American Girls

Chapt. 11

Time has never passed as painfully as it has for Karlie since the day she told Taylor to leave. It's been a couple weeks now, she doesn't know how the time is passing so fast but it has.

When she woke up the day after she punched that photographer, she woke up to a massive amount of trouble. Penni was up to her neck in trying to do everything possible to save Karlie's ass. Still, her punch came with a fortune. The paparazzi insisted on pressing charges but with a silent small pay off and written up public apology, she was able to get off. Although, she still isn't entirely sure how Penni managed to swing that with them, since they had been insisting on pressing charges. She chalks it up to good luck and moves on because as embarrassing as that was she needed to recover. So she's resorted to laying low and working on the opening of her own studio. At the end of the week her life would change, taking on the responsibility of owning a serious business. She's already put her own career on the hold and in spite of how awful she feels, is pulling herself together. Her last few weeks have been busy finishing off the studio and signing a few new artists to work in her studio already. Even friends already in the industry have booked dates to record there to support her. For the first time in her life she's felt welcomed and accomplished. It was good, she didn't realize how much she has been lacking that feeling.

Of course she's heard Taylor's doing fairly well. But also, the mutual artist has been traveling and giving plenty of her own interviews. One day she mentions Karlie briefly and another she doesn't, the topic comes and goes. Taylor is getting ready to promote her album, and from the sidelines Karlie looked on proud. She made the choice to hold back her own feelings for fear that she's nothing but distraction. Karlie believed that if she told Taylor she loved her back, it was only a matter of time before Karlie ruined Taylor's life somehow and she couldn't do that. She couldn't handle pushing another person away, the fear of losing someone for the second time in her life was enough for her to act like she didn't care at all.

She just wants to protect Taylor.

As she decorates her new office with some personal photos and awards, a small knock comes at the door. Brushing back her suffocating thoughts she looks up and sees someone she never expected to be standing in her doorway.

"Lily?" Karlie mumbles softly, brushing her long blonde hair behind her ear and slowly standing to her full hight.

"Look at you, this is all pretty awesome." Lily speaks genuinely, as she slowly makes her way inside. Lightly brushing her finger tips against the wall she glances at the small things Karlie has hung so far, approaching the singers desk.

"What are you doing here.." Karlie asks with a dry voice.

"I came here neutrally." Lily informs, her hands up showing her hands in defense. Tucking her hands nervously in her back pocket she sighs. "Why are you pushing Taylor away?" She asks uneasily.

Immediately Karlie rolls her eyes, her entire body feels tense but she hopes it's gone unnoticed. The last thing she needed was for Lily to notice and mention it to Taylor, it meant nothing.

"After nearly three years of you up and leaving me in the middle of the night, you come back and have the audacity to ask me about Taylor? Come on." Karlie groans, her annoyance now shining through. Shaking her head in disbelief while opening a desk drawer and sliding a folder inside.

Still, Lily persists. Biting her lip she takes the blow silently. She earned it, she knows it.

"You're not wrong for being mad at me. What I did to you was, uncalled for. Completely unforgivable. Especially taking Dixie from you like that. But I've told you this, those few times we met up after...." the model trails off, glancing awkwardly down at her feet.