The Mayor (Kaylor)

Chapter 19

"It's always darkest before the dawn." 

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Taylor

When Taylor woke up for the second time that morning, she wasn't nauseous anymore and she actually felt pretty well-rested. (Probably because she had a solid 12 hours of sleep.) The early morning encounter with Karlie in the bathroom had narrowed to a hazy memory but one very important detail reoccurred to her when she was slipping into her bathrobe. She had told Karlie she didn't remember anything about last night.

It had been a split-second decision and Taylor thought the universe should cut her some slack on this one since she had made it while hurling up the contents of her stomach. Perhaps it wasn't fair to lie to Karlie, but it would make it a hell of a lot easier for her to go home. And that was still what Taylor wanted. Right?

(Besides, Karlie hadn't felt the need to inform her about last night's happenings so they were on the same page about this. They were never going to discuss it.)

When Taylor entered the kitchen. Karlie was sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee mug in one hand and a newspaper in the other, looking domestic and very adorable with her reading glasses perched on her nose. She didn't take her eyes off the paper but she gave Taylor a short wave.

"I made eggs, they'll help with the hangover. How are you feeling?" Karlie didn't exactly sound uninterested but there was still a dull edge to her voice and Taylor felt a pang of guilt. Being let down again clearly weighed heavy on her. 

"Empty." Taylor poured herself a cup of coffee.

Karlie scoffed softly. "Yeah, vomiting will do that to you."

They fell into a silence because it took Taylor some time to formulate a sentence. It was hard to come up with an apology that didn't disclose that she knew what happened last night. "So— so are you angry?"

All Karlie gave her was an almost invisible shrug. Of course she was angry. Not a great way to start off.

"I'm so sorry, Karlie," Taylor continued tensely. "It was incredibly stupid and irresponsible from me to drink so much yesterday. I realize that I made a mistake and I understand that you're mad. I can't imagine what you must think of me."

"I think you're an idiot, let that be clear. You're a grown woman, not a 16-year-old. And of course, it's okay to let yourself go once in a while but not in front of your kid, your kid's friends, and your kid's friends' moms. You don't do that. And especially you don't do that. What's wrong with you? What's going on?" Karlie sighed impatiently. "No, you know what, you should save your explanation for Lilah."

"No, I want to explain it to you," Taylor said, and she cringed at how much it sounded like a plea. What was she going to say, anyway? 

"No, Taylor, it doesn't matter. I'm going home in a few hours. Let's just forget about this, okay?"

Taylor looked at her to see if Karlie really meant it, but the brunette stubbornly avoided her gaze. "Okay," Taylor gave in. "I'm gonna apologize to Lilah." She stood up but she had to grip the table when a wave of dizziness washed over her and the room seemed to turn black.

She could hear how Karlie threw the newspaper on the table and hurried over to her. "Tay, are you okay?"

Two slender arms were wrapped around Taylor's body. Her vision came back —although it was still blurry— and the lightheadedness was slowly ebbing away. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just the hangover, I guess." 

"You're going to sit down and eat something," Karlie commanded in a tone that was non-negotiable.

They shared a long look. Taylor didn't know what it was, maybe Karlie's worried voice, maybe her thumbs brushing over her hips, maybe just the warmth in her eyes, but suddenly she realized she was doing it all wrong. She wanted to speak, but Karlie beat her to it.