Taylor The Turbulent

Chapter 1

I knew before even going to bed the night before that I wouldn’t be spending much time out of bed that day. August 18th would forever be tainted. There was no denying it. I didn’t bother setting my alarm, as I had already requested off of work. Mom was working a double that day, so I would be alone for the whole day. Fan-f*****g-tastic. 

Stupidly, I forgot to close my curtains the night before, so the moment the blazing sun rose that morning, I was awake. It was hot enough to be uncomfortable, even in my air conditioned bedroom. I pulled them closed and covered my face in blankets. Mom hadn’t left for work yet -- I could smell the burnt coffee she made every morning. She never got the hang of making it. Dad always did it. 

The reminder of him made my face hot. I felt tears stream down my face. I covered my mouth, attempting to stop her from hearing me. My father’s voice echoed in my head. Deep breaths, Taylor. Smell the cookies, blow out the candles. 

I did as my father told me, as if he was still there. It was the only thing I could do to keep myself sane. I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep. 

When I woke up the second time, it was because my phone was vibrating. Alec had been blowing me up all morning. This was his fifth time calling in the last hour. He gave up texting me after 12 messages went unanswered. 

“Hello?” I yawned. 

“b***h, I know you weren’t asleep,” Alec replied in his typical fashion. 

“Uh, what else would I be doing? It’s-” 

“It’s noon. We aren’t doing this today. Be ready in 10 minutes.” 

“For what?” He had already hung up. “s**t,” I whispered to myself. As much as I didn’t want to, I got dressed and met him on my porch. 

“You look like hell,” he smirked. 

I scoffed at him. “I appreciate it.” He smiled at me mockingly. “Why did you drag me out of bed?” 

“Because you can’t do this every year.” He paused. “He wouldn’t want you to.” I turned away from him. I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to hear it. I felt my face get hot again. Alec had been around me long enough to know what was about to happen. He pulled me into a hug. I buried myself in his chest and sobbed. I usually was the “suffer in silence” type, but Alec was my exception. He didn’t let me shut him out like I did to Mom. 

“Hey Tay?” Alec said, breaking our silence after a few minutes. I sniffed and looked up at him. “Can we go get food?”

I was suddenly aware of how hungry I was. “Denny’s?” 

“f**k yeah!” He headed toward his truck, jerkily breaking free from our hug. I reached into my purse for my keys to make sure my baby was locked before I left. I looked longingly over at my Impala that I hadn’t driven in months. 

“Can I drive?” I asked, surprising Alec as well as myself. 

“You sure?” He had driven everywhere for me. For whatever reason, I woke up one morning and didn’t like driving anymore. Alec even drove me to and from work when it was raining or late. Usually though, I would walk. I have no real explanation for why I was averted to something I thoroughly enjoyed up until that point. 

I sat down in the driver’s seat and plugged my phone into the aux cord. Alec asked me if I had started the car at all since I stopped driving. I nodded, even though it was a lie. I turned the key in the ignition, and, unsurprisingly, she was dead. Alec rolled his eyes at me and got out of the car. 

I went to follow him solemnly, and he shot me a sassy look. “Uh, no. I’m jumping your car. You’re driving today.” I smiled at him. I really was blessed to have Alec. He was a genuinely great friend to me. More times than not, when I felt like it was me against the world, Alec was my only ally.  

He returned with his truck and jumper cables. I was sure glad he knew what he was doing. Thankfully, my car started up pretty easily and we headed to Denny’s. Driving made me feel so much better. It was nice to have my own music playing in the car. Alec’s truck had a shitty old stereo that only picked up a few radio stations. It didn’t even have a working CD player. “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence played and I cringed. I figured Alec would laugh at me for it, but he sang it word-for-word with me like we did when we were in middle school. It was hard to swallow that we were adults now. 

Denny’s was our spot. Neither of our families liked it, but we were both crazy about it. I had always ordered the same few things, but I’m pretty sure Alec had tried the whole menu at this point. The staff knew us by name. We spent a lot of nights there in high school, since it was the only place in town that was open that late and we were “too rowdy” to hang out at my house after dark, and his parents have had it in their mind since we were 16 that we were sleeping together, so his house was off limits too. He stays with me pretty often now. I guess that was another perk of being an adult. 

After about an hour, we decided to find something else to do. Alec was determined to keep me busy. I wasn’t allowed to shut down today. Unfortunately, my car didn’t get the memo. 

“f**k! The battery is dead again.” I laid my head on the steering wheel, immediately feeling defeated. 

“Okay, okay, it’s fine. I’ll just call my mom and see if she can bring me the truck,” Alec suggested. 

“Dude, no! She f*****g hates me.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to do then, Taylor.” 

I lifted my head and saw the gas station next door. “Maybe someone has cables over there.”