personal information after her offer to help him, but she'd gotten a little.
She knew his mother had kicked him out and he'd lived with his brother a few months before getting this place. She knew they both did harder drugs than the weed he sold.
She'd also figured out that he'd worked legit jobs up until he got kicked out of his mom's house.
Taylor hated her mother, but she didn't know what she'd do if she was suddenly on the street.
And his not quite legal income didn't bother her as much now that she knew he was doing it out of necessity rather than wanting to be rich.
He didn't seem to have friends that came over for anything other than a deal and whenever one of his customers left, he seemed almost sad.
Sometimes she thought he was as lonely as she was.
Sometimes she thought he was lonelier.
She also figured out that Ryan didn't like his brother much. He'd get phone calls at all hours from Trey and he'd grind his jaw and hiss words at him before either hanging up or getting out of bed and leaving the room.
She wasn't sure what to think of Trey.
So when she showed up after school with take-out since Ryan didn't have to work that night, she wasn't expecting to find Trey stretched out and beaten on the couch.
"Oh. Hi," she said, stopping as she locked the door back.
He moved the icepack off his cheek and glanced over. "Taylor, right?"
"Yeah, where's Ryan?" she asked.
"He had to go out. He left a note for you," Trey said, putting the icepack back on his face.
Taylor hurried into the kitchen and tried not to stare at Trey.
Jesus, the guy was still bleeding.
Taylor,
I have to go take care of something, it's urgent. You don't have to stay, I'll call you when I get home. Trey's on the couch.
Ryan
Well, he always had a way with words.
But she couldn't just leave when his brother was bleeding on his couch.
Trey better not have dragged Ryan into something dangerous.
She'd taken first aid courses, along with whatever else the rec center offered to occupy her lonely afternoons.
Even if she was nervous as hell, she couldn't just leave.
She got the first aid kit, a bowl of warm water and several washrags that weren't the good ones before going back into the living room.
She knew the coffee table would hold her weight and she moved aside the magazines and remote controls to sit down.
Trey opened his working eye into a suspicious slit. "What are you doing?"
"You're bleeding on Ryan's couch," she said.
"It's a shitty couch," Trey replied.
"Yeah, but it's his shitty couch. Let me see your eye," she frowned.
Trey was all sharp edges and hard eyes.
She would have never thought they were brothers if Ryan hadn't told her.
She dipped a rag into the warm water and wiped the blood from the gash over his swollen eye and carefully closed it with a butterfly bandage.
"Thanks," Trey said quietly.
"Can you sit up? Where else are you bleeding?" Taylor asked.
"Why are you doing this?" Trey asked.
"I already told you," Taylor replied, holding his steely gaze.
She picked all the gravel out of Trey's bare back and bandaged him up as much as she could manage before making him put his shirt back on and giving him three Tylenols.
"Do you patch up all the thugs that show up at your boyfriend's house?" Trey asked once she covered him with the spare blanket.
"You're my first," she replied.
Trey's eyes were much softer now as he watched her.
"If he comes back hurt like you, though, I'll rip those band aids off and get the salt water to spray on all of your cuts," she said.
He smiled slightly. "Good for you, girl. Ry needs somebody looking out for him."
"Why aren't you looking out for him?" she asked.
He closed his eyes. "He doesn't need me to take care of him."
"He worries about you. And you're older, he shouldn't have to," Taylor replied.
"Ryan worries about everyone he cares about. I'm just lucky I still rate on his list," Trey replied.
She cleaned up the first aid supplies and fidgeted as she put it away.
Should she wait for him? She was getting more worried every moment that he didn't show up. But she could worry at home away from Trey.
She had her coat on when she walked back into the den.
"You should stay. Wait for him. I'm not going anywhere," Trey said, not opening his eyes. "And he's not in trouble."
"Where is he?" she asked.
"You know about Teresa?" Trey asked.
"I don't think so…"
"She's his ex. I think you met her at the bar. She likes you, and she hates all of Ry's ladies. Eddie, her boyfriend, well, he roughed her up. And she's a tough chick, so believe me when I say it was bad. Teresa…well, she's like a sister to me and I, sort of lost it on him. Somebody had to call an ambulance and I had to haul ass," Trey said.
"Oh."
"Ryan's driving Teresa to her mom's house. They had to get some stuff out of her apartment. But he'll be back and he's not in trouble," Trey said.
Taylor processed his words. "I guess…maybe you are looking out for him. If he'd caught Eddie hurting his ex…"
"Yeah. Ryan doesn't have a bad temper unless somebody he cares about is in danger. I do my best to keep him out of the bad shit. We had enough of that growing up. He's…really important to me," Trey said.
"Me, too."
"Then take your coat off and wait for him. I'm too sore to bite," Trey said.
She sat down in the recliner and Trey tossed her the remote with a bruised hand.
They were halfway through a documentary on Rome when the lock clicked and Ryan stepped in.
He was surprised to see Taylor but he leaned into her hug when she got up to greet him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Now," he replied.
"Take it to the bedroom, I'm too sleepy to tease you," Trey yawned.
"How're you feeling?" Ryan asked, keeping his arm around her waist and looking at the bandage on his face suspiciously.
"Better. Your girl fixed me up pretty good. And she was much more gentle that you would've been," Trey said. "You get Teresa home okay?"
"Yeah. Her mom's going to take her out of town awhile, until Eddie's cooled off. Or Arturo's out of jail, whatever comes first," Ryan replied.
"Good. I'm going to pass out now, I'll try to be gone before you've got to be at school," Trey said.
"I'll warm up the take out while you're talking to your brother," Taylor said.
When he finally joined her and the food in the bedroom, she had already started eating her plate.
"Sorry, I skipped lunch," she said, scooting over on the bed.
"You didn't have to stay. Or hang out with Trey. But…thanks," Ryan said, sitting down.
"You're welcome. I'm just really glad you're okay. Seeing your brother like that and you not here…it scared me," Taylor admitted.
"I don't…get involved in his business. But this…"
"Wasn't business. I get it. And I'm glad you're not mad I stayed, I had to make sure you were okay," Taylor said.
He wrapped his arms around her and sighed into her shoulder.
"You don't seem okay," she said.
"I will be. But…Eddie was my friend. And Teresa…she said it wasn't the first time, just the worst…and she should've told me," Ryan said.
"Listen, Eddie's paying for what he did from what Trey told me, and Teresa's safe with her mom. I know it hurts, but you have to look at the positive side. It might have taken this awful night to convince Teresa to leave him. And it might have taken Trey kicking Eddie's ass to keep you from doing it," she said.
Ryan smiled tiredly. "I guess."
"Come on, eat something," Taylor said.
"This shit doesn't bother you?"
"Of course it does. Because it makes me worry and I don't like worrying. But there's nothing I can do about it, is there?"
"You're doing it. You make me want to be a better man so maybe I can be good enough for you someday," Ryan said.
Taylor waited until he took a bite of his food before speaking again. "I might have money, and be spoiled and go to private school…but I've never been as happy as I am with you."
---------------
She was excited about spending her birthday with Ryan. They were going to the beach and he'd reserved a hotel room so it would be extra special. Even if it was the Mermaid Inn.
But her mother was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and she almost missed the last step.
Shit.
"Happy birthday, Taylor. If you have a moment, I'd like to give you some things," Veronica said.
"Oh. Okay," she said, following her mother suspiciously into the den.
Her mother handed her a folder. "Your father and I set this up before our divorce. It's a college fund, plus your trust fund from the both of us. In the contract, we are supposed to turn it over to you when you're seventeen so you can use the money to bribe your way into college if you have to. After the divorce, we added a clause that he could stop paying child support when you got it," she said evenly. "He bought you a new car, too, as a final send off. You can stay here until you turn eighteen and then you're on your own."
Her mother nodded at her and walked out of the room, her heels clicking out of earshot.
It hurt, but it also felt like she was finally free from her mother.
She didn't need Veronica.
Ryan's horn honked from outside and she tucked the folder in her bag before heading out of the house.
As soon as she was in the passenger seat, he held out a little balloon on a stick.
"Oh, thank you! It's so cute," she smiled.
"Happy birthday, Taylor," he said, leaning over to kiss her.
"Thank you," she said.
"You want to go to the hotel first or work on finding a nice spot on the beach?" Ryan asked.
"I think the hotel. I didn't put my swimsuit on under these clothes," Taylor replied. She'd been in too much of a hurry to get out of the house.
"What's wrong? You were excited yesterday, do you still…" Ryan asked, sensing her mood.
"My mom gave me my birthday present. My trust and college funds. And a nice little ending reminder that when I turn eighteen, I have to find somewhere else to live," Taylor said. "So while I'm finally free…I don't think I'm anywhere near ready to be on my own."
"You're not yet, though, like, until you're eighteen?" Ryan asked.
"She gave me the money. That's like she's washing her hands of me. The longer I live there, the longer she'll be humiliated by my existence," Taylor said.
"You can stay with me. Like, if you want. But I have a feeling your wardrobe would fill my whole apartment," Ryan said.
She giggled. "Thanks. I really like you a lot, but that's a little soon considering your home businesses and all."
"Good point," he smiled.
"But I could get my own place, I guess. And then you could come over to my house and we wouldn't get interrupted by your customers. Even bad boys can take a night off, right?"
He smiled again and she felt better.
"Let's get started giving you a birthday that you remember for good reasons," he said as he pulled into the Mermaid's parking lot and held out the key to the room.
"Okay," she nodded.
They held hands all the way to the room on the second floor and he didn't let go until he had to unlock the door.
"I thought we were going to the beach first, but hopefully it won't be ruined," he said.
She almost started crying when she saw the roses crossed on the bed and the candles sitting around.
"Taylor?"
"You know what? It's a little hot out right now, let's stay in and hit the beach tonight," she said, closing the door and locking it.
"But…I have a picnic basket," Ryan said.
She pulled off her tank top and dropped it to the floor. "It's my birthday."
"I'll put it in the minifridge," Ryan said.
---------------
She traced tiny circles across Ryan's chest and smiled when she saw the amused way he was watching her.
"I've been thinking about college," Ryan said.
"Yeah? Good thoughts?" she asked.
"I guess. Like, I'm thinking of taking more than a year off after school and saving enough money to go to a university," Ryan said.
"Really? You aren't going to try for scholarships?" Taylor asked.
"Well, I will, but…you have more optimism than I do. I always try to have a backup plan that works," he shrugged.
She took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought about traveling away to go to school?"
"What?"
"I…have this foreign language talent. And…one of the colleges on my application list is the Sorbonne," Taylor said.
"In France?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. And when I was helping this kid earlier this week fill out applications, I saw a program where they give students full scholarships to study in France and Spain but he didn't qualify because it's only open to public school students," Taylor said.
Ryan was silent, processing her words.
"So, like, you could see France and go to college and hang out with me and…you wouldn't have to waste your money and break your back just to get by," she said.
"I have never in my life thought about moving to France to live. I don't 'fit in' in Newport and you think I'll 'fit in' over there?"
"Yes, I do. And you told me once that you'd never been anywhere out of California except for Reno."
She returned to drawing circles on his smooth chest.
"I'll think about it," Ryan said. "But I don't know French."
"Give me a month and you will," she said.
"You can't really be serious, Taylor. I'm just going to learn French and start a new life in Europe with you?"
"If you want. You have your sights set too low. A few months ago, I thought I'd never be lucky enough to find someone like you. I would never have thought of moving out of my mom's house. But you…make me want to do things I've never considered doing."
"Keeping my sights low means I get a better shot of it coming true. But France? Is way out of my league. Kind of like you," Ryan said.
"Well, you have me. And we can have France if we want it," Taylor said.
"What would I even do there?" Ryan asked.
"Part of the scholarship is that you'll get an internship somewhere as a translator. You'll have to know French pretty well to get in, but I'm sure I can teach you."
"You are the craziest girl I've ever met," Ryan said, kissing her words away.
But she didn't regret telling him her new daydream.
It didn't matter if it didn't come true. It was her birthday and she'd made her wish.
---------------
She didn't get an apartment. But she did move out of Veronica's.
For the first time in over ten years, she actually spoke to her father on the phone.
He agreed to pay for her to stay at the Plaza hotel as long as necessary since she didn't want the car he'd sent for her.
There was nothing wrong with the car she had now and the Plaza was close to school and to Ryan's catering service and it kept her from getting a lease when she was only seventeen.
She didn't want to ask her mother for anything. But her father was someone she knew she'd never see to have to feel guilty about it.
Ryan thought she was silly for taking the easy way out and staying at the expensive hotel, but he seemed to understand how hard it was for her to call her father and ask for the favor.
She stayed over at Ryan's almost every night anyway. But when he'd come over to her place, it was like the universe was aligned.
He wasn't a bad boy. He was a good boy in a bad situation.
She'd just put her backpack down when there was a knock on her door.
Ryan was standing outside in his catering uniform.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Taylor asked.
"I'm working a thing downstairs, but I wanted to show you something, and, like, I'll come up later, maybe?"
"You better," she said, taking the binder he passed to her. "And what's all this anyway?"
"One of my…clients…is a lawyer around here. He helped me make some calls. I have to go, but…I'll be back, okay?"
She locked the door after he rushed away and sat down to look in the binder of mystery.
A passport fell out in her lap.
---------------
The End.
title: barback
rating: NC-17
disclaimer: I don't own anything oc related.
author's notes: Very AU. Taylor/Ryan. There are no Cohens in this story. Once you go crack, you can never go back. This fic turned out much crackier than I expected. But I shouldn't expect my muses to make sense. (And I kind of like it.)
part 1/3
part 2/3
She didn't want to go home.
She had her seatbelt on, but was leaning against Ryan with it stretched as far as it would go.
"I'm mad at you," Ryan said, not taking his eyes off the road.
"What? Why?" she asked, her heart pounding with worry. What had she done?
"Because I really like you," he said evenly.
"Oh. Well, I won't apologize for that. I really like you, too," she replied, confused.
"No, like, I have a plan. Save money, stay out of trouble, graduate and work for a year, keep my rent paid and then go to college…but if I have a girlfriend, it's…something I haven't considered."
"I can help," she said as her heart slowed down with the glee of being a 'girlfriend'. "I'm good with plans. And we can study together and figure out all your real name paperwork to get your accomplishments all above board."
"You don't have to do that…" Ryan said.
"I don't want a 'girlfriend' to be a bad thing, especially if it's going to be me. And I'm an assistant in the guidance office so I know all about the college application stuff, SAT scores, all of that. I think you're awesome and should get to go to school where your brains can take you and not where your wallet wants you to go."
"Let's just…not worry about any of that right now. It's too soon for me to get all stressed about it. I had fun this weekend," Ryan said.
"Me and Candi had fun, too," she replied.
---------------
Taylor's mom was a bitch but she knew the woman wouldn't hurt her. She was more about painful words than actual strikes.
She was used to it by now, and as much as it upset her, it was a relief that Veronica didn't care enough to get involved in her life.
Taylor had disappointed her so much already that her mother couldn't dislike her any more than she already did.
Still, she didn't want Ryan to meet her mother. Ever. So when she came downstairs and found him talking to Veronica, she felt like her 'girlfriend' status was about to be ripped away.
Her mother turned to her, raking her up and down with her eyes before nodding.
"You kids have fun. But Ryan? Make sure you use protection, my daughter's been around," she said.
"Mother," Taylor whispered.
But Ryan put his hand on her back. "Enjoy your evening, Mrs. Townsend," he said, guiding her out of the house.
"I'm sorry," she said once they were outside.
Ryan just shrugged. "My mom's, kind of, a bitch. We can't pick our family."
She accepted his kiss but it didn't make her hate her mother any less.
"So you'll stay over tonight, I'll drop you at school tomorrow," Ryan said easily as he opened the car door for her.
If that was the outcome, maybe she should thank her mother.
---------------
She started spending a lot of nights at Ryan's. Enough that he gave her a drawer to keep her clothes in and moved his shower things to the side to make room for her toiletries.
She seemed to have much better days at school when she woke up beside him.
And it was nice to see him doing normal teenage things like flipping through flash cards over cereal and coffee.
He hadn't told her much more personal information after her offer to help him, but she'd gotten a little.
She knew his mother had kicked him out and he'd lived with his brother a few months before getting this place. She knew they both did harder drugs than the weed he sold.
She'd also figured out that he'd worked legit jobs up until he got kicked out of his mom's house.
Taylor hated her mother, but she didn't know what she'd do if she was suddenly on the street.
And his not quite legal income didn't bother her as much now that she knew he was doing it out of necessity rather than wanting to be rich.
He didn't seem to have friends that came over for anything other than a deal and whenever one of his customers left, he seemed almost sad.
Sometimes she thought he was as lonely as she was.
Sometimes she thought he was lonelier.
She also figured out that Ryan didn't like his brother much. He'd get phone calls at all hours from Trey and he'd grind his jaw and hiss words at him before either hanging up or getting out of bed and leaving the room.
She wasn't sure what to think of Trey.
So when she showed up after school with take-out since Ryan didn't have to work that night, she wasn't expecting to find Trey stretched out and beaten on the couch.
"Oh. Hi," she said, stopping as she locked the door back.
He moved the icepack off his cheek and glanced over. "Taylor, right?"
"Yeah, where's Ryan?" she asked.
"He had to go out. He left a note for you," Trey said, putting the icepack back on his face.
Taylor hurried into the kitchen and tried not to stare at Trey.
Jesus, the guy was still bleeding.
Taylor,
I have to go take care of something, it's urgent. You don't have to stay, I'll call you when I get home. Trey's on the couch.
Ryan
Well, he always had a way with words.
But she couldn't just leave when his brother was bleeding on his couch.
Trey better not have dragged Ryan into something dangerous.
She'd taken first aid courses, along with whatever else the rec center offered to occupy her lonely afternoons.
Even if she was nervous as hell, she couldn't just leave.
She got the first aid kit, a bowl of warm water and several washrags that weren't the good ones before going back into the living room.
She knew the coffee table would hold her weight and she moved aside the magazines and remote controls to sit down.
Trey opened his working eye into a suspicious slit. "What are you doing?"
"You're bleeding on Ryan's couch," she said.
"It's a shitty couch," Trey replied.
"Yeah, but it's his shitty couch. Let me see your eye," she frowned.
Trey was all sharp edges and hard eyes.
She would have never thought they were brothers if Ryan hadn't told her.
She dipped a rag into the warm water and wiped the blood from the gash over his swollen eye and carefully closed it with a butterfly bandage.
"Thanks," Trey said quietly.
"Can you sit up? Where else are you bleeding?" Taylor asked.
"Why are you doing this?" Trey asked.
"I already told you," Taylor replied, holding his steely gaze.
She picked all the gravel out of Trey's bare back and bandaged him up as much as she could manage before making him put his shirt back on and giving him three Tylenols.
"Do you patch up all the thugs that show up at your boyfriend's house?" Trey asked once she covered him with the spare blanket.
"You're my first," she replied.
Trey's eyes were much softer now as he watched her.
"If he comes back hurt like you, though, I'll rip those band aids off and get the salt water to spray on all of your cuts," she said.
He smiled slightly. "Good for you, girl. Ry needs somebody looking out for him."
"Why aren't you looking out for him?" she asked.
He closed his eyes. "He doesn't need me to take care of him."
"He worries about you. And you're older, he shouldn't have to," Taylor replied.
"Ryan worries about everyone he cares about. I'm just lucky I still rate on his list," Trey replied.
She cleaned up the first aid supplies and fidgeted as she put it away.
Should she wait for him? She was getting more worried every moment that he didn't show up. But she could worry at home away from Trey.
She had her coat on when she walked back into the den.
"You should stay. Wait for him. I'm not going anywhere," Trey said, not opening his eyes. "And he's not in trouble."
"Where is he?" she asked.
"You know about Teresa?" Trey asked.
"I don't think so…"
"She's his ex. I think you met her at the bar. She likes you, and she hates all of Ry's ladies. Eddie, her boyfriend, well, he roughed her up. And she's a tough chick, so believe me when I say it was bad. Teresa…well, she's like a sister to me and I, sort of lost it on him. Somebody had to call an ambulance and I had to haul ass," Trey said.
"Oh."
"Ryan's driving Teresa to her mom's house. They had to get some stuff out of her apartment. But he'll be back and he's not in trouble," Trey said.
Taylor processed his words. "I guess…maybe you are looking out for him. If he'd caught Eddie hurting his ex…"
"Yeah. Ryan doesn't have a bad temper unless somebody he cares about is in danger. I do my best to keep him out of the bad shit. We had enough of that growing up. He's…really important to me," Trey said.
"Me, too."
"Then take your coat off and wait for him. I'm too sore to bite," Trey said.
She sat down in the recliner and Trey tossed her the remote with a bruised hand.
They were halfway through a documentary on Rome when the lock clicked and Ryan stepped in.
He was surprised to see Taylor but he leaned into her hug when she got up to greet him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Now," he replied.
"Take it to the bedroom, I'm too sleepy to tease you," Trey yawned.
"How're you feeling?" Ryan asked, keeping his arm around her waist and looking at the bandage on his face suspiciously.
"Better. Your girl fixed me up pretty good. And she was much more gentle that you would've been," Trey said. "You get Teresa home okay?"
"Yeah. Her mom's going to take her out of town awhile, until Eddie's cooled off. Or Arturo's out of jail, whatever comes first," Ryan replied.
"Good. I'm going to pass out now, I'll try to be gone before you've got to be at school," Trey said.
"I'll warm up the take out while you're talking to your brother," Taylor said.
When he finally joined her and the food in the bedroom, she had already started eating her plate.
"Sorry, I skipped lunch," she said, scooting over on the bed.
"You didn't have to stay. Or hang out with Trey. But…thanks," Ryan said, sitting down.
"You're welcome. I'm just really glad you're okay. Seeing your brother like that and you not here…it scared me," Taylor admitted.
"I don't…get involved in his business. But this…"
"Wasn't business. I get it. And I'm glad you're not mad I stayed, I had to make sure you were okay," Taylor said.
He wrapped his arms around her and sighed into her shoulder.
"You don't seem okay," she said.
"I will be. But…Eddie was my friend. And Teresa…she said it wasn't the first time, just the worst…and she should've told me," Ryan said.
"Listen, Eddie's paying for what he did from what Trey told me, and Teresa's safe with her mom. I know it hurts, but you have to look at the positive side. It might have taken this awful night to convince Teresa to leave him. And it might have taken Trey kicking Eddie's ass to keep you from doing it," she said.
Ryan smiled tiredly. "I guess."
"Come on, eat something," Taylor said.
"This shit doesn't bother you?"
"Of course it does. Because it makes me worry and I don't like worrying. But there's nothing I can do about it, is there?"
"You're doing it. You make me want to be a better man so maybe I can be good enough for you someday," Ryan said.
Taylor waited until he took a bite of his food before speaking again. "I might have money, and be spoiled and go to private school…but I've never been as happy as I am with you."
---------------
She was excited about spending her birthday with Ryan. They were going to the beach and he'd reserved a hotel room so it would be extra special. Even if it was the Mermaid Inn.
But her mother was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and she almost missed the last step.
Shit.
"Happy birthday, Taylor. If you have a moment, I'd like to give you some things," Veronica said.
"Oh. Okay," she said, following her mother suspiciously into the den.
Her mother handed her a folder. "Your father and I set this up before our divorce. It's a college fund, plus your trust fund from the both of us. In the contract, we are supposed to turn it over to you when you're seventeen so you can use the money to bribe your way into college if you have to. After the divorce, we added a clause that he could stop paying child support when you got it," she said evenly. "He bought you a new car, too, as a final send off. You can stay here until you turn eighteen and then you're on your own."
Her mother nodded at her and walked out of the room, her heels clicking out of earshot.
It hurt, but it also felt like she was finally free from her mother.
She didn't need Veronica.
Ryan's horn honked from outside and she tucked the folder in her bag before heading out of the house.
As soon as she was in the passenger seat, he held out a little balloon on a stick.
"Oh, thank you! It's so cute," she smiled.
"Happy birthday, Taylor," he said, leaning over to kiss her.
"Thank you," she said.
"You want to go to the hotel first or work on finding a nice spot on the beach?" Ryan asked.
"I think the hotel. I didn't put my swimsuit on under these clothes," Taylor replied. She'd been in too much of a hurry to get out of the house.
"What's wrong? You were excited yesterday, do you still…" Ryan asked, sensing her mood.
"My mom gave me my birthday present. My trust and college funds. And a nice little ending reminder that when I turn eighteen, I have to find somewhere else to live," Taylor said. "So while I'm finally free…I don't think I'm anywhere near ready to be on my own."
"You're not yet, though, like, until you're eighteen?" Ryan asked.
"She gave me the money. That's like she's washing her hands of me. The longer I live there, the longer she'll be humiliated by my existence," Taylor said.
"You can stay with me. Like, if you want. But I have a feeling your wardrobe would fill my whole apartment," Ryan said.
She giggled. "Thanks. I really like you a lot, but that's a little soon considering your home businesses and all."
"Good point," he smiled.
"But I could get my own place, I guess. And then you could come over to my house and we wouldn't get interrupted by your customers. Even bad boys can take a night off, right?"
He smiled again and she felt better.
"Let's get started giving you a birthday that you remember for good reasons," he said as he pulled into the Mermaid's parking lot and held out the key to the room.
"Okay," she nodded.
They held hands all the way to the room on the second floor and he didn't let go until he had to unlock the door.
"I thought we were going to the beach first, but hopefully it won't be ruined," he said.
She almost started crying when she saw the roses crossed on the bed and the candles sitting around.
"Taylor?"
"You know what? It's a little hot out right now, let's stay in and hit the beach tonight," she said, closing the door and locking it.
"But…I have a picnic basket," Ryan said.
She pulled off her tank top and dropped it to the floor. "It's my birthday."
"I'll put it in the minifridge," Ryan said.
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She traced tiny circles across Ryan's chest and smiled when she saw the amused way he was watching her.
"I've been thinking about college," Ryan said.
"Yeah? Good thoughts?" she asked.
"I guess. Like, I'm thinking of taking more than a year off after school and saving enough money to go to a university," Ryan said.
"Really? You aren't going to try for scholarships?" Taylor asked.
"Well, I will, but…you have more optimism than I do. I always try to have a backup plan that works," he shrugged.
She took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought about traveling away to go to school?"
"What?"
"I…have this foreign language talent. And…one of the colleges on my application list is the Sorbonne," Taylor said.
"In France?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. And when I was helping this kid earlier this week fill out applications, I saw a program where they give students full scholarships to study in France and Spain but he didn't qualify because it's only open to public school students," Taylor said.
Ryan was silent, processing her words.
"So, like, you could see France and go to college and hang out with me and…you wouldn't have to waste your money and break your back just to get by," she said.
"I have never in my life thought about moving to France to live. I don't 'fit in' in Newport and you think I'll 'fit in' over there?"
"Yes, I do. And you told me once that you'd never been anywhere out of California except for Reno."
She returned to drawing circles on his smooth chest.
"I'll think about it," Ryan said. "But I don't know French."
"Give me a month and you will," she said.
"You can't really be serious, Taylor. I'm just going to learn French and start a new life in Europe with you?"
"If you want. You have your sights set too low. A few months ago, I thought I'd never be lucky enough to find someone like you. I would never have thought of moving out of my mom's house. But you…make me want to do things I've never considered doing."
"Keeping my sights low means I get a better shot of it coming true. But France? Is way out of my league. Kind of like you," Ryan said.
"Well, you have me. And we can have France if we want it," Taylor said.
"What would I even do there?" Ryan asked.
"Part of the scholarship is that you'll get an internship somewhere as a translator. You'll have to know French pretty well to get in, but I'm sure I can teach you."
"You are the craziest girl I've ever met," Ryan said, kissing her words away.
But she didn't regret telling him her new daydream.
It didn't matter if it didn't come true. It was her birthday and she'd made her wish.
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She didn't get an apartment. But she did move out of Veronica's.
For the first time in over ten years, she actually spoke to her father on the phone.
He agreed to pay for her to stay at the Plaza hotel as long as necessary since she didn't want the car he'd sent for her.
There was nothing wrong with the car she had now and the Plaza was close to school and to Ryan's catering service and it kept her from getting a lease when she was only seventeen.
She didn't want to ask her mother for anything. But her father was someone she knew she'd never see to have to feel guilty about it.
Ryan thought she was silly for taking the easy way out and staying at the expensive hotel, but he seemed to understand how hard it was for her to call her father and ask for the favor.
She stayed over at Ryan's almost every night anyway. But when he'd come over to her place, it was like the universe was aligned.
He wasn't a bad boy. He was a good boy in a bad situation.
She'd just put her backpack down when there was a knock on her door.
Ryan was standing outside in his catering uniform.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Taylor asked.
"I'm working a thing downstairs, but I wanted to show you something, and, like, I'll come up later, maybe?"
"You better," she said, taking the binder he passed to her. "And what's all this anyway?"
"One of my…clients…is a lawyer around here. He helped me make some calls. I have to go, but…I'll be back, okay?"
She locked the door after he rushed away and sat down to look in the binder of mystery.
A passport fell out in her lap.
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The End.