BLOOM • awsten knight

74

APRIL 2019

"How was therapy?" Taylor asks, not lifting her gaze from her phone, as she hears the door open, signifying that Elle is home.

Instead of a reply, she flops onto the sofa, head first, silently.

Taylor then peers away from her phone, with an eyebrow raised. "I don't think that's a good answer."

Elle groans loudly, earning more of a concerned look.

"Awsten texted me," she says finally, her voice muffled against the fabric of the couch.

"Oh, boy," Taylor takes a breath, nudging Elle to sit up. "What did he say?"

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, giving it to Taylor absentmindedly, before burying her face in another cushion.

Taylor reads the text, her eyebrows dipped together in concentration.

"You replied pretty quickly," she observes, as Elle sits up, crossing her legs beneath her.

"Yeah.." she holds the pillow in her arms, resting her chin on top of it. "I just- it's just a text."

"Yes, I can see that," Taylor responds, obviously.

"No, I mean, it's just-" Elle pauses, letting out a sigh. "I don't know what I expected after like, seven months."

"Are you sad?" Taylor questions, cautiously, and Elle shrugs in response. "Are you angry?"

She hesitates, staring at her hands for a moment.

"I don't know."

"Okay, so we're a little angry," Taylor depicts, earning a glare.

"Do I even have a right to be angry?" Elle frowns.

"Of course you do," Taylor insists. "He still walked out."

"Yeah, and I told him to," Elle rolls her eyes, as she pushes herself up off of the couch, and wanders towards the kitchen.

"You know you can't blame yourself," Taylor raises her eyebrows, watching as she grabs a glass of water.

"Maybe a little bit," Elle measures out a small space between her fingers, causing Taylor to shoot her daggers from across the room. "I just- maybe I want an explanation? I don't know," she deflates, leaning against the counter.

"Well, it sounds like he's gonna come," Taylor scans over the message again. "And, by the way, you can stop him from coming to your show."

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't want to," Elle creates a pillow with her arms, cradling her head as she rests it on the counter.

Taylor stands up with a sigh, making her way over to her; she wraps her arms around her shoulders loosely, and hugs her.

"It'll be fine," she assures, quietly, earning a small nod, before the two of them hear the door click, signalling it's opening.

"Hey, sweetheart! I've got some-" Ethan wanders into the apartment freely, stopping in his tracks when he sees Taylor with her arms around Elle.

There's a beat of silence, before Elle begins to laugh, and Taylor's face tints pink.

"Did you just call her sweetheart?" She giggles, a hand covering her mouth, as she mimics his accent.

"Yeah, what about it?" Ethan smirks, raising an eyebrow, as he inches closer to Taylor.

"Stop, both of you," she shakes her head in embarrassment, but Ethan wraps his arms around her tightly. "Ethan, no," she insists, unable to contain her smile, as he plants kisses on her cheek.