TAYLOR'S POV
The sound of frantic footsteps in the hallway is what woke me up at 3:30 in the morning. I laid in confusion until my bedroom door was pushed open and then slammed shut again behind Caroline.
"M- Ma- Mom, mom." She whispered in a panic, grabbing at me through the dark. I quickly turned on the bedside lamp and she just kept repeating herself; mom, mom, mom.
"Hey," I said helping her into bed and examining her damp cheeks. "Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, my eyes still adjusting to the light.
"Mom." She repeated again through heavy breaths.
"You want your mom?" I said slowly trying to decipher why she was so upset. She looked up at me through teary eyes and I realized that she meant me. I pulled her close to my body and I could feel her pounding heart through her chest.
"I'm right here." I whispered. Her deep breaths weren't slowing down but she was starting to let herself unwind in my arms. I knew she hated this, she hated that this had to happen to her as a junior in high school, but its not like she could control it.
Caroline was trying to regain control of her anxiety when I reached over and turned the lamp back off, I knew she'd be staying here for the night. The loud inhale and exhale coming from her was becoming rhythmic, every four or five exhales she would let out the word mom.
"I'm right here Care, what's wrong?" I whispered while stroking her hair.
"I need you." She whispered, breaking the rhythm of her breathing. I held her tighter and pulled the covers over her legs I kissed her head.
"How about we try to go back to sleep?" I whispered, letting her down on the pillow beside mine, but just as I knew she would she came back over to rest her head on my chest instead. I was awake for quite a while that night after she had gone to sleep. I was uncomfortable but I couldn't wake her and run the risk of starting it all over again. Her fly away hairs were in my face and it felt like her head was crushing my lungs, the worst of it was how hot it was under all the blankets and another body.
Somehow I managed to get to sleep, but just to wake up in the morning and find Caroline's head even closer to the middle of my chest and her upper leg wrapped even tighter around my leg.
"Caroline." I said, turning off my alarm.
"I've got to go to work now." I said, sliding out from under her grasp. She was slowly waking up as I got dressed. This is what we came to New York for this weekend in the first place, work. Right when I was about to walk out of my room and downstairs for breakfast she stopped me.
"Taylor wait." She said, I guess mom was only a last night thing. I waited and she joined me downstairs for breakfast. Well, it was breakfast for me, for Caroline it was more of just dozing off with her head on the kitchen counter. I couldn't blame her though, she'd had a late night.
"Alright," I said as I put my empty bowl in the sink. "I probably won't be back for lunch but there is food in the freezer and macaroni and cheese in the pantry."
"I love you, goodbye." I told Caroline before I headed out the door.
CAROLINE'S POV
I was snoopy so after Taylor left I ventured into her closet and tried on a lot of clothes. Some I didn't even know she had. Each outfit was a little to long on me, but I still modeled for myself in the mirror. In the middle of hanging up a black crop top and picking up a blue sundress I recieved a phone call.
The top of my phone read "Asher".
"Hello." I said into the phone after answering.
"Hey Caroline, um, I'm working on this paper I have to write for history on the U.S. Military." He said, getting straight to the point.
