The Black Tangled Heart

The Morning After The Night Before

Turning over on the strange bed, Travis searched for the girl he had been keeping watch over all night.

Hour after hour he had kept guard over her but he had finally fallen asleep for what could only have been minutes and she had disappeared from his arms

"Taylor?" He asked gruffly, his throat dry from sleep "Taylor?!"

"Keep your voice down, my parents will hear you" she snapped as she finally appeared from her en-suite. Her hair in a high ponytail, her makeup immaculate and dressed in ripped blue jeans and an off the shoulder, white long sleeved T-shirt with the name of a band on that he had never heard of before

Travis eyed her suspiciously. When he had crept into her room last night she had been broken, her bruised body draped in swaths of black material but here she was now, dressed to impress, beautiful... and Travis wasn't at all okay with what was happening right in front of him

"What are you still doing here anyways, don't you have school?"

"Do you have school?"

"Of course I do" she replied whilst picking up a bottle of perfume and spraying it lightly on her slender wrists and then neck

"So you think we aren't going to talk about what happened last night? Cute" he pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at her, his temper flaring every time he thought about the wounds that he knew lay beneath her clothes

"Last night was nothing. I'm a girl I was emotional, just call it hormones and move on"

Jumping up from the bed, Travis stalked across the room towards her and noticed the way she flinched at his fast movements and that didn't ease his temper one bit

"No I will not fuckin 'call it hormones' and 'move on'. Now I might have taken it well last night but I am not taking it fuckin well now"

Crossing her arms, Taylor tried to toughen her demeanour but Travis saw how her fingers trembled and that only served to make him more angry

"All I need is a name, I don't need the story or the reason, just the name"

"This is none of your business Travis"

"Wrong again" Travis lowered his head so they were staring at each other, daring each other, this was the type of foreplay Travis lived for but today it was foreplay for a fight not sex that he was engaged in

"You shouldn't have come here, I shouldn't have cried on you"

"But I did and you did"

"Well I shouldn't have, I need you to go" she grabbed his arm and tried pulling him towards the door but he planted his feet and refused to budge "Look you caught me at a weak moment but I'm not weak anymore"

"I want to know who hurt you and I want to know now" Travis seethed against the skin of her face

And I want you out of my house and I never want to see you again. You hurt Liam..."

"Is that why he hurt you?!"

"What?! No! It wasn't Liam and it wasn't what you think, it was nothing!"

Quick as a flash, Travis' hands were under her T-shirt, pulling it up to expose her bruises and marching her to stand in front of the full length, pin mirror that stood in the corner of her room

"Don't tell me this was nothing"

"It's nothing to do with you!"

"It was me" said Maria Swift as she pushed open her daughters door and stood in the entrance to her bedroom

"You?" Travis asked, lowering his brows and stepping in front of Taylor in an act of protection

"We had words and got into a little  bit of a 'scuffle'"

"A little bit of a scuffle?!" Travis took large strides towards Maria who looked nervous as she pressed her back against the white wood of the door "Have you seen the state of her?!"

"I apologised to Taylor, I lost my temper, she accepted it and we've moved on. Are you ready for school sweetheart?" She asked sweetly, looking around Travis' body to her daughter who was now stood with her back to both her mother and Travis

"Yes mom" Taylor said quietly as Travis looked between the two women, knowing for a fact they were both lying but with no idea in hell as to why

"Who's your friend Taylor honey?"

"He's not a friend, he's a pain in the ass I met in a club but now apparently I can't get rid of him"

"Would you like daddy to make him leave?"

"I'd like to see him fuckin try" said Travis as he stood up to his full height and width

"It's fine, I'm going to school now, I'll walk him out and make sure he never comes back." Taylor grabbed Travis by his forearm and pulled, surprised when he willingly walked with her past her mother, down the wooden stairs and then out of her house

"I know you and your mom are lying" he announced as he pulled open the passenger door of his car and signalled for her to get in "The question is, why would she take the blame for something like that, who are you both protecting?"

Taylor just gazed up at him, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to get into the car

"Get in, I'm driving you"

"I can walk"

"I will drive next to you at 2 miles an hour all the way to school if you don't get in this second"

"Why are you doing this?!" She said loudly as she turned quickly to face him "Why are you showing up here and sticking your nose into my life? Assaulting my friends and acting like you have a say over who and what I do"

Travis paused for a second as though he was genuinely giving the question some thought "I don't know" he quietly admitted "but it isn't changing any time soon so get in the car or watch as I make the biggest God damn scene you ever saw in your life"

Huffing loudly, Taylor dropped into the seat as Travis slammed the door shut and then climbed into the drivers side

"Don't act like you don't want to be seen driving into school with me, I know enough to know girls from every school in this area want me in their bed

"Well I had you in mine and it wasn't all that so they're welcome to you" she crossed her arms roughly and winced as she accidentally hit one of the bruises

"You okay?" He asked, his voice soft and his face concerned

"You know I'm not"

"And yet you won't tell me the truth and let me deal with it for you"

"You heard what my mom said Travis"

"And you heard what I said. I don't believe a word of that bullshit story but don't worry, I won't stop until I know the truth and whoever did that to you is 6 foot under"

"Travis look..." She pushed forward on the black leather seat of his black Range Rover "The times we had sex... they were great, I'm not going to lie but I'm not interested in a boyfriend, in fact I'm not interested in anyone for anything other than sex. So if you're hanging around thinking I'll some how catch feelings for you..." Travis snorted at her words "It's not going to happen and you're being so clingy that sex isn't going to happen again either so please. Drop me at school and then never, ever come near me again"

For the next five minutes they drove in silence towards Taylors high school, when they finally pulled into the car park Travis left the motor running as he got out and then jogged to Taylors side of the car, opening the door and then waiting for her to gather her bag and step out of the vehicle

"Bye Travis" she almost whispered but he quickly ducked his head and brushed a brief kiss over her cheek stopping with his lips close to her ear

"I'll be here to pick you up after school. Any problems I already added my phone number to your phone" and before Taylor could argue he was back in the drivers seat and reversing the car out of the car park, leaving her standing alone, not sure what Travis Kelces true intentions were towards her