Page 49 of Loving Taylor

"No." He gave me a questioning look.

"Good," I said, not wanting to go into all the details in front of Taylor. It was time to get her upstairs and settled.

Even as I ascended the stairs, I was already coming up with reasons why she was safer in my room than the guest bedroom a few doors down from me. But when we got to the top, I led her to my room. I opened the door for her and switched on the light before closing the door behind her.

She looked so nervous as she surveyed my room and it pulled at the protectiveness I felt for her. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out why she made me feel the way I did. I tested my lip ring with the tip of my tongue as I watched her.

She looked so vulnerable. I walked to her.

"How are you doing?" I cradled her face gently, searching her eyes.

"I'm okay." But I could tell she wasn't and she had every reason to feel the way she did.

"Do you need to shower?" I asked, dropping my hands to her hips.

"Yes." Her eyes dropped to my lips.

"Get what you need together and I'll put a clean towel in the bathroom for you." I let her go when I felt the familiar attraction to her despite the circumstances. She needed a shoulder to lean on not a roll between the sheets.

"Okay." She picked up her bag and began to get some things out.

I left to get a clean towel and I left it in the bathroom before I went downstairs. The music was off and Slater was still ushering some people out the door. Jordan was sitting on the sofa, watching. Her slightly glazed look confirmed my earlier suspicion that she was drunk.

I waited until the last person had left before pulling Slater into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" he asked with a crease in his forehead.

"Taylor was attacked tonight." I rubbed my chin as I fought with the snap of emotion it released in me.

"What happened?"

"Some guy tried to attack her in the stairwell at the dorm but I scared him off."

He swore. "Did you see him?"

I shook my head. "He heard me enter the stairwell and let her go."

"Did you call the cops?"

I nodded. There hadn't been any other option.

"He apparently pushed her up against the wall and told her she was his whore." Just thinking about it made the anger rush through me. I curled my fists like I wanted nothing more than a few rounds with the guy. I would teach him a lesson he would never forget. "I thought it was a random incident that the college would need to be aware of so they would be able to protect the girls on campus."

Slater frowned. "Thought?"

"Yeah. But it wasn't a random attack." I leaned against the kitchen counter. My friend waited for me to continue. "Someone tried to spike her drink."

He nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"Someone also broke into her room and took her underwear and wrote the word ‘whore’ on it."

The worry I felt was mirrored in his eyes.

Feeling that the situation wasn't within my control only set me more on edge, increasing the tension knitting into my shoulders. I rolled my shoulders, needing to ease the buildup. I felt like the small boy who hadn't been able to control the situation with a drunk mother who had struggled to cope.

"You think it’s something you should get Jeff to look into?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah," I replied distractedly. "It's either a stalker or it has something to do with her past."