Chapter 12: Leave and Never Come Back

Eric drove up to what used to be Taylor's house and felt her hand grip his. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," she replied.

When she was about to get out of the truck, he didn't let her go. She turned and looked at him. "Taylor, if everything doesn't go okay, just remember that I'll always be here for you and that I'll always love you," he assured her. Taylor let out a sigh of relief and put a small smile on her face before kissing him.

"First, I better go talk to my father," she told him.

Eric nodded and then he kissed her again before letting her go. "Do you want to come in?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be sitting right here if things go wrong in there," he replied.

"Okay," she answered.

She gave him one last kiss before getting out of the truck. "Good luck, Earhardt," he murmured. He watched as his fiancé went into the house and all he could do was hope that everything would be all right again.

Taylor went into the house and quietly closed the door behind her. Tina came out of the kitchen to see her daughter standing there. "Taylor," she whispered.

"Hi, mom," Taylor greeted.

She walked over and hugged her daughter tight. "I'm so sorry that your father did that to you," Tina murmured.

"It wasn't your fault, mom," Taylor assured her.

Tina placed her hands on her daughter's face. "Where's dad, mom?" She asked. Tina let Taylor go and pointed to the room that was once Taylor's office.

"He's in there. He's been working a lot lately. Ever since you left your father's been different. He doesn't socialize, he's always angry, and he locks himself in that office day and night," she informed.

"I hope I can get through to him today," Taylor sighed.

"So do I, baby."

Taylor took a deep breath and walked over to knock on the door. "Come in," Ben answered. She opened the door and saw her father sitting at the desk working. He looked up to see his daughter standing there. "Well, look who comes crawling back. I'm guessing yours and Eric's relationship didn't work out," he told her.

"Actually, dad, Eric and I are still engaged. I came to talk to you about that," she informed.

"Unless you two plan on breaking off the wedding, I don't want to hear it," Ben answered.

"Dad, stop being such a child and listen to me."

Ben stood up and grabbed his daughter's shoulders. "Taylor, you're throwing your life away. Don't you see that Eric's a mistake?" He asked. Taylor glared at him and threw his hands off his shoulders.

"Dad, you just won't put it through your head will you? I love Eric and he loves me," she replied.

"He's poisoning your mind, Taylor. He's filling your head with all these promises and one day he's going to leave you after he gets what he wants from you."

Taylor couldn't believe of what her father was implying. "No, dad, Eric won't leave me after he's had sex with me," she told him.

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" He asked.

"Because I already have," she replied.

Ben looked at his daughter in disbelief. "You've already had sex with the man?" He asked.

"Yes, I have," she replied.

His face was as red as Eric's Ranger uniform again and he stormed out of the office and was heading upstairs. "Ben, what's going on?" Tina asked.

"We're leaving," he replied.

"What?"

Taylor stood there watching as her dad was acting like a maniac. "You know what dad, you're so afraid that Eric's going to abandon me. You're so scared that he's going to leave me like his dad. You know what, you're just like his father. You're leaving me," she snapped. She stormed towards the door. Ben shot Taylor a deadly look.

"My daughter slept with a man that will one day break her heart. I won't stand here and watch it happen," he snapped.

"Well, you don't have to, I'm leaving," she informed.

"TAYLOR LEANN!" He shouted.

Taylor spun around to look at him. "IF YOU LEAVE THIS HOUSE! YOU'RE NEVER ALLOWED TO RETURN AGAIN!" He roared.

"That's ok. I'd never want to come back to this place even if it was the last place on the planet," she snapped.

She slammed the door closed and she walked towards the truck in tears. Taylor got in, slammed the door closed. "Taylor," Eric murmured. She looked at him with tears falling down her face. He leaned over and hugged her tight. Taylor hugged him back and let out a small sob. He ran circles on her back and kissed the side of her head. "I'm here, Tay, I'm here," he murmured. She cried against him and Eric knew that whatever her father said in there hurt her, because he knew it was hard to make Taylor cry.

That night, it was raining and the couple were sitting in the living room looking over the guest list. Taylor crossed her father's name off the list and Eric held her hand. "I know this is hard for you," he told her.

"It is, now both of our fathers walked out on us," she answered.

"But at least we have each other."

She nodded and leaned against him. Eric wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. "I don't think dad and I will ever be like we were before," she sighed. He intertwined their fingers and kissed the top of her head. "But, at least I have you," she added.

"And I have you," he agreed.

Taylor lifted her head up and Eric pulled her a kiss.