FicWad

(Taylor’s POV)



Reba was just about to make yet another witty comment towards her ex-husband when my cell phone shrilly interrupted the televised moment.

I didn’t really have to think of who it was.

Frank was probably the only one who would bother to call now, and mainly because I had his beloved car.

“What’s up?” I sucked my lower lip in to my mouth as I awkwardly waited for his reply. Things between us were tense, because of my obvious past mistakes- but not as tense as I deserved. It was weird how one night of being the victim really changed your entire perspective. I felt like a changed person, and yet who I had been before was still lurking beneath the surface. I was still stuck up- and pretty bitchy inside.

“Sorry it took so long. Gerard just took off. How’s it going?” I could hear some noise in the background, and he sounded slightly unfocused.

“Just watching some television.” I answered. “What are you doing?”

“Playing some call of duty.” Frank answered. That would explain the background noise and lack of concentration. “Anything good on television?”

“I’m a huge Reba fan.” I answered. “So that’s what I’m watching.”

“Girls.” I could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “That’s a total man hating show.”

“You’ve watched it?”

“My mom likes it.” Frank answered.

“So…” I nervously twirled a strand of hair around my finger. “Are you pretty close with your mother?”

Frank chuckled, “Are you trying to get to know me Taylor? You’re crossing over the loser line by doing that.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve been on the wrong side the whole time.” I bravely answered, hoping he wouldn’t make fun of me for it. Being a cool kid wasn’t really all it was cracked up to be. We constantly fought to get to the top, and being friends with people only meant you wanted to best them in some way- or use them, and use them I did.

“My mom is awesome.” Frank answered. “So yeah, I suppose I’m close with her. She’s had me buying her tampons since I was old enough to walk to the store by myself, what’s closer than that?”

“Nothing, I guess.” I laughed. “What about your dad?” I was truly interested in knowing what kind of home life he had. I guess I’d always assumed that because he had the ‘bad boy’ thing going on… he was abused or something- and sadly I’d never even really cared.

“He’s cool.” Frank answered. “-For a dad. What about your parents?”

“They… they are great.” I lied, after a brief pause. I didn’t want to be ‘that girl’- the one with more problems than solutions.

“How about siblings?” Frank inquired.

“Nope, none. What about you?”

“Nah.” Frank cursed for a few seconds before quietly apologizing. “Sorry. This game pisses me off sometimes. Which, by the way, did you want to come over tomorrow? We can hang out for a while and then… well, then you could hang out with my friends for a bit.”

“With your friends?” It came out as a squeak and I wondered where the hell my personality had gone. I didn’t use to fear any social situation. I didn’t use to care. It was the one area I thrived in. I would have to step outside my bitch box to hang out with Frank’s friends though. It would be a big step.

“Gerard wants to see how well you can play Mortal Kombat. You can come over early though and I’ll give you a step by step guide, and help you choose a character. It’s not that hard, but it’s one of his favorite games.”

“Yeah- sure.” My attention slipped as I heard something outside. It sounded like a can being thrown against the garage door, which was odd- unless a stray cat had batted something out of the trash can or something. Sometimes my dad left it open- it drove my Mom crazy and was used as fuel for another fight.

“So how about like, two? I sleep in until then usually and the guys won’t be around until six.” Frank yawned. “That gives us some time to hang out.”

“Wait a second, okay?” I couldn’t really see outside but it sounded like…

“Uh, okay.” Frank sounded unsure but still I set my phone down and started unlocking the front door. It wasn’t until I was already opening the door that I realized I wasn’t doing the smartest thing in the middle of the night but I was curious.

Cold air hit my face, waking me up instantly. I could hear more rustling outside and then quiet whispered voices. “Hello?” The confused greeting sounded stupid even to me as it slipped from my lips.

It went silent as I stepped outside, quietly closing the door behind me. I crossed my arms over my chest and took a few more steps before pausing. My eyes landed on Frank’s car.

Frank’s car…

“Now you’re both going to pay for all the shit you’ve done.” Megan hissed. I barely recognized her in the dark gear she was wearing, with her long hair thrown up underneath the hoodie. The other figure was most likely Derek but he said nothing, and so I didn’t really know nor did I have any way to know. “You were never a friend Taylor, not to anyone- and you’re going to pay for that. This is just the beginning of our revenge.” I heard the splatter and crack as Frank’s windshield caved in.

Teenagers could be mean.

I had been mean- and now I was deserving of the revenge, but I wasn’t so sure that I could handle it.

The other figure stepped closer.

I was cold, and alone- and vulnerable.

Megan smiled widely and I knew something bad was going to happen.

“Taylor?” My dad’s voice reached my ears and I’d never before been so happy to hear it. “Taylor, honey-” His voice died at the scene in front of him. “Get away from my daughter! I’m calling the police! Taylor, come here- come inside.”

I knew something bad had been about to happen. My dad had saved me, and so I didn’t stick around. Once I was inside my Dad slammed the door and locked it, rushing to the phone. I didn’t hear much of what he said as my Mom rushed down the stairs, throwing her arms around me.

I guess earlier when I told Frank my parents were great I hadn’t been lying. I was pretty lucky to have them- sometimes it was hard, but it wasn’t like they abused me or anything.

They just fought a lot, but they loved me and I loved them.

With my Mom hugging me… I actually felt safe.





“Hi.” Frank sounded less than excited with his greeting.

“I’m sorry.” I breathed out. At least two hours had passed since I’d asked him for a short conversation break. I ended up hanging up on him in all of the craziness. The cops had shown up. A police report was filed. Frank’s car was fucked up.

Frank’s car… He was going to be so fucking pissed off at me. I deserved all of this but he didn’t. All he’d done was shown me kindness. It wasn’t fair.

This would end any potential friendship I could have with him.

“Don’t worry about it.” Frank yawned. “I get phone stood up all the time.”

“I didn’t stand you up.” I argued, though I had no conviction behind my words.

“You kinda did.” Frank replied sourly.

“I’m sorry. Something came up.” I lamely answered.

Frank snorted. “Something came up in the middle of the night?”

“It’s not quite the middle of the night.” I retorted.

“What happened?” Frank asked.

“Do you think, could I come over?” I was too nervous to put it in to words. I would have to show him what happened and just deal with the consequences.

He would hate me.

“Are you okay?” Frank’s tone changed to concern.

“Can I?” I didn’t answer.

“Yeah, sure. It’s just me over here anyway.” Frank awkwardly answered.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t need the embarrassment of having other people around while he… dumped our friendship, and completely started hating me.

“I’ll be over there in twenty minutes.”

“See you then.” Frank confusedly answered before hanging up.

What the hell was I supposed to do if he completely hated me? It was to be expected but it would sting. He was kind of all I had right now, and I didn’t even really have him. We weren’t even really friends. He was just giving me a shot. I was on shaky ground.

And I had nothing, going in to the negatives.