Everything Has Changed

Notes On A Scandal

July 17th 2025
Kansas City, Missouri

Those two days had changed everything. Nothing felt the same anymore. Travis was distant, and always somehow glued to his phone. He was attentive, when it suited him, but nothing above the bare minimum that was required. And not only had Taylor noticed it, but so had Luna. She seemed to cry out even more for her dad because he wasn't there. How could two days make her question everything.

Taylor woke early that morning, like she had done most mornings since their return to Kansas City, noticing that Travis was still asleep and so was Luna. She decided to take advantage of this, knowing that the peace wouldn't last much longer, pulling herself out of bed and slipping on her slippers that she had left on the floor beside the bed. Carefully moving Luna's bassinet to one side, she slowly tiptoed out of their bedroom and into the ensuite bathroom they shared, locking the door behind her. She felt like slapping herself, a long hard one directly in the face. Travis wouldn't do this to her. He couldn't be cheating on her. No, there must be something else that was wrong. But what could it be?

They had promised each other over a year ago that they would always share everything with each other, no matter how big or small it was. A promise was a promise. So what could it be? A surprise for her? No, that wasn't it. Travis was normally much more bashful and secretive than cold and calculated. Something had to be wrong. Nothing about this felt right. Everything felt lost. And then an idea came into her head, popping up like a notification on her phone would. Why now, of all of the days, did a song idea have to come? But it was inevitable because some of her best song ideas had always come from the lowest points in her life. She just never thought one of those would be with Travis, and because of Travis.

Noticing that Travis and Luna were still both sound asleep, Taylor quickly slumped off down the hallway towards her recording studio. In there she was lucky to have an electric piano, a new addition from Taylor herself for late night ideas, when she didn't want to wake up Travis or the baby with the piano playing at all hours of the day and the night. She sat down on the leather seat, placing a pair of headphones over her head and let her fingers fall onto the keys of the piano, all of the grief of the past few days outpouring onto the keys in the most heartbreaking way...

Its six am, but I left you at midnight
Packed all my things, jumped right in the car
Was I never enough to love
Did you ever love me at all
Oh no

Was it all a risk,
or was it just for show, ooo oh oh
Guess this is where our story ends
I know I have to go oh oh
And as you hit the club one more time
I feel my heart blow
Cause it breaks a little more, every time
I hope that you know oh oh

Everyone looked in shock,
when they saw your hand drop
Walking through the room
my eyes searched to find you

That day you wore you heart
right on a sleeve for me
But now its four am
I can't hear it beat.

Was it all a risk,
or was it just for show, ooo oh oh
Guess this is where our story ends
I know I have to go oh oh
And as you hit the club one more time
I feel my heart blow
Cause it breaks a little more, every time
I hope that you know oh oh

And I'll keep your old scarf and those scars you gave to me.
Because they once were a part of you,
and they will always be with me.
On that July night, I knew it was a risk
To fall for you so deeply
I never wanted it to be like this

It all came out: the anger, the hurt, the sadness the grief. All of the emotions she couldn't quite say outlaid had manifested themselves into one of her most gut wrenching songs. She saved it in her phone - Risk - before closing it again. She didn't know how long she had been there but it had been a while. The feeling in her legs had long gone, making her walk back to their bedroom like Bambi on ice for the first time. It was as if she was drunk, despite it being only seven o'clock in the morning. She slipped back under the cover silently, Travis still in the position she had left him in hours before. She wondered how Luna had managed to stay asleep for so long but that thought went straight out of her mind when she heard the inevitable and on time cries. The hysteria made it seem like it was a hungry cry which wasn't surprising. Taylor pulled herself out of bed, grabbing the baby into her arms ready for a feed, waking Travis up in the process.