may the wolves [ kaylor ]

III.

Yikes.  Sorry this took me so long guys.  But here you go!

 "Taylor."

The grip on her arm is firm, and Taylor steps into it so it doesn't tug at her skin. Karlie is in the back seat, out of earshot, and she can see James' worried eyes even behind his sunglasses. She knows what's coming even before he speaks, and she braces herself for the words, "What are you doing?"

Words are her thing. Words are the one thing that she has absolutely control over, the one thing she can break and put back together the way she wants. But she doesn't have any good explanations for this, and she knows it. She sighs, lets her lungs empty themselves out. And then blue eyes flicker up to his face. She composes herself the way she knows how to do so well now. There are no paparazzi around right now, but that doesn't mean there won't be soon. They stick to her like she's a flytrap, but she doesn't know who slathered her with the honey.

She lifts her hand to her mouth to chew at her nails, and immediately forces it back down by her side. It's a habit she's still trying to break from her childhood. It's the reason she keeps her nails so short, and always painted. The process of painting them perfectly again once they chip is motivation not to bite them as often, "So, last night...you left to take that phone call--which was completely fine, by the way--and some guy came over and started harassing me. Tried to force me to take a drink and all that."

"Taylor...I..." James starts, sounding embarrassed, and Taylor smiles at him gently and genuinely.

Her hand briefly settles on his shoulder, "Hey, it's okay. Your kid is the most important thing. I'm not mad at you. And anyway, it's fine. Karlie came and threatened him and then sat with me until he left. It turns out she saw him roofie my drink and wanted to protect me." Taylor presses her lips into a thin line, sucking the top one into her mouth a little. The words taste sour to speak out loud, and her heart starts to pick up speed again despite the fact she's entirely safe now. Her eyes scale over to the SUV, to the windows the color of leaky nighttime darkness, as though she could see Karlie inside, "That bruise on her jaw...it looks like someone punched her, James."

"So...you're letting her stay with you?" He asks, still sounding suspicious. And Taylor can't even blame him. She doesn't know anything about Karlie. In fact, one of the only things she is sure about is that the girl has a violent streak, and is strong enough to lift a grown man off his feet. That's intimidating to think about, but judging by the purple bleeding across her cheek and the cut in her lip, she isn't invincible either.

Maybe Karlie is a serial killer. Maybe she'll murder Taylor in her sleep, or steal her cats, or something else horrible. But all Taylor can see her as is a sweet woman with hard hands and a soft smile, someone obviously being chased by a bad situation that she doesn't want to talk about. And Taylor knows she shouldn't assume, but the swelling on Karlie's face is shaped clearly like the edge of a fist, and that paired with the skittish conversation in the subway doesn't give her confidence.

"You saw what she looked like," is all she offers in response.

There isn't much else she can say.

James sighs, runs a hand through his hair, and she knows she's probably aging him an extra few years right now. She makes a note in her head to buy him something nice; maybe a new watch, or a new wallet. His voice is low, because there are people sort of crowding around now, distant but parted like the Red Sea, "What makes you think this is safe? I know you feel like you owe her for last night, but this seems a little extreme."

Taylor pauses at that. Is that all she's doing? Is her only motivation obligation? Generally she likes to do things just to help people, but she's never really been in a situation like this before. It hits like a bullet that there's a very real chance her offer wouldn't extend this far if Karlie hadn't sat with her last night and held her hand while a panic attack ripped through her body. She almost admits that maybe her security guard is right on that front, but then her mind reminds her of her dream about those green eyes, and she shakes her head, "It's not just that. I want to do this."