Taylor had walked to the dairy by now, after calming down from her encounter with Connor, and entered the store, looking around for Karlie.
“Sean?” she called.
He already knew what she was looking for.
“Oh, Taylor! You should have been here earlier!” he responded from the back of the store.
“Sean? Where are you? What are you talking about?”
He appeared from behind several boxes and walked up to her.
“Oh, boy, Taylor, it was intense, this big fella just walked into the store and went up to her, and socked her across the face! There was blood just gushing everywhere and –
“Her? Karlie? Blood? Wait, slow down!”
“Yeah, Karlie. Some guy went up to her and just belted her across the face, she –
“Blood? She was bleeding? Gushing?”
Taylor was getting panicked now.
“Yeah,” replied Sean, “but it wasn’t like, gushing, just, you know, several drops.”
“Who was this man?”
“Connor, the store manager’s son. Good looking guy, too. He was –
“Sean, please tell me where Karlie is, right now. Do you know? Is she alright?”
“She went home to treat her wounds, and I think she was fine. A little riled, but fine.”
“Thank you so much, Sean,” Taylor said, before walking quickly out of the store.
---------------
Karlie walked home, slowly, thinking about everything that had just happened, trying to let out all the anger. Her parents were gone, and she was sitting, alone, on the couch in her living room.
Her shirt was off, and she was wearing only her undergarments, trying to dab at her wounds, hissing whenever the powder and ointments stung her body.
“Ouch!” she muttered quietly, “Stupid Connor.”
She groaned in frustration loudly and fell back on the couch in madness, wanting to hit something but not knowing what to do – everything in her house was too easily breakable for that. There was too much anger inside her now, too much aggression – she needed some way to let it all out.
She was trying to bandage a cut on her neck when she heard the gate open. She looked out her window and saw Taylor, walking quickly towards the door.
Taylor reached the front door and knocked lightly, saying, “Karlie? Are you in there?”
“Yes,” Karlie replied, still heated but trying now to calm herself.
“May I come in?”
“Yes.”
Taylor creaked the door open softly and made her way to Karlie on the couch, no words spoken just yet, only a prolonged stare of concern and love.
She sat down and placed a hand on Karlie’s shoulder, lightly.
“Karlie,” she almost whispered, “I know what happened, I’m sorry, so sorry. It was my fault, I –
“No, Taylor. It wasn’t your fault. Don’t say that,” and Karlie hushed her quietly.
Taylor nodded and looked over Karlie’s bare body, hands running tenderly over her skin. Taylor leaned into Karlie’s ear, hands wrapped around her shoulders lightly, and whispered, “Does it hurt, Karlie?”
