Chapter 6: More Memories
Another week went by and Taylor was walking to her office. She stopped and looked at Eric's office door. She decided to go in and walked into the office.
She looked around to see that it really hadn't changed. Except for the fact that it was now spotless. Taylor found Eric's Quantum Defender sitting on his desk. She walked over and picked it up. She sighed sadly as she looked at every detail of the Quantum Defender. Until Eric came out of his coma, she was going to use it. She took the Quantum Defender back to her office.
That afternoon, Taylor was using the Quantum Defender during target practice. At every shot, she was thinking of Eric.
(Flashback)
Taylor found Eric sitting on a stone ledge cleaning out his blaster. "Always working?" She asked. He looked at her for a brief second before answering her.
"Yep," he replied.
"Can I see that?" She asked.
He looked at the blaster and was about to answer. "Yeah, sure," he replied. She sat next to him and he held it up. "Now this isn't your standard issue Silver Guardian weapon here. This is a one-of-a-kind. The Quantum Defender," he explained. Taylor took the Quantum Defender and looked at it. She held it up and then she started to look at the detail on it while opening the mouth. "Uh, hey, be careful with that. That's not a toy," he informed. She looked at him with laughter in her eyes.
"Hey, I was in the Air Force. I bet I can show you a few things about this," she commented.
When she looked into his face, for the first time, she saw a smile. A true smile was on Eric's face.
(End Flashback)
Taylor felt tears fall down her face as she remembered that night. That one night when he gave her a smile. She then remembered when she and Eric worked together to defeat the Mutorgs and Master Org from pollution.
(Flashback)
When they snuck into the reactor room, Taylor kneeled down beside Eric and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Taylor, where are you?" Max asked her. She looked at Eric before answering him.
"We're in the reactor room," she replied.
Then they went to attack the putrids guarding the reactor. "GO!" Eric shouted. Taylor then looked over at Katie.
"We can't let them pollute the city," she insisted.
Katie nodded and threw a putrid up against a wall.
A few minutes later, her growl phone went off again. She held it up to her ear. "Taylor, it's all yours," Max announced.
"Got it," she acknowledged.
She then looked over at Eric. "ERIC!" She called. Eric looked over at her and held his Quantum Defender up.
"Catch," he told her.
Taylor caught the Quantum Defender, spun around, hit the ground, and shot at the reactor watched it explode. Eric hurried over and helped her up. "Let's go," he insisted. She nodded and followed him.
(End Flashback)
Taylor was blasting so many holes that she didn't realize that she was almost out of paper. Wes came in and saw it though. "Whoa! Taylor, stop," he insisted. Taylor wasn't listening until he grabbed her wrists. Taylor saw that the target was almost gone. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"No, Wes, I'm not okay. My boyfriend is in a coma and he may never come out of it. My father is trying to get me to forget about him and date other guys," she replied angrily.
Wes placed a hand on her shoulder and had her lower the Quantum Defender. "He's going to be okay, Taylor. He's going to come out of his coma," he assured her. She sighed and then she put the Quantum Defender back into her holster.
"I've got some things to finish," she informed.
Wes watched her leave with a sigh.
Ben entered the hospital and walked into Eric's room. The heart monitor was beeping and the respiration was working. "You don't deserve my little girl, Myers. My little girl deserves better than what you can give her. However, I can't change what my baby girl wants. She wants you, Myers, don't you dare hurt her now," he explained. He patted the man's shoulder before leaving.
Taylor came home from her daily visit with Eric. She saw Tina sitting on the couch. "Hi, mom, where's dad?" She asked.
"He went out," Tina replied.
Taylor went up to take a shower when Tina called after her. "Taylor, your father just wanted what's best for you. He now sees everything your way," she explained. Taylor went upstairs with a sigh.
That night, Taylor was sitting on her bed looking at a picture of her and Eric.
He had his arms wrapped around her waist, while her arms were wrapped around his neck. She had her back to him and he had his chin over her shoulder while the side of her head was pressed against his.
She was wearing black shoes, black pants, a yellow blouse, and her hair was down.
He was wearing black sneakers, black jeans, a black tank-top, a red button down shirt, and the buttons were undone.
Taylor sighed sadly as she thought about Eric. Their last moment together before he had to go back to Silver Hills.
(Flashback)
Taylor was reading a book under a tree and felt his presence come by her and tried to suppress a smile, but failed. She looked up to see him standing there. "Is that any good?" He asked.
"It's fine," she replied.
"Fine?"
"Yeah."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
"Looks like something to me."
"It's just a book."
"Just a book?"
"Yeah it's just a book."
"You better watch out for it."
Taylor gasped when he tickled her sides and took her off guard. Eric grabbed her book and she went to grab it when he threw it up in the air to catch it again. "Oh! I've read this one before," he commented. Taylor then chased him.
It seemed like they ran for miles when Taylor finally caught up to him, she jumped on him and they ended up rolling down a hill. She ended up on the top and took the book. "Thank you," she told him. She then stood up and Eric stood up with her. She dusted herself off and looked at him. She was suddenly drawn to him like she was the night before. Before Taylor could react, he had pressed his lips against hers. After a few minutes, she had returned the kiss. It felt great, so different than all the other kisses she had.
"ERIC! WE HAVE TO GO!" Wes called.
Eric pulled back from the kiss and grinned at her. "I'll see you around, Earhardt," he informed. He then walked away, leaving Taylor there speechless.
(End Flashback)
Taylor sighed sadly before placing the picture back on her nightstand. She got ready for bed and locked her door. Ever since her father tried to take her necklace, she didn't want the chance of her father trying that again. She turned off the light and fell into a deep sleep.