Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,244

think.”

“Okay, explain that,” Lauren said with far more lucidness than Taylor thought it warranted.

“I don’t know,” Taylor said in exasperation.

“Right,” Lauren said without missing a beat. “But if you did know…”

Letting out a hard breath of frustration, Taylor let herself really think about it. “Well, I mean, he’s always around, and I love that. I can talk to him about anything, and he doesn’t go blabbing it to everybody. I can trust him with anything,” she said, and as she talked, she began to see it all so differently. “We have a great time when we’re together. It’s not weird or hard. It’s just… it’s how we’ve always been with each other. He makes me laugh. And he makes me crazy sometimes. He pushes me to do things, to try things I want to try. He even went with me to talk to Mom and Dad about changing majors.”

The other two raised their eyebrows at that.

“Not that I’m going to, of course,” Taylor corrected herself quickly. “But I didn’t want to go alone, and so he went with me. I can call him any time, day or night, and he always picks up the phone. Okay, well, most of the time anyway. He was there for me through the trial stuff, and of course with the whole Chris thing.” She let out another breath. “But I just thought he was being my friend. I didn’t think that…”

“Sounds like a really good friend to me,” Lauren said, and she smiled at Wes. “In fact, it sounds a lot like my best friend.” She put her hand across to him, and he took it behind Taylor. “Look, Tay, far be it for me to act like an expert here, but I think we get the wrong impression about the whole falling in love thing and the being in love thing.”

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked.

“Well, take us for example. We didn’t get together for a long time even though I think we both knew we liked each other. Wes didn’t want to hurt me. He thought I should go out with guys who were closer to my age. He didn’t want it to be all weird and for me to miss out on anything. I’m not saying that’s how it happens for everybody, but I think I was so focused on looking for it the way the movies and books say it’s supposed to happen that I almost missed it when it did.”

“I know for me,” Wes said, and Taylor turned to look at him. He looked so grown up and wise. When had that happened? “…just the whole being able to talk with her and being able to be real with her about things. That was huge.”

“Going to his house and being with his mom,” Lauren said, “that was big, too. I think we both figured out that we could be ourselves and not have to put on some big show trying to be impressive.”

Taylor slumped forward. That part sounded good, but messing everything up between them sounded awful. “But how do you know? How do you know it’s not going to mess everything up?”

“You don’t,” Wes said gently. “But you don’t get there without that first step.”

“I’m so confused,” Greg said, sliding down the wall and not moving again after he had landed there. “I don’t think God could sort this mess out.”

He felt Paige look at Nelson, and for a full ten seconds there was only utter silence in the room.

“Hang on,” Nelson said, and he went out the door and down the hall.

Greg put his head in his hands. He should ask what that was about, but he didn’t dare.

“Look, I know I shouldn’t say this,” Paige said, putting her elbows on her knees, “but we both know how Taylor… is… and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Too late for that.

This went way beyond hurt into unrecoverable.

Nelson came back and stood at the other wall. “Okay, I know I should’ve said something first…”

Greg’s gaze snapped up. “You didn’t.”

“I called Pastor Dave.”

Relief poured through Greg. At least it wasn’t Taylor. “I hate to bother him so late.”

“He’s at the center right now. He said he’s working on some things, and he’s going to be there a while. I just thought, maybe…”

A flickering glimmer of light broke through the stark darkness.

“Do you think talking to him would help?” Paige asked.

“I’m not sure anything will help at this point,” Greg said as exhaustion seeped into him.

“But it’s worth a