What About Now

Chapter 39 - Rescued

Taylor's P.O.V.
The kids have been gone now for a couple days, and it's just been me and my sofa. Kaya has been visiting her family on the other side of London, Thomas and Bella were staying over at Bella's mum's house and Dylan was at his sister's. Finally, here's me - sat on my sofa, watching almost every Disney film that I could find, practically living off of Doritos and whatever I could find in the back of my cupboards, and just passing time. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I haven't heard anything from Ben since our argument at Christmas, so it looks like it'll just be me and my two favourite men, Ben and Jerry tomorrow night. Seriously, how sad is that? I'm not even spending my New Year's Eve with friends, let alone my fiancé!

I have called Ben now at least twice a day, and left him a tonne of messages, but I haven't heard anything back. I left him a voicemail the day we got back, to tell him that I was having a tough time and that I needed him, but still nothing. I'm now sick of it. As these thoughts cross my mind, I look down at the ring on my finger. Was I doing the right thing? Was getting married to Ben the right thing to do? Were we even getting married? Sighing, I took my eyes off of the ring and buried my face into a cushion, letting out all my frustration in a strangled scream. It seemed to me as if the world just hated me at the moment. I had no friends around me. No fiancé to be here for me. I had just lost my sister; who's funeral I would be attending in a couple days. Finally, to top things off - I look and feel bloody awful. Boy, I really needed some company right now. As if someone had heard my silent prayer, my phone bleeped to life. Groaning, I lifted myself from the sofa and picked up my phone. One new email. From George.

To: Taylor Brooks
From: George Brown

Taylor,
I hope you had a good Christmas, and that you have a good New Year too. I am just emailing you to let you know that Mr Thornton has contacted me from New York, and he wanted me to let you know that your position is now open again and that you are welcome to come back to work in the new year. He says that all his problems at the newspaper have been solved, and that you would be more than welcome to return to New York. Of course, we would all be sad to see you go, but Mr Thornton would like me to give him an answer from you by 10th January. Your position would still be open here, should you wish to stay, but I can tell from how highly Mr Thornton has spoken about you, that he wants you back working for him as much as I do. If you could email me back as soon as you have made your decision, then I will pass on your answer to Mr Thornton.
George

Oh god! I hadn't thought about my position in New York for a long time! Has it already been a year since I left? I came here in March, and it's almost January - bloody hell it has almost been a year! But that means I have to make a decision. I loved working in New York - it is such a lively city, and the people there are always so kind. I have friends in New York too - not to mention a flat! However, I love working here too. I have some great friends here - Thomas, Bella, Dylan - and I can't leave them again, can I? Then there's also Ben to consider. Would he be there for me when I got back? Would we continue our lives together in New York? What about Sam and the kids? They needed me. So many questions suddenly attacked my brain that it felt as if my head was going to explode. I threw my phone down on the table and buried my head in my hands. What was I going to do?

The next day - New Year's Eve...

Pulling the duvet over my shoulders, I shuffled into the kitchen and switched on the kettle. New Year's Eve today. Woo hoo. In case you were wondering, there was a hint of sarcasm there. Just in case that wasn't already obvious. Collapsing into a chair, I dug my phone out of my pocket and switched it on. Six unread messages from Kaya. Hm.

Kaya - Hey Tay, how's it going with you? x

Kaya - Are you okay? I haven't spoken to you in a few days, and I just wanted to see if you're okay? x

Kaya - Oh, and Happy New Year's Eve! x

Kaya - Hellllooooo??

Kaya - Taylor, are you alright?

Kaya - Okay, Taylor I'm really worried. Please text me back?

Just as I finished the last message, there was a hurried knock at the door. Do I answer it? It could either be the postman, in which case I would probably scare the hell out of him. But then again, it is New Year's Eve, so my chances of it being the postman are slim. It could be just some weirdo, or a neighbour that has a parcel from me that I haven't yet picked up. Or it could even be the kids? But even as I draped my duvet over my shoulders once more and dragged myself to the door, I knew who it was. There was only one person who it would be.

"Oh god," I sighed, rolling my eyes as I was met with the classic 'raised eyebrow' look from Kaya.

"Hello to you too!" She smirked, folding her arms.

"Are you here to lecture me or something?" I groaned, wrapping myself more into my duvet, "Because I'd much rather go back to my duvet burrow."

"I can lecture you if you want," Kaya grinned, walking past me into the flat, "Whoa, what happened in here? Tornado?"

"Okay, well I do have an excuse," I groaned, following Kaya into the living room, "A) You know why B) I haven't heard from my fiancé C) It's New Year's Eve and I'm on my own."

"Ha, and what do I look like?" Kaya laughed sarcastically, pressing a hand over her heart, "A waste of space."

"Weeell," A grin formed on my face, but it instantly turned into a laugh as Kaya threw a pillow at me.

"I'm going to ignore that comment, and focus on something else," She nodded indignantly.

"And what might that be?" I asked, "Because I'm pretty busy wallowing."

"I am here for you," Kaya said seriously, placing her hands on my shoulders, "I am here to help make you feel better."

"But Kaya, I'm fine," I protested, trying to avoid looking anywhere but at her eyes, "Honestly, I'm fine! It's fine that my fiancé doesn't want to talk to or be with me. It's fine that I'm spending New Year's Eve on my own without Ben or without my family. It's fine that the one person who cares about me truly is gone and-" I hadn't realised that I'd started crying as I dumped my emotional baggage on Kaya like a sack of potatoes, and Kaya instantly crushed me with a hug.

"Hey, hey it's okay! I'm here now!" She cooed softly, as I cried into her shoulder. I'd had enough of this. Swallowing it down, I brushed it off and looked up at Kaya.

"Okay, no more crying," Kaya nodded, looking sincere, "I'm here now, and I'm here to fix this. We are going to have a great New Year's Eve together, and you are going to forget about everything that's gone on, and just focus on tonight okay?"

"How are we going to have a great New Year's Eve?" I sniffled.

"I'll tell you how we are going to," Kaya grinned, before looking around at the mess, "But first, you need to shower, and I need to sort this dump out.