Chapter 33 – Coming Home

Laura went home immediately after Peter had left. Everything that Peter told her was just too much to handle all at once that she felt a very familiar swirling inside her head when she reached her place. It was that same feeling when she couldn't decide whether to break up with Taylor or not. It was that same feeling so many months ago that's making her head spin again today.

She wondered how long it was gonna take for her to get past this. Sure, she had accepted the fact that she was always gonna be in-love with Taylor, but she didn't want this constant nag within her to come with that package. It was exhausting to be thinking too much all the time and she hated it.

Guess you really couldn't always get what you wanted.

This was supposed to be easy. The woman she loved also felt the same for her, still. After every mess they had gotten themselves into, there was still that inevitable pull towards each other which they couldn't fight, the never-ending longing to still be together even after every pain they had caused each other. Never in her life would Laura have compared her relationship with Taylor to that of Alex and Piper's, but thinking about it all now, maybe it's time to change her stand on that one.

But why was it so hard? Why was it coming to a point where it almost tormented her to even just navigate through it all, to see where all of this was supposed to be headed, and to come to a decision on whether she should just walk away from this, or go back running to one of the very few things that scared her to her cores?

Thinking back, she thought of how scared she was back then, scared of something that hadn't even taken place in the first place. She was scared that Taylor would leave her, so instead she was the one who left. She felt sick to her stomach thinking back to that day, and to everything that had happened afterwards, because it was all her fault. She was the one who ran away and she was the one who gave up.

And maybe, just maybe, it was time to take those all back.

She thought of Taylor, and how she made her feel. She thought of how contented she felt whenever she would wake up and have her beautiful face the first one she'd see. She thought of how she could make her feel better every time she felt bad. She thought of how everything just seemed perfect with her even if every imperfection in this world was right in her face.

And how all of that went away when she turned her back on what they had.

And how much she missed all of that every day since, up until this very second.

And how the constant voice in her head was starting to get louder and louder, screaming at her to just step the fuck up and win the woman she loved the most back.

And how she'd finally decided... it was the time to stop her fear from getting the best of her.

It was time to get her home back.

-o-o-o-

"Wow, I've told you, oops no, nagged you about this a million times, and you never agreed with me. Now this guy tells you this one time and this is how you react? Can't say I'm not offended, Prepon."

It was Natasha. She and Laura met up at a bar after both their shoots ended. Laura just told her everything that Peter told her, and how this had finally made her realize about what she should do, about what she really wanted to do.

"I never said I didn't agree with you." She drank her third shot of vodka in less than ten minutes. She didn't know why she was becoming restless. And every shot she was taking was making her a bit more relaxed.

"Oh, you did!" Natasha looked at her, with a grin. She was excited and ecstatic for the things that were about to happen. If there was one person who wanted Laura to get Taylor back more than herself, it was her. Tasho knew that at some point in their lives, Taylor and Laura would finally find their way on each other's arms, no matter how long it took. Those two just loved each other way too much for them to end up any other way.

"Well, I never admitted that I agreed with you... I did. I was just... too scared. But now, I just can't live another day knowing I never tried just because I was such a freaking coward. I gotta get her back, Tasho. But I don't know how."

That was the reason she didn't go to Taylor just yet. She didn't wanna barge in her place or wherever she was and just drop this bomb on her. She had to plan carefully or she might lose her instead.

"You don't know how? You just go in there and tell her you love her and that you wanna get back with her and that you're not gonna fuck this up anymore. How hard is that to do, really?"

"Easier said than done. Sure, Peter told me that she still loves me. But he didn't say anything about her wanting me back. What if she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore? After what I've done, there's a fat chance she doesn't want to go through all of that again." And then she added, more to herself than Natasha, "Fuck, she told me that herself."

"After what you've done, she still loves you. Doesn't that tell you enough already?" Instead of answering, Laura took another shot. "What now, you're going back to being a coward again?"

"No, I just..." she shook her head, trying to shake herself off from succumbing to the alcohol that was flowing through her blood, "I just wanna think this through."

"Well, by the time you're done thinking, she may have gone off with another guy. So, take your time, by all means."

Tasho was right. She had done this before. Think and think and think and look where it got her. Maybe it was time to stop thinking and just do exactly what she felt.

-o-o-o-

It had been three days since Taylor had spoken to Peter. She still couldn't believe that she poured it all out on him. But there was no one else she could talk to. And she wanted to talk to someone who, in no chance, would ever tell Laura about it. The last thing she wanted was for her to find out about this. It was obvious that she had moved on and she didn't wanna ruin that for her.

When she broke up with Finn, she didn't think it was gonna be easy until she was already doing it. It just felt right, letting him go. But even so, she still felt guilty about it because she could see and feel that he really cared about her. She cared about him, too, but that was it, and that was never going to be enough. She knew that it would be a much bigger mistake if she had kept their relationship going even if she knew that her heart wasn't in it at all.

Right now, all she felt was the emptiness inside her. And she knew what, who, was gonna fill that void inside her. But that person was too far gone that she had to start learning to accept that this may be how she would always feel from now on. She would never feel complete anymore, and she felt so fucking lonely.

And she wanted to scream... because she didn't wanna feel this way for the rest of her life. She didn't want to let it suck the life out of her. But what else was there left for her to do? She couldn't have Laura back. She made it clear that this was not what she wanted. And after all those months that had passed, she was sure Laura wasn't thinking about this at all anymore.

She suddenly felt exhausted just thinking, like it had drained all the energy left inside of her. But when her eyes started to feel heavy, her phone rang.

It was Laura.

"H-hello?" For a second, she was scared to hear her voice, her beautiful voice that made her knees weak, because she knew that if she did, she was probably gonna go running to her. And that was stupid. And crazy. And pathetic.

"Hey."

Taylor gathered all of her strength to keep herself from crying, from begging Laura to come back to her. And she felt her body slack in doing so. She waited for her to say another word, because she couldn't speak, holding her breathe without realizing it.

"I'm... I'm here outside your place. I know it's really late, but I really need to talk to you now."

This was the last thing that Taylor expected Laura to say. And she sensed some urgency in her tone, as if she was running after every word, dying to keep up, afraid she wouldn't catch up if she slowed down. And she couldn't miss how Laura was slurring her words. Was she drunk? And what did she want to talk about in the middle of the night?

"Taylor? Are you still there?"

She realized she must have stayed frozen for a while. But Laura saying her name again felt like music in her ears, and that brought her back to earth. "Y-yes! I'm sorry, I... yeah. I'll be at the door in a second."

She almost ran to the door. But it felt like a million steps towards it. She wanted to be there as soon as she could but she was also scared to reach it. She was not ready for this. She didn't think her mind was functioning enough for her to have whatever conversation Laura wanted to have.

When she opened her door, there stood the most beautiful, wonderful, exquisite woman, in her life. And she was smiling. Like she's never smiled at her in a long time. But there was also off about her. "H-hi. May I come in?"

Yep. Laura was definitely drunk. "Laura? Are you okay? What—come in!"

Laura almost hit the door when she started walking. Fortunately, Taylor had pulled her before she could hurt herself. "I need to talk to you," she said, almost frantically.

"Okay, let's go sit at the couch. Come on." Taylor led her to the couch, holding her, afraid that she might stumble if she didn't. "What's going on? Are you drunk? Did you drive on your way here?" She suddenly panicked thinking of the terrible things that could've happened to Laura if she was crazy enough to drive in her condition. But Laura shook her head and Taylor felt relief wash through her.

They reached the couch and Laura faced her. She may have been drunk but there was something in the way she looked at her, something she had not seen in her eyes in a long time. And somehow, it made Taylor's heart race.

"What is it?" Taylor didn't know if Laura's mind was in the right state but she figured she could try and humor her for a bit. And frankly, she didn't know if she cared enough for anything that Laura wanted to say. She was just happy that she was here with her, and so close to her she could smell her scent. Despite what she had drank, she smelled good, and Taylor wanted to pull her to her and bury her face on her neck, and just take in her scent the whole night.

"I've been... wanting to talk to you..." Laura spoke, almost childlike, as if she was scared to say whatever she was supposed to say. And she was slurring her words that Taylor almost found it hard to understand her. Her eyes were also almost closed, but she looked as if she was resisting them to do so, so hard.

"Okay..." was the only thing that Taylor could say back. Her mind was still trying to wrap itself around what Laura might want to talk to her about.

"B-but I... I need to do something first..."

Before Taylor could even open her mouth to ask what it was, Laura's arms were wrapped around her. She was hugging her, tightly, and it felt good, so much better than good. She felt herself relax for the first time ever since Laura came in. She closed her eyes and wanted to stay in her arms forever. She hugged her back. And it was like being home after a really, really long trip.

The hug had taken away all her worries, all that was bothering her. The feeling of emptiness was suddenly gone, as if the void had already been filled, like a missing piece of the puzzle was found. Laura was that missing puzzle and she fit oh so perfectly. Taylor held on to her so tightly, not wanting to let go.

A minute had passed, or probably more and suddenly, Taylor noticed how Laura suddenly felt a lot heavier. "Laura?" No answer. "Laura?" Maybe she was thinking of how to say what she was gonna say. Or she felt the same way Taylor felt that she just wanted to envelope her in her arms a little bit longer.

But Laura was no longer moving and her arms weren't wrapped tightly around her anymore. They had loosen up. So Taylor decided to pay more attention to her breathing and noticed that it had suddenly become slow and steady.

So she pulled herself out of the hug and she couldn't help but chuckle at what she saw.

Laura had fallen asleep on her shoulders.

A/N:

moanzs, Thank you! Yeah, I just figured it had to be Peter since he's the one who knows what it feels like to lose Taylor and such. =) Thanks again, hope you like this chapter!

sweetlikevanillais, Here it is! =)

BethanyTaylorWilliams, Thank you for letting me know! It's great to know that some people think I'm good at this. I'm glad you were happy with the last chapter, hope you're happy with this one as well. =)

FFChik, It's nice knowing you like where this story is heading. Thank you for another great review! =)

Guest (who took that looooooong break), Hi there! Glad to have been your 'entertainment' on your break. Haha. Thank you for your review! Unfortunately, I don't think there's going to be a sequel. I tried writing one but I stopped on the second chapter because I didn't know what to do with the story. Sorry! But I'm writing a new fic, and if ever I decide to post that one, hope you'd still be there to read it. Thanks again! =)

Marijn, Hi there! How do you feel about this chapter now? Haha. Oh, yeah you can always read it again if ever you miss it, lol. Awww, thank you! I'll send you lots of PMs don't worry. Haha. Love you back, girl! Tight hugs and lotsa kisses!

Anas, Wow, to label this fic as 'high-quality' is a little overwhelming and very humbling. Thank you very much! Yep, well we only have three chapters left before you find out, right? Haha. And thank you for reading Oblivion. Sorry if it broke your heart (even just a little, haha)

Gabi, I'm glad you loved the previous chapter! Hope you love this one, too! Love you back! Thanks, sweet thing! =)

ariaskj, Hey there, I missed you! I'm glad you're back! =) Thank you for that review and I'm glad you love how things have turned out. I'm gonna miss interacting with you, too, when this ends =( =)

I3VauseMan, Hi there! I see that you have confused Taylor and Laura with Piper and Alex now, haha. But that's okay I do that a lot, too. =)) Anyway, another great review! Thank you very much. Glad to know that Chapter 32 is now your favourite chapter. =) And you can call me Jen anyway, if you want haha. Yeah, right back at you! Hugs and kisses you wonderful and awesome person! =))

jo michael, Oooh, good luck with the working out thingy! I've never been good at that, I quit so easily haha. Oh no, I wouldn't want to break your heart. =( =)) And don't worry I'm gonna make sure we will stay in touch. And yeah! I'm already working on a new fan fic but I still am not sure whether I'll post it or ot. I'll let you know =))

Ellen, Hi there! Yeah, I wanted Peter to do the right thing this time and make up for what he did to Taylor before. Thank you for your review!

stargatejumper10, Haha well what do you think of this chapter? =))

Guys I'm so sorry for my replies right now. I feel a little sick today but I just had to post this chapter because I don't like to keep you waiting. Again, you people are wonderful. Group hug!