Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,208

“I mean, their house isn’t exactly small.”

“Hm. I never thought about it.”

“I guess everybody’s just doing what it takes to get to the next level.”

Wes checked her with another strange look.

“Right?” she asked as if he didn’t agree.

“Yeah. Right. I guess so.”

Taylor glanced at the clock. “What time’s the movie?”

“Uh, 7:30.”

She smiled. “Then you’d better go get your handsome on. Don’t want to keep Lauren waiting.”

It took effort to keep his eyes open under the downpour of hot water. If Greg would’ve had the choice, he would’ve stayed there forever. But when he finally came out, clean from the shower and dirty clothes in hand, he met Wes coming down the hall.

“Oh, hey,” Greg said, and he tossed his clothes into the hamper in his closet.

“Hey.” Wes stopped at Greg’s door and glanced back down the hallway. “So what’s up with Taylor?”

Greg hadn’t realized something was up. “I don’t know. Why?”

“She seemed… nice.”

That puzzled Greg. “Taylor is nice.”

“No. Not like that. Not like asking about stuff nice.”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s been here all day by herself, and you’re the first person she had to talk to.”

“No,” Wes said. “She was out with Clara today.”

“Clara?” Greg came over and leaned on the wall because if he didn’t have something to hold him up, he wouldn’t be up for very long.

“Yeah, Lauren said they came by her dorm to drop off a sweater or something.”

“Together?”

“That’s what Lauren said.”

Hearing the voices, Taylor knew Greg was coming. The meal wasn’t quite ready yet, so she threw together a salad. Maybe that would keep him awake long enough for the other stuff to finish cooking.

“Hey,” she said when he came in, “just sit. Do you want water, Dr. Pepper, milk?”

He sat in a chair heavily. “Water’s fine. I think I’ve had enough caffeine for a month.”

That didn’t seem possible because he looked one small push from falling in the floor asleep. She went to the refrigerator, glad she had talked Clara into going with her for groceries. “How was work?”

“Long.”

“Did you work a full 12?”

“Yeah. It felt like a century.”

“I bet.” She opened the water and set it in front of him. “There’s salad to start. I’m making spaghetti. I hope that’s okay.”

“At this point, sand on cardboard would be okay.”

Taylor laughed. “Well, I hope my cooking’s not that bad.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean…”

She laughed again. “I know what you meant.” She pointed at the food. “Eat.”

Although it would have been nice to make conversation, Greg was so tired all he did the entire meal was pray he could make it through it without falling asleep in his spaghetti. When he was through, she told him to go lay down on the couch, she would get the dishes. He wanted to argue, but that too would take effort and energy, and he didn’t have much left of either.

On the couch, he heard her go back to the room, and when she came back, soft cello music started in the kitchen. He liked that music. It reminded him of her, and with that thought, he was out.

After finishing the dishes, Taylor examined her options for the evening. Really she didn’t want to go anywhere, so she took her laptop to the living room and sat in the chair. With her earbuds in, she searched for Les Mis. It was like her cup could hold a million gallons, and it had but a few drops of all she wanted to fill it with. Seeing Les Mis on a small screen would have to do for now. Maybe someday she would get the chance to do more.

Somehow, somewhere in the middle of the movie, the drops had become a downpour. The themes of being trashed by the world but fighting through it to do what was right in spite of all that was wrong called to Taylor’s spirit. The tragedy of so many young lives cut down, their blood spilled as the price of freedom resonated through her mind that had been replaying them for days.

She remembered the story of John Laurens from Hamilton, and knowing she would surely be there all night if she dared click over to it, she did just the same. What was the price of freedom, and who stood with you to make a stand for it?

Glancing over at Greg who was sound asleep on the couch, she smiled. At least one of them would get some sleep tonight.

Nelson and Wes showed up when she was halfway through Hamilton again. She had