SKYLAR
Some time had passed since I last saw or heard from Taylor and it was now about a week into March. It was the weekend and next week was spring break, but I would probably just end up spending all of it listening to reputation.
I sat on my bed with my headphones on, listening to End Game and trying to learn the words to the rap, when I got a pillow chucked at me. Looking up I saw Jade peering down at me from the top bunk, and she gestured for me to remove the headphones.
"What?"
"Susan's been calling your name for a minute straight," she explained in an annoyed way, pointing to the door.
"Oh, thanks."
I paused the music, leaving my phone and headphones on the bed, and made my way downstairs to find Susan in the living room with McKenna and Mila. She looked up when I entered and got off the couch.
"There you are. Didn't you hear me when I called for you?" she asked and motioned for me to follow her to her office.
I shrugged and followed her when she'd passed me. "No, sorry. I was listening to music."
We sat down on the L-shaped couch, and it all reminded me of the last time she had called me in there which made me a little nervous.
"So, we have finally set up a meeting with Rowan."
My heart stopped beating for a second and I took a deep breath.
"He requested to meet you in Nashville on March 12th, which works out great since you have spring break next week."
"Wait, it's next week?!" I exclaimed. That would give me no time to brace myself for it.
"Yeah, it's on Monday-"
"Monday! But that's in like two days!"
Susan gave me a sympathetic look. "I know, sweetie. But that was the day he suggested. His work is apparently pretty time consuming."
I was quiet for a second before murmuring, "What does he do?"
"Uh." She looked up to the ceiling with her mouth open as she tried to remember. "I think he said something that had to do with computers."
After a lot of nagging from Susan, I had reluctantly agreed to meet him. Finley had also been the biggest reason as she had guilt tripped me into it, telling me how she would do anything to meet her parents again. I knew her parents were both dead and I felt so bad for her that I finally told Susan I would do it, but I never imagined it happening so soon.
Susan allowed me to leave her office and I went up to my room and sat down on my bed again. Jade and a few others had gone down to the park close to our house, so I was alone with only my phone as a distraction.
Without even realizing it, I had picked up my phone and was staring down at Taylor's number. I hesitated for a second but then just went for it and pressed the number, holding my phone up to my ear. I was feeling super anxious about the whole thing and was craving to hear Taylor's words of comfort but was sent directly to her voicemail.
Hey it's Taylor! I can't take your call right now but leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can!
The voicemail worked as a reality check for me. What was I doing? I shouldn't call Taylor for something like this. She probably had tons of other much more important things to worry about, what with her tour coming up and everything.
I tossed my phone onto Ashley's bed that was closest to mine — to give me some distance from it and to make sure I wouldn't try calling her again — and picked up a book instead to try and distract myself. I had just started reading a book called Moxie that Callie had recommended, and she had told me a lot about it, saying that it was about feminism and girl power and stuff like that. Callie was probably the biggest feminist I knew, and I loved her for it.
I had just turned to page six when I heard the intro to ...Ready For It start to play from Ashley's bed. When I looked over to see who was calling, I saw a picture across the screen that Taylor and I had taken together after the talent show, with 'Taylor♥️😸' displayed above our heads. I willed myself to ignore it, but it continued to ring two more times followed by the familiar ding sound from a few text messages. What did she want? Didn't she understand that I was trying not to bother her?
It stopped buzzing after a while, and I tried to concentrate on the book again when there was a knock on the door. "Yeah? Come on in," I called out and watched as Susan opened the door.
"Hi, I have a call for you," she said, holding up the common phone that the little kids talked to their families or social workers on.
"Huh?"
My mind quickly sorted through the people who might want to reach me on that phone; Mrs. Martin, my social worker Marge, Rowan, and... Taylor. I was a little scared to answer it in case it was my biological dad, but after a moment's hesitation I held the phone up to my ear.
"H-hello?"
"Skye!" I heard Taylor's voice exclaim and she actually sounded both worried and relieved. "I saw your call but you never picked up when I called you back! Do you know how worried I was? I thought something really bad had happened."
Was she just saying that to be nice or was she serious? She did sound sincere, but I knew she was a good actress.
"Sorry," I mumbled, guilt washing over me, and I started to feel really bad for ignoring her.
I heard her sighing on the receiver's end and when she spoke again, she sounded calmer. "It's fine. Just... next time answer my call, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good. Can I FaceTime you on your phone instead?"
I looked up and saw Susan still standing there, waiting for me to give the phone back since I had my own.
"Yeah, okay. Bye."
She hung up a second later and I handed the phone back to Susan.
"Everything alright?" Susan asked, eyeing me cautiously. "She sounded pretty worried about you."
I nodded, pursing my lips together. "I'm fine."
Just as the door closed behind her as she left, my own phone started ringing from Ashley's bed again and I answered Taylor's FaceTime call. I hadn't expected myself to feel so emotional but just seeing Taylor's face made me almost start to cry again. She had her blond hair up in a ponytail and she was wearing a white reputation hoodie.
Taylor gave me a sweet smile and looked at me as if she wanted to give me a hug. "Hey hun, you okay?"
"I just- I really miss you," I replied quietly.
"Aw, I miss you too Skye. So, what's up? Now can you tell me why you called in the first place?"
I nodded and sighed. "Susan just told me that... uhm, they set up a meeting for me with my biological dad."
"Oh." She sounded surprised. "I... didn't know you were going through with that. When is it?"
"... on Monday."
Taylor raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Monday? That soon?"
I felt tears slowly start to roll down my cheeks and nodded. "Taylor," I cried out, my voice cracking. "I'm scared. I don't know if I can do it."
"Hey. Hey, Skye? Listen to me, it's going to be okay. Alright? I promise, you'll be fine."
"How do you know?"
"Remember how you said you trusted me?" I nodded. "Good, I need you to trust me right now too. Can you do that for me?"
I nodded again, already feeling a little better. If Taylor said it would be fine, it would be. "I just wish... I wish you could be there with me. It's in Nashville but..."
I felt really stupid for asking. She was probably way too busy to come with me; someone she barely even knew might I add.
"Skye? Take a deep breath," Taylor instructed me, interrupting my rant, and I did. "I will be there."
***
Susan had arranged for me to take a bus up to Nashville where Taylor would be waiting for me. There were only three buses going from Jackson to Nashville daily however, so I had to take the one at 6:45 AM that arrived at 8:50.
Because of my nerves, I hadn't been able to fall asleep until after midnight — and I had to get up at five to get to the station in time — which resulted in me being extremely tired and almost falling asleep in the car on our way to the station. Mike drove me and waited with me until I got onto the bus safely before he drove away again.
I went to the back of the bus and had about two and a half hours to pass, so I put my headphones on and started listening to one of my playlists. At around seven o'clock, Taylor texted me if I had made it onto the bus and if I was doing okay, and I sent a quick text back saying I was fine.
I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder and looked up to see the twenty-something-year-old woman next to me point to my headphones. I removed one and looked at her curiously.
"Hi, I'm Natalie. Are you listening to Taylor Swift?"
I felt my cheeks flush and nodded, pausing the music. "Sorry, could you hear it through my headphones?"
"No, no. I just happened to glance down at your phone when it lit up. Are you a Swiftie?"
I was surprised that she knew what a Swiftie even was but nodded again, a smile slowly growing on my lips.
"Really? Me too! I just love her so much. I'm going to Nashville to visit my best friend who just moved there, and I'm like, what if I meet her? That would be so cool. Have you listened to reputation?" She rambled on about Taylor and I couldn't be happier. If I was to chat with a stranger on the bus, this is what I would want us to talk about.
"Yeah, I love it. I've learned almost all songs by heart except for some parts of End Game, King Of My Heart and Dancing With Our Hands Tied."
"End Game... that's the one with Ed Sheeran, right?"
"Yup, and Future. It's Ed's part I'm tryna learn, the rap," I explained happily.
"That's awesome. My boyfriend actually surprised me with two tickets to her show in Louisville, he lives in Kentucky. Are you going to the tour?"
"Yeah, I think so. To the one in Nashville."
"Is that where you live?"
"No, I live in Jackson. I have a friend in Nashville though," I said, trying to be as vague as I could but still making sure she wouldn't need to ask any follow-up questions. She nodded and moved on.
"What's your name by the way? Sorry, I totally forgot to ask," she laughed, and I joined in.
"That's my fault, I shoulda told ya. I'm Skye."
"Nice to meet you, Skye!" she said, holding out her hand and I shook it. "Do you have Instagram or something where I can follow you?"
"Mhm."
I told her about the account I shared with Connor, and she said she thought that was awesome and followed both that account and my personal one.
We continued to discuss any topics on our minds that were even remotely related to Taylor, and neither of us realized that we had arrived in Nashville until the bus stopped.
"It was so nice to meet you, Skye," Natalie called out as she left, rolling her suitcase behind her. I waved at her before I looked around the parking lot and tried to find someone who resembled Taylor. After a quick scan of the parking lot and not finding her, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand and checked it.
Taylor♥️😸: Look to your right under the big tree💕
I did what she said and spotted her, standing a little farther away and almost hidden behind a big guy who I assumed was her bodyguard. As soon as I saw her, I picked up my bag and started sprinting toward her, dropping my bag and jumping into her outstretched arms once I made it to her. She picked me up in a tight hug and I started crying happy tears from finally getting to hug her again. She definitely gave the best hugs.
"Hi Skye! Welcome back to Nashville!" she said happily when she put me down.
I smiled up at her and had to wrap her in a second hug. "I've missed you so much," I said, and she leaned down to kiss the top of my head.
"I've missed you too, sweetie. We should get going though, don't you think?"
I nodded and followed her into the black car as the bodyguard put my bag in the trunk. She sat down in the driver's seat as I sat in the passenger side, and the man got into the car behind us.
"I try to drive myself as much as possible, but Louis had to follow me here. I usually have to have someone with me when I go somewhere but I wanted us to be alone so he's taking another car."
Taylor pulled out of the parking lot, and I watched through the rear-view mirror as the other car followed us.
"Do you have to have a bodyguard just to go home?" I asked, looking out of the window at the passing objects.
"Yeah, unfortunately sometimes there are fans or paparazzi waiting outside the gates, so it's just a safety precaution." She glanced over at me quickly. "How was the ride here? Was it super boring?"
I shook my head and smiled at the thought of Natalie. "No, actually it was pretty fun. I met another Swiftie, and we spent the whole ride talkin' about ya."
Taylor laughed at that. "Yeah, I saw you waving goodbye to someone. But didn't she seem kind of old?"
"She's twenty-four. Her name's Natalie and she was real nice. She's going to the Louisville show, by the way."
Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement and I could keep watching her for the rest of my life. The sun was just starting to rise, making her blond, wavy hair look golden, and she resembled an angel.
"Did you get any of her social medias?" she asked.
"Uhm yeah, her Instagram and Twitter accounts. She said she didn't use Tumblr anymore."
"Could you maybe give them to me later when we get home?"
I was distracted by the fact that she had said home as if I lived there too, and I nodded a yes without really knowing what I was agreeing to.
"Awesome. Now, I got the info from Susan, and we're meeting Rowan at six o'clock at a burger joint only about ten minutes by car from where I live. You like hamburgers, right?"
I nodded but something hard and uncomfortable had settled in the pit of my stomach. I'd almost forgotten why I was here in Nashville in the first place but now that I got reminded of it, I would rather just stay at home with Taylor.
"It's gonna be fine," Taylor said, reaching over the center console to squeeze my hand. "I'm going to be there with you every step of the way. You don't have to see him alone."
***
We spent the day just hanging out and getting to know each other better. She told me that I had inspired her to invite a few hundred foster families to the dress rehearsal before their first show in Glendale, and it felt really special that I was the inspiration behind that.
After lunch, she had to make a phone call so I spent the time with Meredith and Olivia. I'd always dreamt of petting them and it was almost as surreal as meeting Taylor in person and being at her house in Nashville.
When she came back, we played a couple of board games before we started getting ready for dinner. Since I was staying with her for the night, I got to stay in one of her guest bedrooms and kept my stuff in there.
I had just gotten dressed after taking a shower when there was a gentle knock on the door, and I told her she could enter. She poked her head inside with her eyes closed, making me laugh.
"Is it safe to look?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes," I laughed, and she opened her eyes and walked over to me.
"Do you want me to do your hair?" she wondered, pointing to my dark hair that was still really damp from the shower. I nodded and she sat down in the bed with her back against the headboard, beckoning for me to sit down between her legs. I crawled over to her on the bed, and she started to carefully comb through my curly hair.
"How are you feeling, buddy?" she asked after a silent moment. I had closed my eyes as she worked on my hair and kept them closed as she spoke. "Are you nervous?"
"Yeah, I'm super nervous... And scared. But it will be fine since you're gonna be there... right?"
"Absolutely. And if you feel extremely uncomfortable and have to get out of there, just let me know, alright?"
"Okay." I waited awhile before saying, "Thank you. For everything. You really didn't have to do any of this for me."
I could tell she was smiling as she said, "I know I didn't, but I wanted to. You're special, Skye. I want you to know that. And I had a feeling you needed someone to care and be there for you, so I decided to be that person."
It was true, I did need that person. But she had only just known me for a few weeks, so I still felt bad that she did all of this for me and that I had no way of paying her back.
***
A/N
Okay, so I just realized New Year's Eve is this Friday and so I decided to post the chapter today when it's still 2021 :) It's actually insane to me that this will be the last chapter of the year. I might still be uploading a chapter this weekend but I wanted to stay on the safe side to make sure I gave you a chapter this week.
Do you guys think something besides The Joker and The Queen might happen on New Year's since they've been doing all of these "idk about you but i'm feeling 2022" themed things? It's a little sus imo hahah
Also can we talk about Taylor's new tiktok? Her hair is so long!! And Benji is as cute as ever🥰
Hope you all have a great week and New Year's Eve! xx ♥️