A Place In This World - Adopted By Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Chapter 8

A week later, Avery was slowly but surely easing back into the school routine. In addition to weekly appointments with her therapist, she was also checking in daily with the school counselor. She was continuing to struggle with the separation anxiety, but it was becoming slightly more manageable now that she had some tools to help her when she started to panic.

Taylor and Travis were scheduled to attend an important dinner with several of the other Chiefs players and coaches, so Andrea would be spending the evening with Avery and getting her tucked into bed. This would be the first time they would both be gone when it was time for Avery to go to bed, and she had confided in them earlier that she was feeling really worried that something would happen to them while she was asleep. Taylor had considered staying home, not wanting to put Avery in such a hard situation when she was already struggling, but Avery's therapist had convinced her that this was a perfect opportunity to give her a safe challenge to use her new tools.

Luckily, the dinner was at a restaurant about ten minutes away from the house, which would make it easier to get home quickly if things went south. Avery had been quiet for most of the day, trying to keep herself distracted watching movies to avoid thinking about Travis and Taylor going out. Andrea had arrived just after lunch, wanting to have plenty of time to talk with Taylor about how best to support Avery if she started getting anxious while they were gone.

As it got closer to time for Taylor and Travis to leave, Avery was practically glued to Taylor's side. Taylor tried her best to be understanding, knowing how hard it must be for her to watch them leave after everything she's been through. Avery kept her company while she did her hair and makeup, taking pride in being Taylor's "assistant", passing her the various brushes and bobby pins she needed to complete her look. Taylor even gave her a little bit of eye makeup, figuring a little glitter might be just what she needed to feel special tonight.

"Do you really have to leave?" Avery asked quietly as Taylor and Travis were getting ready to walk out the door.

"Its just for a few hours, sweetie," Taylor reassured her.

"And when you wake up tomorrow, it'll be time for Sunday pancakes," Travis reminded her.

"Come on Aves, I have our popcorn waiting in the living room," Andrea said, trying to coax her away from the door.

Taylor made sure to send Avery a quick text as soon as they arrived at the restaurant, knowing that one of her biggest sources of anxiety was the thought that they could get into an accident.

Text Message to Aves

7:09 PM

Just checking in to let you know that we're at the restaurant. We love you so much and hope you're having a fun night! 😘

Text Message from Aves

7:17 PM

👍

"Trav? Does this seem like a weird response from Avery?" Taylor asked, passing her phone so he could see.

"She's probably just busy with your mom. It sounded like they had a lot planned to try to keep her distracted," Travis reassured her.

"I know you're probably right. I just worry about her," Taylor admitted.

"I do too. But she's in good hands. There's no one better equipped to handle this than your mom."

Dinner was going well, and Taylor was happy to catch up with some of the girls she hadn't seen in a few weeks since the season ended. She was currently admiring the pictures Lyndsay was showing off of her newborn, proudly showing off photos of Avery in return. For the first time, she really felt like a mom, swapping stories with her group of friends and accepting advice from the few women who had children around Avery's age. Travis was also enjoying talking with his teammates, happy to listen to their advice about how to balance football and family time before the season starts.

Shortly after their appetizers had arrived, both Taylor and Travis's phones started to alarm. They immediately recognized the sound as Avery's blood sugar alert, quickly opening the app to see what was wrong. Taylor froze, panic taking over as she saw that the monitor was simply reading "high" with arrows indicating that her blood sugar was rising rapidly. Before she could even begin to process what was happening, Travis was handing her his phone, having already called Andrea to find out what was wrong.

"Mama? Is she okay?" Taylor asked, putting the phone on speaker so Travis could hear as soon as they got outside.

"She's okay, but she definitely isn't feeling well. She says her stomach is really hurting and she feels like she might get sick," Andrea explained.

"Fuck," Travis muttered, grabbing the phone, "Andrea? Is her glucometer around? I want to see if we can get an idea of how high she really is."

"I have it right here, give me a second and I'll check her," Andrea said, "She's at 527."

"Okay that's not good. Her pump is probably not working for some reason. She has pens in the fridge, give her six units and we'll meet you at the hospital," Taylor explained, confirming with Travis that he had already called for their car.

Twenty minutes later, Taylor and Travis arrived at the local children's hospital and were promptly rushed inside to Avery's room. She looked extra small in the hospital bed, hooked up to various monitors and an IV drip. Andrea was at her side, reading to her from the book she had picked out the day before.

The doctor met them in the room, explaining that it appeared that Avery's pump had been accidentally paused at some point, so she hadn't been receiving insulin for most of the day. They currently had her hooked up to an insulin drip, hoping to get her back into range quickly, but she would need to stay in the hospital at least overnight to continue to monitor for any complications.

Andrea offered to run back to the house, grabbing some clothes and comfort items they would need for the night. Luckily, the hospital allowed for two parents to stay overnight for a child younger than ten, so both Travis and Taylor would be able to stay by her side until she was feeling better. They were expecting it to be a long night, knowing that Avery was probably incredibly uncomfortable and would have a hard time sleeping while being constantly poked and prodded.

Taylor couldn't help but wonder how they hadn't noticed that something was wrong with the pump earlier in the day. She could have sworn that everything looked normal when she had entered Avery's lunch, but the day had been so hectic that it was more than possible she had missed it. She was trying not to be too hard on herself for it, reminding herself that Avery was okay and that the doctor had explained that sometimes these high tech pumps just fail, and there's nothing anyone could have done differently.

"Taylor?" Avery called quietly, breaking her from her racing thoughts.

"What's up, sweetie?" Taylor replied, gently brushing Avery's bangs away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry you guys had to leave dinner early. I know you were really looking forward to it," Avery mumbled.

"Oh, Aves, you don't need to apologize. You'll always be our number one priority. We're just glad you're okay," Taylor reassured her.

"And we're so proud of how brave you've been today," Travis added.

Avery drifted off to sleep shortly after their conversation, her little body exhausted from all the chaos. Taylor didn't last much longer, and soon her soft snores filled the room. Travis was exhausted, but he couldn't bring himself to look away, worried that something might happen to Avery again. He decided to stay up a bit longer to keep an eye on her, at least until they came by to check her vitals again. He felt his phone vibrate softly in his pocket, pulling it out to see a text from his brother.

Text Message from Jason

10:48 PM

Just checking in to see how Avery's doing. Let us know if you guys need anything

Text Message from Travis

10:50 PM

She's sleeping now. Tay too. Seems like things are headed in the right direction, but I'm staying up to watch her for a while to be sure. Holy shit that was scary

Text Message from Jason

10:51 PM

Welcome to fatherhood, dude. They scare you to death sometimes but it's totally worth it