"Just breathe Taylor, breathe"
Andrea Swift rubbed her daughter's back comfortingly as she held her head into her chest. Sobs echoed against her bosom and she started to feel the tears soaking through her dress.
"Honey its fine! You're gonna be fine! You've got me, you've got your family, you've got your friends, you don't need a man!"
Taylor let out another sob.
She'd arrived to her second night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and was having her makeup done, when she'd been scrolling through her phone and saw a photo of her and Joe that she'd forgotten to delete.
The tears came immediately, and they came in floods.
It had been months since they'd broken up, and weeks since she'd even thought about him as she'd been distracted by her rebound. But now that her temporary fling had dissipated, she was forced once again to confront her feelings.
She'd been fine for so long, and now she wasn't. The buildup to Speak Now rerelease had kept her busy and occupied, but now that the dust had settled, all she could think about was that this was the first album in 6 years that she hadn't celebrated with Joe by her side.
Its not that she wanted to go back to him, she left him for a reason, but she just felt so alone. She even laughed a little at the thought of feeling alone whilst spending most nights with 70,000 people who loved her unconditionally.
Ironically, even thought she felt alone, she knew she wasn't ready to start looking again for love. She was a true believer in fate, and she knew now, more than ever, that love would come looking for her.
She'd been in the mindset lately that maybe she was just destined to end up alone and be an old cat lady, because she'd thought that if she couldn't make it work with Joe, she couldn't make it work with anyone.
All her friends had discouraged this negative attitude, trying to set her up on dates with their single friends, but to no avail.
She'd meet these men and just feel nothing, no click, no spark, nothing like she felt with Joe. They'd try and act too cool and calm, feigning disinterest as a way to snag her, which didn't really work. That had only worked when Joe had tried it, but they weren't him.
She didn't even know why she was bigging him up now after everything he'd done, or hadn't done more accurately.
He didn't try for her, he didn't fight for her, he didn't compromise for her. Towards the end there was just no effort, no public affection, no nothing.
She knew that she deserved more, someone that would do anything for her, shout from the rooftops that he was the luckiest man in the world to be with her.
But that was never going to happen.
You see Taylor had gotten used to men being intimidated by her power, her fame, her wealth, and they felt emasculated by it.
So how on earth was she going to find someone on a similar level to her to love her for who she was?
Just as she was mid sobbing, a knock came on the door.
"Who is it?"
Andrea called.
"It's me"
Taylor heard Tree's voice travelling through the closed door.
She sat upright and tried to wipe the tears from her face.
"Come in"
Tree opened the door and her face crumpled at the scene of Taylor's misery.