Walking back into the Swift compound, Travis could immediately tell that something was not right.
He had left Taylor home with the staff for just one hour whilst he did some recon under the belief that she she couldn't cause too much trouble in just one hour and definitely not whilst supervised but the look on the faces of each staff member he passed told him he had been completely and utterly wrong in his assumption.
"What's going on?" he asked a housekeeper he couldn't remember the name of but she just spluttered something in Spanish and hurried on, keeping her head down the whole time
Gritting his teeth and trying to keep some sense about him he took the stairs to the first floor where his bedroom was situated and immediately saw the door flung wide open. He had locked it that morning...
"Taylor!!" He yelled as he entered and saw his drawers and wardrobe open "Taylor!!!" he walked to his balcony, following the trail of discarded clothing and looked over the edge, there floating in the swimming pool was pretty much every item of clothing he owned, underwear and socks included
"TAYLOR!!" he bellowed, rushing from his room to hers which lay at the bottom of the corridor but he hadnt even reached the elaborate golden door when she appeared in the doorway wrapped only in a pale, pink, silky bedsheet.
He opened his mouth to begin reprimanding her when the figure of a tall, skinny, blond guy appeared behind her wearing just his gray, y-front briefs
"Your timing really sucks mate" he complained but Travis just turned his nose up at him, ignoring he existed and hooked Taylors arm and pulled her along the corridor, into his own room, slamming the door shut behind them
Clapping his hands loudly and slowly he turned to the girl whose face was blank, one hand clutching her bedsheet and one hand planted firmly on her hip
"Wow, did we just graduate kindergarten? Is this really the level we're at right now?" she said nothing just pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him "My clothes Taylor? Your dad will give me the money to replace them quicker than it takes your little English 'chum' in there to cum, and him, really??? That's how little you think of yourself, you would give yourself to him just in the hopes of pissing me off?"
Staying silent a second she fixed him with a hot gaze and stepped closer." no, I will give myself to him because he feels good between my legs" lifting her chin in the air she brought her lips as close to Travis' chin as possible without ever touching him "Just like you will one day" and then she turned, allowing the sheet to drop from her body and pool on the ground at Travis' feet and then she walked out of the room and along the corridor to her bedroom and the guest that was awaiting her with eyes the size of saucers.
********
After ensuring that Taylor was asleep and her bedroom and balcony doors were closed Travis snuck out of the house, went to the garage and sat in the driver's seat of his car and gripped the steering wheel in both hands.
This was going to be so much more difficult than he had thought when he had accepted the position.
After everything he had seen and done in his professional life, who would have thought his hardest challenge would come in the shape of an 18 year old girl with 'issues'.
Picking up his phone, he made sure the line was secure and then dialed a number he knew like the back of his hand
"Hey dad"
"Trav!" the old man sounded overjoyed to hear from his only child and Travis felt the familiar longing for home. For the familiar coldness of Canada and the familiar warmth of his childhood house. "How's the new assignment going?"
Travis sighed, wishing for his father's peace of mind he could lie and say fine but knowing for his own he had to be honest
"It's a tough one dad"
"Talk to me".
"You know I can't" Travis massaged the bridge of his nose and wished he could just tell his father everything
"Perhaps not in specifics, but you can tell me in a round about sort of way, maybe I can help"
Having a psychologist for a father could sometimes be difficult but then sometimes, like right now it could be a blessing. Who else could try and explain the inner workings of Taylor Swifts messy mind, because he couldn't work it out, that was for sure.
"Subject is a female, late teens, complete and utter brat complex" his father chuckled at his sons less than professional analysis "um, lives with her father, mother and younger brother are both deceased"
"Tell me about that"
Travis would rather not have, the details were grim to say the least but it was a huge part of the story so he put his professional persona back in place and forged ahead.
"Um, kidnapping. The father returned from a business trip to an empty house. 1 week later the girl arrived back home, lead them to a house known to the family where the mother and brother were found dead. Had been for some time. No arrests were ever made, hence me being called in to help"
"Cause of death?"
"Gun shot wound to the head. The boy went first, followed by the mother a day or so later"
"She was kept alive after witnessing her sons death? That's cruel in the extreme. Any other signs of injury?"
"Not to the boy. Signs of multiple sexual assaults to the mother"
"And the girl? Was she hurt at all, did she witness anything?"
"Maybe everything, maybe nothing, she won't say"
"Other than being a brat is there any other behavioral issues that stand out?"
"She has a death wish. Wants to be with her mother and brother and who can blame her?"
"It's not a death wish" Travis lowered his brows, he had seen her, heard her screams and cries, the desperation in her face and her voice is something he wouldn't forget for a long time "If it was a death wish she would have done it long before now, she would have found some pills, found something sharp, jumped in front of a car or a train, something's keeping her here, maybe you should try and find out what that is as a place to start"
"I hadn't thought about it like that"
"Travis , we are talking extreme trauma, PTSD is a given, survivors guilt, again, pretty much guaranteed, this girl, she's going to try and do everything she can to keep you out, dont give up on her no matter how difficult it may get, don't walk away"
"Well she's difficult, that's for sure"
"Everyone has a calling in life son, I think this girl might just be yours"
