.::Chapter Four::.

"...and I want it by tonight! You hear me, Sidney? I mean BY tonight!" Nick screamed into the reciever and then slammed the phone down. I held my phone in my hand for a moment before hanging it up. Why am I doing this to myself I thought. Nick's usual treatment towards me had gotten considerably worse since he realized I had been spending time with Taylor. Actually, I dont know if him following me almost everywhere I went qualified as spending time together, but I'll let this one go. I glanced down at the pad of paper I had scribbled the address on. I was to pick up a very important package for Nick at a warehouse on W. Lincoln Avenue in half an hour. I sighed and looked out the window. The downpour scheduled for tonight had already begun. An occasional blast of lightning lit up the sky over the ocean, but other than that, there was only pure darkness. Furiously fighting back tears, I slipped the hood of my coat over my head. I groaned to myself as water splashed around me, soaking my pants up to mid-calf. Rain bounced into the puddles that swarmed throughout the never-ending black asphalt. The orangy tinted street lights did nothing to improve my eyesight. I could just barely make out the names on the signs as I slowly found my way into the outskirts of the city. "Ok, I'm on Lincoln Avenue...now the number was...," I said out loud to no one inparticular. I reached into my pocket for the papaer with the address on it. But my wet hands didn't get a very tight hold because it slipped from my fingers and fell into a small pool of water. "Damnit," I cried and stooped to pick it up. The paper was soggy and the ink blurred. No address, no package, and an extremely upset Nick. My body seemed to buckle under the weight of despair. The only other option available to me was to try and find the warehouse on my own. Once again I was forced by my own conscience to suck it up and just deal. I clumisly stumbled through a series of vaccant parkinglots that reflected the massive buildings surrounding them. A dead end. "Damnit," I repeated myself. I stood in front of one of the brick walls that loomed high above my head. All was quiet except for the soft sound of the rain echoing through the broken windows and solid concrete. A hand touched my shoulder.

I gasped and spun around. We looked at eachother for a moment before saying anything. "Taylor, you can't do this. You can't follow me," I told him as if I were speaking to a child. He watched me through the pleading eyes of a child though. "Why not?" his question was asked through a whisper. "Please don't," I said in the same soft and gentle tone. Taylor loosely gripped my upper arms and he pulled me closer to him. I felt his wet hair pressed against my face but most of all I felt his lips against mine. My tense body relaxed into his and I gave in to his trusting presense. Several minutes passed before we parted. "That wasn't so bad," he said with a light chuckle. "No, it wasn't. Wouldn't hurt to do it again I suppose," I replied. "It certainly wouldn't," he smiled. Taylor repositioned his arms around my waist and held me tightly to him. I heavily breathed out as I lifted my face up to his.

"You worthless whore! I let you out of my sight for not even a day and you run off with this little son-of-a-bitch!" an angry voice from behind us yelled. Nick stomped over to us and jerked me away from Taylor, " I should have known you were too stupid to do something as simple as what I asked." I squirmed in his firm grasp,"No, let go of me. Damnit Nick- stop!" I trembled when I saw the fury in his eyes, "Don't you ever, ever talk to me that way you f***ing piece of trash!" He slapped my face and violently shook my shoulders. "Leave her alone! You're hurting her!" Taylor broke in. That was a mistake. Nick suddenly released me and instead quickly pushed Taylor back into the concrete wall. Holding Taylor's neck with his forearm, Nick reached into the waist of his pants and pulled his gun out. He rested the end of it on Taylor's forehead. "I could kill you so f***ing easily. When someone disrespects me- they pay," he said with a look of maddness. Taylor's face remained expressionless; he didn't budge. My heart throbbed with worry. I knew Nick well enough that pulling the trigger and shooting Taylor would be a simple task if one at all. "No, no! Don't please don't!" I yelled and managed to wedge myself between them. "Get out of here you skank. You'll get yours when I'm through with this bastard," Nick said and pushed me out of the way with the butt of the gun. When I saw him cock the gun I was sure it was the end. But apparently Taylor was thinking differently; he had a split second to do what was needed. He plunged his fist into Nick's stomach and then watched, with a look of amazement, as he dropped the gun and tumbled backwards a few feet. "The gun, get the gun!" I shouted to Taylor. He hesitated at first but then swiftly grabbed it from the wet pavement.

He seemed unsure about it when he pointed it staight at Nick. Nick looked at him with a hatred unlike any I had ever seen. "You wouldn't do it- you wouldn't shoot me! Ok, be tough! Shoot me! Right here, I'm all yours!" he insanely screamed at Taylor. No response. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Kill me! Put a bullet through me! You're scared, that's what you are!" Nick challenged Taylor. He spread his arms apart like a target, wanting Taylor to back down from the opportunity. "Scared has nothing to do with it. But just think, which one of us has the gun and which one doesn't?" Taylor met Nick's challenge with a superior statement. The gun was still aimed at him. His arms slowly dropped to his sides; a look of defeat occupying his face. He knew Taylor was in control. "Get out of here," Taylor defiantly told him. Nick made no attempt to move. "Now!" Taylor loudly ordered him. He angrily glared at both of us but could do nothing. After mumbling a few curses and promises of revenge, he retreated. A minute or so passed before he was completely out of sight. The sudden silence reminded me of the unpleasant, yet forgotten, rain. Taylor's shoulders sank and he threw the gun back on the pavement. "Are you ok? He didn't hurt you, did he?" he approached me and looked me over like he was searching for injuries. "What? Oh..uh..no he didn't," I said after a second's delay. "Good let's get out of here then," he put his arm around me and gently pulled me along with him.

[Chapter Five]