A Place In This World - Adopted By Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Chapter 7

Warning: mentions of self harm

"Miss Swift? Could I talk with you for a moment please?"

Taylor felt her stomach drop as she watched Travis and Avery step out of the room, presumably heading out to the car to wait for her. Amber, the guidance counselor, offered her a seat by her desk, giving her a moment to get settled as she shut the door and turned on the white noise machine to provide extra privacy.

"I appreciate you sticking around for a few minutes. Just to confirm, you are Avery's legal guardian, correct?" she asked.

"Yes, the court order should be in Avery's file. I've been granted guardianship and Travis and I are beginning the process of adopting her," Taylor confirmed.

"Wonderful. She's very lucky to have you both. Now Miss Swift..."

"Please, call me Taylor. No need to be so formal," Taylor laughed, trying to break the tension in the room.

"Right, Taylor, I wanted to let you know that Avery spent a good portion of her day here in my office. We met this morning, as we had discussed on the phone the other day. She uhh... she never actually made it to class today. There was a lot she needed to talk through, understandably, and then she started to shut down. That was when we called you," Amber explained.

"Thank you for being there for her today, we weren't sure how she was going to handle being back here. She's been dealing with some separation anxiety, so this was one of the first times she's been away from us," Taylor admitted.

"I can only imagine how hard this must be for her. But Taylor, she told me something today that I need to share with you. While we were talking, Avery shared with me that she sometimes thinks about hurting herself. We spent some time talking about it, and she said she wanted you and Travis to know, but she didn't know how to tell you," Amber detailed.

"Oh that poor baby," Taylor whispered, her heart breaking at the thought of Avery being in so much pain.

"She wanted me to talk to you, and let you know that she's feeling this way and wanting help to make it stop," Amber said, looking down at her notes, "She specifically mentioned that it's the worst when she has nightmares about her mom, and that that's usually when she comes to get you."

"Thank you for talking with her about this. I'll be sure to loop her therapist in too so we can make a plan for how to best support her. I'll keep you updated with any advice she has that would be beneficial for her time here at school. We'll keep you posted about if she'll be back at school tomorrow too," Taylor said, shaking Ambers hand before walking out to the car.

As Taylor sat in the passenger seat, she shot a glance to Travis that clearly meant "we'll talk about it later" before turning to Avery in the backseat.

"Do you still want to go get some ice cream?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"No thank you. My belly kind of hurts now," Avery said quietly.

"How about we go home and watch a movie then?" Travis asked.

"I'd like that," Avery smiled.

Less than 20 minutes into the movie, Avery was fast asleep on the couch. Sensing the opportunity to talk, Travis and Taylor quietly slipped out of the living room. Taylor filled Travis in on everything the guidance counselor had shared with her, concern heavy in her voice. They left a message for Avery's therapist as well, hoping to get some guidance on how to keep Avery safe.

Later that evening, Travis and Avery had built a huge blanket fort in the living room where they were all currently enjoying some pizza for dinner. Taylor looked around nervously before clearing her throat and interrupting the peaceful moment.

"So Aves, I was talking with Miss Amber today after we picked you up and she told me about some of the things you told her about today."

Avery's face immediately fell as she started to nervously pick at the skin around her fingernails. Travis reached out to stop her, gently holding her small hands in his much larger ones.

"Sweetie, we're so proud of you for asking for help. I know how scary that must have been for you. But now that we know, we can help you when you start having those yucky thoughts, okay?" Taylor explained, opening her arms to pull Avery in for a hug.

"And we promise you can always come get us, any time, if you start having those feelings, okay? Even if it's the middle of the night, you don't have to deal with it alone," Travis added.

"Thank you," Avery said quietly, allowing herself to be wrapped in their tight hugs.

"It's been a long day, but I was thinking maybe it would be a good night for a living room camp out," Taylor suggested.

"I mean we do already have a tent set up. It would be a shame to let it go to waste," Travis added.

Avery happily agreed, grateful that she wouldn't be alone if she had another nightmare. Taylor let out a small sigh of relief, glad that the difficult conversation seemed to have gone smoothly. She was sure her own anxiety wouldn't allow her to get much sleep, but at least Avery would be close by all night, making it much easier to keep her safe.