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

Chapter 12

Taylor could feel herself starting to break down before the call had even ended. How could this be happening? Hadn't poor Avery been through enough already? Why would he decide to show up now after not giving a fuck about his daughter for the past 10 years of her life?

She took a few minutes to pull herself together, not wanting to tell Avery what was happening yet and risk ruining her birthday. She obviously needed to talk to Travis about this and make a plan, but she figured it wouldn't be the end of the world to wait until Avery was asleep.

After about ten minutes she felt like she had calmed down enough to be presentable and made her way downstairs to the movie room. She couldn't help but smile as she saw Avery curled up against Travis's side, her little eyelids heavy as she fought sleep. She could feel the knot tighten in her stomach as she watched Travis gently rub her back; this is what it looked like to be a dad, not whatever pathetic excuses her biological father had come up with for the past decade of his absence. Taylor pulled out her phone, snapping a quick picture to remember the moment.

"Hi my loves," Taylor greeted quietly.

"I think someone's worn out from her busy day," Travis laughed, before noticing how red Taylor's eyes looked, "Are you okay honey?"

"We'll talk later. I just got a call from Steven," Taylor explained.

Before Travis could respond, Avery yawned and snuggled in closer to Travis, clearly on the brink of falling asleep.

"Alrighty then, I think it's time to get someone tucked into bed so she's well-rested for her birthday party," Taylor announced.

Avery surprisingly didn't put up much of a protest, clearly exhausted from all the excitement of attending the game and preparing for her birthday. She quickly got changed into pajamas and brushed her teeth, letting Taylor braid her hair before crawling into bed.

"Can we read three chapters tonight?" Avery asked hopefully.

"Sure baby," Taylor answered, knowing she would probably be asleep before the end of the first chapter anyways.

As expected, Avery fell asleep before Taylor could even finish one chapter. Taylor quietly turned off the lamp, placing the book back on her nightstand before gently kissing Avery's forehead and leaving the bedroom.

Travis was waiting for her downstairs in the living room, silently handing her a glass of wine as she sat down next to him on the couch. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Travis gently rubbed her feet in an effort to help her relax.

"So I'm guessing Steven wasn't calling with good news?" Travis asked.

"They finally tracked down Avery's father," Taylor began.

"I take it he's not agreeing to the adoption?" Travis questioned.

"He's filing for full custody. We have a hearing on Wednesday," Taylor answered, starting to cry again.

"Fuck!" Travis yelled, startling Taylor and Benji who had settled in his lap, "Sorry. But fuck him. Why does he think he can just waltz in after ignoring her for ten years and suddenly be a parent?"

"I know. It's awful. Steven thinks we have a strong case against him and that if we win we can probably sign the adoption papers on the spot. But I'm still scared for her. I hate that she has to deal with this. They want her to make a statement too," Taylor added.

Travis pulled out his phone and quickly started typing away.

"What are you doing, Trav?" Taylor asked.

"I'm texting Coach Reid and letting him know I need to take a leave this week," Travis replied, not looking up from his phone.

"What? Trav, you don't need to do that. Just see if you can get Wednesday off from practice. You can't miss a game over this," Taylor argued.

"Tay, no matter what happens on Wednesday, we're going to take it on together. You, me and Aves. I want to be here for you both," he explained.

"Thank you," Taylor whispered, burying her face into his chest.

"Now what do we need to do to finish getting ready to give our girl the best birthday ever?"