anxiety growing as she drove through the darkened streets. She passed
through neighborhoods she’d never been in— not surprising since she’d
just moved to Austin. They slowly changed, growing more affluent. The
houses weren’t crazy or anything, but they were new. Every other hous
e had
one or two new cars in the driveway.
Taylor’s heart started hammering strangely, the closer she got. Her GPS
informed her that she was just a few streets away. Her hands grew damp
against the wheel. When she pulled up, she shut off her car and quickly
glanced in the rear-view mirror. She hadn’t cleaned up after a long day of
work on the fencing. Her face was smudged with dirt. Her hair was frizzy at
the roots. She wanted to check her shirt for stale sweat smell, but she
thought that actually sniffing it would be going too far. She was just there to
pick up Chloe. What did it matter what she looked or smelled like?
Christina answered the door before Taylor knocked. She looked great;
casual and beautiful. Her hair was loose and still held some of the curl from
the day. Beachy. That’s what it looked like. Christina’s mustard yellow
cardigan matched her skin tone, and her rolled up skinny jeans ended in
bare feet. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful being that Taylor had
ever seen.
“Chloe’s asleep,” Christina whispered. “Come in. You must be starving.
I have some leftovers from dinner. I can heat them up.”
“Actually, I treated Joseph to a hamburger. Adriana said it was fine to
take him for something to eat while we waited for her.”
“Do you want a drink then? You’ve had a long day. It’s late. At least
stay for a couple minutes. Chloe is dead asleep. She conked out a few hour
ago. Man, she sleeps like a stone. I had to move her from the couch into my
bed and she didn’t even stir.”
That was Chloe alright. The girl could literally sleep through just about
anything. Taylor had been so careful about finding a decent apartment in a