Taylor cowered in the closet. There was no light seeping in. She shivered and tried to hold her breath as she heard footsteps from the hallway. She squeezed her eyes shut. The cold metal of the knife in her hand bit against her skin. She felt blood bubble against her palm as the steps drew nearer. They stopped outside the wooden door. Her heart stopped. The voice on the other side of the frame drawled out before chuckling.

"You can hide Tay, but you can't run." He called through the two bedroom house.

Bu-bump.

Bu-bump…bu-bump….

The man started walking away. Further down the hall she heard him rustling through the drawer in the kitchen. He scratched against the wall and the front door slammed open. Taylor flinched gasping when it hit the wall before quickly covering her mouth.

Had he heard her?

There was silence for a long moment.

"I'll be back Kitten. We'll play then." The door smashed shut. It wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

Taylor scrambled to her feet as soon as the tires bit the gravel in the driveway as Dipper peeled out. No, she reminded herself, not Dipper. It hadn't been Dipper for hours now. She threw the closet open and snakingly reached for the phone on the wall. She froze, her finger on the keys, and a shiver ran down her spine. The line was cut. She acted before being able to think and chucked the cheap piece of plastic across the room. There was a thud where it hid before falling to the floor. It rattled something against the wall and she glanced up as tears started forming in her eyes. She placed the knife on the counter before wiping her hand on her pants. Her eyes roamed over the picture frame as it swung on the wall where she'd hit it. It seemed so long ago now.

It had been on a night where Dipper had taken her and Mabel to the town fair. He'd been talking about going back to Gravity Falls for what had felt like a year, so she'd caved and bought tickets for the bus that summer. She'd planned with Mabel to surprise him that Spring. Mabel had barely been able to contain herself, trying hard not to tell her twin about the secret, but she'd kept it for just long enough. Dipper had been so happy to go back. He'd explained to her that it was really a second home. During their time there they'd stayed with Stanford and Stanley which had been interesting to say the least. They'd spent so much time together that summer and Mabel had really become a great friend. Of course Wendy had been a lot of fun to and when Mabel and Dipper had hung out or needed twin time, she'd called the redhead up to chill and talk. They'd been going back for the last two years to keep the tradition and see his uncles.

That had all been a lifetime ago it felt. Almost four years into their relationship it had been in Gravity Falls where Dipper had started acting weird. Taylor had always thought she'd gotten to know Dipper really well, they'd been living together for three of the four years. She realized she'd been wrong. It hadn't been until they'd returned over the last summer that she'd started to see the differences, glitches as she'd come to call them, that he was exhibiting. It had started with not sleeping, but that had never been a true indicator of Dipper having any problems. For as long as she could remember, he'd had nightmares.

He'd stay up for a couple days swigging back multiple cups of coffee and writing on the laptop until he would fall asleep there. She'd drape a blanket over his shoulders and squeeze a pillow under his head shutting the laptop down. She had never read the documents before. She'd never questioned him, not once, not until recently; not until Wendy had asked him once over the phone a couple months ago if she'd ever heard about Bill from Mabel or Dipper. Jokingly, she'd asked what Wendy was talking about and the other girl had laughed it off saying she'd been talking to someone else in the room.

Taylor rubbed a hand down her face trying to think of the best outcome right now. She didn't know exactly what to do with Dipper right now. If he'd had a multiple or split personality disorder then why hadn't he told her? Why hadn't Mabel told her? Why hadn't Wendy just explained it on the phone that day? Her world was starting to crash around her and she didn't know what to do. Was Bill Dipper's alter personality? She didn't have answers but she was running out of time. Bill had been coming out to play much more frequently. Taylor had argued with his weird antics at first, that was until the arguments started getting more and more heated…until tonight. She glanced at the door biting her lip. Why didn't she just leave? What could he even do if she did?

I'll hunt down everyone you love and slaughter them.

Those had been his words. Images of Mabel and her aunt flashed through her mind.

She sucked in air as her chest tightened remembering those words. She couldn't leave. What could she do though? She couldn't contact anyone, he'd obliterated her phone a few nights ago when she'd refused to go up into the attic and search for his old journals. She didn't even think they had them anymore, not since the move from the city. Sighing, Taylor looked at the knife on the counter again. What had she been thinking? What had she planned on doing with that knife? Dipper wouldn't really hurt her…would he? Bill had caused more than their fair share of fights but…but she would get through this right? She didn't want to leave Dipper but dealing with Bill was getting scarier. She couldn't believe the situation they were in now with one another. She sat down at the island counter putting her face in her hands feeling the weight of defeat on her shoulders.

She knew she wouldn't leave him.

She was sticking this through no matter what.

Maybe his threat was empty…maybe he'd be Dipper again when he got home.

Maybe it would get better.