"Good luck, Tay", Travis said, giving her a kiss backstage before she went out. They were in Delaware, and it was night one. "Thanks babe. Love you", Taylor said, pecking his lips once more quickly before hustling to the stage. Travis snook out from backstage to the VIP tent beside Taylor's mom, Andrea. "Hi Travis", Andrea said, hugging her daughter's fiance. "Hi. How are you?", Travis asked, breaking the hug. "Good", he responded.
About halfway through the show, Travis noticed a little girl, about 4, sneaking past people that were way taller than her to look at Travis. The metal fence separated them, but Travis immediately felt a sense of urgency rush over him. He tried to ignore and he waved at the little girl, trying to focus on Taylor's performance. "Travis, do you know that little girl?", Andrea asked. "No. She's been staring at me for ten straight minutes". "I wonder if everything's alright. She looks like she's ready to cry", Andrea observed. "Yeah, she does. I wonder where her parents are".
"I'm going to go check on her", Travis said, excusing himself. "Hey, do you know where your parents are?", Travis asked softly, realizing that if he was four years old he wouldn't be thrilled to have a tall grown man approach him.
The little girl shook her head, her lip curling.
"Hey, don't cry. I'll help you find them", Travis offered. "Can I pick you up?", he asked kindly, making sure she was giving him consent first. The little girl nodded, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Hi, sweetie", Andrea said calmly. Tears began to flow from the little girl's eyes. "Don't cry. I'm going to help you find your mommy or daddy, ok?", Travis asked, looking her in the eyes. "No", the girls sobbed. "Why dear?", Andrea asked.
The girl reached her arms out to Andrea so she picked her up. Travis understood that maybe someone of a grandma's age might bring more comfort than himself.
The child just sobbed in Andrea's shoulder, Andrea rubbing the child's back soothingly.
Andrea noticed that she flinched when her hand ran over a certain part of her middle back. "Does this hurt?", she asked softly. "Yeah", the girl said, calming down a little.
Taylor noticed from the stage that Travis and her mom had a new visitor. She tried to ignore the curiosity peeking in her and carried on with the show, ready to ask Travis afterward.
"Can I take a look at it? I won't hurt you", Andrea said. She nodded.
Andrea softly lifted the back of the girl's shirt to reveal a bad bruise, so bad that there was a bump. Andrea also noticed that there were purple marks all along the girl's arms and legs. Tears almost fell from Andrea's eyes, wondering how someone could do this to a child. "Travis, I think she's being abused. There were bruises along her body and it looks like she did more than just a trip to get these", Andrea whispered, lowering the back of the girl's shirt. "Oh my", Travis said, astonished.
"What's your name, sweetie?", Andrea asked. "Brooklyn", she answered weakly. "Well that's certainly a pretty name. And are your parents hitting you? I noticed some ouchies on your arms".
"Yeah, they hit me when they get mad and when Daddy and Mommy drink too much", Brooklyn said, opening up to them. "Travis, could you take her? My backs have been killing me lately", Andrea asked her future son in- law. "If it's ok with miss Brooklyn here", Travis asked, waiting for Brooklyn's response. Brooklyn reached her arms to Travis, and she laid her sleepy head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Is it ok if me and my girlfriend take you home for the night? We just don't want you to get hit more", Travis said, noticing his girlfriend from the stage giving him a quizzical look. He gave her an 'I'll tell you later' look.
"That's your girlfriend?", Brooklyn asked, surprised. "No, no. That's my girlfriend's mom", Travis said, laughing a little. "Ohh", Brooklyn said. Travis reached his hand delicately and wiped some of the old tears off her face. "Do I have to tell my mommy first?", Brooklyn asked. "No, we'll just take you but we'll let some people know. I promise you you'll be safe", Travis said, clapping as the show was ending. "I'm going to take her backstage so her parents don't see her", Travis whispered. "Do you want to meet my girlfriend?", Travis asked as they walked quickly to the backstage entrance. "Ok", she said, not seeming to care. Travis chuckled, thinking about the huge surprise that awaited Brooklyn when she saw who his girlfriend was.
"Hey babe", Travis said, entering the dressing room as his girlfriend sat in from of the mirror, removing all the layers of makeup she was wearing. "Hey, oh, who's this", Taylor asked, a smile on her face.
Brooklyn's eyes popped out, surprise written all over her face. "You're girlfriends Taylor Swift?!", Brooklyn letting out a sound of joy. "Hi. What's your name?", Taylor asked, slipping on a sweatshirt as her fancy outfits lay on the manikins. "Brooklyn. Is this your boyfriend?", Brooklyn asked. "Yes for now until he explains to me what's going on", Taylor said.
"Here, you can play games on my phone while I talk to Taylor. Is that alright?", Travis said handing his unlocked phone to his games widget. "Thanks", she said, immediately picking out Subway Surfers.
"Why do you have so many games on your phone?", Taylor asked once they were in private. "Because I still like to have fun", he answered. "So why do you have a random child, Travis?", Taylor asked. "She was crying and staring at me, so I checked on her. She is being abused by her parents, Tay. They drink too much and hit her when they get mad at random things. No right mind can send her back to parents who will hurt her", Travis explained, taking both of her hands. "That's terrible. We should call child protective services", Taylor said, pulling out her phone. "Trav, you do it. You were the one who knows her more. I'll go and chat with Brooklyn", Taylor said, kissing his cheek and walking to chat with Brooklyn on the couch.
Thanks for reading! I'll try to update this story today or tomorrow. School starts tomorrow and I'll be busier but I'll try to make time for this. <33
