the only exception

chapter 7

 Hayley woke up to something shifting at her side, making her open her eyes and see Phoebe curled up beside her. She smiled a little at the sight before glancing over at the clock and seeing it was a little past 7 in the morning. She quickly got on her phone, seeing that Taylor had texted her that he was home, but didn't wanna wake her last night.

She glanced at the top of Phoebe's head before pulling up safari to look into what all she could do to help the girl. She knew they'd just met, but she already felt so protective of her, and the thought of sending her back out somewhere else made her sick.

Phoebe had been awake for a while, but didn't feel like moving. Somehow she was even more sore today than yesterday and all she wanted was to stay curled up at Hayley's side. Though, she knew that wasn't an option. Knew that they had to go to the police today. She hadn't slept too well throughout the night, so she had hours to mull it over in her mind, hours to try and prepare.

When she shifted to catch a glimpse of Hayley, the blonde quickly put her phone down, giving a small smile.

"Did you sleep well?" Hayley asks, and for a moment Phoebe wishes she'd pretended to still be asleep.

"Yeah, pretty good." She sat up slowly, trying to avoid causing more pain, but of course it was in vain.

Hayley followed suit, standing up, "I'm gonna go make some toast or something, you want some?"

"I'm okay." Phoebe shook her head, earning a sad smile from Hayley.

"Okay, well I'll be downstairs if you need anything." She told the younger girl, "Bathroom is in that door, see you in a bit."

Phoebe just nodded, waiting for Hayley to exit the room.

She stalled going downstairs as much as she could, but knew it would be better to just get it all over with. She couldn't just stay curled up in the room forever.

When she rounded the corner to the kitchen, Hayley was sipping on something from a mug, Taylor beside her and leaning on the counter. The couple smiled at her, before Hayley set her cup down.

"Do you want something to drink? We have water, orange juice, tea, or coffee." She offered, before shaking her head, "Not coffee. You're too young for coffee."

Phoebe grinned, shaking her head, "I'm alright, thank you."

Hayley just nodded in response before glancing over at Taylor. She watched the pair seem to have a silent conversation before looking back.

"So, would it make you feel more comfortable if we went to the police station, or if we asked them to come here?" Hayley asked, trying her best to keep a smile on her face.

"Oh," Phoebe frowned, not sure what to say. She didn't want to intrude anymore on Hayley and Taylor, but also didn't want to go in public at the moment. The thought of being seen in her current state just felt like too much.

"Here, I guess." She finally decided, finding it to be the lesser of two evils.

"Okay," Hayley nodded, trying to reassure the younger girl with a smile before turning to Taylor. "T, can you call them, please?"

"Of course," the man responded, giving Hayley a quick kiss on the forehead before pulling out his phone. Phoebe smiled a little, looking down at the pure display of affection.

"You wanna go to the living room? You don't look very comfortable." Hayley asked once Taylor had walked down the hall, his voice muffled through the wall.

Phoebe let out a sigh of relief, following the blonde into the living room and sitting on the couch.

They sat in silence for a few moments, nerves running freely throughout the room, long after Taylor returned and leaned against the wall.