Page 89 of Loving Taylor

"Where are you?" I asked in a hurried voice.

He told me and I ended the call. While I raced to the room Taylor was in, I felt my heart hammering inside of my chest. As I entered the unit, I saw Jeff standing outside a door. His entire focus was on the door in front of him.

I jogged to him and at the sound of my approach he turned to face me.

"The doctor is checking her over," he told me solemnly.

I rubbed my forehead. There were so many questions flitting through my mind it was almost impossible to focus on one. There was no more delaying. I needed to know how bad it was.

"How bad?" I asked hoarsely and held my breath. I noticed the blood stains on his shirt. It was Taylor's blood.

"She took quite a beating."

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to fight the internal struggle going on inside of me.There will be time for revenge but you need to focus on her now.

Slater arrived at that moment.

"The cops are looking for him," Jeff said.

Feeling a swell of anger, I turned around and ran my hands through my hair. I wanted the guy responsible to suffer like she had. No, worse. I wanted him to feel pain for every second he had held her against her will.

Slater stood beside me. "Focus on Taylor. She needs you."

His words pulled me back from the murderous rage that was taking root in me.

I promised myself that I would find a way to ensure the guy responsible for this would pay in some way. I looked at Jeff, who was standing on the other side of me.

"Who was it?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"Eric."

At first the name didn't register but when it sank in, I looked at him incredulously. "My roommate, Eric?"

He nodded.

I was floored. Wimpy Eric, who had constantly played on my last nerve? It was like telling me Tinkerbell's true identity was the Hulk. It made no sense. My mind struggled to place the guy I knew with the monster who had hurt Taylor.

Slater's stunned expression matched mine.

Then the guilt of not being there to protect her was only intensified with the knowledge that someone we knew had been responsible. But why? I remembered the brief encounter I had eavesdropped on when he had spoken to Taylor in the kitchen after I had slept on the sofa.

I walked to the wall and leaned against it, still trying to catch up with the idea that Eric had kidnapped her.

"How did you figure it was him?" I directed my question to Jeff, who was watching with his arms crossed as I grappled with the truth.

"He was renting two places. It didn't make any sense so I thought I would check it out."

"I still can't believe it was him." Slater had echoed my exact thoughts out loud.

"What happened?"

Jeff, who was usually very controlled, let out a heavy breath as his arms dropped to his sides. "I found her in the road around the corner from the rented address."

She had escaped. My heart inflated with pride that she had managed to get away.

"I recognized her when I went to help her. She was in shock and badly injured."

She was so small and delicate I couldn't believe someone would intentionally hurt her but Eric had. The familiar anger I had been wrestling with reasserted itself. I wanted to hurt Eric so bad. And I knew if he was in front of me now the only way he would leave was in a body bag.

But he was out of my reach and I could only breathe through the urge to end his life.