Ready To Run (Kaylor)

Part 40: Can't go back, I'm haunted

“Yeah, let’s go.” I agreed with a smile.

            After we left the boutique, we had gone to a few other stores before deciding to call it a day. We were just down the street from Karlie’s apartment, so I ended up walking with her. Dark rain clouds began to loom over the city, and a heavy wind picked up.

“Where did this weather come from?” I asked when we reached the lobby.

“I have no clue,” She replied, shrugging her shoulders. “New York weather is so unpredictable.”

“It totally is. Finding the right outfit for the weather is so hard when it changes every couple of hours,” I giggled quietly and Karlie let out a small chuckle. “Well, I had a lot of fun today, Karls. Thanks for hanging out with me.” I said, shifting my feet.

“I had fun too,” She said softly. “You don’t have to leave yet—I mean, if you don’t want to. I baked some cookies before we went out this morning, and it would be nice to have someone to share them with—I won’t eat them all myself.” Karlie’s cheeks blushed and her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Oh—are you sure?” I stuttered. “If you want to, then yeah. That would be great!” I said with a smile.

“Awesome, let’s go then!” Karlie exclaimed. We walked into the open elevator and stood in silence as it moved up to her floor. As we went down to hallway to her front door, I couldn’t help but play all of our memories back in my mind. Once Karlie dug her keys out of her purse and opened the door, I was overwhelmed with the smell of her apartment. I inhaled a deep breath, taking in it all.

“Alright, where are those cookies?” I joked as I took off my jacket. Karlie rolled her eyes at me and walked into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later with a plate of chocolate chunk cookies. Placing them down on the coffee table, she sat on the couch and grabbed the TV remote.

“Thanks Karlie,” I said with a grin. I sat down on the couch with her while she flipped through the channels. “Did you want to watch a movie?” I suggested. Karlie’s brow furrowed for a moment, and then she nodded her head.

“Sure, what about Pitch Perfect?” She asked, turning her head towards me.

“Why not?” I scrunched up my nose, shrugged my shoulders.

*                                                            *                                                           *

            “That one never gets old!” I laughed as the credits began to roll through the screen. I looked over at Karlie, who was sitting right beside me. I hadn’t noticed it during the movie, but she had inched her way over to me from the far side of the couch. My heart started to pound at how close she was to me, and I craved her touch.

“I know—it kills me every time!” She exclaimed. Suddenly we heard a loud roar of thunder from outside, and heavy rain started to pour down immediately following it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned. “I wasn’t planning on calling my driver, but I guess I have to now.” I reached for my phone and started to flip through my contacts.

“Yeah, that happened out of nowhere,” Karlie said in agreement. “Let’s check the weather channel.” She suggested. When we turned to the weather channel, the meteorologists were announcing a heavy thunderstorm warning, with a slight chance of hail.

“It was so nice out all day, so of course when I get ready to leave all of this comes up” I rolled my eyes sarcastically and fetched my purse. “I should get going Karlie, I don’t want to be out in this storm too late.” I turned to face her and flashed an apologetic smile.

“Well, you can stay, if it’s easier…” Karlie mumbled, looking at her feet. I looked at her with wide eyes and had to stop my mouth from hanging open.

“No, it’s alright,” I stammered. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I said quietly. Karlie shook her head belligerently and chuckled lightly.

“You wouldn’t be, otherwise I wouldn’t have offered,” She stood up from the couch and walked closer to me. “Besides, I don’t really want to be alone right now either… It’s kind of weird to go from living with my family to living back on my own.” She said, flashing her perfectly white teeth with a shy smile.

“If you insist,” I grinned, placing my purse back down on the floor. “I’ll have to borrow some pajamas then, you know.” I winked at her and sat back down on the couch.

“Of course! I’ll grab you a blanket and an extra pillow while I’m at it,” She said as she moved for her closet. “You know how to pull the couch out, right?” I heard her call from the bedroom.

“Yep!” I yelled back. My heart sank in disappointment, although I wasn’t sure what else to expect. Maybe a small part of me thought that we would be sharing her bed, but I immediately shook it off when she returned with blankets, pajamas, and a pillow in hand.

“Thanks so much for letting me stay, Karlie,” I mumbled. “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s not a big deal, I thought you would prefer staying in rather than walking out in the storm.” She replied. “I think I’m going to head to bed though—I have a workout with my trainer scheduled in the morning. You can feel free to stay up or whatever, but I’m exhausted!” She yawned and placed the sheets over the couch.

“I’m pretty tired too, so I’ll be going to bed right after I change.” I answered.

“Okay, sounds good,” She grinned. “Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.” I whispered back. Karlie spun around and walked down the hallway, closing her bedroom door behind her. I changed into the pajama shorts that she had given me, and slipped the t-shirt on. After tucking my clothes in my purse, I switched the living room light off, and eventually found sleep.

*                                                        *                                                                *

            “Taylor? Taylor!” I woke up to the sound of my name being called through the dark living room. The voice had sounded muffled through the bedroom door, but I knew that it had been Karlie. Without thinking, I leapt off of the couch and ran through her apartment. When I reached her bedroom, I threw the door open to see what had happened; Karlie was lying in her bed, thrashing in her sleep. She continued to call my name through her sobs, and I cleared the room in a few steps and fell onto her bed. Gripping her shoulders, I shook her urgently, trying to get her to wake up.

“Karlie! It’s okay, wake up!” I cooed, leaning closer to her ear. I cupped her face in my hands, and her eyes shot open. Searching the room frantically, her gaze fell on me, and she broke into tears.

“Taylor…” She sobbed. She sat up and threw her arms around me, still shaking from the nightmare. I hugged her back, and stroked her hair gently.

“I know, I know,” I soothed quietly. “It was just a dream, it’s alright now.” I said. Karlie seemed different; with all the time that we had been together she had never once woken up from a nightmare, yet here was this beautiful, independent, strong girl who was weeping helplessly in my arms.

“It’s not just a dream,” She wept. “I relive that morning in Colorado almost every night, Taylor.” She managed through deep breaths.

“I’m so sorry, Karlie, I really am,” I said as my voice broke. Guilt ran through me like a hurricane, and a few tears started to fall from my eyes too. “I hurt you so badly, I just want to make it right.” I whispered. Karlie’s embrace became tighter around me, and she nodded her head against my shoulder. As the night went on, her whimpers eventually grew silent as she fell back asleep.

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What do you think?!?!

Also I just want to say that karlie and taylor looked SO good in their black lace outfits at the VSFS, and I called it earlier in the story with the black lace bustiers hahaha