Stories Poems Artwork Quizzes

Tests & Quizzes

Social

Stories

Art

Poems

Comedy

Email:
Password:
New User Or

Created By

jennaferz

Rate this Story

+21

Embed

<div style="border:1px #ccc solid; background-image:url('/images/ray.gif'); font-family:arial; width:200px; padding:5px;"><center><div style="font-size:20px;"><a href="/story/jennaferz/36359">Broken Silhouettes [[19]]</a></div><table><tr><td width="50"><div style="color:#2CC362; font-size:15px; padding-top:4px; background-image:url('/images/profratebg.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat; width:44px; height:26px; text-align:center; font-weight:bold; vertical-align:middle; padding-top:8px; padding-left:1px; " valign="top">21</div></td><td><div style="height:100px;width:100px; padding-top:9px; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-image:url(/images/storyCover.png);"><a href="/story/jennaferz/36359"><div style="margin-left:9px; __padding:0px; height:90px; width:70px; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-image:url('http://www.testriffic.com/storyfiles/36359.jpg');"></div></a></div></td></tr></table></center></div>

+ 21	Broken Silhouettes [[19]]
+ 26	Broken Silhouettes [[18]]
+ 21	Broken Silhouettes [[17]]
+ 26	Broken Silhouettes [[16]]
+ 22	Blood-Stained Lace :: Crashing Perfection
+ 33	Broken Silhouettes [[15]]
+ 33	Broken Silhouettes [[14]]
+ 21	Blood-Stained Lace
+ 31	Broken Silhouettes [[13]]
+ 34	Broken Silhouettes [[12]]
+ 31	Broken Silhouettes [[11]]
+ 36	Broken Silhouettes [[10]]
+ 31	Broken Silhouettes [[9]]
+ 31	Broken Silhouettes [[8]]
+ 19	Tainted Memories
+ 34	Broken Silhouettes [[7]]
+ 32	Broken Silhouettes [[6]]
+ 32	Broken Silhouettes [[5]]
+ 22	"Unexpected Love" 35
+ 29	Broken Silhouettes {{4}}

For a moment, her father just looked at her.

Impatience surged through her. She wanted to take him by the shoulders, shake him, scream Tell me! Finally he said, “What did he tell you?”

Wordlessly she handed him the note, watching as he read it. When he finished, he set it down on the desk and folded his hands in front of him. “And you really believe you want to know, Deni?”

“I need to know,” she corrected, her eyes blazing into his. “I know you mean well, Dad. I know that you only want what is best for me. But I need to know.”

He glanced away from her. When he lifted his eyes back to meet hers, they were shining with tears. For a moment, Deni again second-guessed her desire to know the truth; but then he opened his mouth to speak, and she knew that even if she wanted to, she couldn’t stop him now.

“Denise,” he said, “Taylor lied.”

She stared at him; once again the urge rose inside of her to scream at him. What are you talking about? Just tell me the truth. Instead, she just sat, forcing herself to fold her hands calmly in front of her, and prompted, “He lied. About what?”

“About being the one who arranged her murder,” her father said, and her heart dropped clear into her stomach. Why would he lie about that? Why would he do something like that when he had to have known it would make her hate him?

“He knew,” he continued, “that you would never believe him if he denied it. That you would never believe the truth. And he knew that you would hate him even more if you thought he was trying to lie about it. So he did lie.”

The worst part was that Deni knew it was true. Had Taylor denied it, had he told her that he had nothing to do with the murder, she would never have believed him. And she hated herself for that.

“I have to go to him,” she whispered, and her father shook his head.

“Denise, you’re making a rash decision. Taylor is leaving, and it may be what’s best for both of you. Whether he was involved in her death at all, he still isn’t the type of person who is good for you. He isn’t…conducive to the type of lifestyle you’ve always wanted to live. I believe that he is a good person. But he’s let himself go. And even if she’s gone, you still have to think of what she would have wanted.”

She. Her. Deni was so tired of pronouns. Ever since her mother had died, none of them had mentioned her name, or even the word “mother.” She never saw Benny; he locked himself in his room. She rarely saw her father. And although Deni had stopped sleeping around, the memory of that time was still embedded in her mind. They were all wasting away, and although Deni didn’t know how to help Benny or her father, she knew that Taylor was the only one who could bring her back.

It was only when she got into her car and put her keys into the ignition that she realized she had no idea where to find him.

Tears slowly began to leak out of her once-dry eyes as she wondered if she had lost him forever. Her stupidity—her stubbornness and lack of cooperation—had cost her everything that truly mattered. As emotion bubbled up inside of her, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel and just cried, cried like she’d never cried before—so many tears streaming from her eyes that she could drown in them, her heart cracking more with each tear she shed, her body crumpled and sagged.

Finally she sat up, her eyes swollen and red. She may never find him...he may already be gone. But she could never live with herself if she didn’t try. She put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway. It was only when she saw the flashing lights behind her that she remembered that with her learner’s, she needed someone 18 or over in the car with her.

Shit.

She pulled the car over slowly and waited. Suddenly the passenger door flew open and Taylor jumped in beside her. All she could do was stare. “Taylor?” she managed finally. “What…what are you doing here?”

“Saving your ass,” he said with a grin. “Don’t worry, that cop was too caught up in his paperwork to notice me. And if he asks, he just couldn’t see me because I’m short. Got it?”

“But you’re—are you 18?” Deni was having a hard time fathoming this. Here she was, cruising the streets looking for him, and all of a sudden he just jumps right into her car.

“Oh, yeah. I got held back last year, so I’m actually supposed to be a senior. Plus, you could really use me; I’ve had a lot of experience with cops, so I know how to handle them. Act smooth, cool—and here he comes. Where’s your licensing and registration? I’ll get it out real quick—is it in here?” He pulled open the glove compartment and began rifling through it; throughout all this, all Deni could do was stare. So much she wanted to say—and she couldn’t. Not yet.

Taylor pulled out the papers from the glove compartment as Deni rolled down her window. The policeman rested his elbow on her car as he smiled in at her. He was a young man, about 25, and his smile was way too flirtatious.

“Um…hi,” she said, struggling not to laugh.

“Hey there,” he replied. It looked as though his lips were going to fall right off his face, he was smiling so big. “Can I get your name and number?”

She cocked her head at him flirtatiously. “That’s not what policemen usually ask, is it?”

“Special occasion,” he answered. Deni glanced over at Taylor and almost burst out laughing at the jealousy that was evident on his face: his upper lip was curled in a menacing expression and he was glaring at the cop with everything he had.

“Denise Turner,” Deni said, smirking at Taylor as she turned back to the policeman, “254-8754. Is this a fair exchange, do I get yours too?”

He grinned. “Josh Winters, 855-6457. Don’t go telling any other policeman about this, got it?” His grin widened even more—if that was even possible—as he straightened up and turned to go. Glancing back over his shoulder, he winked and said, “I’ll call you.”

“You do that,” she replied, a wide grin spreading across her face as she pulled back onto the interstate. Once they were on the road again, she turned to Taylor and laughed out loud at the expression on his face. “Jealous much? Come on, Taylor, relax.”

He didn’t say anything, and suddenly she remembered that the last time they’d spoken, she had told him she never wanted to see him again…not exactly the friendliest of words. She could hardly remember the tears she had shed only minutes ago, swept away by the joy of seeing Taylor and the laughter inspired by that stupid flirting cop.

“So,” she joked, “looks like I could take care of that cop all by myself, huh? Didn’t need your help after all, did I?”

He didn’t answer for a long time. Finally he looked at her and said, “Sorry, but did I miss something? Because I thought you hated me…but you’re not really acting like it.”

She couldn’t help a laugh, but cut it off quickly when he looked hurt. “I’m sorry, it’s just…so much has changed today, so quickly, that I forgot you didn’t know about it. I got your note, Taylor. And my father told me the truth. And…” She tapped the gas pedal nervously. “I just wanted to say that I am so sorry, Taylor. I’m sorry that you felt like you had to lie to me. And I’m sorry for believing your lie. I loved you all along.”

He sat in silence for awhile, and she could feel her heart beating a million miles a minute.

“It did hurt that I knew I had to lie to you,” he said quietly, not looking at her. She didn’t say anything, her nerves bubbling over as she waited. Would he forgive her? She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t—

“But after all,” he continued just as softly, “everyone makes mistakes, don’t they? It was a mistake for me to lie to you. It was a mistake for me to ever get involved in the things I did. I’m not a perfect person any more than you are, and I would hate myself if I acted like I was any better than you. I hated lying to you, so I want to tell you the truth now—I loved you all along and I’ve hated myself these last months.”

© 2008

Top Users | Contact Us | Privacy | Terms | Advertise | Disclaimer