Chapter 14: The End
She was waiting for him when he arrived, suitcases packed beside her, and a little puppy on her lap. He wasn't sure why he was surprised. Was it that she was packed to leave? Or was it that she had actually stayed?
Taylor had phoned him while he and Seth were driving to LA. She'd been short and to the point, which was totally out of character for Ms. Townsend. She told him that she was leaving again and that he shouldn't try to look for her anymore. Ryan had proceeded to lapse into his most word filled conversation to date. What was wrong? Did Hess hurt her? Was she ok? The answers were nothing, no, and not really. Using skills he didn't even know he had, he tried to persuade her to stay and wait for him. When she hung up, he was sure he'd never see her again.
So, when he arrived at the large mansion and ran around the back to the guest house, he had a knot in his throat. When he opened the door and she was there sitting on top of her packed suitcases, it faded.... slightly.
This wasn't the Taylor he knew... and loved. This was a sad Taylor... an unsure Taylor. She smiled when she saw him, but her eyes betrayed her.
He stood in the door frame, hands in his pockets, unsure what to do next. Seth was waiting in the car, probably impatiently, but Ryan didn't let that bother him. In fact, the thought of his brother was the furthest from his mind. "Are you ok?" he asked her again.
Surprising him again, she laughed. "No, I'm not really. I don't know."
Instinctively, Ryan's fists knotted in his pockets. "Did Jack hurt you?" If he had, he'd kill him.
"No, the dog is great. Almost housebroken and gentle."
"I was talking about your landlord."
She grinned. "So was I."
Her response made his own lips curve slightly. Relaxing a little, he walked into the room and held out his hand to her, "Come on, Townsend. Lets get you home."
She shook her head, "Not so fast. I need some answers first."
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When he heard the knocking on his front door, Jack Hess immediately grinned delighte. Ryan Atwood had came for his 'revenge' and he would in turn get his. His plan was set. The cops were on speed dial, and Ryan's first punch would be his last as a free man for the next 2-3 years. Sure it was petty... sure it was silly... sure it wasn't right for a thirty year old man to hold a grudge, but he was. Sue him.
Hess stopped briefly to look in the mirror beside the door and run his fingers through his wavy blond tresses and flash himself his killer smile. It was going to be a beautiful day.
All of his hopes faded, however, when he finally did open the door and saw not his blonde foe, but his dark curly headed 'brother'. Disappointed, but not deflated Hess said, "You fighting his battles for him now?"
"No, just giving you a warning."
Hess scoffed. "A warning? From a nerdy little kid like you?"
"A warning.... from a nerdy little kid like me. You see, this nerdy little kid did some research. Turns out, that even if the," he used air quotes, " 'authority figure' doesn't work at a school any more and even if the child is now over 18, if there is proof, said 'authority figure' can get quite some time in jail. Not a very good thing, especially for a person considering a run for a high office."
Hess crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. "You were supposed to delete the picture. In exchange for Ryan getting back into Harbor."
"Oh my father did... on his phone. I didn't. Technicality."
"What do you want?"
Seth smirked. "I want to come in."
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Ryan sat next to Taylor on a pink suitcase because it was the closest to her, not because he wanted to sit on a pink suitcase. "You want answers. What kind of answers?"
Taylor looked to him, square in his blue eyes. "Are you a violent man?"
His jaw clinched and he looked down at his hands. It was what he suspected. Hess had told her about him. "Look, whatever Hess told you, it's not the whole--"
She put her fingers to his lips to hush him. It was just to make him be quiet, but it instead caused a shock of electricity to flow to her. Her eyes darted to his. She found them a darker shade of blue, his pupils dialated He felt it too. Quickly, she took her fingers from his lips and placed them back on her lap. She had to get through this conversation with Ryan or she'd have doubts. Doubts would never do. "Jack told me some things, yes. And I wanted to run away not because of those things... exactly... but because I can't remember things... and because it's so hard to trust people."
Ryan's fingers gently slid under Taylor's chin, guiding it to face him. "Listen to me, Taylor. I want you to know that you can trust me. You can. No matter what, you can trust me."
She nodded, but moved her chin from his soft touch. "Are you a violent man?" she asked again.
"I can be, yes." he admitted. "I can be violent to anyone who hurts someone I love. I have impulses that I... I don't even understand. I'm working on them, and I feel I've gotten better since I moved in with the Cohen's. I would never hurt you though, Taylor. I've never hit a woman." he whispered. "I'll never be like my father."
She took a minute to digest his answer then asked. "Did you get a girl pregnant?"
He had to laugh. Hess had told her the whole Atwood saga, or probably his version of it. "I thought I did, but turns out, it wasn't mine. I was going to take care of her though... if she wanted me too."
"But she didn't?"
"No." he answered simply. There was nothing more to tell to that story.
"And Marissa?"
"What about Marissa?"
"You loved her."
He began playing with his fingers. The thought of Marissa, as it always did now, made his heart hurt. It was still painful. "Yes." his voice broke with that one simple word.
"You still love her." it wasn't a question.
He shook his head. "No. I feel guilt, yeah. Guilt that she died... that I couldn't stop it. But I don't still love her.. not in that way. I love you." Once the words were out there, he couldn't take them back. He hadn't meant to say it. Had no intention of coming there and saying it. One: Taylor didn't even remember him and Two: they had been through so much that he didn't want to pressure her. He knew, now that those words were out, he'd taken a big gamble. With the Atwood luck, it probably wouldn't pan out in his favor.
She nodded and placed a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. Finally, she looked to him and smiled. Her hand raised to his forehead and tenderly moved a strand of his back into place. Despite whatever her head kept yelling at her, her heart told her something else. It told her she could trust him... that she wanted to trust him. And that she loved him too. It didn't make any sense, but she knew she loved him. "You know the worst thing about amnesia?"
He shook his head. "The worst thing is that I can't remember what you look like without your clothes on." she smiled devilishly.
Ryan wasn't sure she heard her correctly at first, but when her hands fell to his shirt and began unbuttoning the blue buttons, he thought he had a pretty good idea what it was. "So we're ok?"
She gave him the brightest smile she had since the earthquake. "Perfect... well, as perfect as an amnesiac and a ex-con can be." she leaned over and playfully bit his lower lip. "I'm not an ex-con." he mumbled. "Really? You'll have to explain that to me sometime." "Uh-huh." he agreed, allowing her lips to cover his and her taste to radiate through him. It had been a long time.
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A/N: This chapter is unbeta'd since I wanted to get it out. I know it's been a while. Also, there will be an epilogue after this. Hope you enjoyed. :)