Wildest Dream

How You Get The Girl Ch. 02

Stand there like a ghost
Shaking from the rain, rain

***

Karlie enjoyed her quiet day in her home after a busy week. She sat on her lounge chair, looking at the blurry scene of New York from her window. It was raining hard since early morning and she was contented to enjoy the sense of peace that the rain brought along with the drops. Karlie blew at her hot cup of coffee and sighed happily. These past months had been hard on her and she couldn't be more proud of herself for keeping her sanity intact all the way through. She was thankful for her friends and her family, who always got her back no matter what. At least, some more of them actually could be trusted with her heart.

Her phone on the left of her hand beeped. Karlie glanced at the screen lazily, then froze. What else now? She blinked twice at the screen, before snatching her phone up from the tabletop. It was a message from Taylor, after months long of silence. Karlie dropped her phone back onto the table, like it just caught fire. So now you wanna talk, huh? Karlie was still pissed at her, leaving her just like that. Crossing her long arms across her chest, she stared at her phone. She hated to admit that she was curious about what it said. Maybe it's important, Karlie reasoned with herself. She outstretched her arm, aiming for her phone. Just when it was an inch away from her fingertips, it rang loudly. Karlie jumped in her seat and jerked her hand back. Holy shit.

"Hello?"

"Karlie," Taylor croaked in panicked tone. "Are you in New York?"

"Yeah," Karlie tensed, aware of the desperation in Taylor's voice. It was not the time for pettiness or her old wounds. Taylor needed her. "What's wrong, Tay?"

"I can't tell you here. Can you come over now? To my apartment? Please?"

Karlie wasn't ready for such request. She kept silent as she considered. She wanted to be there for Taylor, but she needed to look out for herself too. She didn't think she was ready for this. For a while, there was only their breathing sounds, still completely synchronized even after being apart.

"It's raining hard outside, Tay. I can't barely see the road from my apartment window. I can't go out now."

"I'll send someone to pick you up. Please, Karlie. I need to talk to you."

"Our apartments are literally just 5 minutes away from each other. And I can take care of myself. You don't need to send someone to pick me up. I'll come over after the rain settled down a bit."

"Okay. Sorry. Thank you, Kar."

***

Remind her how it used to be, be
Yeah, with pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks, cheeks

***

Now the girl from her past had came back again into her life, Karlie looked at the rain in a totally different way. Months ago, Karlie would had been rushing into the rain to meet the girl of her dreams. Today, the downpour was just a weak excuse of gathering her thoughts and sanity before she face Taylor again. She has always liked the rain, Karlie thought as a bittersweet smile forming on her beautiful face. She was lost in her thoughts as her long legs brought her to her bedroom. She knelt on the side of her bed and reached beneath it. Karlie pulled a box that she had kept hidden for a while. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Karlie opened her Pandora box.

There were a bunch of Polaroid photos of her and Taylor inside, along with ticket stubs, concert passes and dried flowers. Those were her life. Karlie covered her face with her palms and took a deep breath. The sound of streams of raindrops hitting her windowpane kept her company as Karlie visited her past. In this moment, she remembered everything. The red lips close to her ears, whispering sweet nothings as they laid on the bed at night. Stolen touches and knowing glances from across the room, like nobody else mattered. The electricity that never got old, whenever their hands instinctively met and intertwined.