delicate [1] | TAYLOR SWIFT

28

"Yep, I wanna get home early."

"So, you could shower, put on a hot outfit and go see your girlfriend?" Abigail teased her, walking down the aisle with all the bed linens.

"No," Taylor scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "So that I can have a productive day."

"Doing what exactly?" Abby laughed, picking out two sets of plain white mattress covers. "Hold these?"

Taylor rolled her eyes but complied, holding out her arms so she could help her friend pile up all the different covers she was planning on buying.

"I don't know, but I've been lazy for far too long. I need to start working again," Taylor defended herself, scrunching her nose when Abby held up a particularly ugly set of sheets with flowers embroidered into them. "Ew, no. The other ones are much nicer. The grey ones."

Abigail set them back and switched with the other set that Taylor had liked. "You're not being lazy, you're taking care of yourself, which is really important, by the way."

"I know!" Taylor groaned, tossing a few of the sheets over to Greg as they were becoming quite heavy. He was happy to help out, insisting on grabbing the whole pile instead. For once, she didn't complain. "I have that performance in a few weeks that I need to start rehearsing for with the band anyway."

"You don't need that much rehearsal," Abby chuckled. "You're just scared, which you don't have to be—"

"—Yeah, of course, I'm scared, Abby! The whole world hates me—"

"—That's not true—"

"—So, I can't afford to mess up—"

"—Not true—"

"—It is true! Abby, the whole world has only just stopped talking shit about me, like, just because I'm breathing. And if I make just one mistake, they'll never let me live it down. Every move I make from now on has to be a hundred and ten per cent calculated, or I can lose everything for good—"

"Oh my god, Tay, breathe!"

Taylor opened her mouth to fight back, but instead, she inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes as Abby grabbed her by the shoulders gently and looked at her with a small frown. Taylor felt her hands shaking, so she held her fists tightly at her sides.

"Breathe... I get why you're anxious about it all. I know you need to be more careful, for something that was never your fault which fucking sucks but, I know you, Tay, and I know what you're capable of and I know you're going to be fine!" Abby exclaimed, holding each of Taylor's hands in her own. "Okay? You're always a hundred and ten per cent ready for everything. Don't worry about that show. It's a few weeks away, anyway. You got this."

Abby smiled at Taylor, trying to reassure her, and it did help, just a bit. Her heart was still hammering in her chest, a million different thoughts running through her head. But she tried to breathe in and out at a steady pace, hoping to try and relax her breathing just enough to avoid a panic attack, especially out in public.

"Maybe coffee was a bad idea," Abby chuckled, turning back around to choose a bunch of pillowcases.

"Never say that to me again, Abigail!" Taylor threatened with her pointer finger.

"Okay, sorry," she chuckled, and then glanced at Taylor with her eyebrows raised. "I think your phone's ringing."

Taylor frowned, having completely ignored the fact that her phone was indeed buzzing incessantly. She hadn't even noticed in her panicked state. She pulled it out of her pocket, her heart rate immediately slowing down when Kaia's face appeared on her screen. But now, it was her stomach's turn to go crazy.