Kaylor: The Timeline

Chapter 11.2

July 27, 2014

"So she...went to her ex boyfriend's apartment? The one who proposed to her? The one who you had a huge argument with a few days ago?" Abigail asks, staring at Taylor incredulously.

Taylor lightly cuddles Olivia closer to her, running her fingers down the kitten's spine. "Yeah," Taylor sighs. "She wasn't like...I don't know. I was on the phone with her, he definitely wasn't on her mind. I really wish that hadn't been her destination, but I really don't think it's what it seems like."

Abigail nods her head, looking slightly unconvinced. The sounds of Taylor's Nashville condo's koi pond bubbles despite their silence. Taylor has a blanket wrapped around her, cuddled on her couch beside the kitten Karlie bought for her over a month ago. Her condo is the very essence of coziness, with her thick oriental rugs scattered around the area, perfect for barefoot days of lounging, surrounded by antiques and a warm fireplace. Taylor closes her eyes and leans her head back against the couch, clutching her iPhone tightly beneath her blanket. This place has always so easily put her at ease, but not today. She needed to hear Karlie's voice before she can even think about relaxing.

"Are you okay?" Abigail asks hesitantly. "I mean, her going to his place can't make you feel too great," Abigail adds, testing the water a bit. She looks worried for Taylor.

Taylor sighs once more and looks back to her friend. "Yeah, it sort of feels shitty, but I feel like her going there is the least concerning thing that happened last night, and I'm going to treat it like that," Taylor replies.

"Did Cara say why she lost Karlie in the first place?" Abigail asks. She had been back in her own home last night when all the drama had unfolded. Since arriving to Taylor's apartment for lunch, her friend has been catching her up on everything that is happening.

It's great to be able to talk to someone about all of this. "She literally said Karlie ran away. Like...run after her, maybe?" Taylor asks, an angered disbelief sounding in her voice. "But I don't know. I think Cara was keeping a lot from me last night. And I was sort of mad at her."

"I don't think she should keep anything from you at all if the night ended with Karlie at her ex boyfriend's apartment," Abigail says quietly.

"Maybe not but...it wasn't like that. I know it wasn't like that, I trust her," Taylor replies firmly. "Everything is always just so complicated."

"And you haven't heard from her yet?" Abigail asks.

Taylor shakes her head. "I've called Cara like every two seconds and she's said Karlie has been asleep. And I've texted Karlie every two seconds with various pictures of Meredith and Olivia, because I figured I'd mix it up for her. She's probably expecting a hundred text messages from me asking if everything's okay and how she's feeling and stuff, little does she know she has 53 pictures of our cats," Taylor says drily. Her cheeks instantly burn red when she corrects herself saying, "My cats."

Abigail cocks and eyebrow with a small smile, but Taylor is saved from whatever comment her friend was about to make at the sound of her iPhone ringing. Despite it only ringing one, there is a panicked struggle to get the phone out from beneath the blanket as soon as possible.

"It's her," Taylor says, mostly to herself as she stands from the couch, bounding up her spiral staircase to the privacy of her bedroom without so much as a second glance to her red headed friend. "Karlie?" Taylor breathes, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Hey," Karlie replies. Her voice sounds unsure, maybe even embarrassed, but it isn't the slurring mess that it was last night, sounding more and more far away and difficult to understand as the seconds pass. This was Karlie's voice, and just because of that Taylor could cry.