Jaylor One Shots

Goodbye

Taylor sighed, everything feels heavy right now. Everything's falling apart. She trudges up the stairs to the man who'd essentially said nothing to her before walking past. With every step she takes, the closer she feels to completely breaking down. She knows this is the end. Neither of them have been making any effort with each other for too long now. She doesn't know how to break the cycle and no matter how many conversations she tries to have with him, he just shuts her down instantly. It's like he doesn't even care anymore. About her, or anything at all. Deep down, she knows something has hurting him. But it's gotten to the point where she can't keep going like this, he needs to figure it out on his own. 

Taylor gently turns the handle and opens the door slowly. Joe is sitting up in bed, staring blankly at the wall. His eyes move to her and all she can do is stand in the doorway, all words have just escaped her. Neither of them have the courage to address the elephant in the room. After a long silence, Joe sighs and just pats his lap, inviting her to come cuddle him for a moment, something they hadn't done in a while. Slowly, Taylor makes her way over to him curling up against his chest. The tears she'd managed to keep at bay begin slipping down her face as she silently sobs against him. His arms circle around her and she feels the warmth she'd been craving for so long. The warmth she already knows she'll never receive again. She knows this is a last for them. 

"This is it. Isn't it?" She mumbles, just needing to get it over with at this point.

"Yeah. I think it is." He whispers, his head resting on top of hers. Her tears begin coming faster as she realises the one thing that kept her feeling normal, that kept her feeling safe, had crumbled into pieces around her. Around them. She isn't sure she'll be able to come back from this one. He's so intertwined in her life that it's going to be hard to detangle herself. His family is her family, they've written songs together, he knows everything there is to know about her. She can feel his tears falling into her hair. This is going to be incredibly difficult on the both of them. There's no getting around that. 

"I'm sorry." His voice cracks as he continues to hold her close for the last time. She breathes him in, 

"Me too." She'd thought that the time the world hated her was the worst she'd ever be able to feel. But she was wrong. This is the worst thing. The end of an almost five-year relationship. The end of her time with a man who'd kept her together through every seemingly 'worst thing'. She knows the second he's out that door, she'll be crying on the bathroom floor wondering what on earth the point of this all is. Right now, she has the hugest gaping hole in her chest that she doesn't know what to do about. But his arms are still firmly around her. How is it possible that two people who are this in love are leaving each other? They both continue to cry, they cry until they find themselves asleep, wrapped up in each others arms for the last time. 

The next morning, by the time she wakes up, Joe is no longer in bed with her. Her eyes feel crusty from all the crying the previous night, she isn't sure she ever really stopped crying. Her heart has just been ripped out of her chest, how is she supposed to survive this? Eventually, Taylor manages to drag herself out of bed and down the stairs. She comes to a quick stop when she realises Joe is actually still here, he's sitting at their kitchen counter, sipping some tea. A sliver of hope enters her mind. 

"I didn't think you'd still be here." She says quietly, entering the kitchen. 

"I didn't want to just up and leave before you woke up. Seemed kind of cowardly to me." And just like that, the sliver of hope vanished and the silence returned. The two of them just standing there, unable to put their millions of thoughts into words. Joe clears his throat,

"Well, now you're awake I'd best be going. I think I'm just going to stay in a hotel for a few days and then go home. Are you okay if I go pack my stuff?" Pack his stuff? How on earth will he be able to just pack his stuff? Majority of what's in this house belongs to the both of them, they'd carved out this life together but now he just seemed so assured he could pack his stuff. Maybe none of this had meant as much to him as it had to her. Maybe he thought he loved her all these years when in actuality he was prepared for it all to end whereas she wasn't. She still isn't. But Taylor doesn't voice any of these things, she just nods her head and begins making herself coffee.