"Everyone out!"
The sound of his voice in the locker room, the place where he should never be causes me to freeze and then I remember the clear bag I am holding in my hand so I throw it into the locker and then slam it shut, grab my bag and then join the stream of girls exiting the room but before I make it out an arms comes down in front of me
"Not you Taylor"
My heart begins to hammer as I feel the blood drain from face. For a second I wonder if Travis is still standing waiting on me and if I shout now will he hear me. Then I think of Travis' reaction if he found Mr. Quinn in here with me and I know for a fact one of them would end up in hospital and Travis would end up in jail.
No matter what happens, Travis can't know about this, I can't allow him to get into trouble because of me.
"Taylor Swift"
"Yes sir" I stand in the now abandoned locker room and my heart is beating so erratically I feel as though I'm going to vomit.
I look down at my outfit, black yoga pants and a black and purple sweatshirt, not revealing in the slightest and yet I feel as though I'm standing there naked and he's looking at me the same way
"I have tried to help you Taylor" he takes a step closer and I automatically take a step back. "I could have told your parents about catching you with Travis on the promenade but I didn't, I tried to be good teacher, a good friend but you just don't seem to appreciate it"
Again he steps towards me and again I try to step back but find my spine hitting the hard metal of the locker, blocking my escape
"I do appreciate you not telling them"
"Then why have you been lying to us? Saying you've been keeping away from him when he's going around saying you're his girlfriend"
What?!
When did he speak to Travis?
When did Travis tell him that?!
He only just asked me, had he assumed that I would say yes and told him earlier or... then I remember, I heard his voice and ducked into the locker room leaving Travis in the hallway, he must have told him then.
Fuck!
"Look, I do appreciate your concern but Travis isn't who you think he is"
"Well why don't we drive to your house and tell your parents that?" He steps closer again "We'll just tell them that he isn't who we think he is, he isn't the kid that gets caught up in all those fights, he isn't the kid that attacked his own teacher or the kid that attacked a female student..."
"My parents don't need to know..."
"Well then how about we go over to Travis' house"
For a second it feels as though the entire world is shrinking around me as I gasp at the thought of Mr. Quinn turning up at Travis' house, what would he tell his parents and how would they react? One thing I know for sure is Travis' body would pay the price
"No!" I grab Mr. Quinn's shoulders "Please no, leave Travis out of this"
"Yeah? What's it worth to me?" He steps closer and the smell of cigarettes on his breath hits my face and my stomach turns
"If Travis finds out about this he will kill you" I know it's the truth, he hates Mr. Quinn as it is, if he finds out about this... I shudder at the thought of Travis' reaction
"If Travis' father finds out everything I know he will kill him before he can get to me"
"You know about Travis' father? Why wouldn't you help him, you're a teacher!" I move uncomfortably against the locker, there's barely an inch between us and I'm aware I'm irritating him by the way his entire face seems to go tight
"Travis Kelce doesn't deserve help, he's trouble, he's a bully, he takes pleasure in other people's pain. You of all people should know that after what he did to you. Fucked you then humiliated you"
"It wasn't like that"
"Well it seemed like that when he left you crying in the hallway" he reaches forward and brushes my hair from my face and I feel the sudden urge to scream as panic floods me at the contact "I'll keep your secret Taylor but it comes at a cost" he leans forward and I feel tears welling in my eyes as bile floods my mouth and he puckers his lips
"Please don't" I beg and he just laughs before blowing a puff of breath into my face and then turning and walking out of the locker room.
I grab hold of the lockers, my heart thumping so hard it's making my stomach heave, I wait 30 seconds, one minute and then when I'm confident enough that he has left I grab my bag and run.
I run from the room into the hallway and then I run from the hallway out into the cool air, I have one place I want to be and then I spot it
"Travis!" I nearly scream and he spins in my direction, tears are streaming down my face as I run in his direction, the smile melting from his face when he notices my distress. His long arms open just as I throw myself into them, sobbing and mumbling words I know he won't understand
"What the fuck?!"
It's a typical Travis response as his arms hold me so tight to his body I'm afraid he will snap me "Baby..." the word only makes me cry harder "Tay..."
I cling to my boyfriends hard body, sobbing into his T-shirt, my entire body aching, my mind screaming in distress
"Taylor what the fuck has happened?"
I try to speak but just end up gurgling a sob
"Tay, baby you're scaring me. Please, please tell me what happend. Was it Brit? I will fucking kill her, I swear to God..."
And there it was.
The truth.
I couldn't tell Travis because the damage he would do would come at a cost I couldn't ask him to pay
