Taylor

The first day back at college was the worst, but I pushed through it with the help of my family and friends. Each day my fear began to ease and I began to settle back into college. The stares and whispers began to die down as well and my kidnapping became old news.

The fear would never completely go away, but I found ways to deal with it. When I felt things were becoming too overwhelming, I would try and breathe through it. I tried not to concentrate on too many things when I felt like this. It was easier to concentrate on one specific thing and try and work my way through it.

It also made me realize how lucky I was to have a brother who dropped everything to be there for me. He'd rescheduled his life to make sure he could be around while I got my life back on track. I was surprised that he hadn't tried to move me back home. It was like he'd realized that I was an adult and I had my own life to live.

Matthew and Jordan were great friends to me. They were so supportive and understanding. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve such good friends.

One afternoon two weeks after my kidnapping, I was finishing up some homework in my room when I heard someone knock on the front door. I wasn't expecting anyone and I knew Matthew, who was in the living room, would answer the door.

I heard Matthew greet the visitor, but I never heard a response. Distracted, I tried to focus on what I needed to finish.

"Tay."

The sound of Sin's voice saying my name washed over me and made me look to my doorway where I saw Sin standing there with a folder in his hands. Stunned at his unexpected visit, I stood up and crossed my arms.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, feeling my heart begin to race at the sight of him. Any time that had passed since I'd seen him hadn't eased the effect he had on me, or my feelings for him.

He looked tired and his normally neat hair was slightly messy. I had to fight the urge to touch him.

"I had to do something. You won't answer my calls or return my texts," he said, sounding a little hurt.

It took me a few moments to realize that Matthew had let Sin into the apartment. Why had Matthew done that? I would definitely be having words with him when I was finished with Sin.

"This isn't fair," I told him, feeling angry that he was trying to force something that was just going to hurt the two of us.

"Who said I had to play by the rules?" he shot back, giving me a fierce look.

He was making this whole thing so much harder. Didn't he know I was doing the best thing for the both of us? When I'd decided to shut him out, I'd done it for his benefit as well.

"And I'm not leaving until you hear me out," he told me.

I held his piercing gaze and I saw the determination in his eyes. Whether I wanted to or not, I was going to have to hear what he had to say.

"Fine," I said in a clipped tone. I sat down on my bed with my arms crossed, waiting for him to talk. It was then that I recognized the folder he held in his hands. It was the background check Connor had done on him. Why had he brought that with him? Sin closed the bedroom door and turned to face me.

"How did you get Matthew to let you in?" I asked, feeling a little betrayed by my friend.

"I called him. He gave me a chance to tell him why I needed to speak to you and, well, here I am," he explained, sweeping my room with his gaze.

So Matthew thought that whatever Sin had to say was important enough to go against my decision?

"I'm listening," I said, feeling hurt that they'd done this behind my back.

I had no choice but to listen to what he had to say. But I wasn't convinced that anything he could say would change my mind. It all boiled down to the fact that he'd left me. He hadn't given me a chance to explain and he'd left without a backward glance. If I'd meant anything to him, he wouldn't have been able to walk away like he had. I wasn't convinced that anything he could say was going to change that. I was curious, though, as to why he had the folder with him.

"You have it in your head that I just came back because I was concerned and because I felt guilty," he started, taking a step closer.

The way he looked at me pulled at my heart. Didn't he know he was making it so much more difficult for me to do the right thing? I pressed my lips together.

"What I feel is so much more than that," he stated, making my heart skip a beat. I wanted so badly to believe.

He held the folder in both of his hands, and then his eyes dropped from mine to the folder he held.

"I know you didn't read the folder," he said so softly for a moment that I thought I'd misheard him.

"Why do you suddenly believe me now?" I asked. How could he know that now for sure, despite the fact that I already told him before that I hadn't? I remembered how upset he'd been when he'd discovered the folder in my room. He'd been so convinced that I'd read it, he'd left without giving me an opportunity to explain. It had pushed him to leave town, hadn't it?

"I don't understand," I murmured as I looked at the puzzle pieces in my mind that suddenly didn't seem to fit together.

If he knew I hadn't read the folder, why had he left? It didn't make any sense. I dropped my arms to my side as I kept my eyes fixed on him.

"I want to explain everything to you, but I think you need to read it for yourself," he said, holding out the folder to me. My gaze dropped to the folder he was holding.

He'd been so upset about it. Why would he now hand it to me and tell me to read it?

"Take it," he instructed and I took the folder from him and held it with both hands. "I want you to read it."

I studied the folder for a few moments before I looked back up at him. He was nervous. His tongue flickering against his lip ring was a tell-tale sign.

"I don't need to know about your past," I stated with a sigh. "It doesn't matter to me."

I felt the way I did and nothing in that folder was going to change that. He'd had a rough start in life so I hadn't expected him to be squeaky clean, but I knew what type of person he was now and that had mattered to me more.

"I know," he said. He looked resigned. He wanted me to read what was in the folder even though he looked scared as to how I was going to handle it.

"I'm not sure why you want me to read it now," I said to him.

"I never wanted you to know any of it," he replied honestly as he ran an agitated hand through his hair. "But you've left me no choice. It's the only way for you to understand why I didn't think I was good enough for you and that was the reason why I left. I didn't leave because I didn't care about you."

One moment of strained silence ticked into another. I swallowed hard. He looked so sure of himself and I began to doubt that I'd had all the facts when I'd made my decision to cut him out of my life. But I noticed he seemed nervous.

"Why are you nervous?" I asked.

He looked at me with sadness.

"There is a chance I will lose you anyway." I had no idea what in the folder made him scared that would happen.

"Promise me you will read it," he asked softly as his eyes implored mine.

I felt myself nodding. My curiosity was piqued and he'd gone to such lengths to organize this, the least I could do was read it.

"I'll read it," I promised him softly. I'd had that folder for ages and I'd never once looked in it and now I was going to read everything. I wasn't nervous because nothing was going to change how I much I loved him.

"You know where to find me when you're done," he said just before he turned to open my bedroom door.

"I'll see you soon. Even if it's just to tell me you never want to see me again," he said, turning back to look at me one more time before walking out of my bedroom and leaving me a little stunned.