July 17th 2025
Kansas City, Missouri
Those two days had changed everything. Nothing felt the same anymore. Travis was distant, and always somehow glued to his phone. He was attentive, when it suited him, but nothing above the bare minimum that was required. And not only had Taylor noticed it, but so had Luna. She seemed to cry out even more for her dad because he wasn't there. How could two days make her question everything.
Taylor woke early that morning, like she had done most mornings since their return to Kansas City, noticing that Travis was still asleep and so was Luna. She decided to take advantage of this, knowing that the peace wouldn't last much longer, pulling herself out of bed and slipping on her slippers that she had left on the floor beside the bed. Carefully moving Luna's bassinet to one side, she slowly tiptoed out of their bedroom and into the ensuite bathroom they shared, locking the door behind her. She felt like slapping herself, a long hard one directly in the face. Travis wouldn't do this to her. He couldn't be cheating on her. No, there must be something else that was wrong. But what could it be?
They had promised each other over a year ago that they would always share everything with each other, no matter how big or small it was. A promise was a promise. So what could it be? A surprise for her? No, that wasn't it. Travis was normally much more bashful and secretive than cold and calculated. Something had to be wrong. Nothing about this felt right. Everything felt lost. And then an idea came into her head, popping up like a notification on her phone would. Why now, of all of the days, did a song idea have to come? But it was inevitable because some of her best song ideas had always come from the lowest points in her life. She just never thought one of those would be with Travis, and because of Travis.
Noticing that Travis and Luna were still both sound asleep, Taylor quickly slumped off down the hallway towards her recording studio. In there she was lucky to have an electric piano, a new addition from Taylor herself for late night ideas, when she didn't want to wake up Travis or the baby with the piano playing at all hours of the day and the night. She sat down on the leather seat, placing a pair of headphones over her head and let her fingers fall onto the keys of the piano, all of the grief of the past few days outpouring onto the keys in the most heartbreaking way...
Its six am, but I left you at midnight
Packed all my things, jumped right in the car
Was I never enough to love
Did you ever love me at all
Oh no
Was it all a risk,
or was it just for show, ooo oh oh
Guess this is where our story ends
I know I have to go oh oh
And as you hit the club one more time
I feel my heart blow
Cause it breaks a little more, every time
I hope that you know oh oh
Everyone looked in shock,
when they saw your hand drop
Walking through the room
my eyes searched to find you
That day you wore you heart
right on a sleeve for me
But now its four am
I can't hear it beat.
Was it all a risk,
or was it just for show, ooo oh oh
Guess this is where our story ends
I know I have to go oh oh
And as you hit the club one more time
I feel my heart blow
Cause it breaks a little more, every time
I hope that you know oh oh
And I'll keep your old scarf and those scars you gave to me.
Because they once were a part of you,
and they will always be with me.
On that July night, I knew it was a risk
To fall for you so deeply
I never wanted it to be like this
It all came out: the anger, the hurt, the sadness the grief. All of the emotions she couldn't quite say outlaid had manifested themselves into one of her most gut wrenching songs. She saved it in her phone - Risk - before closing it again. She didn't know how long she had been there but it had been a while. The feeling in her legs had long gone, making her walk back to their bedroom like Bambi on ice for the first time. It was as if she was drunk, despite it being only seven o'clock in the morning. She slipped back under the cover silently, Travis still in the position she had left him in hours before. She wondered how Luna had managed to stay asleep for so long but that thought went straight out of her mind when she heard the inevitable and on time cries. The hysteria made it seem like it was a hungry cry which wasn't surprising. Taylor pulled herself out of bed, grabbing the baby into her arms ready for a feed, waking Travis up in the process.
"She hungry?" Taylor heard Travis ask as he rolled over to face them both on the other side of the bed. Taylor nodded, looking over at him as he crawled over to where she was sat in bed.
"Yeah, sorry to wake you up. I'm going to feed her now so go back to bed." Taylor snapped. She hadn't meant to be so cold but what else could she do. If she was polite and her normal warm and bubbly self it was just wasted on Travis. He seemed in a fowl mood, cold and icy. And when there is fire, you fight it with fire. Or ice in this instance.
"Give her here Taylor, you need some sleep." Travis stated, reaching his arms out to take the baby. Taylor hesitated, wondering whether it was a good idea. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. Or was it that. Either way, Taylor was unsure why Travis was seemingly being so helpful. Was he turning a corner and things would go back to normal? "Come one Tay, I know you are exhausted. let me help you. I can go downstairs and give her a bottle and I will be right back up ok."
Taylor sighed, relinquishing the baby into Travis' outstretched arms, the baby sighing in contentment before snuggling into his arms.
"See she is fine Tay. Go back to sleep now ok." Travis shot her a small smile as he took Luna out of their bedroom, her cries beginning to pick back up again when she finally remembered what it was she was crying about. The cries quickly began to die out and Taylor soon found herself no longer fighting the Great War with sleep, it peacefully passing over her easily. Like a wave at the beach. Time passed by slowly but before long her eyes were fluttering open once more. The July sun was barking through the open curtains that Travis had obviously drawn whilst she had been asleep. She noticed some things had moved around in their bathroom and in their closet as she got herself ready for the day, an obvious sign that Travis had already gotten himself dressed and ready before her. Pulling a light cardigan around her shoulders to shelter them from the direct sunlight, Taylor made her way downstairs, hoping to spend some time with Travis.
"Hey." She said as she came into the room just as Travis pulled himself up from the dining table. Luna was not with him but in her bouncer next to him at the table, watching intently as he shovelled the last of his eggs into his mouth.
"Hey. You ok?" Travis asked, getting up from the table to place his plate in the dishwasher.
"Yeah, I was just gonna come and make us some breakfast but uh" Taylor hinted at the pans that Travis was loading into their dishwasher, obviously mentioning the fact that he had already eaten without her.
"Yeah sorry Tay, I have already eaten. Don't let me stop you though." Travis replied nonchalantly as he finished up loading the dishwasher, driving his hands with a stray kitchen towel own the side of the oven.
"It's fine, I'm not very hungry anyway." It was a lie, she was starving but she didn't want to say anything to annoy him that morning. "I was hoping we could do something together today. Maybe take Luna to the animal park or something fun like that."
She watched as he screwed his face up. She knew that this meant they wouldn't be doing something as a family.
'I'm sorry babe but I have meetings today, we can all go another day. I'll make sure of it."
"Yeah sure." Taylor said, trying her best to smile and sound cheerful whilst underneath she was breaking. Was this it? Was she finally loosing Travis?
"I'll bring home some dinner for all of us tonight. Your favourite." He came over to kiss her, the first one in a while, before grabbing the keys to his purple Chevrolle convertible that they liked using in the summer months in Kansas City. "Don't get up to too much trouble you two." He winked, closing the door loudly behind him.
Taylor watched as his shadowy figure wilted away down the drive and into the speeding car. A getaway car that used to be just for them.
Travis sighed, speeding down the roads of their private enclosed estate in Leawood, Kansas. The guilt of what he was about to do was eating away at his very being and he was sure that Taylor must have picked up on it somehow by now. He had been so distant, so cold for the past two days and now he was acting as if nothing was wrong. When in reality, everything was wrong. He glanced over at his phone, checking the time and almost running a red light because he wasn't paying his full attention to the road as he should have been.
He pulled up into the parking lot of a strip mall complex he used to frequently attend. He hadn't been there for years, and it brought back haunting memories. Of a time in his life he would much rather forget, but he was now forced to re live it again once more. He saw the figure he had been looking for. Their body so distinct, so eye catching that you couldn't possibly miss it. It was her. The one who had texted him back in training camp. The one who had taken up all of his time that should have been spent on Taylor and their daughter. It was his ex-girlfriend.
It was Kayla.
"Hey." He heard the woman say softly as she came over to try and give him a hug. travis backed off, knowing what this could look like to passersby. He had already put on his sunglasses and a whole different outfit that nobody else had seen on him before, desperate to not get caught out in his secret. If he was lucky, he would get away with it. It would be far worse of he was seen checking into a hotel room with her, even if nothing else happened but talk.
"Hello Kayla." Travis replied coldly, gesturing for her to sit back down on her seat at the table he had reserved for them. It was nothing fancy and that is why he had chosen it. No one would suspect they would be here, not together at least. "So what are you doing back in Kansas City then?"
"Oh you know, just visiting some old friends." Kayla replied. That was a clear and blatant lie, Kayla had no other friends. Not in Kansas City anyway. She had alienated them all after their breakup and Travis' moving on to his relationship with Taylor two years ago. They had been broken up for over three and a half years now. Why now was she deciding to stir the witches brew back up.
"Yeah right. What is it that you want?" Travis replied, eyeing up the woman he said that he sued to love. Now Travis didn't know what to think. Why was she here, in Kansas City. She had plenty of time to destroy them when they had been in LA, where she ordinarily lives. Travis cannot recall the last time that Kayla had been in Kansas City, voluntarily. It had to have been well before her great unfollowing of everyone they once knew and loved.
"I think we both know what it is that I want Trav." She said, reaching a hand across the table to hold Travis' that had been resting on top of his phone. He quickly pulled it away, placing it back in his lap with his other hand brushing over his freshly cut hair.
"Stop. Just stop Kayla. We haven't been together for years. You can't just swan back into my life after you tried to ruin it with your accusations." Travis shouted, slightly louder than he had planned.
"Can tell she has you well trained. Surprised you haven't put a ring on it yet." Kayla laughed, taking a sip from the iced coffee she had ordered before Travis had arrived. Travis had deliberately decided against ordering anything, despite eyeing up the tasty looking cinnamon rolls on his way in. He did not want to be there with her for any longer than he had to.
"What goes on in my relationship with Taylor behind closed doors is none of your concern. It's a private matter." Travis warned the woman but this only made her laugh even more than she had been already, infuriating Travis just a little more by the second.
"You've got to be joking Trav. Your relationship is the least private thing about you. I think I know more about your relationship than you do!". Of course it was true, but it wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. Who would?
"So how long are you in town?" Travis asked, hoping to change the subject to soon get to whatever it was that Kayla was actually in town for. It was quickly becoming apparent that she was only there for one thing and one thing only: to start some trouble.
"How ever long you want me to stay around for." She winked at him, an obvious way to try and seduce him. He rolled his eyes, it was no longer going to work on him. "The dogs miss you."
"Yeah I miss them too." Travis sighed, remembering the good old days with his beloved dogs Rambo and Chauncey. It was the one thing he missed about his relationship with Kayla but sharing ownership of them just wasn't working anymore.
"So I saw that you have a kid or something now. Never knew you wanted kids?" Kayla asked, raising an eyebrow in shock. Travis smiled at the thought of his daughter. His beautiful little girl with eyes as blue as the ocean and soft little blonde hair just like Taylor's. His constant reminder of Taylor.
"Yeah well you obviously didn't know me very well. I have always wanted kids." Travis replied coldly. It was true. He had always wanted to have some kids someday but he had always put it out of his mind because unlike Jason, he hadn't met his Kylie yet. Kayla wanted to be a wife, but never a mother. She had made that fact abundantly clear, even now.
"I've never wanted kids. They all come out looking all wrinkly and ugly." This infuriated Travis. Even when she was wrinkly newborn, covered thick in amniotic fluid and blood, he still knew that Luna was the most beautiful thing he had ever set his eyes upon, apart from Taylor.
"Quit it Kayla. Its over. What ever there was between us left a long time ago and it is never coming back. So I suggest that you leave before either one of us says or does something we regret."
Kayla stood up, leaning into Travis to whisper something in his ear.
"I think you've already done that Trav."
Travis couldn't quite understand what it was that she meant as he left the cafe to get into his car again. The meeting had been brief but Travis wanted to forget it ever happened. He met up with his manger later on that morning, discussing with him some endorsements and sponsorships he had to fufill throughout the upcoming NFL season, it being an easy job and way to make money throughout the season, especially seeing as he did not want to be away on long shoots when Luna was so small. He decided to pass by the gym to get in some training before heading home with dinner for him and Taylor. A way for him to blow off some steam and get rid of all of the cold and cool emotions and feelings he still had pent up inside him, wanting to shower Taylor with nothing but love after the hell he had put all three of them through for the past two days.
What Travis hadn't been expecting as he arrived home, was for everything that Kayla had warned him about to be true.
Taylor sat alone at home, wondering what Travis was doing. She knew that he had meetings, she could see that he was at Andre's office on their find my iPhone app where they would share each other's locations with each other to make it easier to know what the other person doing without disturbing them during something important. Luna had been extra fussy that day and for no apparent reason but without travis there for her much loved Daddy cuddles, she had decided to be the most difficult she could be.
Taylor decided to scroll through her phone to pass the time before Travis returned home, having replied to all of the important emails that she had needed to get around to that day. She opened the TikTok app, scrolling through some funny cat videos on her for you page before switching over to instagram. Nothing important on there apart from some dm's from friends and fans. After replying to a few, Taylor noticed that Blake had sent her something. A link to Deuxmoi... god what were they posting about now?
Taylor clicked on the link and nearly dropped her phone. The shock, the anger, the betrayal. And everything began to make sense. Why Travis had been glued to his phone. Why he had been so cold and distant towards her and then acted all sheepish and weird that morning.
There they were, in all of their technicolour glory. Travis sat having coffee with his ex-girlfriend in a small coffee shop that Taylor thought that she knew. And then the tears came. From her, and then from Luna. Then comes the screaming and Taylor didn't know who was screaming: her or Luna. She eventually let the baby win, collapsing next to Luna's bassinet, placing a hand into her cot to settle her and place her pacifier back into her mouth. As she heard a car pull into the driveway, Taylor scrambled to her feet. She stood there in anticipation as she watched the door unlock and open to reveal Travis. The mask he was using to try and cove the guilt was immediately broken down and removed when he saw her bloodshot eyes and tearstained shirt.
She knew.
Everyone knew.
She was ok, physically, but something inside her died the moment she saw that look on Travis face.
She felt betrayed, and so did he. In their own very different ways. There was also anger, and betrayal. Travis dropped the bouquet of flowers he had been carrying in his hands, watching as they crashed to floor and his eyes regained eye level viewing, breaking his heart a little more than the first time he had seen Taylor. His mouth opened.
"Taylor I can explain..."
AUTHORS NOTE: Ooooo bringing in another character to shake it up and a dramatic cliffhanger.... I wonder what will happen in the next chapter when the pair begin to talk.... I gave you this chapter a whole day early just because you guys were going mad wanting to know what happened last chapter so I have delivered !!!