"That's right, isn't it mom? That's what you think" Travis tried to make eye contact with his mother but her line of vision moved faster than a bullet, looking at him and then searching out random spots in the room then searching for Sinus eyes before once again moving off
"Come on, nows your chance to blow things for me for good. Tell Mrs. Swift exactly what I did, tell her why you have punished me every day since I was 7 years old... Come on mom, tell her... TELL HER!"
Karen threaded her fingers together before letting her gaze finally settle on her son, the man she no longer recognized, the man with fire in his eyes, his heart bleeding before her and she couldn't find anything soft inside of herself for him, nothing at all
"For goodness sake Travis, settle down, you are making a fool of us in front of your guest"
Sinu watched the mother and son in front of her and wasn't sure she'd ever seen a more heartbreaking sight in her life
Travis looked to Sinu, her face was pale, her jaw tense, she was doubting him and he couldn't blame her so he sat on the chair next to her and looked right at her and didnt stop looking at her until she lifted her head and met his gaze
"Mrs. Swift, when I was 7 years old my friend Roozhan and I loved comic books, every Friday the new edition would come out and my dad would drive us to the store to buy it and usually we would get snacks too, it was the highlight of our week"
"Travis!" his mother's voice was a warning he wasn't going to heed
"This one Friday dad had been in meetings all day and was tired when he got home so he sat outside for a while and Roozhan and I stayed inside getting more and more anxious about the store shutting before we got our comic"
"He told you he didn't want to go, told you he was tired but you and that girl just kept going and going at him" Karen's voice was so quiet Sinu thought she was maybe talking to herself
" I was 7, at 7 you don't realise life doesn't revolve around the latest edition of a comic book you like"
"Selfish then, selfish now, and this is the man you want for your daughter?!" Karen shook her head in disappointment at Sinu but she continued gazing at Travis, the need to share the burdon of this with someone obvious on his face
"What I also didn't understand at 7 was that when my mom said my dad was tired what she really meant was he had sat outside and drank a couple of beers to relax after work
" 2 beers Travis, it didn't affect anything, I wouldn't have let him drive if it was affecting him. "
"Two beers, a lapse in concentration and the next thing you know my dad's dead, my best friend ends up in a wheelchair for life and it's all my fault, because I wanted a comic book"
"Because you were a selfish little brat that could never take no for an answer! " Karen's composure cracked as her face reddened "My husband died because Travis had to have what Travis wanted, even now you are still the same, Jason gets his first proper girlfriend, Travis wants her so Travis has to have her, forget about his brother, forget about his relationship" Karen's hand slammed down on to the table and Travis shot out of his seat
"Forget about Jason? How the hell can I forget about Jason?!, he's all you talk about, all you think about, if anyone has been forgotten here it's me. All these years fending for myself without a mother, 7 years old washing my own school uniform, making my own meals. My dad died in that crash but that day I lost my mother and my father and Jason became the golden boy because I was with them and he stayed at home. That's the only difference between us"
"The difference between you is he is wanted and you are not!" Now Karen was on her feet as she and Travis glared at each other "I know what you did, you are not innocent in this no matter how you twist it to make your self the victim"
"I was seven years old!! I wanted a magazine!! I didn't pour dad those beers, I didn't put the keys in the ignition"
"You might as well have driven that car in to the tree Travis! If it wasn't for you he would have been at home and not in the car and I would still have my husband"
"I can't listen to any more of this" Sinu pushed herself to her feet, her mind dizzy with everything she had heard and she saw the look of fear on Travis' face, fear that she blamed him the way his mother did and would take Taylor from him but Sinu simply walked to the suitcase by the door, picked it up and then looked back over her shoulder
"Get in to the car Travis, I'm taking you home"
Swift House
"So, Travis..." Alejandro Swift pushed his pulled pork around his plate as he searched for something to say to the stranger in front of him "Do you play any sports?"
"No sir" Travis said whilst shaking his head, his confrontation with his mother still heavy in his mind
"Daddy, Travis is a musician" Taylor gushed excitedly "You should hear him play, he's amazing" Taylor grinned happily at Travis but he just looked down at his plate.
Meeting the father was bombing, but he just couldn't lift his mood.
His father, his mother.. Their broken family filled his head and made words hard to find
Rubbing a hand over her face, Taylor knew it had been a mistake to carry on with dinner when her mother had been called into work.
Wracking her brain she tried to think of a subject both Travis and her father liked and came up with only one common topic of conversation...her!
"So Travis, why don't you tell my dad how we met and how you fell hopelessly in love with me at first sight and how I had to keep telling you no but after you wooed me with your great looks and witty personality I decided to give you a chance"
Travis choked on his food slightly at her retelling of their early meetings but Alejandro just chuckled and shook his head before wiping his mouth with a lemon colored napkin and looking to Travis
"So she stalked you then son?" a genuine smile spread over Travis' face for the first time that evening
"Daddy! I liked him and he liked me right back" she pouted playfully, enjoying the change of atmosphere
"This is like Liam Jackson all over"
Jumping up from the table, Taylor slapped her hands over her father's mouth, their faces were light, both obviously playing a game so Travis decided to go along with it
"Who is Liam Jackson?" He asked innocently and Taylor shot her father a look that dared him to continue with this conversation.
Alejandro loved this story though, and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity of retelling it
"Well Travis I'm glad you ask..."
"Daddy no!!!!"
Clearing his throat Alejandro proceeded to tell Travis all about 8 year old Taylors first crush... Liam Jackson.
She had spent her art lessons drawing him pictures, English classes writing him love notes and break times following him around giving him heart eyes.
In the end Liams mother had called the principal to say he was nervous to come to school because Taylor scared him.
By the end of the story Travis and Alejandro were laughing together as though they had known each other their whole lives and although Taylor sat pouting with her arms crossed In fake annoyance she was pretty sure she had never been happier to be the butt of someone's joke
