Young Love

Chapter 11

           
Karlie slowly made her way back to the dining room to face her family. She was nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this nervous. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Blood was rushing in her ears. She kept on playing with her clammy fingers as she sat back down at the table.

"You okay, Karlie?" Kurt Kloss asked. "You look a little pale."

"Um, I-I need to... I-I think... I think I should clarify something," Karlie started in a small voice. How was she going to say this? Would her parents still love her the same in a minute or was she about to destroy the life she had known? Would they be mad? Would they disown her? Oh god, she didn't wanna be homeless.

"What is it?" Kristine asked, confused. Her sister usually wasn't nervous about telling them anything. They had all always been very close and very open with each other. It was one of the many things Kristine loved so much about her family.

"It's... I'm... I-I," Karlie stuttered. She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how to phrase the next part right. She also wasn't sure how the rest of her family would react to the news. She took another deep breath. I can do this.

Kariann saw her older sister playing with her fingers. She knew Karlie's nervous tick all too well. Wordlessly she reached out, took one of Karlie's hands in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Kimby on the opposite side of Karlie gave her an encouraging nod. She could do this. Her younger sisters had her back.

"I am dating someone," Karlie started again, feeling a small surge of confidence thanks to her younger siblings. All she had to do was to say the words and then all the hiding would be over for good. She could finally bring Taylor home. She could finally bake cookies with her. She could finally do all the things she had wanted to do with Taylor from the first moment she had seen her months ago.

"Yeah, we know," Kristine smiled. "We-"

"Would you just let her talk?" Kariann snapped annoyed. Kristine immediately fell quiet. Normally Kimby was the twin to snap at other people, Kariann wasn't known to talk to anyone like that.

"You actually don't know," Karlie continued sounding surer and surer with every word that left her mouth. "Ed, he's a very nice guy and I like him a lot but I'm not dating him. I'm dating his best friend, Taylor. She's the one who makes me so happy lately, not Ed. Actually just the idea of dating Ed is very weird."

Silence fell over the table. Karlie was keeping her gaze locked on her hand in Kariann's grasp, too scared to look up while the twins looked around the table, trying to gauge their parent's reaction.

"Yay?" Kimby broke the uncomfortable silence eventually.

"'She'?" Tracy Kloss was lost. She was desperately trying to make sense of what her daughter had just told her.

"Yes, mom Taylor is a girl and I am dating her," Karlie confirmed, finally looking up. Her hand was shaking in Kariann's hold. Her heart was racing in her chest. Oh boy was she scared. No, scared wasn't a strong enough word. Karlie was absolutely terrified.

"But... you dated Josh." Kristine was as confused as her parents. The oldest Kloss sister had not seen this turn of events coming.

"She did and now she's dating Taylor," Kimby chimed in, her voice sounding uncertain.

"She seems like a very nice girl," Kariann helped. She needed either her parents or Kristine to say something nice and supportive. She knew how hard all of this was for Karlie. She could feel the scared vibes rolling off of Karlie's body next to her. "Kimby and I approve so far," Kariann added as an afterthought.