Coney Island

Chapter 4

I was sitting in my study, waiting for Karlie to come downstairs. She was putting her bags in the guest room and trying to get Hugo back to sleep. Inevitably he had been very excited to be woken in the middle of the night and told he was going to stay at Taylor Swift's House. He'd seen it as some sort of adventure, and had not stopped talking the whole way from his house to mine. Though, he did ask if I had changed my mind about moving to England, and if he and Karlie were going to live with me. 

I hadn't known what to say, but luckily Karlie had. She had told him no, they weren't going to live with me and that I was still moving to England. They were just staying at my house so they could use my jet to go and see his grandparents. Thankfully, he'd seemed to be happy with that answer. 

 I heard footsteps on the stairs and I downed the whiskey I had in my glass before I moved over to the mini bar and poured two glasses of red wine. I wondered if it was still Karlie's favourite or if that was something that had also changed. 

I thought I would get my answer a few seconds later when I turned around and saw her standing right in front of me. However, I was caught off guard a little by the fact that she had changed and was now just wearing an oversized T-shirt, Which actually wasn't that oversized on her long body. I could feel myself staring but I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away. I felt heat rush to my cheeks as my eyes moved from her face, down the slope of her neck and to her bare collar bone where the shirt was hanging off her shoulder. 

My eyes lingered there for way longer than they should have before they moved slowly downwards until they got to her very long, smooth shapely legs and her bare feet. Her toenails were painted a deep midnight blue and I wondered why I hadn't realised it earlier in the night. Years of planting cryptic Easter eggs for my fans had left me with a keen eye for the small details but apparently I'd miss that one. 

'I bought it from your website,' Karlie's amused voice cut through my thoughts, causing me to blink a few times before I snapped my eyes to her face. 'When you released Midnight's. It was part of the merch drop. It's been sitting in a draw in my room for five years, but I thought tonight was the perfect chance to finally wear it. I'm actually surprised it lasted that long,' she was rambling and I couldn't help but find it endearing. 

'You listened to the album?' I asked with a smirk as I handed her a glass of wine which she gratefully took- I guess I had my answer form earlier- and moved past her to take a seat on the sofa by the fireplace. 

Karlie followed me and took a seat on my right, so close that our knees were touching. 'Hugo told you that we listen to your music. He wasn't lying,' she chuckled lightly. 

I gave her a sceptical look. 'I just can't imagine you dancing around the room with your son to songs describing in devastating metaphors how you ripped my heart right out of my chest and stomped all over it,' I quipped though it didn't come out as playful as I intended, and even I was aware of the pain in my voice.

Karlie cleared her throat as she looked away. 'Yes well, I didn't say we listened to all of them. Some of them weren't suitable for Hugo's delicate ears,' she said quietly. 

There were a few moments of silence in which guilt was my main emotion before she spoke again. 'Josh snapped my Folklore vinyl in half when he found me breaking my heart playing Hoax on repeat while writing you another letter confessing everything. I haven't listened to it since,' she turned back to face me and the grief was abundantly clear in not only her eyes but her voice too.  

It broke my heart into a million pieces to witness her looking so broken, and I did the only thing I could think of that would make it better. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tighter than I ever had before. 'I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry,' I apologized over and over.