Page 26 of Take Care, Taylor

He walked away from me before I could finish my sentence, slamming the door on his way out.

The sound reverberated through the suite, settling somewhere between my chest and the ache I swore I didn’t still feel.

TRACK 9. …READY FOR IT? (3:11)

TAYLOR

Clang! Clang! Clangggg!

Those annoying sounds echoed from the kitchen for the umpteenth time tonight.

Assuming they were coming from some faulty pipes, I rolled over in my bed and groaned. Then I grabbed my phone to check the time.

2 a.m.

Annoyed, I opened my text messages and immediately wished I hadn’t.

Nick (Agent)

Hey, I know you’re starting the writing thing this week, but call me whenever you grab breakfast.

I need to clarify a few things before talking to Fox Sports Live in the afternoon.

Stacey

Are you sure you HAVE to stay on campus? Why not a hotel nearby? (Or maybe ask them if I can stay on campus, too…) xoxo

Dr. Gautsch

Be sure to complete those finger exercises I sent you every day. They’ll help with your recovery.

I checked to make sure my alarm was still set for 6:15 — enough time to make it to this morning’s orientation.

Shutting my eyes, I started to drift to sleep again.

Pstchhh! Ptshhhh! Ptshhh!

BAH-DOOMPH!

“Jesus.” I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

To my surprise, there weren’t any busted pipes.

It was Audrey.

Dressed in an oversized T-shirt and workout shorts, holding a pot high above her head, poised to drop it on the floor.

“It’s two in the fucking morning,” I said. “What the hell are you doing?”

She dropped the pot, forcing a loud clang to echo off the walls, then walked over to the table and scribbled something in her notebook.

“Audrey.” I raised my voice, and she looked over at me — removing one of her earbuds.

“May I help you with something?” she asked.

“You can stop making so much noise this early in the morning,” I said. “I didn’t think we needed to set rules for something as simple as that.”

“They sent out the first surprise essay assignment, ‘Onomatopoeia,’ that’s due this weekend,” she said. “I was just brushing up on the different ways the sounds could be described.”