Page 96 of Take Care, Taylor

I watched her approach a white car before jumping out.

“Wait a minute, Cecelia.”

She looked over her shoulder and gasped, fumbling for her keys.

“I said wait.” I shut the door before she could slip inside. “We need to talk.”

“About what, Taylor?” She narrowed her eyes. “We haven’t spoken in years, and last I checked, you hate my cousin.”

“At this point, I think we both know that’s a lie.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“I’m sure you’d like to believe that,” I said. “Where is she?”

“Don’t make me scream, Taylor.” She glared at me. “I don’t know why you’re here or what you’re possibly after, but?—”

She gasped as I took the mail from her hands.

“Give me that back!” She reached for it. “Give it back right now!”

I held the envelopes above her head, flipping through them to confirm my suspicion.

Audrey, Audrey, Audrey…

They were all from our program and a nursing school she had no business attending. Except for the two at the bottom—those were from me.

“Okay.” I clenched my jaw. “Do you personally deliver these to her, or are you on your way to the post office to send them to her real address?”

“None of your business.” She snatched the stack back. “Now, please go away and leave Audrey alone. She doesn’t want to talk to you. She has every reason not to, and you should respect that.”

“If you don’t tell me where she is, I’ll just follow you.”

“You mean you’ll stalk me?”

“Call it whatever you want.”

“Why don’t I just go ahead and call the police?”

“You won’t.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“Go ahead and do it now, then.” I stepped back, crossing my arms. “I’ll wait.”

She stared at me, silent for several seconds. Finally, she let out a breath, shaking her head.

“You really hurt her, Taylor,” she said quietly. “You fucked up.”

“I’m well aware.”

“Are you?” She snapped. “Do you have any fucking idea how many nights she’s lost sleep over what you did?”

“Cecelia…”

“You couldn’t help yourself, huh?” Her face reddened. “You just had to show her you still had the upper hand, right? You’ll always be a fucking bully in her eyes, and I hope you know that.”

“I…” I shook my head. “Can you tell me where she is so I can make it right, please?”