Chpt. 28 APOV:
I'm pacing floor, going between the foyer and the kitchen anxiously waiting for Christian or better yet Taylor to pull into the driveway. Taylor was due here over an hour ago and is still not answering his phone which tells me something is wrong. I feel like I need to do something but I have no idea what I can do. My mind of course goes through worst case scenarios: car accident or an accident on a job site but also bank robbery or a mugging. It's amazing how crazy your mind can go when you're panicked.
"Ana?" Christian's strong voice carries through the mostly empty house and I turn to rush towards the front door immediately wrapping my arms around him needing to feel him.
"Anything?" I ask even though I already know the answer since Taylor isn't with him.
"No, did you call Elliot?"
"He tried calling Eileen but she didn't answer yet; he left a message letting her know it was urgent and said he would keep calling her until she answers."
"I called a few guys on some of the sites he was supposed to be at today. He went to his first two as scheduled but then notified the foremen on the other projects that he something came up and he would reschedule his visit to those sites."
"No one said anything seemed out of the ordinary?"
"No, but I didn't want to pry too much and have them suspect something was going on more than they already did by me calling and looking for him."
"True. How did he seem this morning?"
"Fine, good I mean….really good actually."
"Really good…..Oh!" I blush my mind going to about a million different reasons as to why Christian would really good.
"Let's find Taylor and we'll tell you about it when we're back at home in our bed," Christian says; I know he's trying to keep things light but the worry is still evident in his voice. "Everything seemed okay when you talked to him?"
"Yeah, we talked about the progress of the house and I had told him that I thought there might be a chance we could move up the move in date by a week if everything stayed on track. He seemed happy about that; he even said he was going to start thinking about what the first meal he would cook in the kitchen would be. He was very excited about it…at least he seemed excited."
"I'm sure he was Ana; I know how much you're both looking forward to that kitchen."
"Probably nearly as much as you're looking forward to the bathroom," I tease.
"You're right," he chuckles. "If only we knew what the hell happened and why he's not here."
"I wish I knew," I sigh.
"He said he would be here at what time?"
"Four thirty, but said he would call if he was going to be late because he wasn't sure which site he would be coming from. I didn't hear from him after that."
"His phone is still going to voice mail?"
"Yup…"
"Do you think we should check to see if he's….at a hospital? Maybe there was a car accident or something?"
"I called the police when you were on your way over; first they laughed at me when I said he was only missing for a couple of hours-"
"Of course they did."
"But they did check and said no one by his description was involved in a car accident in the last few hours that they were called in on. That doesn't necessarily mean anything though…Could call your mom and ask her to check at Seattle Grace? But if he was in an accident he could have been taken to a different hospital…."
"Why don't I call mom and you call the other hospitals?"
"Okay."
He leans over and kisses me, "we'll find him Ana, I promise we'll find him."
I try to smile at him but I'm sure he can tell it's forced; I want to believe him but I'm so worried not knowing what happened to Taylor and where he might be. While Christian goes into the kitchen to call his mom I search for other hospitals in the area and start calling around. First I'm told they can't release information to me but once I tell them I'm Taylor's fiancé they share that they don't have anyone checked into the emergency room by that name.
"Anything?" Christian asks when I hang up from the last hospital on my list.
"No, nothing from your mom?"
"No, but that could be a good thing…"
"How? That doesn't put us any closer to finding him."
"At least we know he's not hurt, that he wasn't in an accident."
"Or he was hurt and no one has found him yet; he could by lying somewhere that no one can get to him-"
"Ana, we'll find him, I promise."
"I…."
The moment Christian's arms wrap around me I lose it; sobbing into his shirt as my mind continues down almost a checklist of all the things that could have happened to Taylor. Christian holds me, whispering in my ear promises that we'll find Taylor; feeling his arms tightly around me helps to keep me somewhat grounded. I don't know how long we stand like that but the ringing of his cell phone has us immediately separating; we both hold our breath as he lifts the phone from his pocket hoping to see Taylor's name on the screen.
"El, what's up?"
"Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker phone; Ana's here."
"Did you find him Elliot?" I ask as soon as the speaker button lights up on the phone.
"No, but I finally spoke with Eileen. She apologized for not answering her phone; she had gone out to dinner with-"
"Not important Elliot," Christian growls.
"Okay, here's what I know. Eileen has her notes at the office, but said around 2 this afternoon a woman called the office asking for Taylor. She explained that he was in the field and offered to transfer her to his voice mail, the woman became insistent that she needed to speak with him immediately. She said the woman wasn't rude, but she could tell by her tone that it was important. She took the woman's name down and put her on hold. She said she called Taylor and spoke with him briefly, explaining the situation and asking how he would like her to proceed. She said that he asked for the person's name and then told her to give the woman his cell phone number."
"What was the woman's name?" Christian asks.
"Nancy….Nancy Taylor."
"Fuck," Christian hisses.
"Thanks Elliot," I take the phone from Christian's hand.
"Let me know what else I can do; anything you guys need, you know that."
"Yeah," Christian walks away as I end the call.
"You think Nancy is…?"
"My guess, one of his mother's sisters or maybe a brother's wife who took him in," Christian grabs his keys from the top of the box he had tossed them on when he arrived and then takes my hand. "Let's go."
"You know where he is?"
"Pretty good idea; when shit from back then sneaks up on him he-"
"Goes hiking," I interrupt.
"If Nancy is who I think she is, that's where he would go."
"Let's go."
The ride out to where Christian and Taylor took me hiking is long; time almost feels like it stops. It should have taken about forty minutes to get there, but if feels like it takes hours. The sun has already set by the time we arrive to the small parking lot, but the moment we pull in I breathe a sigh of relief.
"His truck," I point out and Christian immediately pulls into the parking spot next to it. We both jump out of the car and head over to it. The truck is empty and locked, it's his truck which means he's definitely here. Knowing that is as if there's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders; we don't have all the answers but at least we know where he is. We head out on the same trail we went on when we were here before; the further into the trail we go the darker it becomes. We have to go slower than we both would like because it's getting harder to see rocks and tree roots as it gets darker.
"Once we find him, I know you're going to want to run up to him, but you can't-"
"What? Why?"
He stops and turns to me, "we need to call out his name, get him to see us, really see us before we approach him. It's dark, we can't sneak up on him; if he's not paying attention it could-"
"Oh."
"Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but if he's been up here this long thinking about shit…"
"No, you're right…you think he's okay though right?"
"He'll be fine."
It doesn't go unnoticed that he didn't really answer my question, but I take his hand and follow him up the trail further. Eventually we approach the overlook area where Taylor had told me what had happened to his mother. It takes my eyes a few seconds to adjust, but sure enough in the corner, sitting on the ground is Taylor. It's dark, but I know without a doubt it's him. Christian squeezes my hand in relief; it takes everything in me not to run to him and wrap my arms around him, but remembering what Christian said I don't.
"Taylor?" I call out his name as Christian slowly leads me to him. He shows no sign of hearing me, so we have no choice but to move closer. I can't imagine just how lost in his head he must be after sitting up here for the last several hours by himself.
"Taylor, man it's Christian and Ana."
No response.
"Taylor!" I say louder this time when we're about five feet away from him. This time he looks up and even through the darkness I can see his confusion.
"Ana? Christian?" What are you guys doing here?" he stands up, brushing himself off. Christian releases my hand when I tug it free.
"Are you hurt? Are you injured anywhere?" I practically run up to him, my eyes searching over him quickly looking for any signs that he fell or something while he was here.
"No, I'm fine—"
"Good," I push him until his back is against the tree.
"What the hell Ana?"
"You DON'T disappear on us! You don't run off without telling us where you are. You don't turn you phone off and disappear. You don't run off without telling us. You don't… disappear," my last word comes out as a gasp when he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me against him the anger immediately leaving my body. "You need to get away by yourself, you tell one of us. You don't disappear and make us worry like that! You need a break because your past comes knocking on your door, fine we get it. But you TELL one of us! You need a break from life? From work? Hell, you need a break from us—"
"Never, I'll never need a break from you," his hand wraps around my head and his lips crush against mine. My hands glide up and down his chest, clutching onto his shirt as he deepens the kiss. I feel him reach behind us searching; Christian steps closer to us until Taylor can reach him. Taylor immediately pulls him against me, so his chest is against my back. Christian's arm comes around me to Taylor and I feel him relax against me.
"I'll never need a break from either of you," Taylor's lips leave mine and immediately find Christian's. Taylor's fingers thread through my hair and tug me even closer to him; I bury my face in his neck breathing him in as the reality slowly sets in that he's really here and that at least physically he's okay.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asks when he pulls back from kissing Christian.
"Looking for you man," Christian answers.
"Why? I thought I was meeting you later at the house Ana?"
"Taylor, we were supposed to meet nearly four hours ago. It's after eight…"
"Fuck…I didn't realize it was so late, no wonder you were worried. I'm sorry, I…"
"Where's your phone? It's going straight to voice mail," Christian asks.
"I…I turned it off, it's back at the truck. I didn't plan on being up here for this long, I thought I would just take the trail around and come back out at the truck. I thought just the short hike would help; I thought it would be enough."
"Let's go home," I suggest. "Your clothes are wet; you've got to be freezing."
"They are?"
"Come on T, let's go home," Christian tugs his hand pulling him off the tree that he was leaning against.
The hike back to the truck is quiet and like the way up takes longer than it should because of how dark it is. When we approach the parking lot, Taylor takes his keys out of his pocket which immediately has me reaching for them. There's no way I'm going to let him drive right now; not when he didn't realize he's been up here for at least the last six hours or that his clothes are wet from the earlier rain storm.
"You're not driving," I inform him.
"No way man," Christian unlocks his truck. "We'll take my truck home; Ana can you grab his phone from the truck?"
"I can-"
"No," I say firmly and walk over to his truck while Christian tugs him to the other truck.
"How's my truck going to get home?" Taylor grumbles.
"I'll ask Kate and Elliot to come and get it; he has an extra key to both of our trucks."
I grab Taylor's phone and lock the truck back up before climbing into the back seat of Christian's truck. I immediately slide right over to Taylor; he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me onto his lap. I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating and let him just hold me. Not a word is spoken on the way back to the condo, but Taylor's arms never leave me.
"I'm going to go take a shower," Taylor says as soon as we enter the apartment.
Without another word, Christian and I watch him walk down the hall to the bathroom. I want so badly to go in with him, but part of me knows he needs these next few minutes alone to process whatever he's going to tell us about the phone call he received.
"Let's go heat up something for dinner; I don't know when the last time he ate was," Christian tugs my hand, leading me into the kitchen.
"I didn't really plan anything…."
"How about we just throw the frozen pizzas in the oven? It's quick and easy which I think is what everyone needs right now."
"Yeah…okay."
We work together to get the pizzas ready and have them in the oven pretty quickly. We try to have dinner together when possible, but even when it's not I always cook enough for the person who isn't home yet to have a plate waiting for them in the microwave. We keep a few frozen pizzas on hand though for late nights or when no one feels cooking. Which is exactly what we need tonight because I don't know that I could function enough to cook anything decent. I've gone from scared to worried to angry to concerned in the last few hours. Now I just want to know what upset Taylor so bad that caused him to lose himself for so long.
"You okay?" Christian asks.
"Just relieved we found him," I lean against him when he wraps his arms around my waist.
"Me too baby, me too," he kisses the top of my head.
"I can't remember the last time I was so scared; I don't know how you kept a level head."
"Trust me I was just as scared," he surprises me by saying. "My training kicked in; when you're in the military you're training to push emotions aside and focus on the problem in front of you. I concentrated on all the possible solutions, next steps and processes which kept me from realizing that inside I was scared shitless."
"Thank you Christian," I lean up and kiss him, pouring into the kiss just how much he means to me. I can't imagine my life without either of them; both are truly my everything. Today when the thought that something had happened to Taylor occurred to me, I couldn't fathom how I could possibly move on without him. My life would never be the same without both of them.
"I'm sorry I worried both of you," Taylor's voice has me pulling me back from Christian. I hold out my hand encouraging him to come into us; he immediately takes it and wraps his arms around both of our waists. "Honestly, I had no idea how long I was up there for. I fully expected to meet you at the house this afternoon Ana."
"I know you did," I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Just next time let us know, okay?" Christian requests.
"I will; I promise."
When Taylor's stomach growls, we all laugh and that simple thing immediately makes me feel so much better. I lead Taylor over to the table while Christian takes out the pizza and slices it. He brings it to the table along with several beers and we all sit down. I'm dying to ask Taylor what the call was about but I know he needs to do this at his own pace. He was so hesitant to even tell me about what had happened to his mother and Christian said he only knew about it because Taylor got really drunk one night.
"My grandmother died," he announces suddenly.
"Taylor, I'm so sorry," I immediately take his hand and squeeze it.
"I'm sorry T."
"Thank you."
"I don't remember you mentioning your grandmother, did you stay with her?" Christian asks.
"Not really, I mean I didn't live with her like I did the others. She lived in a retirement community and wasn't allowed to have kids living with her. I would stay a weekend here and there sometimes during the school year when the rest of them would figure out where to send me next. During the summers though I would stay with her at least one week a month, sometimes she would sneak me there early and I would stay longer. It was the only place I felt…somewhat normal."
"I'm so sorry…."
"She was the only person who would talk about my mother without talking about what happened or what shitty decisions she made when it came to my stepfather. She would tell me what my mother was like when she was younger, focusing on that time of her life instead. I loved going to her house; if it was possible I would have lived with her full time. She had a stroke years ago though, so she needed the extra support that the retirement community offered her. She lived by herself, but they would take care of stuff around the house for her and help her with the things she couldn't do by herself."
"She sounds like she was an amazing woman," I offer.
"She was; I would catch her looking at me every so often sadly and I knew she was thinking about my mom but she wouldn't focus on it. Not the way the others did….or maybe it was different because she didn't see me all the time, not as much as the others would when I was living with them."
"Did you live with Nancy?" Christian asks.
"She's my uncle's wife," he nods. "I stayed with them a few times; they were the last place I lived before I joined the service. I think that time I was there for three maybe four months before graduation."
"When's the funeral?" I ask.
"Next Saturday…"
"In California?" Christian asks.
"Yeah."
"I'll make the hotel reservations," he says.
"I'll alert Eileen that our schedules will need to be cleared for a long weekend that weekend," I offer.
"Wait…you guys are going to come with me?" Taylor asks and both Christian and I look at him surprised.
"Of course we're going with you; why wouldn't we?"
"I just wasn't expecting you guys to."
"We're not letting you go there alone T," Christian says firmly. "You're not going to lose yourself in that shit for an entire weekend by yourself. We're going with you."
"Okay?" I ask, though even if he says no Christian and I wouldn't let him go by himself. I can't begin to imagine how hard it'll be for him to see everyone again, even after all these years.
"Okay."
We finish eating, although Taylor doesn't eat nearly as much as he normally does; we leave the dishes in the sink and silently head to the bedroom. I slip out of my clothes, tossing them into the hamper before turning to Taylor. His hands immediately go to my breasts, squeezing and teasing my nipples until they're firm and begging for him to do something more to them. He tugs me against him, his hardening dick pressing right against my still underwear clad sex. He surprises me because I expected him to still be thinking about everything else, but then again perhaps he needs this to keep himself from thinking about everything else. Reaching between us I unbutton his jeans and push them down until they hit the floor. He quickly steps out of them and pulls off his shirt. He turns me around so I'm facing Christian who is now standing naked in front of me. I watch as his eyes roam over my body, taking me in from head to toe.
"She's beautiful isn't she," Taylor reaches around and takes both of my breasts in his hands practically offering them to Christian when he steps closer.
"So fucking beautiful," Christian groans stopping just in front of me.
I want to ask if he's okay, but I know he has his own ways of dealing with things. I have no doubt that this right now is exactly what he needs just like after our meeting with Carrick the other night Christian needed this. When we're together like this it's as if nothing else matters; the problems from earlier literally disappear. Our focus is on each other rather than whatever crazy shit is going on and I know right now Taylor needs to get out of his head especially after being trapped there for so long earlier.
"Do you know what Christian wants?" Taylor whispers in my ear.
"I can think of a few things," I smirk at Christian whose eyes have grown darker with need.
"You know what you and him did to me last night?" Christian's eyes widen at Taylor's words and I feel the heat rushing to my cheeks remembering how shocked I was when I opened my eyes to find Christian sucking Taylor. It was such an erotic site, one I don't think I will ever forget.
"Yeah…"
"He wants you and me to share him."
"Taylor," Christian hisses just before wrapping his hand around Taylor's head and pulling him into a kiss. I reach between us, quickly finding Christian's rock hard dick and stroking it. Christian's other hand threads through my hair as he brings me into their kiss. Their lips and tongues move over mine as our bodies slowly move against each other. When Christian pulls back to take a breath, I drop to my knees and immediately take him in. Christian's hand goes to my head, gently holding me but letting me set the tone.
Only a few moments pass before Taylor joins me at Christian's feet; I hear Christian moan loudly above us as Taylor comes closer to me. I move over and grasp the base of Christian's dick, focusing just on his head before Taylor leans into me. He surprises me by kissing me around Christian's dick; our tongues mingle, our lips move over Christian and against each other. We take turns with Christian but it doesn't take long before his moans become louder and he starts thrusting into our mouths the moment one of us takes him in. When I take him in the next time, I swallow around him which is all it takes –
"Ana… Taylor…" Our names on his lips is the only warning I get before he explodes in my mouth. I take everything he offers; Taylor surprises me once again by taking Christian in his mouth the moment I release him.
"That was so fucking hot guys," Christian breathlessly pulls us both to our feet.
Taylor immediately captures my mouth in his, tasting me and Christian when he kisses me.
"You're not the only one who thought so," Taylor chuckles when his hand slips between my legs and I know he can how turned on I am by what just happened.
"So did you," I smirk and take his hard dick in my hand, gently stroking it which has him arching into my touch.
"I need you," he groans when my thumb passes just over his head.
We crawl on the bed, with me in the middle between Christian and Taylor. Taylor quickly turns me on my side so I'm facing Christian; with my leg resting over Taylor's he teases me by rubbing his dick through my wet folds. I'm moaning and pushing against him, silently begging him to go where I need him the most. His fingers tease my hardened nipples while Christian lips find mine, gently kissing me leaving me wanting more.
"Ah!" I call out when Taylor finally slips inside of me, the orgasm slamming into me when I least expected it to. I rock between them, Christian's lips against mine, Taylor's body pressed against mine while they both hold me.
"You're so sexy when you come," Taylor whispers.
It's not too often that Taylor out dirty talks Christian but I love seeing this side of him when it comes out.
"I could watch her come all day," Christian groans before leaning over my shoulder and kissing Taylor.
He pulls away from Taylor, slowly kissing his way down my body, stopping to tease my nipples causing both me and Taylor to moan. He then surprises me by continuing to kiss me lower and lower until he finally finds his target.
"Christian!" I gasp when his mouth finds my clit.
My hands go to his head, holding him against me as I fight the desire to arch into both of them at the same time. Taylor's grip on me tightens, he slowly moves within me as Christian teases my clit. Between the two of their touches, another orgasm quickly rushes to the surface threatening to hit me the moment they—
"Christian!" I scream when he nips at my over sensitive clit.
Their names are all I can say when the orgasm hits and leaves me absolutely breathless from the force of it. I vaguely feel Christian change from nipping me to lightly kissing my sex and then his tongue lowers even further on my sex.
"Fuck," Taylor groans and it's the oddest feeling to have Christian's tongue against me while also against Taylor as he starts thrusting in and out of me faster. I feel him harden even more just before he gasps my name, pushing himself even deeper into me just before I feel his warmth flood me. Christian slowly kisses his way back up my body a few moments later.
"I love you," Christian kisses me before leaning over and kissing Taylor, "and I love you too."
"I love you both so much," Taylor leans over to kiss me.
I swear my heart melts hearing them say those words to each other; I love how our relationship has progressed and changed since that very first night in Georgia. What was one of the hardest times of my life turned into a night that would change my entire life. I learned what true love really was and how it felt to be cared and protected by two people who love you.