Karlie was shaken awake the next morning by Martha. She was used to getting a little more sleep than she had last night, so her brain felt a little foggy, but as soon as she realized that she was on the floor of a cell her mind cleared and she sat up quickly.
"How's Taylor?" she asked, peering around Martha to look at the bed. She could see only a little blonde hair; it looked like the girl had burrowed into the blankets.
"Who's Taylor?" Martha asked, confused. "Did you have a weird dream?"
"No, no. Catastrophe's name is Taylor."
"Did she tell you that last night?" Martha looked impressed. "Look at you, getting to know her."
"To be fair, she was super high when she told me," Karlie admitted. "But she made me promise to call her by her real name from now on."
Martha led her over to the bed and pulled the blankets back from around Taylor's head. She didn't respond, and Karlie felt her heart skip a beat. What if she died after all that? Martha soon put those worries to rest, though.
"She's doing a lot better today. Temperature's down, and so is her pulse. She's better hydrated, and I don't think we'll need to give her any more fluid if we can get her eating and drinking this morning. I'll have to give her some more antibiotics, but I think she's out of the woods. I'll let her sleep a little longer; fighting an infection takes a lot out of you, and if she was up talking to you last night, she's bound to be exhausted."
"Yeah, she was a real chatterbox," Karlie laughed. "I've never seen her so...open. I guess we can blame it on the meds."
"Not entirely," the nurse said. "You know what they say, drunk people tell the truths that they're too scared to say when they're sober."
"I guess so."
"Did she say anything interesting?" Karlie thought over the conversation. Taylor had been pretty out of it, but one thing stuck in her mind.
"She thought her mom was here with her," she said. "And she said that she needed me to know her name in case any relatives ever came looking for her." Seeing Martha's sad expression, she continued, "Oh, and apparently you're the only one who can call her 'Honey.'"
Martha chuckled. "What can I say? Blondie is a little attached to me." Karlie scoffed and the nurse added, "Don't worry, Karlie. I'm not going to steal your girl." The indignant expression on the detective's face made her burst out laughing, which woke Taylor.
"Would you hyenas quiet down?" she groaned, shooting them a bleary-eyed glare. Martha and Karlie looked at each other.
"Aaannnd she's back," Martha said with a giggle. Taylor huffed and tried to push herself up, wincing as her back spasmed.
"What the hell happened?" she muttered, finally succeeding in sitting up with Martha's assistance. She leaned heavily on Martha's shoulder, unable to keep herself upright. Karlie found herself, irrationally, a little jealous of Martha.
"You got a killer infection," the nurse explained. "We pulled a piece of glass out of your back that somehow was missed the first time. You're lucky to be alive, honestly." Taylor blinked, her expression giving nothing away.
"I guess I should thank you, then," she said at last.
"Don't thank just me, I only did the medical work. Karlie's the one who insisted that you needed help and forced herself in here to check on you. Her and Lily. You'd never have lasted the night if they hadn't." Karlie blushed slightly as the blonde swung her head in her direction.
"Thanks," Taylor mumbled. The detective nodded, unsure how to respond.
"Well," Martha said, eyeing them both, "I'm going to go look for some food. We'll try something easy, like yogurt. You want anything, Karlie?" The tall girl shook her head. "Okay, you stay here so they can't yell at us for not 'guarding' her."
One Martha had left, Taylor had laid back down, but kept her eyes open. She watched Karlie curiously as the other girl went through the messages on her phone. "Aren't you scared?" she asked suddenly.
Karlie looked up incredulously. "Of what?"
"Of being alone in here with a murderer," Taylor said nonchalantly.
"Not after last night." Taylor cocked her head, running the previous night's events through her mind. It was all kind of hazy.
"Why? What happened last night?"
"Nothing much. You got a little high and were acting super soft. It was adorable, actually," Karlie shrugged, enjoying the spark of anger lighting up the blonde's eyes.
"I am not adorable."
"Uh, yeah, Taylor, you are," Karlie said with a smirk. "Have you seen yourself?" Taylor froze suddenly, her eyes wide. Karlie, expecting a quick retort, looked up from her phone to see the blank look on her face.
"Uh, Taylor? Are you okay?" she asked. "Should I go find Martha?" The smaller girl shook her head, a suspicious look in her eyes now.
"What did you call me?" she said softly. Karlie could recognize the dangerous sound in her voice, but decided to persist.
"Taylor. That's your name, isn't it?" Karlie said lightly. "You told me last night to call you that."
"Oh, did I?" Taylor sneered. "And you thought it was a good idea to take advice from an intoxicated criminal?"
"I don't know, I liked her," Karlie said, continuing to wind the other girl up. "She said you could suck her dick, actually." Taylor's eyes went wide and a look of absolute fury took over her features.
"I never want to hear that name from your mouth again," she hissed, struggling to sit up to meet the detective's gaze directly. In response, Karlie rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation.
"I knew you'd do this."
"Do what?"
"Open up to me and then take it all back later. You're a coward," Karlie stated.
"Oh, so now you 'know' me."
"Yes, I think I know you pretty well, actually!" Karlie snapped. "I know that you're lonely and scared, but you never let anyone see it. I know that, for all your toughness, you're still hung up about your parents leaving you almost twenty years ago. That's why you don't want anyone using your name."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Taylor snarled, her eyes wild.
"I know that Arsyn's betrayal hurt so much because it reminded you of your family. You act like you hate everyone and push them away because you're scared of being abandoned again."
Karlie suddenly found herself pinned to the wall. Stunned, she realized that Taylor had leaped from the bed and crossed the room lightning-fast, which was made even more impressive by the fact that she had been struggling to sit on her own minutes ago.
"How dare you!" Taylor growled. She was standing on her toes so her face was directly in front of Karlie's, her fist wrapped around the collar of the taller girl's shirt as she held her against the wall. Karlie admired the electric blue of Taylor's eyes for a moment, anger making them flash brighter.
"I know you're scared," Karlie said again, more softly. "But that doesn't mean that you have to be alone." Taylor's face morphed into confusion, and Karlie pressed her advantage.
"You act like you don't need anyone, but all you really want is for someone to care for you. To be wanted," Karlie finished. "I know you, Taylor." The blonde's tense posture relaxed, and the anger on her face transformed into a new emotion, one that Karlie couldn't read. Taylor had dropped down off her toes, but still looked up at the taller girl, her eyes scanning Karlie's face. She didn't loosen her grip on Karlie's shirt.
Karlie dipped her head slightly toward Taylor's, an open invitation for her if she was interested. The shorter girl seemed to be considering it, her eyes flitting between Karlie's gaze and her lips, all traces of anger gone.
Suddenly, the door flung open and both girls whipped their heads around. Martha and Lily stood in the doorway, arms laden with food, and shocked expressions on both of their faces.
"Is everything okay here, ladies?" Lily worriedly asked.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Martha interjected. "I'll knock next time, I promise." Karlie and Taylor looked at each other, and Taylor, realizing she was still pinning the detective to the wall, recoiled quickly.
"You didn't interrupt anything," Karlie said quickly. "Right?" she added, glancing at the other girl.
"Nope. Nothing to see here," the blonde said with a grin. Martha and Lily exchanged glances, bewildered.
"Okay...well, we brought food," Martha said. "But clearly Catastrophe's feeling better if she was able to pin Karlie to the wall."
"It was a sudden rush of adrenaline," Taylor said. "I think I might need a little help, actually." She turned her head to look at Karlie, who understood her intentions and quickly moved to support her in walking back to the bed. "By the way," Taylor said once she was sitting again, "I'd rather not be called Catastrophe anymore."
Martha and Lily looked surprised. "Really?" Nodding, Taylor looked to the detective sitting next to her.
"Guys," Karlie said with a grin, "allow me to introduce you to Taylor Swift."