You Belong To Me (Kaylor)

55.

Taylor and Karlie arrived in NYC. They stood at the apartment door, as Taylor held her hand on the knob and looked over at Karlie who was visibly nervous about going inside.

"Are you ok babe?"

"I'm fine. Just a little worried about facing everyone. Especially my mom, that's all."

Taylor leaned up and kissed her lips. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Everyone on the other side of that door loves you. I'll be with you every step of the way and if it gets to be too much, we'll leave...TOGETHER."

Karlie let out a deep breath as she hugged her girlfriend and whispered, "I feel invincible when I'm with you. Thank you."

They gazed into each other's eyes and offered warm smiles before Taylor continued to open the door.

Karlie stepped in and they all came running. Her mom wrapped her arms around her neck as tears streamed down her face.

"You're back, you're back. Oh, how I missed you Karlie. I'm so happy you came home." Tracy was beside herself. She was filled with such a mix of emotions and had so many unanswered questions, but right now, none of that mattered. Her daughter was back.

"Mom, I'm so sorry for worrying you. I know I'm a disappointment, I'm just so sorry. Please forgive me."

Tracy pulled away from the hug and looked her daughter in the eyes, as she cupped her hands around Karlie's face. "My beautiful beautiful daughter. You have never been, nor will you ever be, a disappointment to me. You are my life and I love you so much. I could never live without you and I'm just so happy that you're back. I'm so proud of you and I'll always be proud of you."

Tracy pulled her back into an embrace as Scott and Andrea also came over for a group hug.

"Our Karlie is back," Scott said as he rubbed her back.

"We're so happy you're here," Andrea said. "Our family was missing a very important component. We love you Karlie and we'll always be here for you."

Taylor looked on with tears in her eyes. They all loved Karlie so much. This is what she had always wanted, to find someone to spend the rest of her life with, that her parents equally loved. And now, right before her eyes, she had that.

The parents released their grip of the model, as they all headed into the kitchen for lunch. As they walked away, Tracy grabbed Taylor's arm and asked if she could speak to her. The singer nodded as they took a seat in the living room. Karlie looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with her girlfriend asking if she was ok, without ever speaking a word. Taylor nodded back to her, as Karlie mouthed 'I love you' and continued to follow Andrea and Scott into the next room.

"I love that," Tracy said as she watched Karlie and Taylor's wordless interaction.

"What do you love?"

"The conversations that are filled with unspoken words. The way you both look at each other, offering a sense of comfort and protection, just with a glare of the eyes. How you both love each other unconditionally. That's what I love."

Tracy grabbed Taylor's hand as tears fell from her eyes. "Taylor, I'm sorry for yelling at you and blaming you for my daughters disappearance. It wasn't fair to you and it wasn't your fault. You are the best thing that ever happened to her. I hear it in her voice every time we speak on the phone and when she's in front of me, I see her eyes light up when she talks about you. She loves you so much."

"I used to be so worried about Karlie when she was growing up because she wears her heart on her sleeve.  When she loves something, you can see it written all over her face. I was always afraid that the person who stole her heart, wouldn't love her as much as she loved them. And she's such a good person. I love all of my children, but my Karlie, is just so special. She has a heart of pure gold. I just always wanted to see her be happy. Her happiness just always meant more to me than anyone else's."