Nothing Super [COMPLETED]

Chapter 30 - "Technically, it was an accident."

Tearing her eyes away from the spot where her brother vanished down the street, Taylor trudged up the steps to the school, rung out. She shouldn't be there. She would barely be able to find the right classrooms let alone be able to retain any information forced upon her.

The thought of jumping back to her room, hiding in her closet and falling asleep amongst her shoes was an idea she seriously considered. It was the thought of Dominic's concern and her promise that gave her strength to complete the task of putting one foot in front of the other.

As she pushed through the front door to the school, she found the silver lining of the day, she had arrived during the lunch break. Even from where she was, she could hear the clatter of the cafeteria. When she passed at the open double doors into the cafeteria, she spotted Dominic laughing with his friends, all ease and vibrato. He didn't notice her, caught up in a storm of testosterone.

Turning away, she headed to the library, typing out a message as she went.

"I'm in the library."

When she entered the book smelling enclosure, the praying mantis at the front desk eyed her over the rim of his book in greeting. But instead of returning to his reading, he lowered the book, a line of concern disturbing his smooth forehead.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Taylor didn't want to know how she looked if the impassive librarian was worried.

"I've had better days," she said, continuing on. 

At their designated corner, she leaned against the bookcase, needing something else to hold her up rather than her own depleted strength. She closed her eyes but opened them a moment later when she heard the hurried beat of footsteps.

Dominic let out a breath when he saw and dragged his hand through his hair, smiling in a way that said he was trying to cover up his obvious relief. Another shovel full of guilt was added to the mountain already growing inside Taylor's chest.

"Hey," he said. "What happened?"

"It was a rough night, so my mom let me sleep."

Crossing his arms, Dominic rested against the bookcase beside her, studying her. "Rough as in you had bad dreams? Or rough as in you spent hours taking down bad guys and didn't get home until morning?"

Taylor ducked her head and scuffed her shoe against the carpet. "The second one."

Dominic shook his head. "Seriously, Taylor? I thought you were going to work on this? You need to take care of you. You deserve a life as well."

He bumped his fist against her arm in exactly the wrong spot. Taylor let out a small cry of pain and pressed her forehead into the bookshelf, trying to keep herself from crying. Dominic froze.

"What's wrong?"

Taylor took a shuddering breath, waiting for the shock to subside.

"Nothing, I just hurt my arm."

Her voice sounded weak counteracting her dismissal.

"Did that happen two nights ago?"

Taylor nodded but didn't lift her head off the shelve, willing her arm to stop tormenting her.

"What happened?"

"It was nothing."

"Taylor, don't do this with me, tell me what happened?"

She had no desire to tell him. She wanted him to let her be. She wanted the pain to stop. Realizing there was a way to achieve at least one of those, she sighed and dropped down to the ground. Without question Dominic followed her, stretching out his legs. When she touched her shoe to his the Time Stop fell around them and the pain was wiped away. Taylor relaxed, hit by how much energy her arm was constantly stealing from her.