Curious

Tangled

Carrie's brow lifted at Taylor's cursing. She studied her ex girlfriend, trying to read her expression. It was fruitless, seeing as she couldn't remember which was why they were so bad for each other in the first place.

"Are you going to let me in or what?" She asked, crossing her arms now. Rain drizzled overhead, sliding off of Carrie's trench coat.

Taylor licked her lips, torn between the moment. She had made a poor decision calling Carrie back to her apartment, but god if she didn't admit she missed it. Not her but the sex, the intimacy. Anything was better than the cold shoulder she had with Laura. Laura who was on her couch, drinking tea. Laura who was giving up someone in her life for her.

"Carrie, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I was drunk and I just, I can't right now." Taylor stammered out, biting her lips. Carrie rolled her eyes, setting the brown bag of wine on the porch.

"Keep the wine. Delete my number if you're going to pull this crap." She hissed, throwing up a middle finger as she turned to leave. Taylor couldn't blame her, she knew she had screwed her over. Made her take an entire subway ride to West Village and then just shot her down. She picked up the wine, closing her door, and set the bottle on her coffee table.

"Who was that? Wine deliver?" Laura asked, a slender brow cocked. Taylor settled into the couch, hanging her head.

"It was...I fucked up. I was angry, and lonely, and I called Carrie," She muttered out, angry at herself. Laura let out a breath, setting down her mug.

"Oh..." She said, pulling her feet beneath her. "I mean, I'm not mad. We've been on the outs. But why?"

Taylor looked up from her lap, seeing Laura's black hair frame her slender face, and her green eyes stare at her with quiet intensity. She reached out to play with the string of the tea bag, thinking.

"Honestly? Sex. That's all. I just, needed, to be drunk to forget you and then fucked." Taylor gave a dry laugh. She bit her lip, looking down again. "I'm not doing well Laura." She added quietly.

Laura inched closer to Taylor on the couch. She  gently brought her into her arms, feeling her tears wet her shirt silently. There was no confrontation, no anger, no accusations. Laura simply held Taylor while she felt what she needed to.

"I broke you, and I broke us." Laura whispered, shaking her head as she rubbed Taylor's back. Wind howled outside on the streets before their whole word turned pitch black.

"Power outage, fuck." Taylor groaned, pulling herself away from Laura. She squinted in the darkness, steadying herself before padding around the brownstone. Laura leaned over the couch to watch her slender figure in the pale light from the window.

Taylor crouched down into her living room closet, pulling out an old flashlight. She smacked it a few times, waiting for it to come to life.

"I'm going to light some candles, I'll be back down," Taylor assured Laura, sprinting upstairs. Laura got up, following her.

"It's late, I'll just stay here." She said from the bedroom doorway. Taylor had lit two candles on her desk, illuminating her face. They flickered back and forth in her eyes reflection.

"No, I should get you a cab at least. You need to get home and to Ben," Taylor shook her head, setting her lighter down. Laura crossed the threshold of the room, setting a hand on the desk as she leaned over towards Taylor.

"That isn't home. It's just full of material things but it's not home," Laura breathed out, looking down at Taylor's hand. It had inched closer to hers.

"Laura, I..." Taylor turned away, sitting on her bed. She rubbed her eyes, feeling them sting. Her body was quivering with all of her senses on the fringe.