Young Love

Chapter 17

When Karlie's alarm went off, the girl had a smile on her face. She had finally said those three words to Taylor. She had finally told Taylor how she felt. And Taylor had said 'I love you' back. The memory was enough to make her heart flutter. More memories started to flood her mind. She remembered how utterly stunning Taylor had looked. She remembered how Taylor had overcome her fear of horses. She remembered the smile on Taylor's face as Jellybean had carried them through the woods. She remembered Taylor singing. Her girlfriend had the voice of an angel.

Karlie had long forgotten about the strange feeling she had had before she had gone to sleep last night until she opened the message app on her phone. She had gotten a few texts from Lily asking how the date had gone but there was still no new text from Taylor. The girl was usually up at the time. She always woke up way earlier than Karlie did. And Taylor always texted her first thing in the morning. It was their thing. Karlie decided to send her girlfriend a good morning text and got out of bed. The uneasy feeling never quite going away.

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Karlie pulled up in the Sheerans' driveway just in time to see Taylor storming out of the house. "Hey baby," Karlie greeted with a soft smile as Taylor entered the car. The smile vanished the moment she took in the sight of her girlfriend. Taylor's hair was up in a messy bun, there were dark circles under her eyes, she looked pale. She looked tired. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Taylor sighed quietly as she fastened her seatbelt.

"Are you sure?"

The blonde nodded her head in response.

"You can talk to me," Karlie offered softly. She reached out and put a lose strand of Taylor's curly hair behind her ear. She let her hand linger on Taylor's cheek. She tried to get Taylor to look at her. Maybe she could see whatever was going on in those ocean blue eyes. She could always read Taylor through her eyes. They were like a window to see what was going on inside of the blonde.

"I just said it's nothing." If she hadn't been staring out of the window, Taylor would've seen the hurt look on Karlie's face.

"I brought you cookies," Karlie said once she had recovered in an attempt to change the subject. She tried to make her voice sound casual but she failed miserably.

"I'm sorry." Taylor shifted her gaze from the window to her girlfriend. "I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay. What's going on?" The uneasy feeling in her stomach only intensified when she saw Taylor's eyes. They weren't their normal sparkly blue. They looked cold. They made a shiver go down Karlie's spine.

"It's nothing."

"Baby, I can see that you're not okay. Please tell me what's going on. How can I help you?"

"There's nothing you can do." Taylor shifted her gaze down to her hands.

"Is it because of college?" Karlie asked as she took Taylor's hands in her own. They were still parked in Taylor's driveway and they would be late if they didn't get a move on but neither girl cared.

"No." Taylor had almost forgotten about that particular part of their conversation from the day before. It only added to her bad mood. "I mean it's a part of it, I guess? Going to college on the opposite site of the country doesn't exactly sound like something I want."

"I don't want that, either. We'll find a way to figure it out. I promise you that. If that's not what's bothering you then what is it?" Karlie pleaded. "You're worrying me."

Taylor looked back up at Karlie. All she could see in her favorite pair of eyes was a mixture of worry and love. "My mother came by Ed's place last night while I was out with you. I have to go see a therapist today."