Page 12 of Loving Taylor

There was already plenty of guilt loaded on my shoulders. I had done things I wasn't proud of to survive.

"I didn't forgive mine," he said softly. The haunted look in his eyes reminded me that his had been worse. "And I don't care if I ever see them again."

My situation wasn't the worst. If Slater could deal with his, I could deal with mine.

He reached for the game controller and leaned back into his seat. The conversation was over.

My eyes caught a familiar tattoo on his tattoo sleeve. I looked down at my exact same tattoo. A star with the number seven in the middle.

Although it was surrounded by other tattoos, it stood out for us. It wasn't just some picture or design we had admired and decided to ink into our skin. No, it was more than that. For us it had been a path we had chosen. There hadn't been any other options at the time. Our survival had depended on it.

I didn't allow my thoughts to delve deeper into what the tattoo represented for both of us. I had to find a way to keep my mind clear of things that only brought negative emotions. The only way to do that would be to concentrate on something that would erase all of those thoughts.

An image of the blue-eyed girl with platinum-blond hair appeared, suppressing anything else I had just been thinking about. The heaviness in my chest and the weight on my shoulders lifted. Not only did she look like an ethereal angel, she was just as innocent. Untouched by the harshness of this world.

I wanted her. There was no doubt about it. But if I touched her, I would taint her. Playing with a girl who didn't understand the rules would only bring trouble and pain. I rubbed my temple.

The right thing would be to walk away from her and make sure our paths didn't cross again. But a pull I couldn't explain made me hesitate.