Taylor
The out-of-tune clashing of piano keys abruptly pulls me from my slumber. The ruckus continues for minutes, leaving me unable to even think about falling back asleep, followed by cheering and clapping.
I quickly throw all the blankets off me and sit up, taking in my surroundings. I am in a living room that is totally unfamiliar, wearing clothes that are definitely not mine or something I have ever seen Joe wear. My hair is surely sticking up in about five different directions.
My head is pounding as I get up and wander around the unfamiliar home, still unsure where I am or how I got here. A few steps down the hallway, I find a bathroom. My head is pounding as I grip the edges of the sink.
The bathtub is full of colorful kids' toys, and the floor mat is an adorable sloth hanging from a branch. I quickly splash water on my face and attempt to tame my hair before stepping back into the hallway and following the noise.
I quickly find myself at the top of a flight of stairs, the sound of a toddler's toy playing an obnoxious song surely coming from below. I make my way down slowly to find myself face-to-face with Karlie.
Her daughter, Emery, was sitting with her back towards me. Her chocolate curls were pulled into two high buns and clipped in with dark pink bows. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt romper and white knee-high socks.
Karlie saw me first and smiled softly as I approached them. She looked effortlessly beautiful in a seafoam green cropped tank top and matching sweat shorts. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she wore little to no makeup.
"Emmy, look who's up!" Karlie whispered to the toddler, causing her to flip around and look at me quickly.
"Tay Tay!" The little girl screeched, causing me to wince. She quickly stood and toddled towards me, wrapping her arms around my legs.
"Hi, squirt," I said quietly, hoping she matched my voice level. I scooped the little one up in my arms, and she quickly wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Tay Tay not s'eepin no more?" Emery asked with a tilt of her head, looking between myself and her mother.
"No, baby. Tay Tay is not sleeping," Karlie said quietly as she pushed herself off the ground and walked over to where I was holding the little girl. She stopped briefly and rubbed the little one's back before kissing her rosy cheek.
"Mommy will be right back, Em. Show Tay your toys, okay, love?" She instructs the tiny brunette before disappearing up the stairs.
The throbbing in my head is still present as the toddler squirms out of my arms and eagerly runs to a small ball pit filled with pink and yellow plastic. She eagerly squeals as she jumps in and waits for me to follow her lead.
I step over the foam ledge, holding hundreds of balls inside, and give the toddler a smile before sitting down amongst the many balls. Emery seems somewhat pleased with this and splashes about and displaces the contents throughout the basement.
After about half of the balls were covering the floor, Karlie reappeared downstairs with a bottle of Gatorade and her hand outstretched with two pills in the center.
"Here, for your head," she says with a warm smile as she makes her way over to us. She slips the pills into my hand before removing the cap from the sports drink and passing that over as well. I quickly down the pills and take the lid from her, securing it tightly to not spill on the carpet.
"Thank you, Karlie," I say sincerely as I look into her bright green eyes.
"Did you sleep okay? I'm sorry you slept on the couch, but I don't think there was any moving you" she adds with a chuckle, her eyes darting between myself and the toddler.
"Yeah, I slept okay," I reply softly. "How did I end up on your couch, though? And how did I get in these clothes?" I questioned, gesturing to the sweats I was currently wearing.
"Well, I don't know how much you remember, but I ran into you and Joe on my way to the restroom," she says, only trailing off when a rambunctious toddler jumps into her laugh, causing her to let out a playful grunt. "Hey, goofy! I was talking to Tay Tay," Karlie says teasingly before tickling the little girl, causing Emery to squirm and run off to play with something else.
"I feel like I might remember that. I definitely remember meeting your parents and my dad making a total fool of himself. Sorry again, by the way," I say, adding an eye roll at the last part.
"It's fine, really, Taylor," Karlie reassures. "But I guess you were already a little tipsy when I ran into you and Joe, and he wondered if I would give you a ride home. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe, but I brought you here because my babysitter needed to get home."
"Gosh, Karlie. I am so sorry. I never meant to get that drunk," I said, putting my shaking head in my hands. "I am so, so sorry. Let me just get my stuff, and I'll get out of your hair."
"Please, Taylor. Don't apologize. I really wanted to make sure you got home safely and that you were okay. It's really fine," Karlie reassures, her hand reaching out to rest on my knee.
A shiver immediately shot down my spine, and I could feel the redness rising into my cheeks at her gesture. Over the few weeks I had known her, I had become very fond of Karlie and the beginnings of our friendship. It has been a while since I had any close friends, and it is heart-warming to have someone who truly cares about my well-being.
"Thank you, Karlie. Truly. I don't know how I'll ever repay you," I reply sincerely, taking ahold of the hand she had resting on my knee and giving it a squeeze.
Emery quickly finds her way between us, grabs my hand from Karlie's, and tries to tug me towards a colorful kid's keyboard in the corner of the room.
"Tay Tay p'ay moosic?" Emery asks, the familiar green eyes giving me their best puppy dog stare.
"Sure, kiddo, but I'm no pop star," I joke, situating myself in front of the colorful plastic instrument.
I slowly plunk Mary Had a Little Lamb on the keyboard and the toddler claps for me as soon as I finish. Her tiny claps are soon joined by her mother's, and I see Karlie beaming at me across the room.
"Maybe if you guys want to keep playing, I'll go get some breakfast ready, and then I can take you home in a bit, Taylor?" she asks, standing and making her way toward the bottom of the stairs again.
I look at the chocolate-haired toddler and then back to her mother, eyes wide. I had never really spent much time with children; I surely didn't know how to entertain a toddler or what kind of things she could even do.
Karlie seemed to sense my apprehension and went to a closet, taking a bin from the top shelf.
"Hey, Em, go sit at your table, please. You and Tay can play with PlayDoh while Mommy makes breakfast, okay?" She requests of the little one, who immediately rushes over to the tiny table across the room.
"Just let her build whatever she wants and keep her sitting at the table," Karlie gently guided me to sit next to the toddler. "It doesn't matter if she mixes the colors, and she probably shouldn't eat it. Holler if you need me. I'll just be upstairs, and it shouldn't take me more than 20 minutes," she instructs as she smoothes the chocolate curls from Emery's face. She leans down and places a kiss on her chubby cheek before disappearing up the stairs.
"So, kiddo, what should we build?" I question the toddler apprehensively, taking out a blue container of PlayDoh.
"Puppy!" Emery cheers enthusiastically, looking at me expectantly as I free the dough from its container. I pass it over to her.
"Well, I mean I'm really more of a cat person, but we can make a dog, sure," I respond, mostly to myself, as I begin forming some of the bright blue dough into a circle.
The toddler meows in response, causing me to chuckle.
"That's right, Em. Such a smart girl," I praise her as I form the ears for my dog.
The toddler was extremely focused on her Play-Doh masterpiece. Several minutes elapsed before she even glanced in my direction again. I didn't even know it was possible for her to focus for so long.
"Ta-da!" The girl yelled suddenly, showing off her lump of bright blue dough.
"Wow, so pretty," I praised, looking at the misshapen heap before her. "Look at mine too, Em!"
"Jo-Jo!" the little girl exclaimed as she looked at my creation. The dog was simple, with a round blue face and long, droopy ears.
"Thanks, Em," I replied, somewhat confused about what the girl was trying to convey. Her eyes quickly jumped from my creation to scan the room. After a few minutes of looking aimlessly around the room from the chair, she slid down and ran to the other side of the room.
Since she didn't take any Play-Doh with her, I quickly put it back in the container before joining her. Clearly, she wasn't finding whatever she had decided to look for.
"Whatcha looking for Em?" I asked her expectantly.
"Wan' Jo-Jo!" The little one huffed and stamped her foot dramatically, nearly toppling over.
"Who's Jo-Jo?" I ask curiously, not understanding what exactly she wants.
"Jo-Jo," she whined, tears welling up in her eyes.
Hoping to avoid a full-blown meltdown, I cautiously scooped the little girl up in my arms and carried her over to the base of the stairs. It took me a few tries to undo the childproof gate, but I eventually managed and made my way up the stairs before she really started crying.
The closer we got to the top, the stronger the mouthwatering aroma of whatever Karlie made for breakfast became. My stomach growled involuntarily, which alerted the other woman to our presence.
She wiped her hands off on her apron before holding her hands out for the toddler in my arms. Emery very willingly and quickly reached back and fell into Karlie's hold.
"Hi, lovey," Karlie greeted as she swayed the toddler. "Did you have fun with Taylor?" she asked, winking at me.
"Jo-Jo," the little girl whined, seemingly reminded of her previous mission.
"Sorry, Karlie. She asked for Jo-Jo, but I wasn't sure what she wanted. I only know one Joe, and I don't think she was asking for him," I joke, giving her a soft smile.
Karlie chuckled in response, giving me a bright smile.
"Jo-Jo is the stuffed dog my mom made for her," Karlie explained. "And Jo-Jo is sleeping in your bed, my love. Why don't you go get him?" She asked, setting the toddler to her feet.
Emery immediately took off running down the hall, her ringlets bouncing and her feet loudly slapping the floor with each step, making me grin.
"Breakfast will be just another few minutes," Karlie informed me as she peeked into the oven window at whatever was baking inside.
"Thank you again, Karlie. I really don't think I can thank you enough for the kindness you've shown me," I tell her earnestly.
"We're friends, Taylor. This is the kind of thing I would do for any of my friends. You are welcome here anytime. Seriously, T. Plus, I couldn't stomach the thought of you possibly driving yourself home," she shook her head as she explained, her eyes diverting from mine at the last thought. She shook her head and pulled the baked goods from the oven.
I wanted to reach out and take her hand to comfort my newfound friend, but I wasn't sure how the blonde responded to physical touch. I wanted to ask more questions, but Karlie didn't seem ready to discuss whatever upset her. Instead, I clasped my hands together and took a deep breath.
"Friends," I pondered aloud. "I think I would like that very much, Karlie Kloss."
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A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Leave me a comment with your fav TTPD song so far, I'd love to hear your thoughts