YOUR DAISY

Chapter 7

               There is something unsettling about wandering around the nunnery in the middle of the night. The hallways are lit by candles hanging from the ceiling, but there is still an eerie darkness that makes the blonde uneasy. She navigated through the corridor made of cobblestone, the moonlight occasionally hidden by the majestic Ionic columns. The only sound filling the night were her light breath and the gentle noise of her shoes hitting the pebbles.

She was scared. Her hands were shaking as her blue eyes darted a glance at her right and then at her left, always afraid that one of the sisters could catch her and punish her. Her legs were trembling, as if she had just run a marathon, when in reality she was moving as slow as a snail. 

She sighed a breath of relief when she spotted the wooden door of the storage room, but hesitated once standing before it. She raised her hand and, after taking a deep and steadying breath, she softly knocked, her knuckles touching the hard material lightly. She waited what seemed like hours, when finally the brunette on the other side opened the door quietly. Taylor smiled tentatively, admiring how this girl could trust her so much when Karlie couldn't possibly have known who had knocked at her room.  The taller girl welcomed her in and closed the door safely once they were both inside. 

The blonde turned around, looking up at Karlie expectantly. "I didn't expect you to come," Karlie admitted shyly, a strange glint within the depths of her green irises. Taylor lost herself for a moment, hating the palpitating sensation of her fast heart beating against her ribcage. Why did Karlie have this effect on her? 

"I wanted to come," she found herself reply. An indefinible emotion run through the taller girl's eyes, making Taylor shiver just in the slightest way. "And you wanted to do something, right? I'm curious," she tried to smile, but her lips trembled slightly as Karlie kept gazing at her with those intense eyes of hers. 

"The sisters don't give us enough free time and I—," Karlie hesitated, a nervous smile slicing her face in half. She met Taylor's warm stare, and with a shallow laugh said, "Let's sit down. There should be a blanket around here."

Karlie placed the warm flimsy fabric against the stony ground. "Let's sit down," she stated, crossing her legs once they were seated side by side, their shoulders briefly touching. An electric jolt run through Taylor's body as she watched her friend struggle with her next words. 

"What were you saying?"

"I was saying that—the sisters don't give us enough free time, and I just want to know you better even though I feel like we've known each other for years, but I already told you that," Karlie chuckled. Taylor found her nervousness rather adorable, but as an unknown warmth tried to settle down in her stomach, she swatted those unnecessary thoughts away. 

"What do you want to know about me?"

"Why are you here?" the question caught her off guard, and Karlie must have sensed her hesitation as she immediately added, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—,"

"No, it's—it's okay," she fiddled with her hands. Images of her mother smiling, of her own family being surrounded by nothing but happiness even in their poor conditions, flashed at the forefront of her mind, before everything crumbled into million pieces. Her mind began clouding with the sound of her father's accusing voice, reminding her once again that it was all her fault. She heard the sound of the rain clattering against the stable's roof, she still smelled the faint scent of straw and horses. It was the last memory of home that she had, and she was disappointed that it wasn't a really happy one. "My father brought me here," she stated. "He obliged me because he thought I was the reason why my mother had died."

"Oh, I—I'm sorry, I understand if you don't want to talk about this," Karlie replied immediately, an apologetic look marring her face.

"I'm over that now," Taylor assured her. At least I like to think so. "What about you? Why are you here?"

"I wasn't obliged, but I have three sisters, and I'm the youngest, and my family wasn't really wealthy, so my mother sent me here. She knew that here they could take care of me while she couldn't, but she had even said that, after a year or two, she would have come back and pay me a visit, but she never did. I guess she's forgotten about me," Karlie chuckled humorlessly, her fingertips playing with the end of the grey cloth of her uniform.

"Don't say that, Kar," the nickname slipped out of Taylor's mouth before she could stop it, and Karlie's head immediately turned around, meeting the blonde's gaze readily. Where did that come from? "Your mother hasn't forgotten about you. You're her daughter."

"I don't know," she muttered. "I haven't thought about my family in a long time."

"Why's that?"

Karlie shrugged, going back to fiddling with the hem of her uniform. Taylor stared at her for a moment, thinking of ways to lift her mood since there was clearly a black cloud of sorrow hanging over her head, a frown turning her lips downwards. "Do you miss them? Your family?"

The brunette raised her shoulders in an indifferent shrug. "I—no, I don't. There was a time where I missed being out of here, though," she stated with a melancholic smile. She seemed hesitant when she added, "but now I like it here."

It was as clear as the moon outside the underlying meaning to her statement, more so when Karlie looked up at her confidently. Taylor blushed, feeling an unknown but welcome warmth make its into the pit of her stomach and staying there quietly. "I like it, too," the blonde found herself say back.

Karlie lowered her head, a tiny beautiful smile lighting up her features, and Taylor was glad to see a delightful emotion cross her face, since mere minutes before her mind had been in a dark place due to her thoughts regarding her family.

The blonde decided to boldly lean her head on her shoulder, exhaling deeply when she felt Karlie's chin press against the top of her head. It all felt so natural, so right, and yet, it felt so sinful, so wrongful. Taylor watched it happen; Karlie's slim fingers shakily trailed up her own lap before coming to a halt and resting beside the blonde's closed fist. The brunette then placed her hand over hers, not squeezing it, not moving it. Her palm was soft above her knuckles and her breath hitched in her throat when Karlie subtly interlaced her pinky with her index finger.

Taylor felt millions of emotions go through her mind as she stared at the simplicity of their intertwined fingers. She shouldn't feel a tingling run through her whole body. She shouldn't feel her skin burn right where Karlie was touching her. It was all wrong, but she couldn't help but never want to extricate their hands, as if they were meant to fit together like puzzle pieces.

"We should probably go to sleep," Karlie was the one to break the silence, slowly and hesitantly pulling her hand away from Taylor's. She was the first to get up, helping the blonde out by pulling her hands upwards. "I really enjoyed talking to you tonight,"

"Me too," Taylor confessed, still holding onto her hands. With the moonlight coming from behind Karlie, her hair looked like a halo, framing her face and making her resemble an angel sent from heaven. They stared at each other for a little bit too long, and Karlie was the one to clear her throat shyly and open the door quietly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," the taller girl said in a whisper. Taylor nodded and watched her walk away as they parted ways, one going left and the other going right.

It felt as if something had shifted inside of her, and she was sure that something had definitely  changed that night between her and Karlie. She didn't know what, but the exhilarating emotion of curiosity was enough to keep her up all night.

A/N: I know, I know, this update is incredibly late, and I apologize for that. Writer's block plus school got in the way, but today I felt inspired enough to finish this chapter. Please tell me what you think and if you like where this is going/this story in general. Your opinions mean a lot to me!

Thank you all so much for reading, I love you guys