Safe and Sound

12

Over the next few days not a single article or image about Hannah or Ashley appeared on any of the news websites even though Travis and Taylor left their apartment on a regular basis with Hannah. The post that Tree had made to their social media had done its job. For the first time in fifteen years (the first five years of her career she was pretty unknown), Taylor Alison Swift felt like a regular person, able to go about her day without being hounded by paparazzi. She still had the occasional fan, most of whom were respectful enough to stay away when they spotted her out and about in her daily life, approach her for an autograph and a photograph but that didn't bother her. Taylor still had Peter by their side. She didn't know when the words of their post would wear off and she knew as soon as they did, the paparazzi would swarm them like moths to a flame.

Today, Taylor was alone with Peter, for now, walking down the hallway of the hospital to Ashley's room. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, Peter staying outside to give his boss some privacy with her former friend.

"Hi." Taylor said with a soft smile. She dropped down delicately into the chair beside Ashley's bed.

"Hi." Ashley greeted, looking around then towards the door. "Where's Hannah?" She asked, a soft frown crossing her lips.

Taylor smiled. "With Travis and his bodyguard Gary. Travis is taking her to get a Chiefs football jersey. He said 'if you're going to live in this house, you'll need to be a Chiefs fan'." She chuckled softly at her poor impression of her husband. Travis would be bringing Hannah to the hospital in around an hour or two so that he could meet his brother to record their podcast New Heights with Travis and Jason Kelce which the brothers had been doing for years.

"A football jersey? Like soccer?" Ashley asked, adjusting her weight on the bed as she looked over at Taylor.

Taylor shook her head and chuckled. "No, American football, Travis plays for the Chiefs, or did before he took a break." She pushed a strand of her blonde hair from her eyes. She'd decided to leave her hair loose instead of tying it up or pleating it.

"Oh, you mean rugby?" Ashley said with a small teasing smile, knowing this would frustrate Taylor. For a very brief moment, if you'd had blinked you would have missed it, nothing seemed to have changed between her and Taylor, they were back in 2012 in Taylor's apartment.

Taylor looked positively offended. "You did not just compare Rugby to American football?" She asked, eyes wide, pointing an accusing finger at Ashley.

The redhead chuckled. "It might as well be the same thing, except our guys don't need helmets and body armour to play. Our guys are tough." She was smiling, arms held up to show her non-existent muscles. For the first time in a long time, it wasn't Hannah who was making her smile, it was her former best friend who'd made her smile all those years ago, who'd made her feel safe and given her hope that she might just have a place in the world.

Taylor chuckled, electric blue eyes shining under the fluorescent lights. "You seem like you're feeling better."

Ashley nodded. "Better than yesterday, they are going to release me next week, on Monday. The nurses are trying to find me a place to live so I can finish getting better and find a job. They've been really nice." She rested her head against the pillow, her eyes were void of any emotion, her voice hollow. She'd have given anything to be back in the alleyway with Hannah but she knew that a life on the streets wasn't the place for her daughter even though they'd survived there for eleven years.

The conversation fell away and both women became vastly aware of the distance between them, the tear in their relationship that might never be fully repaired. Neither of them could look at each other. An awkward silence filled by only the ticking of the old analogue clock on the wall above the door and the soft beeping of Ashley's heart rate monitor that would drive even the sanest person crazy.