Free Better with Ben (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 3) by Casey McMillin Page B

frie—"
    "I know who you are."
    "Oh, okay. I was just, uh—"
    "Are you okay?"
    His question made a wave of anxiousness hit her. Was she okay?
    "Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "I just had a little favor to ask of you. Are you out of town?"
    "No."
    "Oh, because Molly said she thought you might be gone on a trip or something."
    "I'm leaving in the morning. What do you need?"
    His matter of fact tone intimidated Taylor. Suddenly, she regretted calling him. She knew there was no way to come out of the conversation without coming across as helpless or wounded. "I, uh, where are you right now?"
    "I'm on the road headed back to my apartment. Taylor, what's going on? Whatcha need?"
    "I was just wondering if you could stop by here for a second."
    To her relief, he didn't ask her why. He must have sensed the urgency in her voice.
    "Of course," he said. "I'm on my way. I think I can find it, but remind me the name of the road."
    "Vineridge."
    "That's right. I'll be there as soon as I can. It'll probably take me about fifteen minutes."
    "Thank you."
    He was silent for a few seconds. "Is everything okay?" he finally asked. "Are you safe?"
    "Yeah, totally," she said.
    "Okay," he said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

 
    Chapter 9
     
     
    Taylor watched the screen of her phone go blank. What in the world came over her? Did she really just call Ben and ask him to drive to her house? What was she supposed to say when he got there, "Hi, uh, I was scared and wanted you to come hug me?"
    She stashed her phone in her back pocket and went to the bathroom to check her reflection. Thank God she made the effort. She was desperately disheveled from the whole tile-laying episode, and needed the assistance of a hairbrush, powder brush, and while she was at it, a toothbrush just for good measure.
    Taylor was in the middle of brushing her teeth when the electricity blinked a few times before going out completely. There was no natural light coming into the bathroom, so Taylor suddenly found herself in pitch-black darkness.
    "Are you kidding me?" she said out loud with a mouth full of toothpaste. She spit into the sink and rinsed her mouth out. It was easy to feel sink handles, since she was already hugging the sink, but turning around to get out of the door was a whole other challenge.
    Panic threatened to take hold of her as she slowly made her way out of the bathroom and into the hallway. It was a challenge to get a grip on her imagination. All she could see was the dead girl. She knew it was crazy, but she just kept imagining that she was about to trip over her in the darkness.
    "It's just a storm," she said. "The electricity is off, that's all. You're fine. Find a candle."
    Taylor didn't find a candle. She found the back door before she got to the kitchen, and the prospect of being outside was much better than trying to feel her way to the kitchen or her bedroom in the dark. Her eyes were starting to adjust, but still—she didn't want to be in the dark house alone, candle or no candle.
    There was an oversized metal awning that extended off of the backdoor and onto the driveway. It was large enough for an outdoor table and chairs to fit underneath. The furniture was getting wet because it was positioned close to the edge of the awning and the wind carried rain underneath.
    Taylor decided to stand close to the door so she wouldn’t get rained on. She dug her phone out of her back pocket and looked at the screen. She found a sense of comfort at the light it provided and laughed at herself for not having the presence of mind to use it when she was trying to make her way out of the house. She considered turning on the flashlight app, which was really pretty bright, and going back into the house, but she just didn't feel like being in there alone.
    The rain seemed extraordinarily noisy.
    The most predominant sound was that of raindrops hitting the metal roof she was standing under, but there were all sorts of gushing and rushing sounds happening all around