sad beautiful tragic [a tayvis story]

the plane ride

"Be good for your mama, okay?" Travis said, bending down to his daughter's height.

"I don't want to go to her!" the young girl cried, grabbing onto the man.

As painful as it was, Travis had to pull his daughter away from him, which she clearly did not like. Every other month, she had to go with her mother because Travis and her shared joint custody over the girl. Over the years, the small girl had shown a lot of resentment towards going to her mother's house but Travis just thought she loved her dad a lot.

"Baby, you need to let go," Travis cooed, rubbing his daughter's back.

He could feel his daughter grip onto his shirt tighter as he said that she needed to let go, which scared him. But his ex-girlfriend told him that she just loves him so much which he tried his best to believe. He pried the girl's hands off of him as she tried to grab at anything near her, not wanting to be handed over to the big bad man taking her to her mother.

"Dada, no!" she screamed, kicking at the man trying to take her.

"That's enough, Ellie!" Travis said, raising his voice.

The small girl looked up at her dad in betrayal and anger, new to her dad raising her voice at her, letting the two men exchange the girl. The girl started to wiggle out of the man's grip, but she wasn't quick enough and he easily strapped her into her car seat, causing her to cry out.

"Dada please, I don't wanna go!" she cried, banging on the window.

A tear fell down Travis' cheek as he watched his daughter cry and bang on the door as the car drove away, it broke his heart to see his daughter miss him so much. Usually he would call Taylor and tell her that he wasn't feeling well and she would rush over and comfort him, but that was before he ruined everything. He slammed the door shut as tears streamed down his face in pain and nervousness. In his heart, he felt like something was wrong, his daughter's screams and pleas seemed so real but his ex convinced him it was all the small girl readjusting and she does it with her mother too.

Taylor quickly put the sunglasses on her face to complete her disguise before heading into the airport. The baggage check-in and security check went by really smoothly as Tree had picked out a believable disguise. She loved her fans so much, with every piece of her, but right now she needed some quiet and time to herself, she needed peace to fix herself again. When she got to the gate, she sat down near the back of the area, listening to the light music playing in her earbuds, waiting to board. Her eyes shot open as she heard a small girl crying hysterically while kicking and screaming to be put down. Taylor saw a huge man who was practically crushing the girl, whispering something in her ear. The small girl whimpered and stopped her tantrum, her face filled with fear and discomfort.

"Go sit down over there and you know the drill, don't you? I already talked to the staff and they'll take you from here," the man said, pointing at the seat next to Taylor.

The small girl timidly walked over to Taylor and climbed up the seat, trying to pull herself up onto the seat. After watching the girl struggle a couple more times, Taylor held out her hand and pulled the girl up. Taylor could feel the girl trembling as she let go of the girl's hand which made Taylor just want to pick her up and give her a huge hug. As she heard the announcements about boarding, Taylor packed up the small carry-on backpack she took with her and stood up, getting ready to stand in line to embark the plane.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the small girl called out.

"Yes, honey?" Taylor asked, turning around to face the girl.

"What does this say?" she asked, handing Taylor her ticket.

"This is the seat right next to mine, would you like to come with me?" Taylor asked.

"Yes please," the small girl said, walking over to Taylor.

"Is your name Ellie?" Taylor asked, looking at the girl's ticket.

"Yeah," the small girl responds.

"Can I carry you? There's a lot of people and I don't want you to get lost," Taylor asked.

Ellie shyly nodded her head and lifted her hands up, making it easier for the tall woman to pick her up. The woman's grip felt like her dad's, the opposite of her mom's and the big bad man's; it felt comforting and protective instead of harsh and violent. The small girl laid her head in the crook of Taylor's neck while the woman carried her through the line and even showed the hostess her ticket. Taylor walked through the first section of the plane and went into a row with two business class seats, setting Ellie down.

"Can you take me home instead of my mommy?" Ellie asked, with a hopeful look on her face.

"No, honey, but I'm sure your mommy will be happy to see you," Taylor chuckled, fixing the girl's hair.

"She won't." Ellie pouted, crossing her arms and turning away from the older woman.

Taylor let her sit like that as she put her backpack away and sent out some last minute texts before the plane started. While the flight crew went through their routine of where the emergency exits are located, Taylor helped Ellie buckle up and also buckled herself too. Luckily, Ellie fell asleep the second the plane started so Taylor was also able to lay back and relax for a couple hours. As both girls were asleep, the flight went by really fast and before Taylor knew it, the announcement that the plane was landing came on. Taylor secured all her stuff, ready to get off the plane, waiting for the flight to completely come to a stop. As everyone stood up and made their way out, Taylor put on her backpack and was about to leave until she remembered the small girl. Taylor looked over to the side to see Ellie still fast asleep, hugging the arm of the seat.

"Sweetie, come here," Taylor whispered, taking off the girl's belt and trying to pick her up.

Ellie slightly opened her eyes and jumped into Taylor's arms before yawning and lying down on top of Taylor again. The woman was practically putting her to sleep with her rhythmic walking and rubbing her back; but before she could fall into a slumber, she heard a loud, annoying voice.

"Ellie baby, welcome!"