Saturday February 13, 2027
In the middle of preparing lunch for herself and her parents, Taylor didn't hear her phone ring where she had abandoned it on the living room coffee table.
She didn't hear it when she called everyone in for lunch; and she definitely didn't hear it when she was trying to triple task feeding Annabelle, stopping Mia throwing food on the floor, and getting her own lunch.
She only remembers about it in the middle of cleaning up, glancing at the time to remember that Travis would be done with practice by now; and that he always, always, called before Mia went down for an afternoon nap.
So when she picks it up and sees 10 missed calls from Trav, a few from Patrick and Brittany, and some from one of his coaches, her heart sinks and she can feel her stomach flip, knowing in her heart of hearts that whatever has happened, it can't be good. Shit.
Hands shaking, she dials Travis' number, and says, 'What's happened? What's wrong?', before anyone can even say hello.
'Taylor, it's Pat. Travis got injured in practice today, we think it might be his ACL. He's getting scans done now so that's why I have his phone, but he'll definitely not be playing Sunday'.
The tears come immediately, Taylor feeling the weight of the crushing realisation that Travis would miss out on the opportunity to play for his fifth ring - and break another record. She knew what this meant to him, the sacrifice he - and the whole family - had made to get to this stage, and to have that so cruelly taken away so close to game day was heartbreaking. For everyone, but especially for Travis.
'Oh my god', she finally breathes out, voice shaky. 'Is he in a lot of pain? What happened? Can I come see him?' The questions start to flood in to her brain, and she hardly knows which one to ask first.
'We were running drills and he went down, I think it's the same leg as the last injury. He was carted off so I didn't get to talk much to him, other than him throwing me his phone and telling me to call you. He wants you to come though, and Coach said it's fine'.
She's already pulling on her sneakers before his sentence is finished. 'Thanks Pat. Tell him I'm on my way, okay? Be there soon'.
15 minutes later she's in the car being driven away from her LA home, the girls in the care of her parents. This year the Super Bowl was at SoFi Stadium, so it was ideally placed for Taylor to stay in a familiar setting with the girls and for Travis to visit when he could, rather than them all being cooped up in a hotel room.
Travis' TE coach is waiting for her when she arrives at the facility, his face drawn. He greets her with a small smile and a hug, before saying, 'Taylor, before you go in there, I wanted to tell you that he has an ACL tear. He'll need surgery in the next week or so, and obviously can't play this weekend. He's pretty down, I haven't seen him like this. The only time he spoke was to ask for you'.
She can only bite her lip and nod, knowing that any emotion she is feeling right now has to be swallowed down in return for being the strong one, in an effort to help Travis through this. She's lead to the medical room and when they push open the door, she can see him on the table as the guys strap on a boot, hand covering his face as he grimaces in pain.
'Travis, I'm here', she says as she moves towards him, hands reaching for his, hugging him where he lay.
'Tay', is all he manages to choke out before emotion overtakes him, hugging her tight against his chest.
When she pulls back she sees the tear tracks on his face, his eyes red and swollen. 'It's okay, baby. I'm here. You'll get through this'.
He nods, pulling her close once again, and then they both listen as the medical staff tell them the next steps. Thankfully, it's a small tear, and should heal quickly enough after a small surgery that they've already scheduled for Tuesday, once they get back to Kansas City.
