I stop at the front door of the Swift house and take a second to compose myself.
Just an hour ago I was searching the streets for Max Mulvey ready to pummel his face into the ground for selling my girlfriend medication that could have killed her but then came the call from Mrs. Swift, Taylor had gone to dinner with Austin and she wanted to talk, just her and I and although i have no idea what she wants us to talk about I know from her tone it won't be something good. The days of reminiscing about Portuguese holidays have long gone between us
I fidget with the black and grey striped shirt I had rushed home and changed in to, not prepared to meet Taylor's mother in the black shorts and t-shirt I had been wearing when I turned up at the high school in search of Taylor and answers and when I walked away with more answers than I could have imagined even in my worst nightmares.
Taylor taking fat burning medication when she had no fat to burn and that I was sure, was only the tip of the iceberg, if there was an innocent explanation why would she have lied to me? Why tell me they were Evas when in reality they were hers
"Travis!" Mrs. Swift opens the door before I knock as though she's been waiting for me and when I look at her I see her smile is forced, her face is tired and her eyes are red
"Taylor..." I ask in a panic
"She's okay. Come in, please"
She steps aside and I walk in, my pulse throbbing in my throat, scared of what she knows, scared of what will be said next but in the Kelce house we don't do fear, we do attack and although the last thing I want to do is verbally attack Taylors mother I feel my walls going up, the softness I show only to my girlfriend is drying up and becoming hard and protective like a barrier between my broken pieces and the outside world
"Take a seat, would you like a drink?" Her first words are rushed and she makes no eye contact but they are much more civilised than I had expected so I drop down onto the wooden seat at the kitchen table and ask for a glass of water knowing i'm going to need something to stop my throat drying up completely.
"I owe you an apology Travis"
The words hit me like blows to the chest and I don't know why they hold so much weight but they do
"I chose to believe someone else words over my own experience of you and that was wrong, so, so wrong"
She takes a sip of her own water and then sits in the chair next to me and fixes me with a look I can't name. Her eyes are wet with tears but her mouth is smiling and her hands are clenched tightly together
"It's okay" Is all I can say as I feel my own throat tightening at the sight of her
"It's far from okay, far, far from it. I should have trusted my instinct trusted both of my children when they spoke up for you but instead i trusted... that man"
I can tell from the way she speaks that Taylor has told her something and i feel intrigue and fear in equal measure to learn what
"Travis, Taylor told me what happened with David Quinn"
The use of his full name tells me she is distancing herself from him and I feel relieved to know she has believed Taylor immediately, knowing how afraid she was that her parents would once again choose to believe Quinn over her.
"How much?" I ask and I hope she doesn't notice the slight shake in my voice
"Everything, i think, except your part in it all of course"
Her smile and her eyes are kind, as though to let me know she knows there's more to it but that she won't punish me for it
"I love Taylor" my voice suddenly says, seemingly without my permission
