Hope I Never Lose You

four

"Taylor, hey, what's up?" Tree sounded confused to hear from me when she picked up the phone. I'd pulled over on the side of the road five minutes away from the house, unable to stop crying.

"Can I come and stay with you?" I sobbed. 

"Oh sweetie, what happened?" 

"I think Travis wants a divorce." I sniffed, and there was a stifled gasp from the other end.

"Oh god." Tree breathed after a long moment. "Okay, umm..." She sounded unsure. "Where are you? You don't sound like you're in any state to drive right now."

I told her where I was, and she turned up ten minutes later in a taxi. She made me move to the passenger seat and drove us back to the hotel she was staying in. There were a few cameras around that recognized my car and turned on us, but Tree just rushed me inside before they could get a decent shot. She got on the phone with security, talking quickly and quietly as we went up in the elevator.

"Okay." Tree sighed as she closed the door behind us. "Sit down Taylor." She took the bag from me and placed it on the ground. "Talk me through it. What happened?"

"I don't know exactly." I rubbed my eyes, sitting down on the end of the bed. Tree pulled up a chair, sitting down in front of me. "We've been fighting a lot recently. Over anything. Everything sets us off and we just yell at each other until one of us walks away. I've been sleeping in the guest bedroom for almost a week because it's just so bad to even be in the same room as him." The tears started to fall again as I spoke, and I gave up trying to wipe them away. "We have moments where I think it'll get better, when we're just a normal couple like we used to be, but then it just goes badly." I mumbled. "And today, I guess it just got worse. He made it seem like he wanted a break, or wanted this to be over."

"Are you sure?"

"Well he didn't deny it." I stared down at my lap. "And he let me leave didn't he?"

Tree nodded slowly, like she was really thinking over her answer. I felt bad for running to her, but I hadn't known where else to go. And she had always been there for me, in so many more ways than just being my publicist. She'd pretty much been my big sister all these years. I leaned on her when I needed it, and she leaned on me when she needed it. I didn't see our relationship as just business. We'd always be there for each other. 

"Maybe just get some sleep sweetie, you look exhausted." She eventually suggested. "How about we just get you through the ball tomorrow, and then we can figure everything out."

"Okay." I sucked in a deep breath and nodded.

-

I spent the next morning running around like a maniac, overseeing the set-up of the hall I had chosen for the ball. Tree was right there with me, making sure I stayed focused on the day and nothing more.

The decorations were sleek, fancy, light gold. I made sure all of the tables were in the right place and that everything on them was perfect and then helped to set up the small stage. There was so much to do that that it overwhelmed me, but I was so glad for the distraction. When everything was set up, I met Max at Tree's hotel room, and she did my hair and makeup before helping me into what I was wearing.

I got to the hall ten minutes before people were due to start arriving and made sure everything was perfect. As soon as people started arriving, I plastered a smile on my face, greeting all of them and thanking them for coming. The ball went amazing, a ton of money was raised, and everything went smoothly. I had a great time, caught up with all of my friends that had made it, and talked with a lot of people who wanted to invest in the charity.

"Hey." Sabrina found me at the bar an hour in, propped up on a stool with a glass of wine. "You doing okay?" She asked as she hopped up onto the stool next to me and ordered a drink by tapping the one on the menu she wanted. The bartender smiled at her and nodded, moving off to make it.