1 (jaylor) wisteria hearts and caged folk songs

chapter two.

The clouds were cold and forlorn when Taylor glanced up at them, waiting for the rain to start up again. It had been raining heavily for over a week now. This was the first break in the weather that they'd had in seven days. The wind was bitterly cold, the rain only a gentle drop here and there. "Let me take you home." The words came from behind her, and she spun around to face him. She'd never expected him to follow her out here, never expected that he might think she was worth chasing after on such a cold day.
"Oh... err... no. It's fine. Don't worry about it. I live pretty close." Taylor was used to making excuses like this. "Like, just down the street. And it gets pretty busy, you know, being me and all. I've got security picking me up." That last part was a lie, and she wondered if he knew. She wondered if he could see right through her."Taylor, it's a bitterly cold day. Come on - it'll only take five minutes. My apartment is right around the corner, let's go. Just let me grab my car and then I'll take you home."
"No, it's okay. Don't bother yourself with that. You really don't have to." Taylor bit her lip again. She tended to do this when she was anxious. Just as Taylor was about to turn away from him and fade back into the crowd, a big gust of wind tore her scarf from her neck. Her light blue scarf tangled in the air and the moment seemed to occur in slow motion. It would have flown away, had Joe not caught it in time. It almost perfectly slipped in between his fingers and caught there. 

For a single moment, she forgot why she wore the scarf in the first place. For a moment, she reached for her scarf and didn't even hide her neck. For a moment, she was just a normal woman. For a moment, she was a person without bruises and scars. For a moment, she was the person she used to be before her heart was torn apart."Taylor..." His voice trailed off in shock. He spoke so softly that she barely heard him at all. Soft voices scared her. He looked at her neck as he handed her scarf back and his smile faded. "What happened to you?" Her hands immediately went to her neck. Her face fell in the realisation of how she'd messed up."N-Nothing. I'm fine. Trust me. I slipped on some ice a couple of days ago." She wouldn't meet his eyes, and he sighed. She couldn't tell him, couldn't open up in that way.

He reached out, and he slowly grabbed her hand. He held onto it and didn't let it go until he'd led her down the street and into the foyer of his apartment. She didn't want him to let go. There was a huge part of her that wanted to stay with him - which is probably why she didn't stop him from taking her home. As soon as the door was shut and the street went quiet, he turned to face her. Taylor's blue scarf was still clutched tightly in his hand. She couldn't help but notice that he held it as if it were valuable, something he needed to keep safe.
"You didn't slip." This was one of the first times that someone had seen through her lies, and she didn't know what to do. She hadn't prepared herself for the situation where someone could see past her facade. "I did. I was... ice skating and I fell over. I'm... pretty clumsy."
"No." Joe paused. He finally looked her in the eyes again, shaking his head. "No. That's not the kind of bruise you get from falling on ice. You don't often get bruises on your neck... unless..." He paused again and watched her closely.
"Taylor. Did someone hit you?" His words were so quiet she barely heard him, but she knew what he said. They echoed around her head and she didn't even know how to answer them.

Her face crumpled, and all she wanted to do was cry. She turned away from him, trying to regain her posture. "Was it Adam?" She flinched at his name coming out of Joe's mouth, damming the fact that the world knew about her relationship with Adam. He took a few steps toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, her heart skipping a beat. Faintly, she shook her head. She couldn't do this... couldn't have this conversation, after all, she barely even knew Joe Alwyn. They'd only spoken on a couple of occasions... watched each other from across the room, etched into their dreams forevermore... but this was the first time she'd had a proper conversation with him. And their first real conversation together couldn't be about this. She couldn't tell him about the parts of her life that she'd kept trapped in the dark for a while. For three years.
"Taylor." His voice was so calm. Quiet and soft. It made her insides turn to liquid, and she wanted so badly to just let it all out. "You can talk to me. I can help you. Please, I just want to help you."
"No. I'm sorry, Joe. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have come back here. This was a mistake. I'm so sorry, I'll go home now." Her voice was shaking and Taylor wondered if Joe could hear that.
"Please, Taylor. If he's hurting you... don't go back to him. Stay here. We can sort something out and it will be okay... I can't let you go back to him unless you promise me that he's not the one who gave you that bruise." His hand was still placed on her shoulder, his thumb gently stroking her backwards and forwards. She hadn't had a soft touch like that in months. She wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. She couldn't promise him that. She didn't know what to say, so she simply turned around to face him.