Daylight - Taylor Swift

Chapter 90

October 8th, 2020

Andrea hurried through the parking garage and right past a sedan that had its headlights shining bright. She was about to enter the code to the elevator so she could go up to comfort Taylor when she realized the vehicle looked familiar.

The mother turned and looked at the car again, only to see the younger singer with her head in her hands and Flynn resting his chin on her shoulder. She walked over, knocking on the window gently.

It scared the absolute shit out of Josephine, who fumbled for the lock on the door and quickly unlocked it when she realized it was Andrea standing there, her giant tote bag of a purse under her arm.

"You're still sitting down here?" Andrea asked while opening the car door. Flynn licked her ear when she sat down and she shoved him away gently, "You pack a bag, take the ring and the dog... and then you sit in the parking garage."

"I don't have anywhere to go," Jo giggled nervously, still not knowing how to feel, "Only person I really know is you."

"You could've shown up at my door and I would've let you in," Andrea said softly, "You know she didn't mean it."

Jo shook her head as she pursed her lips, "I think she did this time."

"She's scared," Andrea replied, "You know what she told me?"

Jo didn't reply, looking back down at her feet on the carpet under the gas pedal. The seat was all the way back to accommodate for her long legs but she still felt a little cramped.

"She said you got a text that sounded like there was someone else. She panicked and called you out on it and you didn't fight her. You-"

"I shouldn't have to fight her all the time," Jo exclaimed with exasperation, waving her hands to try and get her point across, "I told her I didn't know who it was and she didn't believe me. She didn't trust me. How am I supposed to continue on like that was nothing when that's one of the biggest things a relationship needs? Trust, respect and love."

Andrea was quiet for a long few seconds, letting Jo collect her thoughts in case she had more to say, "We both know Taylor has done some less than stellar things in her past. She's not always fair to you, either. But you've always embraced that about her..."

"Even if the tables were turned, I wouldn't accuse her of cheating because her publicist changed her number and forgot to tell her. I trust her."

"She trusts you."

"Obviously she doesn't," Jo scoffed.

"What would your mom say if she was sitting here instead of me?" Andrea asked. She didn't know what else to say, it wasn't her war to draw the white flag in but she sure as hell wasn't going to let things burn down without a fight.

"She wasn't alive long enough to see me date," Jo shrugged, wiping her eyes as tears welled in them persistently, "I have no idea. She'd probably tell me to stop crying and go beg for her back because she makes me happy. Something like that."

"You can go up there instead of me, if you want to."

In the apartment, Taylor was busy removing pictures from frames. She paused occasionally to take a swig from the clear bottle she carried around with her, her breath smelling like a sticky bar floor on the morning following New Year's Eve.

She was angry. Not only had Jo walked out but Jo had done the thing she said she never would, she walked away from it all. She didn't fight for her, she didn't argue— She did try to argue but Taylor was too stubborn to listen.

The pile of pictures she had removed from the frames was growing taller as she carried the stack across the living space with her to cleanse the apartment of Jo.