madeline // a Taylor Swift adoption

21 // a bad day

taylor's pov

"yes, maddie!" i screamed as i followed her along the course.
she was doing great, but something was wrong.
normally she'll look at me and smile as soon as she heard me yell, or she'd throw up a peace sign.
she's normally do something, and she didn't.
she looked almost pale.
she's totally gonna pass out.
"shit.." i whispered to myself as i started running after her.
when she got to the last 100 meters, she gave it her all, but just like i thought, she collapsed at the end, and a girl with a sports medicine jacket, probably about my age, quickly ran over and helped her, dragging her out of the way before people began crossing the finish line after her.
i ran over to the finish line near the gate and pushed myself through the people telling me i couldn't come in.
"that's my kid." i said, as they tried to push me out, and they let me go.
by the time i finally got to them, maddie was awake, sitting up against the girl that helped her.
"ahh, look mads, taylor is here, just like you asked."
maddie didn't move, she looked almost too weak to do so.
the girl sat maddie back up against the golf cart and stood up.
"she's okay, she kept asking for you," she said with a laugh, and then introduced herself. "i'm sarah, the athletic trainer." she said, and then put her hand out for me to shake, so i did.
"i'm taylor." i replied.
"did she eat today? i don't know why that happened just now, but normally kids pass out like that if they don't eat breakfast."
i nodded my head.
"yeah, right before we got here actually."
sarah turned around and looked at maddie, then back at me.
"okay. honestly, i don't know what happened, but she is okay. she remembers everything. you can take her to the hospital if you want, but i don't really think that it's necessary. i'll keep an eye on her during practices and everything throughout the week just to be sure she's fine if that makes you feel better."
"thank you, sarah." i said, and gave her a hug.
"no problem." she said, then crouched down by maddie to help her stand up.
"now i know why you're the talk of the town, you're one speedy girl." she said, pulling her up, and i smiled.
i took maddie from sarah and hugged her tight. "yes, she definitely is."
after maddie and i sat down together for a few minutes, she stood up.
"you good?" i asked, and she nodded.
"i'm gonna go get my stuff from the locker room, you can come," she said, and i stood up to follow her.
after we grabbed her bag, she walked into another room and opened up an ice machine.
maddie must've caught on to my confused face because she explained where we were.
"this is the athletic training room, i'm getting some ice because my leg has been bothering me and then we can head out."
i nodded my head, and after she grabbed her ice bags, we walked to the car.

-

maddies pov

later that night, taylor and i sat at the table together to eat dinner, and i just moved my fork around my plate with my head resting on the palm of hand.
taylor made my favorite dinner, lasagna, after my awful finish today, but i just couldn't bring myself to eat it.
"you feeling okay?" taylor asked, eyeing my fork as it continued to move back and forth on my plate.
i nodded my head and took a deep breath in, and then let it out.
"are you lying to me? you've barely touched your food, and you've hardly talked since we've gotten home. what's wrong baby?" she asked with a bit of concern in her voice.
i shrugged my shoulders, but i could already feel the hot tears building in my eyes.
i really don't know what's wrong, and i really don't want to cry.
today was just a bad day.
"hm?" taylor pressed on from the other side of the table.
i wiped the tear that started to slowly fall down my cheek, and finally brought myself to take a few bites of my food, completely ignoring her question.
i hate talking about my feelings... i don't like it when people feel bad for me, however bottling everything up isn't gonna make this situation any better.
after i finished about half of my plate, i put my fork down and let out a shaky breath.
just hold the tears in for a few more minutes.. i thought to myself.
"i'm full." i said quietly, and i could feel taylor's eyes studying my face, waiting for me to say more.
taylor sighed.
"i'm fine. seriously," i said, finally looking up at her.
"okay," she said finally, sounding unconvinced. "why don't you go take a shower, i'll get your plate."
i quickly got up from my chair and ran up the staircase, ignoring the sharp pain in my leg.
then, as soon as i shut my bathroom door, i burst into tears.
today was just a bad day.