Three Weeks Later
February 11th; 2025
Taylor Swift's Point of View
I thought being with Travis, my life could never be bad again. Sure there would be some rough times. Like the one time, we were fighting over whether Viola was ready for solids or not. That was one chaotic fight. I was still happy though because I had Travis. I had a life I was content with and wanted to be in. Travis has gone out of his way to make my life a living hell. He's angry and I can't begin to imagine his pain but he's shutting everyone out and taking it out on me. He doesn't watch football or even want to look at his own daughter. She'll cry and I'll ask him to hold her or change her but he rarely contributes. I understand the fact I have to help take care of more Viola due to his recovery but this isn't that. He's in pain and Viola and I are suffering the consequences. He's giving up and I don't know how to help him. Every day he lays around with the light dying in his eyes.
Two weeks after his surgery, Travis got a call from Coach Reid. He wanted to meet with us in person so we did. He informed us that Travis was to be waived from the Kansas City Chiefs. This meant that they were cutting him from Kansas City but he could be claimed by other teams. By the time Travis would be able to even think about playing again, his contract would be over. After looking at how severe his injury was they would have no interest in renewing the contract. He was put on what they call a waiver wire and was able to be claimed the day after the Super Bowl. The day after the Super Bowl came...He wasn't claimed or signed onto another team. He's now a free agent but no one wants him. He is being forced into retirement. He took a career-ending injury.
I walk up to Travis who is resting on the couch. He's drinking coffee black and sitting with his thoughts. "I need to make dinner. Can you please hold Viola?" I have her against my hip and she's just babbling.
"Can't you do both?" He asks.
"I'm exhausted. I'm barely sleeping and you aren't helping out very much. Can you please hold her for 20 minutes?" I beg.
"Just put her down for a nap or something."
"I'd be messing up her schedule so please just hold her." The patience I have is running thin.
"You take care of it."
"Hold your damn daughter!" I yell. I plop Viola in his lap so he's forced to hold her and storm into the kitchen.
"Okay! Jesus! Calm down!" He scoffs and wraps his arms around Viola. I put my hands on the kitchen counter and tightly close my eyes. "If you're going to cry, please do it somewhere else." He sighs.
"No. It's fine." I swallow my pride and move on to making dinner. I've been making simple 20-minute meals lately to keep up with my schedule. I throw some rigatoni pasta into boiling water while I make some homemade alfredo spinach sauce. I love cooking and I like to call myself a decent cook. Baking is where I'm really good though.
After finishing up dinner I set the table and made a couple of bowls of pasta for Travis and me. I got a small bowl for Viola and cut up the noodles in advance. She still eats puréed food but we're introducing her to solids. "Dinner is ready," I say as I grab Viola from his lap. I placed her in her highchair at the table and put a bib on her.
All three of us sit at the table and Travis and I remain silent. Viola reaches down and stuffs pasta in her mouth with her hands. I put my elbows on the table and smile looking at her. "She's so funny," I comment. Travis ignores me and continues to eat.
"Dee Bee." Vi randomly says. Toddlers babble the most random things.
"Grandma Dee Dee isn't here," I respond.
"Bo." She takes some of her pasta and drops it on the floor. Rambo immediately eats it up and she squeals.
"ViVi, don't feed Bo."
Being the child she is ViVi grabs a bigger handful and drops it on the floor for Rambo and I let out a sigh. Viola giggles and bounces in her seat.
"Viola Claire!" Travis scolds.
"Stop! She doesn't know any better." I snap at him.
"She does, Taylor! Stop being so overprotective of her."
ViVi is just so little and sensitive to yelling. She instantly started to cry. I pick her up out of her high chair and attempt to console her. Travis sighs and goes back to eating. "It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy didn't mean to yell at you." I grab her pacifier and walk around the living room with her in my arms. She grabs onto my shirt and sinks in. In the middle of calming down Vi, I reach down and take a bite of dinner which has gotten cold at this point. I haven't even had any yet. I instantly regretted my decision when I had the pasta. "Uh-I'm going to go into the bedroom and try to calm her down."
I walk into the bedroom, clenching my jaw. I closed the door and made sure all was well before booking it to the bathroom. I set down Viola carefully and open the lid to the toilet. I emptied all the contents in my stomach. Right when I thought I was done my head was drooping over the toilet as I was vomiting. The acid stinging my esophagus and throat is strained. I coughed and gagged, trying to rid of the sensation. I took a deep breath and washed my face and mouth out.
Viola was still hysterically crying on the floor as I flushed the toilet. I collapsed on the wall and fell to the tile. I joined in on her when it came to crying. "I'm so sorry baby girl," I mumble. I choke up and my face turns red with tears.
"Fuck!" I curse. I haven't gotten my period. I was praying it was just late but it's looking like I won't be getting it for at least a year. I open the cabinet under the sink to find a pregnancy test that I bought last month. I knew I'd be needing it. I hold the box but refuse to open it. I throw it back under the sink and collapse against the wall. I'm still sitting in the bathroom with a screaming one-year-old and a uterus that's most likely occupied.
ViVi opened her eyes for a moment and looked up at me. Her hysterical cries stopped almost instantly. "Mama sad." She frowns pointing at the tears on my face.
"No, it's fine sweetie." I wipe the tears off my face and sniffle as I try to stuff away my emotions.
"Mama cry." She stands up on her tiptoes while holding onto my shoulder for balance. She uses her spare hand to wipe tears off my face. "Good."
I chuckle lightly with a smile. "I love you so much." I pick her up and place her in my lap. I squeeze her until I can feel her heartbeat.
"Ow ow." She squirms in my embrace. I'm probably hugging her too tightly. I let go of her and noticed vomit on my sleeve. I sigh and walk into the bedroom to get a new shirt. I open the dresser and quickly throw on a basic sweater. In the corner of my eye, I see that one of the drawers isn't completely closed. I try to close it but it won't shut. The drawer has some of Travis's things so I usually don't go through it but I need to close this for ViVi's safety. I put my hand in and shuffle stuff around until I feel something hard. I take it out and my body freezes up.
"Oh my god," I gasped looking at the small box. I slowly open it and the velvet box makes a small creak. It's exactly what I thought it was. What I've been waiting for Travis to give me for so long.
It's a diamond ring. An absolutely gorgeous engagement ring. The main diamond isn't too many carats. So many celebrities get these huge diamond rings just to show off their wealth but it's so tacky. I don't want an eight-carat diamond but I do like shiny things. Looking at the ring gave me a glimmer of hope. I wasn't completely crushed. I looked back in the drawer and saw a piece of paper which confused me. I took it out and it was a receipt for the ring. That's when the glimmer of hope I had died. He ordered the ring in October and its estimated delivery was early December. He's had the ring for two months. A tear ran down my cheek quickly and I closed the box. He was going to propose in Paris. I was going to be his wife. Who knows when I'll get this ring? Maybe on my deathbed, he'll propose to me. I stuff the ring and receipt back in the drawer. I have to admit he chose a really shitty hiding spot.
I walk back out with Viola and see that Travis is back and watching TV. He left the dishes on the table for me to clean. I throw away my pasta and get to feeding ViVi again. "Okay, this time you actually need to eat it." I giggle. She nods and stuffs the pasta in her mouth with both hands. At least my baby girl is doing alright. She's oblivious to what's happening.
• • •
I've always slept on the side furthest from the door. Travis says he wants to protect me in case of an intruder. Recently that's changed. I sleep closer to the door because I can get to ViVi quickly and the bathroom is closer to him. I didn't quite understand his logic when he explained it to me either. I can hear Travis's low groans. He's in pain physically as well and doing his best to not show it. I adjust my body so I'm cuddled up against him. I put my arm around him to try and comfort him through the pain but he takes my arm off and shoves me away. He didn't say a word to me. I was just pushed aside. I moved back over to my pillow and flopped on my back. I didn't cry because I had nothing left. What else was I supposed to do?
The bedroom was so cold and alone that night but I suddenly heard a jingle. Rambo jumps on the bed and curls up next to me, placing his head directly on my stomach. Rambo doesn't place his head on me as much as he used to. He did it most of the time when I was pregnant. Now he spends his nights in the nursery protecting Viola. I try to remove his head since I'm not in the mood for cuddles but he places his head back on. He's being very insistent. "If you must." I scratch his head with a smile. I think he recognized how lonely I felt because the warmth of his body made me feel like there was someone there.
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Author's Note:
Rambo even knows what's up 💀