Girls Never Go Out of Style - A Kaylor Fanfic

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After that Monday afternoon, Karlie became a staple in the Swift household. Most afternoons she and Taylor spread their books out on the dining room table, always under Andrea's unobtrusive but ever-present supervision.

There was so much of the house Karlie wondered about, having only been on the first floor, in the spaces appropriate for visitors. She wondered what Taylor's bedroom looked like. How had she made it her own? What color were the walls?

She wondered almost nightly, lying in her bed at home, the ghosts of Taylor's secret kisses clinging to her lips.

She knew that Taylor was happy, that she believed that the two of them had successfully outwitted her parents. That they would leave them alone, unquestioning, until... What?

What was going to happen after graduation?

--

Taylor sat on her bed, her acoustic guitar in her lap, her fingers trying out different chords. Her notebook sat open on the floor, its pages full of lyrics that had been tried, scratched out, replaced with something better. She had been writing more than usual, ever since she had met Karlie.

Three light knocks on her bedroom door, followed by Andrea's voice: "Taylor?"

"Mom?"

"Can I come in?"

Taylor quickly nudged her notebook underneath her bed with one foot, then called out, "Sure!"

Andrea sat on the foot of the bed, facing Taylor. She was smiling, the proud smile that was her default when she looked at her daughter. There was a time when Taylor had never questioned how real it was, or wondered what her mother was really thinking. But that had changed with Emily. As much as she hated it, Taylor knew that she could never totally relax around her parents, could never be her real self.

"Your playing sounded really pretty a minute ago. Is that a new song?"

Taylor nodded. "I don't have much of it finished yet."

"You've been playing almost nonstop lately," Andrea observed. "I'd love to hear some of your new songs sometime."

Taylor smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. For her, music was more than an expression of her feelings; it was a way for her to figure out what she was feeling, to work through things. She suspected that Andrea wouldn't be too happy with the feelings Taylor had been processing lately, no matter how much effort she took not to reveal too much in her new lyrics.

The silence hung awkwardly between them. "Was there something you wanted, Mom?"

"No, not really. Just checking in with you. You're always so busy, I feel like we haven't had much of a chance to talk lately."

"Senior year is really stressful," Taylor said.

"It looks like you've managed to make time for one friend, though. Karlie has been around a lot."

Here we go, Taylor thought. She though Andrea might have an ulterior motive.

"Karlie's great," Taylor said, trying not to sound too defensive and tip her mother off. "She's really helped me adjust to the move."

Andrea's lips tightened, almost imperceptibly. "Have you made any other friends?"

"Yeah, I guess." Taylor shrugged. "There are some girls I talk to in class and stuff."

"Why don't you invite some of them over some time?" Andrea asked.

"I don't know, Mom. I'm not really close enough to them to ask them over."