The Black Tangled Heart

The Sign

'Taylor Swift Fucks Her Family'

The sign may no longer be hung in place but the words hung over every student that was bearing witness to the scene before them

"Travis..." Taylor said, her voice trembling as she reached for the white fabric he had fisted in his grip but he pulled it away and used his arm to push her behind him, never acknowledging her whispered word

"This is between me and whoever hung this piece of shit, now I don't care how many of you I have to hit, I want the fucker that did it and I want them NOW!"

"It was me..." said a male voice as the sea of students suddenly parted and Travis' eyes moved over them to finally take in the culprit... or culprits as it turned out because standing in the space now cleared were three men

"Liam!" Taylor gasped as she tried to move forwards but once again Travis' arm manoeuvred her back

"Well actually it was the three of us..." The bulky man with short dirty, blond hair admitted, his posture straightening as his friends moved to his side, emboldening him

"And you deserved it you dirty ho!" Yelled Jake "You slept with all of us after sleeping with your fuckin uncle! I had to take ten showers and I still feel dirty as fuck!"

"Trav..." Jasons word had barely hit the air before Travis was down the white concrete steps, his fist colliding with Jakes cheekbone, causing the lanky brunette to hit the ground ass first

"Say that again" He seethed as he crouched over the fallen body, his hand tangling in the front of the man's black T-shirt "I fuckin dare any one of you to say that again" his furious eyes narrowed as he gazed from one face to the other

"Come on dude, you're fuckin her now, doesn't it make you want to wash your dick with bleach?"  Said Noah as his body shook animatedly with disgust

"Say it again and I'll wash your mouth out with bleach" Travis seethed as he pushed himself to his feet and closed the gap between Noah and himself

"Travis leave them bro" Called Jason as he slowly began walking down the steps towards the four men, the one on the ground murmuring as he began to stir

"He's not my uncle" came a quiet but resolute voice from the top of the steps

"Taylor you don't owe them anything"

"He's my step mothers brother, there's no shared DNA, he isn't my blood..."

"He's an old fuckin man!" Yelled Liam as he took a step closer and Travis' hand quickly wrapped around his throat

"You take one step closer to her and I will kick your ass so hard you'll be spitting shit for a week

"I know who he is" admitted Taylor, her voice cracking with emotion "I'm 18 years old, he's been my 'uncle' for more than half of my life"

The tone she used to say the word 'uncle' left each man in now doubt of her meaning, as their faces paled and their eyes dropped

"Taylor..." Liam pushed against Travis, attempting to close the distance between him and the blond haired, blue eyed girl that had claimed his heart months before "I'm sorry that's not... that's not what Cassie told us"

"Are you trying to make me hit you?"asked Travis as he forced the palms of his hands into Liam's chest and watched as he landed hard on the ground beside his friend

"Travis that's enough" Jason moved his eyes from Travis to Taylor and back again, drawing his brothers attention to the tiny figure that seemed to be shrinking in to herself as her arms wrapped around her body, attempting to provide herself with the protection and comfort she craved "She needs you bro" he said whilst slapping Travis' shoulder gently

"If any of you or that bitch take one step near her, if you even look at her or think about her I promise you I will know and I'll be there ready to make sure it's the last thing you do" With that, Travis turned and jogged back up the stairs, taking Taylor by the hand and tugging her towards his car "Let's get out of this rat hole"

"You shouldn't have done that" Taylor said as she slipped onto the black leather seat and pulled the belt around herself

"So what should I have done? Just let them get away with it?" Travis' gaze stayed on the steering wheel as he turned the car and then pulled the vehicle out and manoeuvred it around the parking lot

"It doesn't matter, everyone saw it, everyone will be talking about it and spinning their own version of it. You didn't have to make a fuss over it"

"Hey! You... and your truth are worth protecting and 'making a fuss' over, okay?"

"You don't even know my truth" she replied quietly as she turned her head to look through the glass at the city streets they were passing by

"Maybe not but I'm seeing bits of it and figuring out bits of it and hopefully, one day you'll trust me enough to tell me about it" Travis' large hand left the soft leather of the steering wheel and landed gently on Taylors thigh "I'm here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I'm here"

"I need to go home"

"Our home or..."

"Yeah, our home. I need to curl up in bed and maybe cry, maybe binge watch junk tv, maybe sleep, maybe make out... can you take me home Travis, away from school and my family and my past?"

"Baby, I'll take you anywhere you want to go, you should know that by now" He moved his fingers to tangle with Taylors as he leant forward and pressed a kiss into her silky, soft hair, allowing his senses to be overcome by the sweet scent of her honey shampoo

"Thank you" she whispered as Travis' gaze returned to the road and she let her head rest gently against his shoulder "For everything"