in the cracks of light, i dreamed of you

07

Taylor's POV

Karlie and I decide to spend the day at the mall. I'm thankful for any form of distraction and the mall is perfect. I am definitely going to need some clothes if I plan on staying at her house, not that i'm complaining about wearing her hoodies. We leave the house around the middle of the morning and Karlie drives us to the mall. We offered to let her sisters join us but they had other things to do and didn't want to come. I was silently thankful for this. Spending time with Karlie alone is a lot easier and I won't have to explain myself as much.

When we get there, I make a beeline to the record store and I notice Karlie jogging to keep up with me. Music will always be my favorite thing in the whole world. When my house got too chaotic, I could always turn to music to tune out everything. I flip through some records before realizing that I don't have money or a record player so I scrap that idea. We decide to go to some clothing stores next to get some essentials for me.

Karlie's POV

I notice Taylor get excited over the records. She smiles more than I've ever seen her smile the whole time I've known her. Her face glows as she flips through various artists. I make a mental note to get her some records and a record player for her birthday. I want to see that smile all the damn time.

Clothing is a priority since my whole wardrobe is far too big for her. As much as I love seeing her in my hoodies, she's going to want some of her own stuff. We head to Brandy Mellville amongst other places. Some basics are always helpful. After getting a bunch of stuff, we head back to the cafe we went to on our first day to get some lunch. We don't talk too much but I enjoy Taylor's company nonetheless.

When we get back to my house in the afternoon, I clear out some space in my closet for Taylor's clothes. I hear sobbing from the bathroom and I immediately rush over. I knock on the door a few times. No answer.

"Taylor, I'm coming in," I say before opening the door. I find her curled up on the floor crying. "Hey love, what's wrong?" I ask, rubbing her back gently. I don't expect an answer but I have no idea what else to say. "Let's get you in the bath. A warm bath always helps calm me down and then maybe later you can tell me what's bothering you? Does that sound ok?" I question. I get nothing but a soft hum in response but it's better than nothing. I start to run the bathtub and add some bath salts.

"Ok the bath is ready." I turn to walk away, to let her undress in privacy.

"Stay" I hear her say softly.

"You sure?" I ask, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"I don't want to be alone" I help her lift her shirt over her head, doing my best not to make her uncomfortable. I notice so many cuts and bruises littered across her back and arms. I keep my mouth shut knowing this will only make her more uncomfortable. I wish I could kiss every scar and mark on her back and make it better. I help her into the bathtub and sit down on the tile floor. I find my eyes wandering down to her chest despite my attempts not to.

"Like what you see, Kloss?" she asks me, smirking

"Let's just say I don't not like it...." I reply, blushing. She giggles and blows some bubbles from the bathtub at me. For a second, I forgot about the broken girl who was sitting there crying just a minute ago.