Chapter 32 – Before It's Too Late

The next time Taylor went to work, she expected Laura to ignore her, to walk past her as if she was some kind of a ghost, or someone who didn't exist. So, she was surprised when Laura approached her with script on her hands.

"Hey, do you have time to read lines with me?"

She wasn't acting strangely, and that's what made this even stranger for Taylor. Laura was okay. And Taylor hated that she was okay. Because she wasn't. "Uhh, yeah, of course!" She studied Laura, and looked for any signs that could show her that she was pissed about last night, but there wasn't any.

They started reading lines, but Taylor kept messing up, that she quickly apologized and politely excused herself. She left Laura feeling confused.

Then Natasha came. "Hey, what happened?" She must have seen Taylor storm out.

"I don't know, actually. We were just reading lines. She kind of kept making mistakes, and maybe she felt bad..." She paused, questions filling her head, "...so she just left."

Laura was trying so hard to act normally because she wanted her friendship with Taylor to actually work. She hated that they made a pact to stay friends but didn't do anything about it afterwards. Even if she spent the last few nights almost sleepless because she couldn't get her and her boyfriend off of her mind, she wanted to be friends with her. That was all she got left.

When she reached her place that first night that they were back to work, she knew then why she was suddenly feeling those things. She had successfully made herself believe that she was over Taylor, that she had left their past behind her. But that was until she had contact with her again, until she was faced with the painful reality that she would never be over her no matter how much time would pass or how long she was gonna distant herself from her.

It was such a pain in the ass at first. Because it had been way too long, for crying out loud. It had been such a merry go round for quite some time now and she just wanted to be done with it. But it wasn't possible. Because she loved Taylor way too much to ever be over her. And she had accepted that now. That she was still in love with her, and probably always would. But she let her go, and now she was in-love with someone else. She had to be okay with that, or else she was gonna lose her completely.

And that was something she just wasn't ready for yet.

-o-o-o-

Taylor was back at home and ever since she had read lines with Laura that day, she hadn't spoken to her again, except when they did their scene together. She couldn't face her without giving away what she was feeling at that moment. Something she wanted to ignore because it wasn't right, but something so inevitable she knew would keep biting her in the ass no matter what.

She was with a really great guy right now, someone so amazing she would be called the most foolish woman in the world if she let him go. But their relationship did not feel right; she did not even feel it at all. At first, she was happy. But days and weeks passed, and she just could not lie to herself anymore. He was a great company, she loved being with him. But she wasn't in-love with him.

And it wouldn't take a genius to figure out why.

It was still Laura.

It had always been Laura.

And it was always gonna be Laura.

-o-o-o-

Laura was having her only day off from work at home when an unregistered number started calling her. At first she wanted to ignore it but curiosity got the best of her and she answered it. And when she did, to say she was surprised with who was calling was an understatement.

-o-o-o-

They were at a cafe, too far from any place anyone she knew would see them. He decided on the time, she decided on the place.

"So," he started, quite reluctantly. "How are you?"

She sighed at his attempt to start any small talk. "Look, I don't wanna sound rude but I really don't have all day. So I think whatever you wanna tell me, you should tell me now." He looked surprised by her bluntness. Maybe he was expecting a soft-spoken woman or whatever her opposite was. Well, she wasn't planning on being nice today, and probably ever, to him.

"Okay," he nodded. "I'm sorry." He paused, thinking on how to start. "Do you wanna know what Taylor told me months ago? This was a few days after you saw her at my house, I'm not sure if you remember that day."

Laura still wasn't sure why she had agreed to meet up with this guy. Aside from the fact that they had both gone out with the same girl, they didn't really know each other, and there was nothing they could talk about that might make sense. "What?" She of course remembered that day, and cringed at the thought. That wasn't a good day.

"She thanked me... for cheating on her. I remember, because I never expected that she would ever tell me that."

This surprised Laura. He had finally gotten her attention. "She did what?"

Peter smiled, but it was a sad one. "Yeah, she did. She told me that if I didn't cheat on her, she wouldn't be with the person she was with at the time... someone she wouldn't trade for anything, someone she couldn't live without, and someone she loved so much." He paused and looked Laura in the eye, trying to assess her reaction, unsuccessfully. "I'm assuming that's you."

Laura did not know how to react, and what to feel. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because after all this time, I still love her... so much."

Laura wanted to laugh at what was happening right now. Here were two people who had fallen madly in-love with Taylor, but hurt her way too much, and even if way too long time had passed, they still felt the same thing they did for her before. Maybe Taylor had that effect on people.

Oblivious of what was going on in her mind, Peter continued. "I know, I don't have the right to say or feel this way after what I've done to her, but I really do. I still feel the same way I've always felt for her. But I let her go. Because I was a moron."

"And so was I," Laura thought.

"I probably still am. And now I have to live every damn day of my life regretting that because knowing you don't get to be with the person you love the most ever, it's the shittiest thing someone can ever feel. I feel it every day and it sucks." He bowed, not wanting the woman in front of her to see the pain in his eyes. But after taking a deep breath, he managed to look at her again. "And I don't want her to go through that."

No matter how much he tried to hide it, Laura could see and feel the pain that Pete was feeling. And she was surprised that she felt bad for him. If this was happening months ago, she would've probably laughed at his face and told him that he deserved that for hurting Taylor. But who was she to talk, really? She did just the same.

But she didn't understand the last part he said. Of course he didn't. Who did, anyway? But Taylor wasn't gonna go through that. Because she was with someone new she loved. Didn't Peter know about that? Maybe Taylor didn't want him to know, or they hadn't spoken since. So she kept quiet about it, because she knew it wasn't her place to tell him.

She then sighed before speaking, still unsure what his purpose was for telling these things to her. "We've been over for months, almost a year, why are you only telling me all this now? It doesn't make any sense."

"Because she came to me last night."

This surprised Laura even more. "She came to you?" Things started running in her mind, reasons on why Taylor would go see Pete. Had they went back to being friends? As far as she knew, Taylor didn't ever wanna see him again. But then again, she hadn't spoken to her in a long time. Too much might have happened and there was no way she would know all of those.

Peter nodded. "Yes. I was surprised, too. The last time she saw me before last night, she made it clear that she didn't want to see me again, ever. But I guess she was past that now. Because she came to tell me that she had forgiven me."

At that point Laura knew that she had fallen in love with Taylor even more, something she thought wasn't possible anymore because she loved her too much already. Once again, Taylor had proven that she was the nicest person in the world, for being able to forgive someone who had caused her so much pain.

Peter looked at Laura intently, wondering how she would react to what he was gonna say next. "That was before she told me how little pain she felt when we broke up as compared to how she felt when you left her. "

Laura felt as if someone had stabbed her with a million knives and twisted them all at the same time. "Well, thanks. That really makes me feel so good." She glared at him, finally understanding why he was here in front of her. He wanted to slap in her face that she was no different than him. As if she didn't know that already. She knew she deserved that. But not from him. They were both as terrible as each other.

Pete shook his head, realizing how his previous statement must have sounded. "No, that's not what I meant. Look, I am not telling you all of this to make you feel bad. I am telling you this because I care for her. And I want to make up for what I did to her before. I want you to realize what you're losing if you let her go."

"I already did, Peter. I've let her go, and I know what I've lost. But there's no point in all of this, because she's with someone else now. And they're happy. And he loves her, hopefully more than we ever did. And I know..." She swallowed a lump in her throat, knowing what she'd say next would hurt her like crazy. "And I know that she loves him, too."

For a moment, Peter looked confused. And then he realized one thing. "You don't know."

"I don't know what?"

"She broke up with him. It's been almost a week now."

"What?" And that's when Laura realized. It had been days that she didn't see him pick Taylor up from work. She thought it was because Taylor asked him not to because she didn't want him to see her, but it was actually because they had broken up. But why? They seemed happy. Well, happier than her anyway.

"They're over. She told me herself. She told me she didn't love him, that she never did. Because she loves you... way, way more than she ever loved me, or anyone for that matter. So... if I had hurt her a lot, imagine what she must have felt when you broke up. She's still hurting. And she doesn't deserve that. We both know it. And I know how much you love her, too. It's a win-win for you both."

Laura suddenly felt as if someone was choking her. Taylor still loved her. She should be happy. But instead, she wanted to cry, and she felt stupid. She couldn't just cry in front of some stranger. "It's not that easy. I'm a coward, okay? Why do you think I even broke up with her even though I loved..." love, she corrected herself silently, "...her way too much? If we get back together, I'm just gonna hurt her over and over again. I don't wanna do that to her."

"Funny, coz I think you're already doing that."

Laura looked away. He was right. "She should've moved on by now. We both should have." Laura wasn't sure why she was finding a way to get out of this. She loved Taylor. And Taylor loved her, too. What on earth was her stupid mind trying to make her do?

"Haven't you listened to anything I said? She loves you. She still does, and probably always will. And looking at you now, I'm pretty sure you feel exactly the same thing." He stopped, waiting for her to answer. When she didn't, he decided to get up. "I've said everything I had to say. It's up to you now. I just hope you can make up your mind before it's too late."

A/N:

Hi, my loves! So, Pete returns! I almost slapped myself when I realized that the names I gave Taylor's 'guys' in this fic are Polly's husband (Pete) and kid's (Finn) names. Lol. I swear that wasn't intentional. Haha.

Anyway, we're so close to the end! *drum roll* Idk what the drum roll is for. I'm crazy today. Don't mind me. Lol. *wink wink*

Marijn, Hi there, girl! I'm so sorry about the last chapter =(( I missed your name on my reviews and I feel really bad. Forgive me? Here's some pies for you =) Again, my apologies! xo Anyway, thank you for your reviews the last two chapters! And yeah, I'm gonna miss talking to you, too. But we can always send PMs to each other, yknow =) I'm glad you loved the previous chapter! Hope you love this one, too. Love you back, girl! HUGSSSSSSSS!

xunconsciousx, Wow, good for you! More happy and loving years to you both! 3 Yeah, thank you! And also, thank you for leaving reviews every chapter!

Gabi, So sorry for all the stress this fan fiction is causing you, haha. Please bear with me. Love you back, girl! Hope you'll like this chapter! *crosses fingers*

BethanyTaylorWilliams, Hi, if I'm not mistaken this is your first review? So hello! I loooove meeting new people =) Wow, thank you very much! Reading this 3x is a huge compliment to me and I really can't thank you enough. Sending you lots of hugs and kisses. Haha. I hope you stick with the story no matter what happens. Again, thank you, you're lovely =)

lily, Thank you for that wonderful review! I'm happy that you trust me with this, don't give up on me yet. Maybe good things will happen soon! Haha.

Anas, Yeah, I am proud of it! Especially because it's helped me meet a lot of wonderful people (like you!) even if it's just through the reviews. Thanks again! Your kind words make my heart swell *happy tears* xo

I3VauseMan, I'm glad that this fan fiction made you feel that. It means it's effective, right? Haha. Awww, don't worry about it, maybe she's not the right person for you. Whoever 'the one' for you is, I'm sure she's out there and fate's only waiting for the right time for you to meet each other in the most perfect way possible, right? =) Moving on is not an easy task but I'm sure eventually, you will. Smile! There's a reason for everything =) Anyway, Tay's finally gotten rid of Finn! Yey! Thank you, your review is enough to make me smile for the rest of the month! LOL. HUGE HUG and LOTS OF KISSES to you! =')

moanzs, Thank you! Hopefully, yeah! But I'm not yet 100% sure if I'm going to post it. I still have to make sure that I'm going to go through it until the end coz I don't wanna post something that I won't finish because I know how much that sucks for the readers. Lol. But looking forward to your reviews again if ever I indeed post that one here. Thank you again! =)

FFChik, I couldn't agree more! You can't control where your heart goes, right? =)

Ellen, First of all, thank you for the review you left on Oblivion! =) And you're welcome, I really like replying to all of you. Thanks, too, for always leaving reviews! I love them! Hmm, maybe we can do counselling together, my problem is real-life Laylor and the fact that I haven't seen them interact in a really long time. *bummer* haha. The link still doesn't work? Maybe it's my laptop? I don't know =( But I'll wait for your PM and hopefull it'd work by then. Again, thank you and have a nice day!