the best day ⸺ taylor swift x daughter one shots

1.2 | i'll never walk cornelia street again

The silence was too hard to carry as Taylor placed her coffee on the table. "We should tell her." She snapped her head towards him.

"No."

Joe sighed as he reached for her hand, but she jerked it away forcefully. It had been days since they agreed to take a break and the last few days were the worst days of her life. "Taylor..." He whispered warily, testing the water.

"No." Taylor glared at Joe sternly.

"I don't want to leave without saying a proper goodbye, Taylor." Taylor huffed at her now ex-boyfriend. "Leah deserves to know." Her face softened at the mention of their daughter, but it quickly morphed back into a bitter expression.

"No one asked you to leave."

Joe exhaled, he knew this was hard on her, it was hard on both of them. But they made a decision, and he thought they agreed to end it on good terms. "Tay, are you still mad?"

Not mad, just upset. But she swallowed that sentence. Instead, she fired a question at him. "How do you plan to explain it to her?"

"We can try, make a black and white scenario. She's sharp, she'll understand." Taylor knew she was. Leanna is clever, and that's what scared her the most. She'll understand, and then she'll ask questions. Ones that Taylor isn't capable of answering without breaking down.

"Not we, you." She kept her voice steady as she blinked back the tears. It's not like she disagrees with Joe, Leah does deserve to know, she's just afraid of her reaction. "You explain it."

"Deal." Without warning, Joe grabbed her hand, dragging Taylor towards the playroom. He wore that troubled grin on his face, the one that he makes whenever he's worried; the one that she knows for sure is fake.

Leanna stood up instantly as her parents appeared in the doorway. Clapping cheerfully, she sprinted towards them. Well, towards Taylor. She had always favoured Taylor, and it's something that Joe always jokingly complained about.

The mother bent down to pick up the toddler on the ground, tickling her as she did. It sent the child in her arms into fits of giggles.

"Can you play with me?" Leanna asked with her puppy eyes, one that she knew her mother would fall for. But not this time, apparently.

"Maybe later." The little girl pouted. "Daddy has something to tell you." She changed her mouth into an 'o' shape, staring at her father lightheartedly as she rested her index finger on her chin, pretending to be in deep thoughts.

Seconds later, she shot her hands up in the air like Hermione did whenever a question was asked in class. Her eyes sparkled with exhilaration and elation, bouncing up and down in Taylor's arms.

"Are we going somewhere?" She questioned excitedly. "I wanna go to the park! Can we go on the swing as well?" Taylor and Joe made eye contact for a second, having their own wordless conversation before they nodded and headed back towards the living room.

Leanna continued to fire questions at them along the way, laughing and clapping in agitation as she played with Taylor's curls, waiting for her parents' answer. It pained both of them to know that in just a few minutes, she would be feeling the complete opposite.

"Leah," Joe started as the three of them settled on the couch, Leanna still in Taylor's arms. "You know how sometimes mommy and daddy will have to leave you at grandma's because of work?" The noise level in the house decreased rapidly, choking everyone with its sudden silence.

"Are you leaving?" Leah turned to look at Taylor, her bright electric blue eyes blurred with tears. "I don't want you to leave." She continued to whine as she clutched Taylor's hand tightly. "Don't go."