𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬

FIFTEEN.

AFTER bidding her goodbyes to margot, her driver had picked her up from the airport and she embarked and the hour drive to her hotel. soon enough, they had pulled up to the hotel which karlie had expected what was probably an average, chain hotel like a holiday inn but upon looking up, a sleek and gorgeous building stood in front of her. the whitby hotel, the sign read.

she paid the driver with the money IMG had wired to karlie's bank account as a "courtesy" for her time, which she insisted she didn't need as they were the ones sending her to new york, but still accepted it as amanda's assistant wouldn't let down about it. however, she hadn't expected this type of treatment from the model agency, especially as a nobody in the industry; karlie thought these glam trips were reserved for their biggest clients. people like gigi hadid. right away, she was greeted with workers who took her luggage and escorted her to the check-in desk. a woman handed her a hot towel to refresh from the flight and a water bottle. now, karlie could get used to this.

her room wasn't ready for a few hours so karlie decided to go on a stroll through midtown and admire the juxtaposition between the tall, brick buildings and the high, modern skyscrapers that inhabited new york city. karlie waded through the little shops and boutiques, deciding to spend her courtesy money on a few clothing items. it was around three pm now, her stomach rumbled aggressively. she only munched on some peanuts from the flight and her croissant from breakfast. she definitely needed some food in her right now.

she eyed a cute café at the corner of the street and decided to eat there. lucid café was a tiny place. fairy lights were strung against the maroon walls with colorful chairs scattered around the place, artwork from local artists were hung in the wall. the baristas were laughing and chatting with regulars. the customers ranged from romantic couples to businessmen in suits grabbing a quick fix of coffee. it reminded her of her very own home café. suddenly, a wave of homesickness washed over her. it only had been a day, but she still missed cara and josh. she wished she could experience this with the two as she knew the two would love it here.

she went up to the cashier and ordered a latte and a ham sandwich. she situated herself a pulled out her laptop to work on a few things. cara, although proud and gladly gave karlie the vacation time, still tasked her with calculating last month's spendings and earnings. she began organizing the spreadsheet as the barista handed her karlie's order. she sipped the warm coffee and sank into her seat, settling into a work mood.

—

hours had passed before she knew it. karlie stretched her back, groaning from the stiff position her back was in. karlie felt it was a good time to check in. she shut closed her laptop and cleaned up her table, leaving a tip in the jar for the baristas. she picked up her purse, coffee, and headed out. it was sunset now, golden and rose-y hues reflected in the glass skyscrapers. it was beautiful, something you didn't ever really see in her small town in connecticut. staring off into the distance, she bumped into somebody, spilling her leftover coffee onto the person.

karlie burned red from embarrassment, quickly leaning down to pick up the cup, "oh my god... i-i'm so sorry!" she squeaked, "i'll pay for the dry cleaning. i wasn't even paying attention. i mean, the sunset was so beautiful and i just..." karlie rambled on, starting at this woman's gingham heels (which she found really cute), cleaning up the mess. after picking up the now empty cup, she looked up to apologize once again.

karlie froze, her tangent coming to an abrupt end. she brought a hand up to her mouth, feeling frozen in her spot because in front of her was none only than taylor swift.

—

"i-" taylor began. karlie stood in disbelief. she felt overwhelmed with emotions: anger, embarrassment, sadness, and strangely enough, a hint nostalgia because in all the right ways, taylor still looked the same. her cherry red lips were ever so vibrant, her crustacean blue eyes stared down at her, and her blonde hair was curled perfectly. however, karlie took notice of how her hair was now grown out a bit, her posture more straight and poised. she aged well. not to mention how expensive taylor looked with her hermès bag and - now stained - black pant suit. she hated herself to admit it, but she looked lovely.

karlie wanted to ask so many questions. how were you? how's new york? why did you come to hartford? were you the one who sent in the recommendation? why did you choose not to contact me after all these years? do you regret leaving me?

but the words were stuck at karlie's throat. she finally mumbled out a meek, "hi" and looked down at her dirty sneakers and ripped jeans from old navy. she wore her old college sweatshirt that had odd stains from working at the café. she looked horrible compared to the pristine look taylor carried.why did she feel so small in taylor's presence? she dreamed about this day and how she would finally confront taylor about everything - about cheating, about leaving, about that stupid note, and all the pain and misery she had to endure from that heartbreak yet she didn't have the courage to say the words.

"karlie... i don't know what to say," taylor said softly. she had a unreadable expression on her face.

"neither do i. you've grown out your hair," karlie pointed out, deciding against confronting taylor. it didn't matter anyway, what gain would she get out of it?

taylor chuckled sadly, "i did."

there was an long, tense pause between the two.

"look, i know how awkward this is for us. i was heading to my hotel. we... can pretend this never happened and move on with our lives. i'm okay with that," karlie said, fiddling with the bottom of her sweatshirt. was she okay with that? deep down she knew the answer was no.

taylor took a deep breath, gazing at the sky, tearing her gaze away from karlie, "the sunset reminds me of the time i took you out to that picnic near our place - well, your place now," taylor said.

karlie nodded, not really sure why that mattered.

"it's beautiful," karlie said at last. they stood like that for awhile, side by side, not touching but looking out at the sunset.

a few minutes had past, but the awkwardness had died down and karlie settled into her casual posture, hand resting on her tote bag. taylor, meanwhile, stood unbearably still.

"come with me to my apartment, please? i think we should just... chat. my car is down the street," taylor said smoothly.

karlie hesitated. she wanted to say yes but would that take away from all the moving on karlie had worked for? her life was fine as it is. she was content. but, was she satisfied? happy? she craved having someone in her life who took care of her, who loved her, who would cherish her presence. a part of her wanted that. she missed taylor. besides the tall girl, the smell of taylor's vanilla perfume lingered, it smelled like home.

"okay, lead the way."

1260 words

omg hi guys lol. here's chapter 15!!! sorry for being so MIA :( i've been so busy this summer but i rly did miss you guys. thank you for 10k reads on this story btw. it means a lot. i love you guys. hopefully an update will be up soon!