𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬

EIGHT.

KARLIE has been waiting tables for what felt like hours. today was just not her day. she had her least favorite shift: 3pm-9pm (because it was rush hour) but had covered for josh during his morning shift as he was out of town, visiting family. her hands were sticky and she was growing more and more tired. she was up reading a new book, the perks of being a wallflower, which she couldn't put down once she started reading it and before she knew it, the clock had struck 2am.

she had worked at home café for so long now, it felt like apart of her routine. she loved working here - most days - as she had plenty of free reign to experiment on new pastries, drinks, and other sweets. plus, her best friends: cara and josh worked here. a new girl, lena had joined a few weeks ago and she was slowly becoming good friends with her, too.

today, cara had been working alongside her and a two others that she hadn't really known. cara had known all about the taylor situation. the younger girl knew that her best friend hated taylor and although she wanted to hate taylor herself deep down, she couldn't bring herself to muster up that resentment. after all, she was a "lover, not a fighter" as they say. cara, on the other hand, was the opposite.

"karls! could you give these old fashioned donuts to the old couple in the back?" questioned cara. she quickly nodded and grabbed the plate, heading towards the elderly.

"hi! two old fashioned glaze donuts?" karlie asked.

"oh yes, wonderful. thank you... karlie," said the older man as he stared at her name tag. she quickly waved a goodbye and sighed as she watched as the couple fed each other, looking at each other lovingly. she hadn't even considered dating for so long. really, she had been so scarred from taylor that she was scared to go and date. cara and josh were hanging out with her once and jokingly made her a tinder but it just simply wasn't for her. she preferred getting to know someone in real life - plus, she was paranoid from all those catfish stories, too.

—

it was the end of her shift and karlie couldn't wait to go home, take a shower, and sleep. she hung her apron on the stand and waved her goodbyes to cara and the rest of the staff, leaving the café. she hopped into her car and drove to her apartment.

once inside her apartment, she had took a quick shower, rinsing off all the grime from today's work. nearly tucked into bed, in comfy pajamas, karlie decided to check her phone and text josh that she finished his shift successfully.

to: joshie poo
from: karlie
finished ur lONG ASS SHIFT ur welcome. everything went pretty okay!!! i spilled a whole latte earlier today on myself but anyways,,, i love u. hope ur having a good time w ur family ❤️

a couple minutes later, josh had responded.

from: joshie poo
to: karlie
omg skmfnfjd so sorry i put u thru. appreciate ur sacrifice. that but yes i'm safe and thriving! love u. make sure to eat and all that.

to: joshie poo
from: karlie
yep, i just made some homemade kraft mac n cheese... ok i swear i'll make some better food when i go grocery shopping.

from: joshie poo
to: karlie
OKAY I TRUST U. we should go grocery shopping tmrw when i come back. my fridge is pretty empty.

to: joshie poo
from: karlie
yeah for sure! i'll come to ur place at 1pm.

from: joshie poo
to: karlie
👍😙

the younger girl chuckled and quickly reverted back to twitter. she scrolled down a bit and stumbled upon a gossip news outlet tweet,

TAYLOR SWIFT RELEASES 1989 TOUR DATES! CHECK TO SEE IF THE POP STAR IS COMING TO YOUR CITY!:
www.taylorswift.com

karlie shrugged. she hadn't known there was a taylor swift website. she proceeded to click on the link and up came plenty of announcements about merch, taylor's album, social media links, some writing and producing process stories; and more. it was interactive and an open diary for taylor's works. karlie even noticed that there was videos and announcements of taylor donating thousands to charity and sending her fans souvenirs and goodies. she had to admit: the blonde had always had a heart for giving back and it always made karlie's heart swell. it was one of the qualities that made her fall in love.

she clicked on the tour dates and saw a few for california, new york, texas, tennessee, and... connecticut? she lived in hartford, where the capital was. she was coming to the rentschler stadium: a good thirty minute drive from where karlie was and a perfectly good place to come and visit the apartment or her city. she saw that connecticut and the next destination, providence, were a week's time apart.

was taylor coming to see her?

it had been three whole years and she hadn't heard anything from her ex. of course she wasn't coming to visit. that'd be ridiculous. she probably just wanted to visit some old friends back here. plus, what would taylor even do when she saw how much karlie had changed? she would have to tell josh and karlie all about this tomorrow.

the younger girl had brushed it off, exiting the site. she plugged her phone into the charger and tuck herself in, the thought of taylor in the back part of her mind as she fell asleep.

929 WORDS
skksksks this is shorter than most of my stories and it took so long. I AM SO SORRY i've been so busy w school and just life in general? i hope u can understand! more updates coming but pls be patient w me :(( i love u guys!

all the love,
kaela 🌷