BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Chapter 14

Taylor plops down on the bed sighing happily and loudly. Ariana gazes at her with a small smile, saying, "You seem happy today,"

The blond turns around and grins. "Yeah. Yeah, I am," she replies, closing her eyes and inhale deeply. The shorter girl frowns, thinking she doesn't know yet. She turns around and keep on reading the book in her hands. Taylor busies herself with her cellphone while singing softly a beat that is unknown to the girl. Should I tell her?

"Do you like singing?" she asks, ignoring her thoughts about that particular news that Taylor seems to not know yet.

"I love it," Taylor says, turning off her phone and laying on her side. She places her chin on her palm and looks at her friend.

"Me too," Ariana smiles softly, closing the book and putting it on the nightstand. She guesses that she won't reas today. "What do you like to sing?"

The blond sighs and starts playing with her fingers. "Usually, I play my songs. I write them when I feel particularly inspired and then I sing them."

"That's so cool, Taylor," the shorter girl says grinning. "Have you done any writing in the past few days?"

"Yeah," Taylor replies, looking at her fidgeting hands on her lap. Ariana senses that something is clearly wrong, and maybe Taylor knows. The shorter girl doesn't  knowledge her stranger behaviour, instead she sits beside the blond.

"Do you play guitar?" she asks with a small smile. Taylor's eyes lighten up at the mention of her favorite instrument, and nods excitedly. "I want to try write a song with you, if that's okay. Then we can play it," she offers.

"Sounds good. Let me just pick my instrument up," the blond replies with a grin, picking the guitar under her bed. She starts strumming random chords, and Ariana mumbles some unintelligible words. "I have this strange idea of wanting to write about thinking of and missing someone, but I don't know what to write."

"Maybe...you could start with saying that you miss them. Do you miss them?" Ariana asks.

"I–it's not about me," Taylor stutters, looking down at the guitar. The shorter girl looks at her with a puzzled look, somehow not believing her, but she nods anyway.

"Well–can you play that rhythm again?" she asks when hearing a particular good sound coming from her friend's instrument. Taylor does as told, and Ariana nods enthusiastically. She starts singing softly now and Taylor just watches her, trying to follow her words.

"I've been thinking about you. Yeah, I've been missing you. Where the hell are, babe, when I need you?" Ariana softly sings. Her voice goes higher and higher as she approaches the part before the chorus. "Oh I don't have you here with me but at least I have the memory. I try to make it through the night, but I can't control my mind,"

Taylor can't help but let her thoughts wander to the brunette, to Karlie, as Ariana's singing voice makes her remember of her former roommate. She tries to think of something else, but then the shorter girl is singing the chorus and she can't help but think of Karlie.

"I'm just thinking about you. I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking about you," Ariana sings quietly, almost in a whisper. "Got me losing my breath, nobody got me the way that you did. Had my eyes rolling back, had me arching my back,"

Memories of all of their nights spent making love to each other make their way to Taylor's mind, intoxicating her. Why am I thinking of her? What is wrong with me? She purses her lips tightly.

"Baby, I don't want no one else...and I've been waiting patient patiently, cause I don't have you here with me," Ariana continues singing, her eyes closed as she feels the words.

"But at least I have the memory," they sing together, Taylor doing the lower pitch of the high note that Ariana is currently singing. They finish the song, and somehow there's a strange tension in the air between them. Taylor's brain is filled with thoughts about Karlie and Ariana is just looking at her with...sad eyes? Was that sadness?

"I have to tell you something," the shorter girl says quietly. Taylor looks at her with her jaw clenched, and before she can nod, Ariana is already telling her the news. "I don't know if you're still in the dark of this situation, but, before you hear it from others, I want to tell you that–Karlie and Bridget are together. They're girlfriends,"

Taylor looks at her with an unimpressed face, but inside she's angry. Sad. Jealous. The only thing she doesn't understand is, why is she feeling all of this? Why is she jealous? Shouldn't she be happy for Karlie? She should be, because finally the girl has moved on, and maybe Taylor hasn't destroyed her life with that stupid bet.

"So?" she asks, placing the guitar under the bad. She tries to sound like she doesn't care, but honestly, it terrifies her that she actually cares.

"I just–aren't you a little...sad?" Ariana asks with confused eyes.

"I'm not," she lies. "Why should I be sad? It was a bet, I dated her for money, nothing more. I don't like her in that kind of way," she replies. Every word that is coming out of her lips are hurting her slightly.

"I thought that–"

"Well, you thought wrong. Now, can we just quit it? Please?" she asks. She's surprised to hear tears in her voice. "I don't care about her. If she's happy with Bridget, then, fine. But I don't care,"

"Are you sure? Because you just look a little...sad," Ariana says with concern lacing her voice.

"I don't care about her, or Bridget, or them together. It was just a bet, nothing more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go," she replies quickly, not giving Ariana the chance to say something back.

She stands up quickly, and just when she's safely outside, with no one around, she let go the tears of complete sorrow.