The Mayor (Kaylor)

Chapter 5

 "Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else." 

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Taylor 

Taylor couldn't help feeling a little sorry for herself when she was sitting in her living room, waiting for Lilah and Karlie to be back. There were a million things she still had to do, but she seemed frozen on the sofa. She wasn't sure what her problem was, she knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to the birth mother-daughter bonding, right? Maybe she was just scared Lilah would prefer Karlie over her or something stupid like that. On a happier note, Karlie would be gone tonight and then this whole mess would finally be over. But that thought didn't cheer her up as much as it should.

After a half hour of staring out of the window, Taylor slowly headed over to the cabinet in the dining room and picked up her phone. She had a few messages from Tom and she cringed when she read them. He kept asking her out in the worst ways, too less 'dinner and a movie' and too much 'booty call'. Also, Taylor still didn't know if they had sex a few nights ago. She was pretty sure she didn't want to, though— neither dinner and a movie nor sex. 

Taylor wandered through her house, mindlessly looking for a place to wait for Lilah's return. She finally settled on her office, grabbing a cup of coffee and a book. She started paging through her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, looking for a passage she loved. She had read it at least 10 times but whenever she was upset, she liked to read something she knew backwards and forwards. For some reason, it was more calming than something she wasn't familiar with. 

She had always been particularly fond of To Kill A Mockingbird. It was definitely her favorite classic. She liked reading from a child's point of view and the book always brought a feeling of nostalgia that was weirdly comforting.

Taylor was so sunken into the book when the doorbell rang that she almost knocked over her coffee. The clock gave 2:58 PM. Too bad I can't lecture Karlie about her tardiness. 

When sh opened the door, she was met with two of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. "Hey." She coughed awkwardly. "Um, did you guys have a good time?"

"I had a strawberry-vanilla-banana-coconut sherbet," Lilah announced cheerfully, after which Karlie gave her a playful nudge. 

"I thought we weren't telling your mom that. I was supposed to get you home safely, not give you diabetes."

Lilah stuck her tongue out. "It doesn't matter anyway, you're leaving, right?"

Karlie nodded. She looks sad, Taylor thought. It wasn't visible on her face but it was something that hinted from inside. It made her stomach feel like stone. 

"Bye, kid. It was nice to meet you. Goodbye, Miss Swift."

"Goodbye," Taylor answered softly. She extended a hand and Karlie shook it. Lilah threw herself in Karlie's arms again and the brunette kissed the top of her head. 

"Bye, Li, good luck with everything. I hope you had fun."

"Yes, I really had," Lilah said, her voice trembling. "I'm gonna miss you."

They both had tears in their eyes when they slowly broke apart. Oh my God, this is emotional torture. Taylor sighed and almost rolled her eyes in defeat. She wouldn't be surprised if Karlie and Lilah thought out this act beforehand. "Miss Kloss, would you like to come in?" she asked, almost snippily. 

Karlie looked startled by this gesture, but happily accepted, of course. The three of them headed into the house and Taylor made some tea as Lilah and Karlie got seated. She heard them chatter from the kitchen and asked herself again what she was doing.