Fighting Next To You ~ A Clintasha FanFiction

Part Eight

"The plan is: We go out for dinner on Friday with the Smith's, and hopefully they'll spill some information once they've drunk a little too much. Then on Monday, you come into work with me and I'll introduce you to Andy. If Andy is targeting young women and taking them into A.I.M. he'll be very interested in you, especially once I tell him that you (Kayley) tried to commit suicide a few years back, she was going to walk into a road and Linus stopped her, consequently resulting in friendship and marriage." Clint stops; he has this very impressed and stubborn look on his face.

"I've already told Taylor that we met in London whilst we were both on separate holidays." I point out, Clint shrugs.

"Okay then, you tried to commit suicide in London then. Sorted." Clint smiles.

"So, where do you think this will lead? Andy won't just take me into A.I.M. will he?"

Clint thinks for a moment before answering my question, "We'll work it up gradually. You can keep coming into work with me, and you can try and open up to him about it in a friendly way. Then in a couple of months once he knows everything, I'll head out of town for the evening, when in actual fact I'll be hiding down the road in van, and you can invite Andy round saying that you hate be alone, hopefully (if the plan works) he'll offer you an 'opportunity' and will take you into A.I.M."

Woah. Clint's really been thinking about this. Suddenly, the phone rings, I stand up and pick up the phone, "Hello? Kayley speaking?" I say in a friendly voice.

"Hey Kayley, it's Taylor here, I was wondering if you wanted to come round to our house on Friday, instead of going to a restaurant? I've been practising a few Italian dishes recently, and I'd love to try them out!" Taylor almost screeches down the phone.

"Yes, I'm sure that'll be fine, what time?" I say in a sweet voice whilst Clint almost kills himself laughing at me, I stick two fingers up at him.

"Eight?" Taylor asks. The confused look on Clint's face deepens.

"Perfect! See you then!" I hang up the phone and explain the details to Clint who looks distressed.

"I don't want to go to their fancy-pancy house and eat their crappy food!"

I laugh at this. "We'll be able to snoop around! It's a perfect opportunity!" I try to persuade him.

"Fine." He says finally.

Now we just wait for Friday.

*Friday Night*

I pull out a white stripe jumpsuit and a pair of black suede heels. I didn't want to dress up too much, I was thinking smart casual tonight. There's a lot of neck showing, so I fasten on a silver rope necklace to take up some room. Clint's wearing a white button down with some black pants. I wanted us to match tonight. My makeup is fairly natural and I remember to put on my rings before we head out of the door. There's no point driving because it's literally a twenty second walk away.

:*:*:*:*:*:

Their house is much nicer than ours. It's not much bigger; it's just more modern and much cleaner. They own a Porsche and a Ferrari, both with personalized number plates and there's even a small fountain in the front garden. I ring the doorbell and Clint holds my hand. I hear the sound of heels walking on tiles coming towards us, and the door opens.

Taylor stands in front of us with a huge smile on her face. My heart sinks. It wasn't smart causal. Taylor is wearing a light pink shoulder-less dress with rose gold heels and rose gold jewellery. Her hair has been straightened, and there are now light brown highlights in it.

Shit.

"Come on in!" She grins. We step inside and are taken aback. The house is painted completely white, but the geometric paintings on the walls make it look really colourful. It's minimalist, but gorgeous

"I'm Linus Johnson." Clint sticks out his hand, which Taylor shakes quickly before pulling us into the sitting room. Brett stands up from the couch as we enter.

"Brett Smith." He says firmly before shaking both of our hands. "You must be Kayley." Brett says in a tone that makes me feel uncomfortable. His eyes scan my body and subtly he rubs his lips together. I hold Clint's hand much tighter. "Please sit, dinner will be shortly." Brett says.

"I'll go and get the kids." Taylor smiles. Kids? What kids?

Brett grips Taylor's arm and whispers harshly. I can just make out what he's saying, "No. Not tonight. I don't know why you even care about those selfish brats." Taylor shudders and shakes her head before running up the stairs. Brett notices that Clint and I are staring and laughs awkwardly.

"You've got kids?" Clint asks, as we sit down on the grey couch.

"Yes we do. They're mine from previous relationship. Taylor loves them to bits." He clearly doesn't though.

"How old are they?" Clint questions.

"Sixteen. They were a mistake I'm telling you. I was sixteen myself when my partner had them!" Clint and I laugh.

Taylor wanders down the stairs with two kids behind her, one boy, one girl. Both of them are brunette with brown eyes. They don't really look much like Brett, and they're not identical twins. "This is Xander and this is Marcie." Taylor says warmly whilst Brett glares at her.

Xander waves whilst Marcie claws at her hands. Xander takes her hand and walks her over to the other couch, where Taylor sits next to them. Marcie starts fiddling with the ends of her kimono whilst Xander watches her. "So, what do you kids like doing?" Clint attempts to make conversation.

Marcie stays silent.

"We like video games, don't we Marcie?" Xander pipes up, but Marcie stays quiet.

"Nice! We bought an Xbox a couple of months ago, I'm addicted!" Clint gasps.

"We've got a PS4, we play it after school, don't we Marcie?" Xander tells Clint, Marcie is still silent.

"How's school?" I ask warmly.

"Really good! Marcie and I have our classes together so I can look after her." Xander smiles.

Look after her? Why would he need to look after his sixteen year old twin?

"That's enough Xander." Brett snaps.

Xander sinks into the couch. What's enough? I'm confused. Taylor senses the tension and takes us all into the dining room, where she's laid out a wonderful Italian buffet. "I said I wanted Indian, you know olive oil brings me up in hives." Brett whispers harshly into her ear.

Xander shows Clint and me to our seats. "I'm so glad Taylor has a good friend." Xander tells us. "Sometimes she gets lonely when Marcie and I aren't around." For a sixteen year old he dresses himself really well. He's dressed casually in a green leaf printed shirt with navy blue skinny jeans, and I notice that he's got his left ear pierced. He takes Marcie's arm and takes her to her seat. They sit next to each other. Taylor tells us all to enjoy, and trust me, we will.

Halfway through pudding I notice circular scars on Marcie's hands and wrists. They're not self-harm scars, they look more like injury scars. Xander holds her hand all the way through the meal, making it difficult for him to eat, but I don't think he minds.

Brett doesn't say word to Clint or me, instead he whispers cruelly to Taylor when he thinks we aren't listening.

Abruptly, Taylor stands up with tears in her eyes. She walks out of the room saying "Sorry, I need to use the bathroom," and runs upstairs.

Xander looks worried and Brett looks mad, whilst Marcie stares down at her lap.

I get up too and follow Taylor up the stairs. I don't know where the bathroom is but eventually I find it. The door is locked.

"Taylor? Taylor it's Kayley, are you okay?"