Everything Has Changed

Lost In Translation

July 18th 2025
Kansas City, Missouri

"Taylor I can explain. I-" She heard Travis begin the statement but Taylor was having none of it. She wasn't Sur which emotion would come first: the hurt, the anger, the betray. Or the sadness. But it all came out. All at once, everything was different. And everything was true. Wounds laid bare and bleeding out....

"Don't Travis. I think I have seen enough already." Taylor snapped, barely even able to look Travis in the eye. There were tears clouding her eyes and her better judgement. Nothing seems to make sense anymore. Everything that made sense was Travis, and now he was gone.

"Taylor please, it's not what you think I promise." Travis pleased, lurching forward to try and catch her, bring her back to the reality that was true. And they were living in. Whatever was going on in her head, was not what had happened.

"Don't touch me." Taylor replied, her voice hoarse with pain and anguish. She flinched back from where Travis had tried to reach out for her hand. He hadn't dropped it then. He had dropped it a long time ago. How long ago, Taylor didn't know. Nor did she really want to know. "How could you Trav?"

"What?" Travis replied, this time with genuine confusion. Taylor often became irrational during their arguments but never like this. It was a whole new level for her.

"The cheating Trav. After everything we have both been through, you know how I feel about cheating. On the first date I told you about Joe and Emma. I opened my heart and poured out my should for you. I guess I shouldn't have bothered."

Travis shook his head. "Tay, I promise you I didn't cheat. Who told you this ?"

"No one needed to tell me. It's all hear black and white, on canvas!" Taylor shouted back at him, waving her phone in the air, taunting him. "You and Kayla today. It all makes so much sense now. Why you have been so cold and distant with me, why you are constantly glued to your phone and can't bear to look at me. And this morning, you seemed so cheerful. Too cheerful, like you had something to hide. And now I know why."

Travis just stood there and for the first time since arriving home, he was lost for words. Nothing he would say would make the conversation better. Had he just lost the love of his life trying to play the system. If he could go back in time, would he tell her all about it?

"Please say something!" Taylor stood there, waiting and waiting for Travis to explain himself. What had happened. But nothing came out of his mouth. It was as if he had become mute. Lost the use of his voice, just like she had once before.

"Please Travis, say it isn't true. Please day it's not true. Please..." Her voice became more frantic and overcome with emotion with every new syllable. She felt herself collapse onto the floor, it all becoming too much. Travis felt his heart break more than it had ever done before. There is no pain quite like it, seeing the love of your life, your soulmate have their heart break into a million pieces and bleed right before you, in front of your eyes.

"Tay, baby, it's not true. Please you have to believe me." He fell to his knees, harder than he expected and would have liked, crawling over to where she was curled up in a ball. She said something muffled under her breath, something indistinguishable. "What? Tay I can't hear you."

She sat herself up, wiping away stray tears with the corner of her cardigan sleeve. He could see that her eyes were bloodshot, as if red lipstick had been smeared across her corneas and eyelids. It looked painful. How long had she been crying like this before he had come home?

"How can I believe you Trav. I want to, god knows I fucking want to but..."

"But what Tay?" Travis stuttered, not quite sure in himself that he really wanted to know the answer.