Act Three / Chapter Eighteen

1k words

"I'm gonna call my mom, I think."

"That sounds like a good idea," Taylor murmurs, rubbing Mikah's back. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I won't to it right now it's...late over there," she sighs, her head in her hands, "but I want you there with me when I do."

Taylor nods silently, trying to offer as much comfort as she possibly can. It's been a rough night, they'd gone to bed at 11, it's 3am now and they still haven't gotten to sleep yet. Everything that's happened in the past few days is starting to weigh on both of them. It's significantly worse for Mikah, though. So Taylor's trying her hardest to keep her own anxiety on the low.

"Can you turn the light off? I think I'm getting a migraine," Mikah groans, rubbing at her eyes harshly.

"I'm sorry, honey," Taylor frowns, leaning over, pulling the chain on the lamp. "What do you need?"

"Just...hold me."

"That's what I'm here for," Taylor gently gathers Mikah into her arms, lying down so she's got her head on her chest. "Wake me up if you start feeling sick or need anything."

Mikah nods, letting her eyes slip closed as Taylor continues running her nails over her back. She manages to fall asleep eventually, but not until long after Taylor's hand had stilled.

Taylor got up before Mikah did, which was unusual in the grand scheme of things, but she hadn't been sleeping well, so Taylor didn't question it.

Untangling herself from the bed, she tiptoes downstairs to make breakfast, making sure to save some for Mikah when she wakes up, settling herself on the couch, deciding now was a good time to get some work done.

Around 90 minutes later, she hears footsteps making their way towards the living room.

"Hey," Mikah yawns, joining Taylor on the couch.

"Hey!" she shuts her computer, "sleep okay?"

Mikah shrugs, still waking up. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long. I made breakfast, though, if you want any."

"I'm okay, I'm not feeling incredible right now."

Taylor frowns, rubbing her back, "how so?"

Mikah just shrugs again, "I dunno, my head hurts."

"Are you nauseous or anything?"

"A little," she sniffs, curling against Taylor's side, "can you check if I have a fever?"

"Yeah, 'course." Taylor gently presses the back of her hand to Mikah's forehead, "you feel a little warm, but you're not burning up or anything."

They sit like that for a while, Mikah's head on Taylor's shoulder, Taylor's arm around Mikah's.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"'Kay."

This cycle—Taylor waking up before Mikah, Mikah saying she doesn't feel well, inevitably just going back to bed until Taylor finishes whatever work she has—continued for a week.

About 3 days before they were set to leave for Argentina, Taylor was out for lunch with Blake after a painfully long meeting with Tree.

"I feel bad for leaving Mikah alone today," Taylor sighs, taking a sip of the lemonade she ordered, "I think she went over to Jack's but I don't know for how long."

"Is she okay?"

Taylor shrugs, "she's... having a hard time right now, I'm just worried about her. I think going away for a bit will be good."

"Is anything going on between you two or...?"

"No, no. we're fine. It's just stuff with her family. She's moving in with me, actually."

"Oh?" Blake raises her eyebrows, "so soon?"

"Yeah. We sorta had no other choice, her dad is being difficult about some stuff," Taylor picks at her nails, "I don't prefer to go this fast but it's working fine, feels right."

"I'm glad," Blake smiles, "it's really, really nice seeing you so happy again, you know."

***

"Hey! I'm home," Taylor calls out, setting her stuff down in the foyer.

"I'm in the bedroom," Mikah replies, sounding rather groggy.

The room is completely dark when Taylor enters, but she can faintly make out Mikah's figure curled up under the covers, the trash can from the bathroom sitting beside the bed.

"Hey," Taylor murmurs, crouching down next to her, gently laying her hand on her forehead, "are you sick?"

Mikah shakes her head, "I'm just migraining again."

Taylor frowns, "that's like your fifth one this week, you sure you're okay?"

"Mhm. I get them all the time when I'm stressed," she shifts, trying to get comfortable, "just... not usually this nauseous."

"Have you eaten?"

Mikah nods, "I ate at Jack's like an hour ago."

Taylor presses a kiss to her forehead, silently telling Mikah she's proud of her.

"What do you need from me?"

"I'd ask you to lay with me but I definitely think I'm gonna throw up."

"I don't care if you throw up, babes, I've got you," Taylor lays down behind Mikah, gently laying her arm over her waist, "you think you'll be okay to go down to Argentina?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm gonna pick up some meds tomorrow."

They lay in silence for a while, just listening to the others' breathing.

"We finished the project I was working on, today."

"Seriously!?"

Mikah nods, rolling onto her back. "Yeah, it'll be out sometime in December, I think. I want you to hear it first, though, if that's okay."

"That would be an honor, baby, I love you so much."  Taylor pulls Mikah up to kiss her, firm but soft. "You should be so proud of yourself."

"I am, trust."

Taylor smiles, pressing a kiss to Mikah's temple before laying down again, this time with Mikah's head on her chest.

"Have you called your mom yet?" Taylor asks gently, running her fingers down Mikah's arm.

"I texted her but she didn't respond," she sighs, "I don't think she cares about me."

"You know, you can always borrow my mom if you need one."

"Mm, thank you, love, but I am way too nauseous to think about meeting your mom."

Taylor laughs, "just food for thought."

***

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mikaahaalbright AAAH!!! i'm absolutely overjoyed to announce the release of my debut ep 'Boise', coming to you dec. 8th <33 thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped bring this project to life—whether that was helping make it or just holding my hand through all of it. funeral is out now i cannot wait.

🩶🩶🩶

hiiii sorry this is mostly filler i know you've been waiting forever 😭😭
the link to boise ⬇️

btw in case you're confused on timeline stuff the latter half of this chapter takes place about a week after the last one (around november 8th 2023)
not proofread pls correct mistakes
comment/vote/etc love ya