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Taylor didn't even want to date. Anyone. If pressed on the matter he'd insist it was due to his need to focus on his new career and recent relocation. How could he possibly be able to give someone else the needed attention when he had barely even managed to settle into a routine or gotten used to his new life as a police officer? It may not have been the whole truth, but it would be Taylor's story to stick to. His reluctance to entertain the idea of dating had nothing to do with still being hung up on a young woman who wasn't even around anymore.
And yet, here he was. Taylor had gotten off work that morning, went home and slept for a few hours before heading out to meet this girl a mutual friend insisted he'd like. Whether or not that insistence was for his benefit or theirs Taylor couldn't be sure.
He stifled a yawn as he strode along the sidewalk heading toward the designated meeting place. He spotted a woman standing outside the coffee shop who matched the description he'd been given. She wasn't paying much attention, rather she seemed focused on whatever was coming through the earbuds she wore. Taylor took the moment to look her over. She was cute, as advertised, which was a good start. He waved a hand to try and get her attention once he'd gotten close enough. "Uh, Naomi?" He asked curiously.
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Something about the situation just didn't sit right with Taylor. Sure, he was an inexperienced patrol officer who hadn't seen much in his few months on the job, but he knew enough to immediately surmise this young woman wasn't the usual type you'd see slinking around back allies in the rain. At least, he guessed, there had to be some reason for her presence in such an inauspicious location. He studied her with a trained eye. He saw the blunt carelessly cast aside. Great. Littering. If he needed an in to search or question her there it was.
"You..." Taylor started, gaze still on her, watching, almost waiting to see if she was going to run. She looked far too tense to simply be taking a break from whatever partying was going on inside the building she was sitting outside. "Are you alright, ma'am?" There was no use in judging a situation before he had any sort of information. For all he knew she could be a victim or simply having a bad day.
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Taylor couldn't help the snarky chuckle that escaped. He would have loved to counter Jack's statement except it wasn't all that ludicrous... and it was sort of true. Although Taylor couldn't remember off-hand if his last girlfriend had attempted to claw Jack's eyes out, per se, it wasn't as if there had been a lack of physical violence directed toward the younger McCarthy. Of course, Jack had brought much of that on himself, but that was a story for a later time.
"Oh, shut the fuck up you daffy cunt." The words escaped easily, coming out much in the way someone would ask the time or order coffee at the local Starbucks. He took a pull from his beer then nudged the still untouched bottle closer to Jack, nodding toward it in a offer to his brother. "I don't have time for women." He said, giving a faint snort of contempt. "With work all over my ass you ain't gonna see me anyway."
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
"Report of ten-fifteen near the intersection of Weston and Oakmont. Advise RP may be absent."
"Copy. Paul two-oh-one is ten-seventeen."
With a low sigh, Taylor reached across his center console and tapped a few keys on the mounted laptop, bringing up the call information. Just the same call it felt he'd taken a thousand times before. People yelling, a commotion downtown, someone called the cops even though by the time they got there anyone involved would be long gone. Still, he gave a short nod to himself as the tag next to his unit number on the laptop screen changed to '10-6' meaning he was on a call. He didn't bother with the lights as he pulled his cruiser out onto the street.
Once parked near the sight of the reporting party, Taylor climbed out of the vehicle, pausing only long enough to make sure it was locked before slowly moving along the sidewalk. He still felt a little awkward being in public while in uniform. He couldn't imagine a single person who knew him as a kid or teen who wouldn't laugh at the mere notion of Taylor, of all people, becoming a cop. Still, here he was clad in the dark blue uniform with a brass badge attached to his tactical vest. After a few questions here, and a brief exchange there Taylor quickly came to the conclusion there wasn't much of a report to follow up on. As suspected, everyone involved were long gone and no one knew or had seen anything.
Taylor glanced around a little, his hand coming up to his mic with the intent to clear the call and mark himself as available but something gave him pause. His hand dropped as he started for a nearby alley. Why, he couldn't really say, rather it seemed to be that 'cop instincts' he'd heard about so many times. It was almost surprising to see someone huddled in the shadows, seemingly oblivious of the falling rain. "Hey there." He said, his voice cutting through the dull drum of the rain. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Another reply from Jack, another swig from the ever present beer bottle in Taylor's hand. His brown eyes shifted, focusing on his brother while Jack spoke. Could it be? Was Jack actually being... serious, for once? While he was hardly surprised to hear Jack was having trouble with his landlord, Taylor wasn't so quick to dismiss the truth once it had finally come out. He nodded slowly before gesturing to the bartender who promptly popped the top off another beer bottle and set it on the bar top in front of Jack.
"Fuck 'em." Taylor said promptly. "I got three bedrooms you can pick from." There was no hesitation in the offer. Taylor and Jack may have had their differences but they were blood and that would always come first.
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Taylor shrugged a little, somewhat dismissing the notion that he was going to actually take the animal home even though the idea was starting to grow on him. Maybe he needed something to occupy his time and attention. He'd been back in the States for over six months now and had so very little going save for his job. It wasn't as if his brother could sit still long enough to be much of a constructive influence.
Ellie's sudden realization caused Taylor to stifle a chuckling snort. "Yeah." He breathed, barely keeping the laugh under wraps. "Hate the bloody things."
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Rare was the moment Taylor didn't have a witty response lingering on the tip of his tongue. His usual apathy toward the feelings of others coupled with his power made the few instances where he had to backtrack in his own mind and give pause before replying all the more awkward and startling. Yet here he was, eyes narrowing and not a single sound passing through his lips when the simple question had been presented.
'Why, you want him?'
Such an obvious question with an even more obvious answer. What in the hell would Taylor want with a cat? He could barely take care of himself let alone another living thing. Anyway, with his brother crashing at his place the idea of a pet, and a cat at that, was an absurd notion. So why hadn't he immediately dismissed the idea? What was it about the idea that had given him pause?
"Uh." He managed, shrugging mostly to himself before sitting straight and leaning back in his chair. "I'd take him in." Taylor finally said with a nod. His tone lowered audibly as if his admission would undoubtedly be met with mocking scorn.
Even the canned, repeated verbatim from some class Taylor took somewhere didn't seem to deter his little brother from this line of questioning. It didn't matter. Taylor was used to this sort of thing even with the limited interaction between the two brothers. Taylor barely flinched, rather he sat on his stool, eyes locked on Jack. Slowly he brought up the beer bottle and downed the last of it, his gaze only leaving Jack long enough to silently prompt the bartender for another.
"It's not that easy Jack." Taylor finally answered once he'd been handed his latest beer. "There's a... foundation, certain fundamentals you have to build first." Which wasn't wholly bullshit, though even Taylor had to admit he was curious to see where all was was heading. "Really, Jack." And it seemed as though the elder McCarthy was going to humor the junior brother, at least for the time being. "Why the sudden interest in killing people?"
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
A soft chuckle escaped, not just for Ellie's brief, almost exasperated response but for the situation as a whole. At least this time around she seemed to understand he wasn't simply trolling her by attempting to incite actual conversation and he wasn't going to fly off the handle when she resisted. They'd come so far yet remained standing in the very same place. Taylor's head shook as he let the conversation die for the time being. He didn't expect the two of them to get into a deep, heart to heart. He knew her better than that. Instead he took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to look out over the dimly lit waiting room.
"What are you going to do with the little guy if he's okay?" Taylor finally asked, glancing in Ellie's direction. "You taking him home?"
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Another evening, another Jack rant. Taylor barely flinched. He simply sat on his barstool occasionally bringing the beer bottle up to his lips while his little brother carried on. His brief stint with the Irish Army did nothing if not considerably calm the usually hot headed young man. Reckless as though he may still have been, Taylor at least now gave more thought to his bone-headed actions before doing them anyway.
"Alright Jack." Fine. Taylor would play this little game. "Modern military training has largely shifted away from martial combat instead focusing more on force multipliers and small and moderate unit tactics." He replied between pulls from the beer bottle before giving a pause and finally turning his full attention to Jack. "Why do you ask? Looking to enlist?"
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
It almost didn't matter that Ellie was turning him down. She was talking and that, in many ways, felt better than agreeing to go out. As she spoke his eyes lit up, gleaming at the slow string of words.
"Wait." Taylor said, the smile on his face becoming genuine. "You're dancing?" He knew that had been a passion of hers for a long time. That she was continuing to pursue that as she got older was nice to hear. "That's great."
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
A short chuckle escaped. Like Icarus Taylor may have been flying a bit too close to the sun. Nevermind her response, the words had been said and Ellie could take them however she pleased. She had to know he was being sincere, he didn't expect she'd respond with anything but threats.
"Yeah." He said with a nod. He believes her, too. "Hey, so..." He wanted to quickly change gears. "You wanna go get coffee or something tomorrow?"
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Taylor could almost feel the need to lash out with some sharp tongued remark roiling from Ellie. In a way it was a comfortable, familiar feel that made him think all the more he was something of a masochist to continue putting his head in the vice and turning the crank tighter and tighter. He fully expected her to give in to her usual urges and steeled himself for the onslaught of insults that would soon be hurled his way. When that didn't happen it was possibly more surprising than the show she'd thrown at his head.
"I wanted to keep in touch." Taylor cautiously ventured further. If she wasn't going to get overly defensive yet he may as well take advantage of her moment of weakness. "But a lot of things were... fucked up, you know?" Yes. A vague and uncertain explanation would surely make up for nearly 3 years of silence between the two. "I didn't want to drag you into it when I didn't have a clue what was going on."
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Taylor had said far worse things about the junior McCarthy, most often to his face, but for someone else to speak them would usually result in a fight. In this case, though, Taylor actually understood the ire Ellie held for his brother. Jack, for some reason, had latched onto her in the most annoying of ways which was, after all, something Taylor could relate to but his brother lacked a certain... stubbornness to tolerate Ellie's more... difficult moments. "He's not all bad." Was all Taylor would offer as a counter. "He's grown up... some." Which was easily the nicest thing Taylor could say at this point.
Once again Taylor fell silent, unable to keep up with any one line of conversation. He didn't really want to sit here and talk about his brother, that was yet another dysfunctional relationship that often left him feeling lost and uncertain. Of course he couldn't very well sit here in awkward silence. There were so many things he wanted to say if only he could piece together the right words. He had to say something before this opportunity was lost. He had no idea when they'd find another moment like this where they both seemed lucid and under control. So without thinking his lips parted and he said the first thing that came to mind.
"I missed you, Ellie."
Taylor McCarthy
I gave you the last word, and that's the last thing you'll take from me
Unexpectedly Taylor joined in the brief, subdued laughter. He hadn't been making a joke of the situation, rather simply pointing out that it had happened. If there were to be any thought given to the events that had transpired within the last ten minutes, though, humor couldn't certainly be found. What was it about the two of them that made their inner, bratty child come out? It was as if they weren't adults who could handle themselves with maturity and grace.
"That's alright." He replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I probably did something along the lines to deserve it." Taylor fell silent again, this time his eyes lifted to the girl sitting beside him. He studied her a moment, taking the time to feel a certain sense of relief that came with seeing her again. He couldn't allow his gaze to linger, though, as he hardly wanted to start another fight. He glanced down again before a thought popped into his mind.
"You remember that school camping trip we went on?" Taylor asked, smirking at the memory. "When my brother crawled into your tent because he was scared of thunder?"
