Invisible String [T.S-E.S BOOK ONE]

28

October 5th, 2013

Eleanor woke up in a cold sweat. The heat of Taylor's naked body resting atop her chest was too much and the blankets were suffocating her. She felt as if her blood had been replaced with tv static, buzzing under the surface of her skin.

She was going to puke.

She ripped the sheets and blankets off of her body, almost throwing Taylor off of the bed as she threw herself to the floor and scrambled to the bathroom. As soon as her feet hit the cool tile of the bathroom floor, she fell to her knees and rejected everything she had put into her body the night before.

"Oh shit, Nell." Taylor made her way into the bathroom.

The athlete held up a hand, not wanting Taylor to see her like that. "Get out. Please." She begged.

Despite her better judgment, Taylor granted her request. If it really was serious, Nell would've told her that.

"Come on Spence." She snapped her fingers as she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a Sky Blue sweatshirt that she had recently bought.

The dog perked up, wagging his tail at the mention of his name. Meredith, not too happy at being woken up, hissed at him before jumping off his back and onto the bed.

Taylor and Eleanor hadn't fully introduced them. They just threw them into a room together during the chaos of the party and hoped for the best. Luckily, it seemed like Meredith had taken the role of the boss and Spence, despite being way bigger than her, had freely taken a role of submission.

Taylor smiled, reaching out for the dog. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Spence jumped to his feet, running between Taylor's legs and almost tripping her.

"This is why I have a cat." Taylor grumbled as she steadied herself. "El!" She called into the bathroom, but was answered with the sound of her girlfriend throwing up. "Ok. I'm taking the dog out. Don't forget that we have guests."

She figured Eleanor had heard her and left the bedroom, a very excited Spence behind her.

It was no easy feat getting to the front door. Izzy and Porter had taken one guest room and Kelley and Alex had taken the other, leaving Taylor's friends and Hawk spread out in the living room.

Needless to say she tripped over a few spare limbs.

"Fuck!" She whispered yelled, placing her hands down on the coffee table to keep her from falling to the floor.

"Quiet..." A gruff voice groaned from the couch.

Taylor looked over at the source, a very hungover Hawk on her couch. He covered his face with his arm, groaning again. "Why are you up so early?"

"Taking the dog out and feeding the cat." She whispered, not wanting to wake everyone up. "Some of us have responsibilities."

"Go be responsible outside. Let me sleep." He turned over on the couch, falling back asleep.

She rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's brother, letting him fall back asleep and nurse his inevitable hangover.

————

It was a gorgeous morning in Nashville. The leaves had turned and were falling. Families and couples and singles were out, enjoying the city Taylor adored. Halloween decorations were going up. It all seemed so perfect. It was perfect.

Spence excitedly pawed at her legs the second the wind hit his short fur as they entered Centennial Park. He was ready to go, urging Taylor to take him wherever he requested.