Page 18 of Take Care, Taylor

“You did the same thing.”

“Only because you started it.” He moved closer to the edge of the pool and my heart pounded against my chest with his every step, but I refused to show any emotion.

Seconds stretched in silence.

“I’m beyond impressed with the level of depravity you showed by getting me suspended.” He finally shattered the silence. “Truly. It was very impressive.”

“It could’ve been worse.”

“True.” He tapped his chin. “Very true. But, I think you crossed the line a bit because I never put your livelihood in jeopardy.”

“I doubt your football coach cared about you missing school,” I said. “I saw him leaving your house multiple times with his whiteboard.”

“I had no idea you were keeping up with me so much.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Fair enough.” He smiled, still looking somewhat impressed. Then he held out his hand. “I’ll let you win this one.”

“I’m not shaking your hand.”

“If you don't, I may not go easy on you tomorrow.”

“I plan to be absent.”

“You never skip Shakespeare Day,” he said. “You have to show off how boring your life is because you have most of his work memorized.”

“You have most of it memorized, too.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Whatever.” I groaned. “I know you wouldn't dare ruin it, so try to make a better threat.”

“Actually, I’m willing to look past the suspension just this once if we can hold off on any issues until the end of next week.” His hand remained outstretched. “Let’s start over.”

I let out a breath and shook his hand. The moment he let go, my body hit the water. Chlorine rushed into my lungs.

Shocked, I waded to the edge, gasping for air.

“What the fuck did you do that for?” I yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“The same thing that’s wrong with you if you honestly think I’m letting anything go.”

“Screw you, Taylor.” I felt my blood boiling. “I’ll make sure you regret this.”

“I won’t,” he said, turning away. “Just remember you brought this on yourself.”

TRACK 6. DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS (3:51)

TAYLOR

Okay, Coach Harrison might have a point…

I snapped one final selfie with a young fan and handed off his phone before slipping into a town car.

My mind was still spinning, still attempting to compartmentalize seeing Audrey after two long and silent years.

I couldn’t remember whose last words cut the deepest, who was to blame for going from haters to cordial frenemies to ghosts, but I was still expecting the name on my door wreath to belong to a different Audrey.