Bad Blood

Chapter Three

Darling lift up your head/
And wipe the tears from your eyes.
Where there's an end, there's a beginning/
Steal a glance at the sunrise.

When I re-entered my apartment, confused and distressed, I found an open window and an unexpected visitor.

"Taylor!"
Ed jumped up, running his hands through his ginger mane awkwardly.
"I'm sorry - I didn't know you'd be back - "
I looked at him questioningly. "What are you doing here?"
"Just - ah - relaxing?" He said it like a question.

We both cringed. Ed leaned against the wall, like he was ashamed to look at me.
"Ed, if you don't tell me why you're here, I'm going to assume something much worse than what it probably is," I said warningly.

After a second of tense silence, Ed somehow knocked down a vase of flowers. It smashed against the floor, spraying glass everywhere. He blushed brilliantly and tried to sweep it up.

Even though I had loved that vase, I grinned anyway. "Your skin matches your hair perfectly, you know."

He shook his head bashfully. "Honestly, Taylor? I just...I missed you. I haven't seen you in a while and I missed you...too much. I just wanted - no, I needed - to see something that reminded me of you."

I wasn't sure what to say. "Ed, that's....that's really sweet of you."

Something occurred to me. "Wait, how did you get in?"
He gestured to the open window with a shrug. I giggled in spite of myself. Then I remembered everything that had taken place today.

"Listen, Ed, thank you for stopping by," I said. "But it's just not a very good time for me to hang out. Unless there's something else you needed...?"

Ed's face took on a heartbroken puppy look. "Yeah, there is, but it's not going to happen." Without another word, he shuffled out.

What was that supposed to mean? I shook my head, baffled. Men. In his sudden, unexplained mood swing, Ed had even forgotten to close the door.

I grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the broken shards of pottery. Broken - like my life! I thought dramatically, then laughed at myself. It was just a few harsh words and a couple of misplaced costumes. Everything wasn't ruined.

And then, a sound echoed down from upstairs and stopped my heart. As a mother, it was the worst sound I could ever imagine - the sound of my babies in horrible pain.

Meredith and Olivia!

I dropped the broom and raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.