"I'm not that busy, I swear. Even when I get busy, it won't be that bad, I'm not going to be like Josh, I promise," Taylor cries, as her and Karlie stand in mostly darkness at the very edge of the Kloss backyard where trees line the perimeter of their property.
"Baby, I know. Don't worry, I know. No matter how busy you do get, we'll make it work," Karlie assures her, holding her face firmly with both hands. She takes an accidental step forward, stepping on Taylor's foot as she stares intently at her face. Taylor is quick to notice.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asks, gripping Karlie's forearms tightly, realizing she seems to be slightly swaying back and forth.
Karlie nods her head, her green eyes still sharp and clear, staring intently and worriedly into Taylor's own blue eyes. "Don't care about what you heard them say. They were just gossiping, and my aunt doesn't know anything about what's going on."
"I know she doesn't, but of course she had to say two of the things they were talking about," Taylor replies, sounding completely defeated as a few more tears fall from her eyes. Karlie's thumb is wiping them clear almost as soon as Taylor realizes they've fallen. "I don't care what happens to us, I'm never going to write a song about you that's—"
"Taylor! I know all of this! Don't be upset by what they think, we know what's true. They don't," Karlie says.
"It just sucks, did you see the way they looked at each other? They think I'm some...I don't know. They're just not thinking anything good," Taylor replies.
Karlie's features darken at the mention of the not so sly her sister and mother exchanged, and Taylor almost doesn't want to bring it up, but Karlie has become someone she needs to go to for comfort now. She relies on her.
"I SEE YOU GUYS!" Matty's voice greets them in darkness.
Karlie quickly pulls Taylor close to her, allowing Taylor to shield her tears, as they suddenly hear Brendan and Matty's footsteps pounding the ground, running towards them.
Taylor closes her eyes and keeps her face against Karlie's shoulder, suddenly embarrassed and panicked by the idea of the young boys finding her emotionally distraught.
Their footsteps grow loud and sounds of their heavy breathing are right beside them when Taylor is slapped hard by one of the boys.
"GOT YOU BOTH!" Matty yells. "I TAGGED YOU BOTH!"
"You guys are so dumb why didn't you hide better, we obviously were going to look here," Brendan pants. "Now you guys are going to have to look for everyone in the next round."
"Matty, did you just slap Taylor's butt?" Karlie asks suddenly.
"You did?!" Brendan exclaims, sounding shocked.
"NO!" he yells.
"I just saw it happen!" Karlie exclaims, playfully arguing.
Taylor can't help but laugh against Karlie's shirt, the same shirt that is dampened by her tears as she wraps her arms around Karlie's waist.
"I...NOT ON PURPOSE! ON ACCIDENT!" Matty yells.
"Yeah, you better watch it, buddy," Karlie warns. "Why are you always yelling? I'm standing right here."
"You touched Taylor Swift's butt," Brendan says slowly, sounding completely shocked, even scared.
"WELL...SHE'S NOT EVEN HIDING!" Matty replies, sounding panicked and confused and most certainly defensive.
"What are you talking about? She's hiding right now, can you see her? Look, she's hiding," Karlie replies, rocking Taylor back and forth in her embrace.
"We can't see her face, but we can still see her," Brendan replies doubtfully.
"Okay, well, Matty still tagged her butt," Karlie answers, laughing.
"NO, I JU—"
"I forgive you, Matty. Go find Kimby and Kariann they're still hiding," Taylor says, slowly lifting her head from Karlie's shoulder now that she feels confident her tears have disappeared. Without another word, both boys run away to continue their game of hide and seek.
"Aren't I great with kids?" Karlie laughs, nuzzling her nose against Taylor's cheek.
Her gigantic smile and playfully alight emerald green eyes warm Taylor, calm her, and she finds herself returning the smile, something she would have been unable to do minutes ago. "You're ridiculous," Taylor laughs.
"He really got a piece of it, though," Karlie laughs, as her hands wander downwards and give a tight squeeze.
"Okay, no," Taylor squeals quietly, squirming out of Karlie's grasp. "His was like an innocent and very quick tag. That was neither."
"That's sort of the point," Karlie laughs, dragging her down Taylor's cheek and jawline, but never quite kissing it. It's just the right amount of teasing touch that raises goosebumps on Taylor's arms as Karlie's lips barely flutter across her skin. "You know the stupid question like 'are you a boobs or butt guy?' I mean, that question has obviously never really applied to me before you, but I think now if someone were to ask I'd definitely have to say butt."
"Well, you're sort of in the wrong place for both of those," Taylor laughs. "I have neither."
"Okay, not true. Like at all. Not true at all," Karlie replies, deadly serious. "You've said a lot of stupid shit since March, but that tops it all," Karlie says firmly, standing up straight to stare Taylor in the face.
"You're like, really drunk, aren't you?" Taylor laughs.
Karlie ignores the question and instead puts a hand on one of the trees they're standing by. "Do you see this tree?" Karlie asks, as she leans the weight of her body on the flattened hand against the tree trunk, one leg almost buckling.
"The question is do you see this tree?" Taylor laughs, putting a steadying hand on Karlie's hip.
"I'm going to carve our initials into this tree," Karlie announces, patting it dearly.
"Karlie, this tree is in your backyard. No," Taylor laughs. "That's so corny."
"Which means you'll probably love it," Karlie counters.
"Okay, well..." Taylor laughs, rolling her eyes.
"Be right back," Karlie replies with a smile, as she begins unsteadily walking away.
"Yeah, like I'm just going to stay here," Taylor says, shaking her head as she follows behind Karlie. Her strides are still impossibly long, and probably due to Karlie's gracefulness alone she's able to cover just about as much ground as usual, but there is some undeniable swaying in her walk.
Karlie leads them in darkness to a tool shed. She swings the door open and pulls the string of a light inside and begins rummaging around in the small shed, bending over slightly because it doesn't accommodate for someone over six feet tall.
"I have a question. What do people actually use to carve things?" Karlie asks.
"Karlie, I don't know," Taylor says, her words a mix of a sigh and a laugh.
"Okay, I got it," Karlie says confidently, emerging from the shed with a screw driver and hammer in hand. "Like a chisel."
"Do you like your fingers? Because—"
"You like my fingers."
"BECAUSE you're going to hammer one of them off if you try doing that right now," Taylor replies, shaking her head at Karlie's comment.
"I'm sure it will be fine," Karlie says happily, as she begins her walk back to the tree with Taylor in tow.
"Why are you always, like... 'Oh, don't worry, Taylor, everything will be fine. Everything's always fine, Taylor, why do you worry so much? Why are you even worrying about me being drunk and using a hammer—"
"I get it!" Karlie laughs. "Someone has to tell you not to worry," Karlie adds, looking over her shoulder with a smile as she walks to the tree.
"Mhm," Taylor hums doubtfully, as she crosses her arms and stops beside the tree trunk in question.
"Shine your iPhone flashlight on it," Karlie instructs. "Hm...okay, I'll do my initials first because I can practice on them so I won't mess up yours."
"That's kind," Taylor says drily while pulling out her iPhone, as she suspiciously eyes Karlie while situating the screwdriver against the bark of the tree. She positions it at an angle downwards, before lifting the hammer and and slamming down hard and fast. "KARLIE! Be careful!" Taylor warns, surprised by the sudden movement.
"It worked!" Karlie says happily, examining her work. The force of the hammer against the screwdriver did in fact force the screwdriver downwards hard enough to make a clear chip in the wood about half an inch long.
"Karlie, when you're using that hammer you need to line it up. You can't just swing like that, make sure you line it up. You're going to hit your fingers," Taylor warns, doing her best to keep her voice as serious as she can make it for Karlie to listen to her. It's hard when Karlie being so innocently entertained is as amusing as it is.
"It won't even take that long, this is pretty good," Karlie answers, as she puts the screwdriver back to it's spot. This time she doesn't swing the hammer a single time, but rather a series of quick and successful slams of the hammer.
"Karlie! Slow! Slow down, Karlie!" Taylor exclaims, grabbing at her neck as she watches from the side stressed out. She's too scared to touch Karlie and intervene in case it resulted in Karlie hammering down on her hand by mistake. "Ahhhh," Taylor groans quietly, completely tense as she watches Karlie do this.
"That's a weird noise you just made," Karlie says sounding distracted, her brow wrinkled in concentration as she continues hammering. She stops and studies her work, the first vertical line of the first 'K' now complete, about three inches long. "This is the best idea I've ever had, I think."
"Really? This is—" but Taylor stops talking when Karlie begins her now diagonal hammering, wringing her neck feeling just as stressed as seconds before.
Karlie completes her 'KK' injury free, all while Taylor stands to the side expressing warning after warning, abusing her own neck out of worry.
"Okay, now yours," Karlie says, as she brushes off a bit of the shavings from her 'KK' that remain. The same process occurs as she works on the 'T.' "You know, this is going to be here forever and ever and ever and ever, right? It's permanent," Karlie says, hammering away.
"Karlie Kloss. Pay attention to what you're doing, please," Taylor says, ignoring the implications of what Karlie is saying due to the possibility that it may just be drunken nonsense. It doesn't mean that she doesn't appreciate the cover of darkness they have, to shield her pink toned cheeks and smile.
"Hm..." Karlie pauses now that the 'T' is complete. Her forehead is wrinkled in concentration, as she tilts her head to the side, lost in thought. "The 'S' will be tricky," she says, mostly to herself as she begins carving the letter.
"Please just...finish this injury free," Taylor sighs, at this point just crossing her arms and looking away, unable to watch it any longer but has accepted her defeat in the situation.
"Shit!" Karlie exclaims, stopping her hammering.
"What?! What happened?!" Taylor says, immediately grabbing Karlie's wrists and looking at her hands, squinting to see in the darkness.
"It's going to look like a fucking backwards 'Z,'" Karlie replies angrily.
"I hate you," Taylor huffs, realizing that no injury has occurred.
"You know what this means, right?" Karlie asks suddenly, her signature large smile showing so much of her white teeth that it's the most visible thing seen in the dark backyard.
"We get to give up on this mission and do something much safer?" Taylor asks monotonously.
"No, you see, if we get married you need to take the name Kloss because it's just much more convenient for these types of things," Karlie says proudly.
Taylor's mouth drops, all air leaving her body. She was not prepared for that to come out of Karlie's mouth. Her entire body seems to freeze, mind wiped blank. "You're really drunk," Taylor answer breathlessly. She can't think of anything else to say, she can't think of anything period.
"I said if," Karlie laughs, as she returns to the tree trunk to finish the 'S,' appearing completely unfazed by what she has just said. "Um, Taylor, I need the light," she says.
Taylor swallows and nods her head as she shakily lifts the iPhone that had dropped to her side due to Karlie's comment. Only because Karlie is drunk, she doesn't realize that the light is quivering, just like Taylor's hand. But she's smiling.
"Karlie?" Taylor says hesitantly, her voice sounding completely unlike herself.
"Yeah?" Karlie answers over the sound of her hammering, not even looking at Taylor as she remains fully focused on the project at hand.
"You know you can't just say stuff like that when we've been together for about a month, right?" Taylor asks still sounding breathless. She doesn't know what she's saying. She's just saying whatever pops into her head. She's drunk. Taylor asks the question to hopefully remind Karlie of this but... But what if she does know what she's saying? Why am I holding my breath? Taylor quickly inhales, realizing she'd been holding her breath...in anticipation?
Karlie stops her hammering and looks at Taylor, appearing...annoyed? "Yes I can say that if I want to. I can say whatever I want, whenever I want. And I wanted to say that," Karlie replies sternly. She then turns back to her work, hammering away, adding much more happily "I think we should just count from the road trip in March anyway."
Taylor has absolutely no idea what to make of any of this, but if there's one thing she knows for sure: she's happy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taylor sits perched on the edge of the chair she is sharing with Kariann, politely laughing and pleasantly smiling once more surrounded by the entire Kloss clan.
"Why are old people always so good at trivia games?" Kimby grumbles, sitting in the chair beside Taylor and Kariann.
Once the younger boys had gone to bed, the night had turned into a family game night, with the adults and Kloss sisters, plus Taylor, split into opposing teams. And, yes, the adults were winning.
There were many times that Taylor actually knew the answer to questions, but didn't share, because it required trusting her voice enough to speak in front of Kristine as they huddled together and whispered thoughts. And she definitely didn't trust her voice for that. And then there was Karlie, who was sitting on the ground of the living room and with her leaning against Taylor's legs, silent as Taylor, nursing yet another drink.
"Okay, maybe a few more rounds of this but I'm getting exhausted," Kurt says.
"I have to inflate the air mattresses for the girls," Tracy replies.
"No you don't," Karlie answers coldly. "We're sleeping in my bedroom."
Karlie's aunt and uncle don't even turn their heads, not realizing the actual situation of rebellion at hand.
Tracy pauses, staring at Karlie, mostly surprised, but then perhaps slightly angry, before shortly saying, "Okay."
Taylor was going to have a few words with Karlie about this one. There was no need for this exchange, there was no need for that tone of voice, and Taylor frustratedly, but quietly, sighs as she puts her hand on her forehead. Out of the corner of Taylor's eye she can see Kristine staring at Karlie. She's sure Tracy is doing the same but she can't bare to even peek to see. Her heartbeat increases, wishing Karlie didn't bring this unnecessary attention to them.
Polite laughter. Pleasant smile. Kimby's quiet snicker beside her.
Just when Taylor feels as though the dynamic in the room has returned to normal, with a few more wins by the adult trivia team, a Nerf foam dart is fired at Kristine, sitting to the right of Taylor.
"What the?" Kristine laughs slightly, sounding confused. "Don't hit me with that, what if it hit me in the eye?"
It hit her in the cheek, and that's when Taylor realizes that Karlie sitting at her feet has gotten a hold of Matty's abandoned Nerf gun. She's not looking at Kristine in an amused way at all, it's the look that she tried, yet failed, to muster for Taylor earlier in the day. Her blue steel look, as she calls it. It's cold, unattached, intimidating. But her eyes, her eyes aren't cold, they're fiery. Taylor inches her hand very slowly to Karlie's shoulder and squeezes. Hard. Don't do this, Karlie. Don't do this, I'm going to kill you.
Karlie fires off another dart, somehow managing to look dangerously unimpressed by Kristine's comment yet also even more angered.
"Okay, Karlie stop. It's not funny," Kristine says. She's still focused on the game, not at all mad. Maybe confused or annoyed at most.
Another dart hits her in the neck this time.
"Okay, seriously, stop!" Kristine says, definitely annoyed now. "What are you doing? It's not funny."
As Kristine has turned to completely face Karlie to speak to her, Karlie takes the chance to fire a dart directly at her forehead.
"Stop it!" Kristine exclaims louder now. The whole room is at attention now, looking back and forth between Karlie and Kristine.
"Girls, come on. Cut it out, whatever's going on over there," Kurt says, sounding tired.
For about thirty seconds, there is no more firing of darts, and Taylor begins to breathe a sigh of relief, just when another one is shot at Kristine's leg. Karlie didn't have the guts to aim for her face again after Kurt speaking to them, but she didn't want to stop either.
Taylor squeezes Karlie's shoulder as hard as she can and leans forward, her lips right near Karlie's ear, far too close for any friend's mouth to be, as she whispers in as cold a voice as any, "You're twenty two. Stop." Taylor quickly straightens up and studies her hands, knowing that everyone in the room saw the exchange and was now staring even more curiously at the group. Taylor doesn't even want to know what scenarios Kristine and Tracy are getting from all of this.
But at least Karlie stops.
As promised, after a few more rounds, far more awkward for Taylor than the previous ones, the adults decide to call it a night. Taylor can almost breathe easier now, since Kristine is now the only one in the room who Taylor can't bear to even look at. At least I made it through today.
And that's when Karlie stands up, and Taylor realizes just how drunk she is, as she tightly clings to both of Taylor's kneecaps to help herself up, her green eyes unfocused.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asks quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to this in front of Karlie's sisters.
"I'm fine," Karlie replies. Her voice doesn't sound like the slurring mess it was during her dangerous night out with Jourdan and Cara. It sounds totally fine. For that reason alone, Taylor becomes less worried immediately.
"Kristine, what the fuck is your problem?" Karlie asks, as she finally straightens up to her full height.
Every mouth in the room drops, everyone still seated as they stare up at Karlie.
There's complete silence, and Taylor is so shocked that she doesn't even have time to panic.
"W-what?" Kristine asks, sounding as stunned as everyone looks.
"You're fucking rude," Karlie replies.
"Excuse me?!" Kristine fires back. She doesn't sound stunned anymore. She sounds offended. She sounds angry.
"Karlie, stop!" Taylor warns through gritted teeth, jumping up from her chair and stepping in front of Karlie to block her view of Kristine. "Stop," Taylor says again seriously, putting both of her hands on Karlie's shoulders, staring at her with as much intensity as she can manage, despite her trembling lips. She did her best to sound authoritative, but all she's thinking is Please, Karlie, please don't do this. I'm begging you don't do this. Please. You're going to make everything so much worse.
"What the fuck is going on?" Kimby asks, looking back and forth between her two sisters.
Kristine stands up and walks around Taylor to face be behind Karlie, who immediately turns around.
"That's a good question, let's ask Kristine," Karlie says coldly.
Taylor's view of Kristine is now the one being blocked, and hearing Karlie begin this discussion now breaks Taylor, as she leans her forehead against Karlie's back, closing her eyes to keep tears from falling. "Please, stop," Taylor says, her voice quiet, already knowing it's of no use.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kristine replies.
"For one thing, you're not supportive of me being with Taylor and you had to go and back that damn obvious. And then...I don't know, you're just a bitch," Karlie answers.
"Oh my god!" Kristine exclaims. "Stop, Karlie. Seriously stop. That's not true. Taylor, that's not true."
"She knows it's true! How could she not know it's true?! You've made that pretty clear to her!" Karlie exclaims.
"Okay, Karlie," Kristine says quietly, stepping forward to place her hands on Karlie's shoulder as if she is trying to only speak to Karlie, but Taylor and the twins are here to hear it. The second Taylor realizes Kristine's hands are so close to her she quickly backs away from Karlie, staring at them as Kristine says, "You don't want to do this, right now. I'm telling you, you don't want to do this in front of Taylor, for her sake. Okay? You need to calm down. None of what you're saying is true or makes sense."
"Don't say that shit to me," Karlie says angrily, loudly and aggressively slapping Kristine's hands off of her.
"Okay, seriously, what the fuck is going on?" Kimby asks, as her and Kariann stand up now too.
"Taylor's right here," Kariann says quietly, unable to look at Taylor as she says it.
As Kristine and Karlie glare at each other, Kimby adds, "This is so freaking embarrassing, can you both get your shit together?" She sneaks a glance at Taylor, but when realizing Taylor is looking at her she quickly looks away.
"You're a rude bitch," Karlie says through gritted teeth, inching nearer to Kristine to glare downwards at her.
"Okay, fine! I'm trying to help out your relationship by not doing this here—"
"Oh, that's what you want to do? You want to help out my relationship?" Karlie coldly laughs in disbelief.
"Just because we didn't sign the fucking contracts doesn't mean we don't support the relationship! We're trying to figure them out, okay?!" Kristine yells.
Both twins look at Taylor with their jaws dropped.
"Wait, what?" Taylor asks, suddenly very confused.
Kristine looks over at her, her expression softening considerably to what it was when looking at Karlie. "I'm sorry, okay? It's a lot for us to digest, and I'm sure we'll get them to you soon. It's not a personal attack on you, it's—"
"Not that, you idiot, she heard you and mom talking about her!" Karlie exclaims.
Taylor sees the blood drain from Kristine's face. "No," Kristine says quietly, shaking her head. "No," she repeats, slightly louder. "Taylor, I never would have wanted you to hear that, okay? Never, like I am so—"
"WELL SHE DID!" Karlie yells.
"What the fuck did she hear?" Kimby asks. "Kristine, what did you say?"
"She said that Taylor and me—"
"STOP!" Taylor yells causing Karlie to spin around to face her in surprise. "This is what I said I didn't want! I told you I didn't want this happening! You don't need to repeat what she fucking said!"
"Taylor Swift just swore," Kimby comments, trying to bring humor into the situation.
Karlie spins back around to Kristine, practically growling, "This is your fault."
"Taylor Swift just swore, you guys, she really did, Taylor—"
"I told you, you didn't want to do this here!" Kristine exclaims.
"What did you say about the NDAs?" Taylor asks, stepping forward to be beside Karlie. "What were you saying?"
"You can't think that we just aren't supportive because we haven't signed those things! We don't understand any—"
"Karlie gave them to me signed," Taylor replies, sounding completely confused. All of the Kloss sisters become suddenly silent. The room is the most quiet it has been since the game night began. They're all staring at her, except for Karlie, and that's when Taylor realizes. "What did you do?" Taylor asks in a suddenly teary whisper, turning her head to Karlie beside her.
Karlie exhales, and then suddenly both of her hands are pushed against Kristine's chest, rocketing her a few steps backwards.
"Karlie!" Kristine exclaims.
"This. Is. Your. Fault," Karlie says dangerously as she advances.
"This is your fault!" Kristine exclaims, just as Karlie pushes at her for a second time.
It's all happening so fast, and then Kristine is pushing back.
"STOP!" Kimby yells. "We're not twelve, we don't do this shit anymore!"
That causes Taylor to snap out of it and pull Karlie's arm back, just as Kariann does the same with Kristine, but they unfortunately rock back into a small table, knocking a vase to the floor with a crash, glass shattering.
"Oh, good, you broke grandma's vase," Karlie says dully, still glaring at Kristine. "Mom will be thrilled."
"I just can't believe you did this," Kristine says suddenly, her voice cracking as she brings her hand to her face. She quickly walks past Karlie, shoving shoulders as she goes, not stopping when she quickly gives Taylor's arm a pulsing squeeze, similar to one of Karlie's habits, when she says to Taylor, "I'm sorry."
"I'm going to...go after her," Kariann says awkwardly, keeping her head down as she follows behind.
Karlie remains rigidly standing, staring at the spot Kristine has just left. Taylor feels suddenly drained by the exchange, weak in the knees, as she numbly walks to the chair she had left and essentially collapses in it. Somehow her body finds a way to produce even more tears.
Taylor doesn't even realize that Kimby has left the room until she returns holding a dustpan and broom.
"No, I got it," Taylor says, unable just yet to stand up from the chair but straightening up and reaching out for the broom. Taylor is reminded of Kimby's age then, of her, along with Kariann, being the youngest of the sisters as she hands them over to Taylor with watery eyes. "It's okay," Taylor assures her, as she quickly wipes at her own tears, realizing how foolish it must sound coming from her.
"Should I, um... What should I do?" Kimby asks quietly, looking to Karlie's turned back as she asks it. Looking to her older sister.
"You should go to bed," Taylor says softly, nodding her head. She stands up from her chair then, her legs shaky but she does her best to force a smile to Kimby. "Seriously, it's okay."
"We don't...we like you. All of us like you," Kimby replies in a small voice.
Taylor nods her head, unable to say anything in reply as a fresh wave of tears are brought to her eyes. She quickly, but meaningfully, hugs the girl with one arm, before lightly pushing her away, off to bed.
That leaves Karlie and Taylor in the room.
"I'm so mad at you," Taylor says in a tear soaked whisper, sounding anything but mad.
"That's my grandmother's," Karlie says with a shaky voice as she stares at the shattered ceramic across the floor.
It might be cruel, but with tears streaming down her cheeks, Taylor just tosses the broom and dustpan forward to the floor beside Karlie with a bang. She takes a seat back in her chair and puts her head in her hands, allowing her tears to come freely now.
She listens to Karlie silently begin to sweep up the glass, still keeping her head in her hands. She doesn't want to watch it.
As Taylor silently cries into her hands, the only sound that fills the room is the clinking glass. When that sound finally stops, Taylor knows the deed is done, but she doesn't move from her position as tears still fall freely.
The room is complete silence for Taylor doesn't even know how long. All she knows is when tears do finally stop flowing and she sits up straight, her body is actually sore from having sat like that for however long it was.
She looks at Karlie, who is sitting cross legged on the ground, silent tears of her own following from her eyes, staring at Taylor. She may have been staring at Taylor the entire time, but Taylor pushes that thought out of her mind. Instead, she's reminded of Kimby in a way, and she thinks about the exchange Karlie had with her sister and knows that is in no way how Karlie would ever want to treat her sister. She's sure that is heartbreaking for her now, and she's sure that the ceramic vase being shattered is heartbreaking for her too, as she sits on the ground clutching a large piece of the broken vase.
"It will be better tomorrow," Taylor says, her voice incredibly hoarse. She doesn't even know if she believes it but she wants Karlie to, at least temporarily. "Just come to bed with me?" Taylor asks.
Karlie nods her head sadly. She slowly gets on her hands and knees, trying to push herself up, but she clumsily starts and fails and starts again. Seeing Karlie anything but graceful is always unsettling.
Taylor stands up from her chair and puts her arms beneath Karlie's shoulders and pulls upwards, helping Karlie to her feet. "You shouldn't have drank that much," Taylor says, walking towards the stairs with Karlie's limp arm around her and the majority of her body weight.
"I know," Karlie breathes.
Taylor simply nods her head as they get to the stairs. Karlie isn't as useless as Taylor expects her to be, but she does think she is the main reason Karlie remains balanced. They get to the top of the stairs and all Taylor can think about is climbing into bed after a horrible day.
"I'm going to throw up," Karlie says suddenly sounding scared. "Taylor, I'm going to throw up."
"Okay, babe, don't worry," Taylor says quickly, even though she herself is incredibly worried. The second floor is completely dark, they're the only ones awake, and she guides Karlie as quick as she can down the darkened hallway to the bathroom. Just when Taylor thinks they've made it, pushing in the bathroom door and flipping on the light switch, Karlie lurches forward to hit the ground, gagging as she gets sick. "Fuck! No, okay, it's okay, Karlie, come on," Taylor says, dragging Karlie forward to make her crawl to the toilet. She continues getting sick there, as Taylor is overcome with tears again.
She wrings her neck, glancing around the room, having no idea what to do.
"Turn the shower on," Karlie says in a raspy voice. "So the noise—" she says what she can manage to, before her head is back in the toilet.
Taylor nods her head and goes to the shower and turning the knob. It does drown out the sound of Karlie getting sick, but Taylor's heart sinks when there's a quiet knock at the bathroom door. Kristine pops her head in and becomes immediately concerned when judging the state of the room.
"Karlie, how much were you drinking?" Kristine asks sadly, as she closes the door behind her and immediately goes to tend to Karlie. She wraps Karlie's hair into a bun, looking as though Karlie had pulled it up herself. I should have done that.
"I didn't...I'm...sick," Karlie replies.
"She said she didn't feel good earlier," Taylor recalls suddenly. She hiccups slightly, tears still falling freely.
"It's okay," Kristine smiles to Taylor, nodding her head. "She's going to be fine." Kristine quickly rubs a hand up and down Karlie's back, before saying, "When she first started modeling, her first trips to France and Italy or wherever, the drinking age was sixteen. The majority of the time she'd be staying in with whatever family made the trip with her, but there were a few times when she'd go out with Jourdan or Cara. She had just met them. She thought it was great of course, that she wasn't twenty one but she was still able to drink. Her senior year of high school, after the big homecoming game, she thought she was so cool for having been able to go to bars and everything unlike everyone in her grade. But then this idiot, maybe to impress them, I don't know, but bottom line is she gets home that night, and she's totally pale. It's late, and I told my parents I'd wait up for her to let her in the house. She comes and I know she's about to be sick before she even realizes it. So I had to hide it from our parents just for her, making sure they didn't hear and everything." Kristine says it calmly, even fondly, as she slightly pokes fun at Karlie. "And then the next day, what did I do? I made her breakfast, I brought her ibuprofen, I did it all. She didn't have to leave bed all day."
It manages to calm Taylor somehow as well.
"She's going to be fine, really. This isn't a big deal, she's just an idiot," Kristine reassures Taylor with a small smile. "And also...I'm so sor—"
"Don't. Please, don't. I don't need to hear it, I know," Taylor says.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Kristine says instead.
They stand in silence, waiting for Karlie to finish. When it's been an extended time without her getting sick, practically falling asleep on her arm on the toilet seat, Kristine says, "Do you want to help me get her up?"
Taylor nods her head and goes forward, as they each take one arm to lift up.
"Karlie, wake up," Kristine says, as they walk towards the sink. "Rinse your mouth, okay?"
Karlie nods her head, looking completely out of it now, but she does a pretty good job it.
"You're probably already in hot water with Taylor anyway, so you might want to be really thorough if you're planning on sleeping in the same bed as her tonight," Kristine jokes.
"Ha," Karlie says, sounding unamused, but she grabs her toothbrush anyway.
Kristine rolls her eyes, and Taylor can't help but wonder how Karlie ever thought her sister wouldn't support her with anything, no matter what.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are we all set?" Kristine asks, as she stands at the side of the bed where she has helped Karlie get into it to lie on her side.
"Yeah, but should we clean up the bath—"
"I got it, don't worry about it. You keep an eye on her in here," Kristine says, waving Taylor off.
Taylor nods her head, and begins climbing into the bed with Karlie as Kristine leaves.
"We'll talk tomorrow," Kristine says meaningfully, before leaving the bedroom.
Taylor sighs and curls up beside Karlie, putting an arm over her and resting her forehead against her back. "I'm so mad at you," Taylor says again as she had earlier, in a teary whisper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 5, 2014
"I don't feel good," Karlie says, and it's the sound of her voice in pain that wakes Taylor up immediately.
She sounds completely distraught, and when Taylor's eyes open, she's met with teary emerald green eyes.
It's early, and with a quick look to the alarm clock Taylor sees it is seven o'clock. Judging by Karlie's expression, she thinks it's a safer bet that Karlie has momentarily woken up, recalled all of last night's events, and that is what is making her not feel so good.
"I know, babe," Taylor says comfortingly, sliding an arm around the back of Karlie's neck to pull her beneath her chin. "Go back to sleep, you'll feel better." It doesn't take much at all for Karlie's stiff body to relax and calmly drift back off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taylor is sitting up against the headboard of the bed, hair still wet from the shower she decided to take to waste some time this morning. She doesn't think Karlie will be waking up anytime soon, but she doesn't want to leave the bedroom without her. The idea of facing Karlie's mother or any one of her sisters now is something she dreads in a totally different way than she had yesterday.
Taylor sighs and drags her fingers along Meredith's spine, happy at least that she did in fact bring them along.
Karlie at least looks peaceful as she sleeps beside her, she probably won't be feeling too at peace when she wakes up though.
"Hey," Kimby says hesitantly.
Taylor looks up with a start, not having even heard the door open. "Oh, hey."
"Um," Kimby's eyes dart around the room awkwardly. "Um, do you want to come down to the basement? It's me, Kariann, and Kristine."
"Ah..." Taylor trails off, glancing to the still sleeping Karlie.
"We...we want you to come down," Kimby replies.
"Well...okay then," Taylor says, doing her best to not appear as though it's the absolute last thing she wants to do.
"Um, Taylor," Kimby mumbles, still lacking her usual spunk and confidence just like last night, "I told Karlie to forge those NDAs. It was my idea, and she was stressing out because she— we were scared that since our family wasn't signing them, you'd like...be hurt. And both of us didn't want you to think that our family didn't like you, and then I gave her the idea and she...well I did it, I signed the signatures. And I'm really sorry but...I think she really...loves you, like, a lot and...I don't think you should be mad at her, if you are. Like, she called me after the fight you guys had and just...I don't know, don't be mad at her, it's not completely her fault."
Taylor is shocked by the confession, and is even more thrown off by the totally different demeanor Kimby has taken on, warmed by it even. "Aw, you do love her," Taylor says with a smile, playfully pushing Kimby's shoulder.
And suddenly, Kimby is back, saying, "I just would prefer if you and here were on good terms around the time your next tour stops near me. Also, don't tell Kristine about the contracts because she'll kill me."
"Right, well," Taylor says, rolling her eyes, "How about you tell me you're not going to do anything stupid like forging a legal document again, and I'll tell you that maybe I'll take it easy on her?"
"Deal," Kimby nods her head.
"Okay, so you guys need to take it easy on me downstairs now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I just never would have wanted you to hear that. Not in a million years," Kristine says, sounding ashamed.
It's difficult for Taylor to look at her, both because the conversation she overheard had hurt her so deeply, but also it's difficult to see someone look and sound so guilty. "It's okay."
"No, don't say that. It's not okay," Kristine says, shaking her head. "I guess...I'm the oldest sister. And I'm protective over all of them. And I say stupid stuff because of that sometimes. Not that you want to hear about him, but I had a lot to say about Josh when she first brought him around too. I'll have a lot to say about whoever these two end up introducing to me at first too. And I just...I assume the worst and I hope for the best, and I almost think that's my job at first because I'm their older sister. And my mom too. But none of that stuff is ever meant for you to hear."
"I was never mad at you for what you said...I didn't like it because...because everything you said are things I thought were true at one time too," Taylor answers. She swallows a lump in her throat, forcing herself to remain composed, even though she is feeling quite vulnerable. "I kept Karlie and me apart for a long time. Longer than she wanted. Because I was scared that my lifestyle wasn't one she deserved. I thought...I just thought I wasn't the best for her. And I wanted the best for her and that wasn't me. But...I've changed my mind now and that's why we're together. I don't want anything bad to happen to her any less than you do, I promise."
"I actually believe you," Kristine says. "And also," she adds, holding up a familiar stack of papers. "I actually didn't even bring this up to my parents, I promise, but my dad handed me these. He said our lawyer called and gave the okay on them this morning, coincidentally enough. So...what were you saying about them last night actually, I didn't get it?"
"Nothing," Taylor smiles, looking at Kimby as she says it. "Thank you," Taylor says, taking the NDAs from Kristine.
"Can we erase the entire day from our memories now?" Kimby asks.
"That sounds good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No, I seriously refuse to read this card out loud. Whoever came up with this should probably be in jail or institutionalized," Taylor says firmly, shaking her head as she throws the card on the table.
"What do you not understand about Cards Against Humanity?" Kimby asks, sounding agitated.
"I hate that I have to play this knowing that my little sisters know what these cards mean," Kristine says.
Taylor laughs as she feels her phone vibrate. A text from Karlie.
Where are you?
"I'll be back. Does anyone want me to get them a drink or anything?" Taylor asks, standing up.
The sisters decline, so Taylor makes her way to the bedroom.
She quietly opens the door, peering inside to see Karlie lying in bed still, looking like she hasn't moved since Taylor left hours ago.
"Good afternoon," Taylor says drily, as she climbs into bed beside Karlie.
Karlie looks at her warily, looking as though she expects Taylor to say something else.
"Good afternoon, sleeping beauty?" Taylor offers.
"Are you mad at me?" Karlie asks quietly, not even cracking a hint of a smile.
Taylor sighs and puts a hand on Karlie's cheek, lightly rubbing her thumb over the soft skin. "Kimby told me about the contracts. And...well just last night in general was..." Taylor trails off.
"Taylor, I'm—"
"But," Taylor interrupts. "I'm going to say yesterday was a day filled with a lot of extremes. And also a day filled with a lot of things I'd rather forget about. So consider this your get out of jail free card, and you only get one of them from me in a lifetime. Yesterday didn't happen, okay?"
Karlie's smile is small, but she looks relieved. She nods her head without even lifting it from the pillow as she cuddles closer to Taylor.
"How are you feeling?" Taylor asks, running a hand through Karlie's hair.
Karlie shakes her head, without lifting it from the pillow once more.
"Did you get the water and Advil I left on the nightstand?" Taylor asks.
"Yeah, I just took them," Karlie replies. "Thank you."
"Well, when you're feeling up to it you should come to the basement where me and your sisters are hanging out. I have to get back down there and continue mending the bonds you almost destroyed," Taylor teases.
"They're all down there with you?" Karlie asks, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, everything's okay."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About an hour later, as Taylor and the Kloss sisters sit downstairs watching bad reality television, Karlie opens the door and walks in with damp hair, looking a bit sheepish.
"Hey, slugger," Kristine jokes.
Karlie laughs and rolls her eyes, and not another word is said about it, simply because they're sisters.
She makes her way to the couch and squeezes in beside Taylor, pulling her on her lap as she does it.
Taylor tries not to blush because of the unexpected PDA in front of Karlie's sisters, but she can't stop it when Karlie lightly kisses her neck in greeting.
They all remain quiet as they watch the television, but Taylor can feel all of the sisters eyes flitting over to them every now and again, observing the couple that is still relatively new to them.
"Okay, I'm just going to say it," Kimby says, interrupting the silence, "I don't want the new normal to be Karlie and Taylor one step away from making out in front of me all the time. Like you guys are so obnoxious."
Karlie laughs, "Get used to it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 6, 2014
Karlie coaxes Meredith into her cat carrier, the last bags to be packed before her and Taylor leave for New York City once more. She didn't think she'd be this sad to leave her family's home this time around, but yesterday had made up for everything that happened the previous day.
Everything had come together so nicely. While Taylor, her mother, and herself all baked desserts together for everyone that night, Taylor and her mom had each done as much smiling as she'd ever seen from each of them. They had more in common than they ever realized, and Taylor ate up all the stories about Karlie's grandmother that Tracy had to share, and Tracy didn't mind hearing about Taylor's family either. She did have Saint Louis roots too, after all. And when Kurt had a taste of the pies they spent hours baking, he swore that they were the best pies ever made by the girls. He chalked it up to Taylor's help. "She's a keeper," he said lightly. Taylor was beaming.
Karlie figures there may be some ground that still needs to be made up with her parents, but her and Taylor had time to do that. They had time to prove to them, and Kristine, that this relationship was going to work, and this relationship was going to be great.
There were hugs all around as everyone said goodbye, but the goodbye that had Taylor thrusting her hand in the air laughing was when Ryan said with a smile, "Bye, Taylor!" at the very last second, when his father left the house with him in his arms, leaving to catch their flight.
"WHAT?! Why did he talk to you?! I try talking to him all the time!" Kimby complained immediately.
At this point, Taylor knew just to roll her eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Karlie and Taylor load into the SUVs, making their final goodbye waves to the Kloss family before driving away, Tayor realizes she's sad to be saying bye to them, yet happily confidently that she'll be seeing them all again soon. A Kloss-Swift family dinner has already been arranged. For this month.
Taylor was already mentally mapping out everything that needed to be done for it.
"So, how did we do?" Taylor asks, keeping her eye on the road as she drives, feeling the usual freedom that now comes along with having an opportunity to actually drive a vehicle in remote enough areas.
"We did great," Karlie assures her with a smile, grabbing Taylor's hand to bring it to her lips.
"I love you."