XOXO | gg

ONE

Chapter 1

Trouble in paradise

TAYLOR JORGE let out a quiet yawn and looked impatiently down on her boyfriend Benjamin Cowell's face. She was sitting on his stomach playing with a strand of her brown hair, while he was on the phone talking to someone. She observed his dark skin, honey brown eyes, strong jaw and buzzcut hair. His features were very protrusive, and she had told him many times that he would do great as a model - not that it interested him very much. In fact, he didn't seem very interested about anything she had to say lately. 

Taylor and Benjamin had been a couple for around two years but it had been a little shaky the past months, to say the least. Taylor had been close to breaking up with him several times, but she always changed her mind in the very last minute. Their relationship could be very rocky, but at the end of the day she really loved him. She just wasn't sure that he felt the same way about her. 

They first met when Benjamin transferred to St. Judes over two years earlier. He had moved with his mother to New York due to his parents divorcement, but was originally from Beverly Hills. Taylor could remember the first time she saw him as it was yesterday. All the girls had started to whisper to each other the moment he stepped out of his limo outside the school, and they all had been looking at him curiously, but he only had eyes for one person. Taylor. He had been looking at her like they had known each other their entire lives, even though they had never met before. 

The first months were fantastic. He had been so careful with her, like she was a doll made out of porcelain that could break any minute. Taylor had never felt more loved and appreciated than then. But those days were over. Nowadays they mostly did three things together; argue, fight and brawl.

''Can you hang up?'' she whispered with raised eyebrows, but got no answer in return. She felt the irritation building up inside of her. Finally, after many minutes, he ended the phonecall and looked at her clearly annoyed. ''Who were you talking to?'' she asked him. 

''Just Leon. Hey, I have to go. I'm meeting up with the boys.''

 ''What? You literally just came here?''

 ''Yeah, well, I have stuff to do,'' he answered in a very nonchalant way. 

Taylor raised her voice. ''I'm so tired of this! We haven't seen each other all week, and now you're leaving already,'' she raised her eyebrows and looked at him with disappointment in her eyes. 

Benjamin sighed, ''It won't happen again, Tay. I promise.'' He pushed her off him so he could stand up. 

''You said that the last time as well. And the time before that. Stop making promises that you can't keep! You don't respect me, you don't care about me. All you care about is your boys. Maybe you can start making some time for your girlfriend too'', she said with an angry voice from where she sat in her bed. 

''Are you fucking done?'' he asked her calmly and continued, ''I'm leaving, you're not my mother, and I'm not asking for your permission. Why do you always have to be so god damn dramatic?'' 

Taylor glared at him while he walked out of the room. She lay down on her back and crossed her arms. ''Have fun, fucking asshole,'' she muttered for herself. 

- 

A few minutes passed and Taylor stood up and walked out of her room. She walked through the hallway and putted on a coat next to the elevator without saying anything to her parents, who were sitting in the living room in their open-planned penthouse. Juliette and Rowan exchanged looks quietly and her mother cleared her throat. ''Is anything wrong, honey?'' 

''I'm fine. I'm just going home to Alicia,'' she answered and tried to sound unbothered. 

''Benjamin wasn't here for long,'' Rowan stated while taking a sip of his coffee, looking at the newspaper in his hand. 

''No. I guess he had more important things to do.'' Taylor answered with a sigh. ''Okay. Bye, then. See you later.'' Taylor said and pressed the elevator button. 

''I'll be at LUXE tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow sweetheart,'' Rowan said and looked up at her. She just nodded in return. Her father worked as a chef and ran one of the most famous restaurants in the city, LUXE, a huge success among the richest people of New York. Her mother on the other hand owned a luxurious clothing store, Jorge's, where all the Upper East Side mothers purchased the latest trends in the fashion world. 

The elevator opened and Taylor stepped inside. She took a deep breath trying to pull herself together and to avoid crying. She hated to cry, even when she was alone. She saw it as a sign of weakness, and she was anything but weak. ''Get a fucking grip,'' she whispered to herself while looking at her reflection in the mirror. Breath in, breath out. 

- 

Taylor was sitting on the bed in Alicia's room and observed her best friend walking around looking for her necklace. ''It should be here somewhere..'' she could hear Alicia mumble to herself. All of a sudden she stopped searching, and looked suspiciously at Taylor. ''You are quiet today. What's wrong?'' 

''I'm just a little tired, it's nothing.''

''Please, you've barely said a word since you got here. T, you are my best friend, I can tell when you're upset. And you can try and brush it off if you like, but you can't fool me,'' she raised her eyebrows and continued, ''No matter how hard you try.'' Alicia putted her right hand on her hip and observed Taylor, almost like she was trying to read her mind. 

Alicia and Taylor had been inseparable best friends ever since they were able to walk on their own, and they knew each other better than anyone. Knew things about each other that no one else knew. They had grown up together, just like sisters. 

Alicia sat down next to her and took her hand, ''Talk to me.'' Silence filled the room. ''...Is it Benjamin?'' Taylor didn't answer but nodded and looked away in an attempt to hide her eyes, who started to fill up with tears. Alicia embraced Taylor and held her close. 

''It will be okay,'' she whispered quietly. Taylor leaned on Alicias shoulder and allowed herself to cry.