Kaylor: The Timeline

Chapter 26

"I know, I know," Austin says. He sets Olivia down on the floor once inside, and laughs watching the baby kitten struggle to walk a minimal distance. "How is something born this cute?"

"My baby," Taylor coos, leaning down to pick Olivia up herself.

"So when are they getting here anyway?" Austin asks again.

"Like, two hours from now," Taylor replies glancing at the clock.

She hasn't seen Karlie since being ushered out of her apartment by Josh. She flew out to Rhode Island only hours after arriving back in her own apartment. She couldn't bear being there, knowing that Josh had everything she wanted for her self. Arriving in Rhode Island had instantly evened her mood. The ocean always had that effect on her. She spent each night this past week sitting on her patio furniture on her many different porches overlooking the ocean, usually with her two cats by her side. The smell of the ocean, the spray of waves that occasionally splashed up depending on which porch she was sitting on and how high the tide was, and the ocean breeze calmed her down more than anything else could. Apart from songwriting, of course. She's been doing a lot of that too.

In Rhode Island, Taylor felt almost normal. She could pretend she had a normal life. She could drive by herself, be left alone when she ventured into the small beach town to grocery shop, and even go unnoticed when exploring the beaches and marinas. It was a simpler life, a life without media attention and paparazzi, a life without faceless criticism and judgment coming at her from all directions. She was crying just last night, realizing that it is a life that Karlie and her would have been able to make things work in. It was a life that just wasn't her reality. Karlie couldn't be her reality.

She knew all the reasons why her and Karlie couldn't be together, but she found herself spending the entire week remind herself of these reasons. It was a much harder task to complete than it ever has been, since she made the decision in Asia that she didn't care. She would try. She never got the chance to though.

Despite that, Taylor's life was no different, it was no more welcoming to Karlie than it was in March. Karlie's life would be completely altered with Taylor. She would receive attention from the media in a fury that the model could never prepare for. Parts of her everyday life would disappear in an instant, such as something as simple as taking the subway. She would be hounded by hordes of paparazzi. Criticized and ridiculed as fiercely and cruelly as Taylor was. Taylor loved Karlie too much to ever allow her to go through something like that, and so she spent the week in Rhode Island convincing herself that she was happy Karlie made the right decision, choosing Josh over her.

A small part of her was always going to wonder, however, if it could have worked between them. Somehow, some way, maybe they would have found a solution if they tried. Maybe the solution was right here by the ocean, a peaceful life away from everyone and everything that would surely be hoping for their demise if they were ever to have a start. Taylor was once worried, months ago, about the effect Karlie would have on her career, on her success, and even her peace of mind. Was she prepared to go through the media backlash that seemed to inevitably come along with her simply dating someone? Was she prepared to put her faith in another person, to potentially only see them leave when the heat became too much?

In April, Taylor would have said no. Now, here she was in June, awaiting for Karlie and her boyfriend's arrival, realizing that now the answer was yes. And that was the most heartbreaking part of it all.

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"You look a thousand times better since I saw you last," Taylor squeals, embracing Karlie in a huge hug the moment she walks through the front door.