the only exception

"Happy New Year!" Rang through the living room as Taylor pulled Hayley in for a deep, but quick kiss. It had been almost a perfect night- surrounded by their friends and celebrating the new year. Though both of them were missing Phoebe, and hoping she's okay, the teen had made good on her promise to text them every hour.

Still, almost as soon as the excitement of midnight wore off, Hayley was sure they should head home. Something felt off and while she's almost certain she's just overthinking everything, it felt better to be safe than sorry.

They said their goodbyes to everyone- making plans to meetup within the next week to go get lunch together.

Hayley didn't voice her concerns, but the entire time that nervous feeling just continued to grow. Even once they'd gotten in the car and began their drive home, Hayley tried to stay silent on the irrational dread she was feeling.

It didn't help that her phone was dead and so she couldn't reach out to double check that Phoebe was okay. She would ask Taylor for his, but still- didn't wanna voice her probably unwarranted concerns.

She felt a little relief though when Phoebe started calling Taylor, cutting off the music as his phone was connected to the car.

"Hey, kiddo! We're on our way home now, do you want us to just pick you up?" Taylor asked after answering the call, his voice cheery.

"Uhm, hi. Taylor?" Emily's hesitant voice asked, making Hayley and Taylor both turn to each other with quick, panicked eyes.

"Emily?" Hayley asked, "Are you okay? Where's Phoebe?"

"I tried calling you, but it went to voicemail. So I tried Phoebe's phone, but it didn't work either." Emily explained quickly.

"That's okay, honey. Are you okay?" Hayley asked again, thoughts instantly going to the worst case scenario.

"I'm okay, but Phoebe doesn't feel good." Emily said slowly, then seeming to direct her attention to Phoebe- her voice slightly far away. "Do you want the phone?"

"No phone. Just want my mom. Please, Em." Phoebe cried out softly, and Hayley's pretty sure her heart was going to break in two just from that.

"Okay, Emily, we're on our way." Taylor assured, "How much did she drink?"

"Nothing? I think?" Emily tried, "She said she didn't want to. She just had soda the whole night."

"Did she smoke?" Hayley asked, trying not to panic at the thought of something being wrong with her kid.

"No."

Hayley looked at Taylor, seeing his eyes deadset and determined as they drove towards Hayden's house. "Did she take something else?"

"No."

Hayley sighed, "Emily, you have to be honest with us. We just wanna make sure she's okay, just like you."

"I- I know." Emily stuttered, "She didn't do anything though. I swear."

"Okay, we're almost there." Hayley told her softly, "Can you try to give her some water?"

"Jackie tried, she won't take it." Emily replied quickly, "How far away are you?"

"Like ten minutes." Hayley told her, "Where are you guys at?"

"The bathroom." Emily said as Phoebe broke out into more quiet, slurred complaints somewhere in the background. "Phoebe, your mom and dad are almost here, okay?"

"Okay, yeah." Emily said to the unclear whines before bringing the phone back closer to her face, "We'll meet you outside."

Pretty much as soon as they pulled up outside Hayden's house, Hayley was scanning around to try and spot the girls. However, Taylor wasted no time throwing the car in park and getting out.