Her Fall from Heaven

Taylor's A Real Crowd-Pleaser

Atty

"Say you're sorry, that face of an angel comes out just when you need it to."

Kay sways her hips to the music while strutting down the dining table in front of me. I haven't listened to this song in years, but I used to love Taylor Swift's first few albums, so I hum along to the melody and sing the words in my head while tapping my pencil against my head.

Kay motions for me to get up from my chair, but I shake my head profusely. Before I can turn back to my homework, she's pulled me up and onto the table with her.

"...stupid girl, I should have known, I should have known..."

I lift my chin a little and begin belting out the chorus. "That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale. I'm not the one you sweep off her feet—"

"—lead her down the stairwell." Kay finishes.

We sing in unison. "This ain't Hollywood; this is a small town. I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it's too late for you and your white horse—" Kay winks at me "—to come around."

We clutch our sides with laughter. Kay smashes into her respective stack of homework packets, to which we both begin guffawing louder. Wiping tears from my eyes, I squat down a little to help her up.

Suddenly, my favorite song in the album comes on.

"You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset..."

Me and Kay freeze for a few seconds, locking eyes with each other. Simultaneously, we bounce back to our feet and begin yelling out the lyrics.

"I'm in my room, it's a typical Tuesday night; I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like! She'll never know your story like I do!" Me and Kay begin spinning in circles. "She wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers! Dreaming 'bout the day, when you wake up and find that what you're looking for has been here the whole time—IF YOU COULD SEE THAT I'M THE ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS YOU, BEEN HERE ALL ALONG SO WHY CAN'T YOU SEE, YOU BELONG WITH ME, YOU BELONG WITH ME!"

We scream out the rest of the words, and by the end of the song, our throats are shot and our heads spinning.

"Kay," I pant out. "That was—"

"Shit."

I look at her confused for a few seconds (was I that bad of a singer?), before I slowly follow her hate-filled gaze to the kitchen. There, sitting up on the kitchen island with an apple in hand and an amused expression on his face, is Bennett.

He quickly sets down his apple and begins slow-clapping. "Bravo, ladies, bravo." Suddenly, as if a thought has come to his mind, he snaps his finger. "Do you take requests?"

Kay jumps down from the table, knocking over a chair in the process, and points a finger at her cousin. "You little—"

Bennett simply flashes her a cheeky smile and says, "What would Randall say?"

It's as if Kay is hit by a whip, because she visibly flinches, shuffles back to her seat at the table, and stares dejectedly at the table.

Huh?

As if guessing my thoughts, Kay glares up at me, silently willing me to let it go. But why?

Realizing that I am still standing on the dining table, I hop off and settle into my seat to finish my homework. Until the packet I am looking at is ripped from my grasp.

I look swiftly at the towering figure beside me. Bennett. He quickly scans the page I am on.

Bennett begins reading my current assignment. "Describe the symptoms and causes of these psychological disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, ADHD, general anxiety, bulimia, anorexia—what is this?"

"It's—" I reach up and snatch the packet back "—homework."

"You have to do shrink-work in Psychology?" He shudders in mock disgust. "Ugh."

Do you even know what Psychology is? I don't respond, instead returning to my homework. When I notice Bennett still standing there in my peripheral vision, I shake my head. "Hey Bennett—"

"Ben." He interjects.

"Ben." Weird. Well, it's better than saying Bennett all of the time. "Why is it, exactly, that you are here?" I fiddle with my thumbs subconsciously.

"Ben" flashes a look of fake hurt, hand clutched tightly to his chest. "How dare you! Have I not the right and the privilege of visiting my dearest cousin whenever I so please?" The sarcasm rolls off in sickening waves.

"Oh yeah? Well explain to me why I've never seen you in this house before except on two separate occasions?"

Ben shakes his head at me, chuckling. "I've been coming all those days you weren't happening to be visiting, I suppose. Just bad luck on your part."

I manage to produce a laugh even faker than his. "Well, the joke's on you because I've been coming here every day for the past five years, and before that, too. I practically own this joint! So you can't even start with all that talk of oh you were just having some 'bad luck', or some crap like that." I rest my hands behind my head and close my eyes triumphantly. That is, until I hear the silence.

I slowly peel my eyes open wider. I see Kay first, who is gazing at me with an almost pitying look on her face. Then I see Ben, who is staring intensely at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

He says quietly, so low that I have to strain my ears to catch it, "What do you mean, you've come here every day for the past five years?"

Don't panic, don't panic.

Ben regards me with a look of utter perplexity on his face. What am I going to say now?

"Kay's dad is hot."

Shit.

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A/N: Hey guys! If you see this, it means you're still reading this book of mine and I love you!

I'm kind of curious about my readers. Let me start with a basic question... favorite color! Mine is green, though I love deep blue as well.

How about least favorite color? Mine's red. Honestly, I like all colors, but the one I like the least is definitely red. I can't even explain it, it just looks freaky to me.

Who is Randall? Why is Ben at Kay's house? What is Autumn hiding?

Keep reading to find out! Don't forget to vote, comment, follow, and share if you enjoyed this chapter!