𝐒𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧

𝟏.

𝐒𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧
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" no Joe, we are leaving! you can't keep doing this to us, you can't keep choosing when you want to be present, we deserve better. That little girl deserves better "

" she's my daughter Taylor, you can't take her anywhere "

" please don't, don't pretend that you care when you don't. You've had no problem waltzing in and out of her life as you please, confusing the hell out of her. She barely knows who you are, in fact she's scared of you. So please, don't pretend now that you care when we know it's fake, let us go! "

It had been 5 years, 5 whole years. Taylor couldn't do it anymore, her and Joe broke things off when their daughter was just 6 weeks old, Joe realising he'd bit off more than he could chew when he realised the realities of parenting a newborn. It was 4am, and the 6th time the new mom and dad had been woken up that night. They were exhausted, their baby girl suffering from a bad case of colic in the early days and all 3 of them were feeling the effects of it. But that exact night, it was the worse they had experienced, and Joe and Taylor weren't sure how long they could endure their daughters screaming despite their or maybe more Taylor's greatest efforts to calm her. It was often Taylor putting in the work, Joe spent a lot of the early hours with a pillow over his head in hope to fall back asleep but soon found that it was merely impossible. He excused himself out of bed, leaving a screaming baby in a crying Taylor's arms and they heard the front door slam. That was the last Taylor heard from Joe until Colette's first birthday. He showed up, wanting to see her, Taylor knew then that it had been a bad decision to have not left London prior. For the last 5 years, he'd shown up as he pleases, Colette never warmed to him like a daughter should with their father. She was scared of him, he often caused a scene when he showed up.

And today was one of those occasions. Taylor made the decision a few months ago to go back to the states permanently, she had a tour starting soon and London bought nothing but bad luck for her. She'd really only been staying in the small hope that Joe would be better for their child but he never was and suddenly now he decided he was offended but Taylor wasn't backing down. Hours of thought and discussion with family and friends had gone towards this ultimate decision and she was more than ready to leave.

" I'll ask Colette then, I'm sure she doesn't want to be dragged around like a suitcase whilst you put your career first and tour the world again! " Joe scolded, knowing how to hit Taylor right where it hurt most

" don't you undermine my parenting Joe, you know I do everything in my power to give her as normal life as possible and the only reason we can't resume that here is because of you. We are leaving, so please get out of my house! " Taylor yells, opening the door for him

He looks Taylor up and down and shakes his head walking out and Taylor slams the door as soon as she could making sure to lock it. She couldn't believe he was doing it again, he had not one care for Colette, not one! Yet she still felt guilt, Colette deserved a dad. But she was just 4 years old, she didn't know any better than Joe but Taylor was determined to change that.

" m-mommy? was that daddy " Colette asks, her body appearing at the bottom of the staircase, Taylor sighed

" yes baby, but he's gone now okay? And you should be asleep, we have to be up early for our flight tomorrow " Taylor reasons with her, scooping her into her arms and brushing her freshly washed blonde locks away from her face

" mommy's bed? " she asks, looking directly into her mothers eyes and Taylor could see them starting to well with tears

" okay baby, but let's get you tucked in now. You don't want to be tired " Taylor carries her upstairs into her bedroom

Colette crawls into the side of the bed that she knew her mother didn't sleep in, resting her small body against the pillow and taking in the sweet scent of Taylor before realising something was missing.

" but what about bunny? " Colette exclaimed, the threadbare bunny that Taylor bought when she found out she was having a girl and has now become something that her daughter cannot possibly go anywhere without. It was blush pink and super soft with silky ears.

Taylor went and got the bunny, returning a minute or two later and tucked it under Colette's arm and pulling the bed cover over her little pink pyjamas that had strawberries dotted over them. If you couldn't tell, pink was a very popular colour amongst the 4 year old.

" night night coco, I love you... " Taylor began

" to the moon and saturn mommy!! " the girl responded, with a small giggle making Taylor smile as she placed a soft kiss on her nose before leaving the room

Whatever happens, Colette was everything to Taylor. She saved Taylor when she needed it most and no matter what, Taylor will do anything to protect her. And that's why the media had no idea that Taylor was a mother, the real reason why she disappeared, mostly. The first 8 months were because she just needed the time alone, with everything going on around her and with her name but the last 4 months she was in the early stages of pregnancy suffering with morning sickness and nausea and she decided that she didn't want anyone but her close circle in on this. Being a parent was hard enough, being a parent with a status like hers was almost impossible and she didn't want that life for her child.

✧ the next morning ✧

As the mother and daughter boarded the jet, they were tired from an early start and weren't exactly enthralled with the 9 hour flight they were about to endure. They took a seat, adjacent to each other and as they were taking off Colette's little hand held tightly onto Taylor's; she wasn't scared of flying as she'd done it many times in her short life but she just liked the comfort of her mother. Thankfully the ascend doesn't take too long and before they know it they can move around freely.

It had been an emotional morning for Taylor, yes she couldn't wait to see the back of London but it was definitely bittersweet. London despite bringing her so much pain, bought her the biggest blessing of her whole life: her daughter. Yet, Colette didn't seem at all phased by the ordeal of moving across the world, she was excited for a new house and a new bedroom. It was quite possible that as she grew older she'd have very little memory of living in London at all. But Taylor had the memories, the memory of her first date with Joe, the memory of finding out she was pregnant, the memory of viewing and buying their first house together, the house they further went on and brought their daughter home to a few days after she was born. However, memories Taylor didn't want Colette to remember like Joe walking out on them when she was just 6 weeks old, the argument they had when he showed up on her first birthday uninvited, the ordeal last night that Taylor wasn't entirely sure how much Colette had heard or witnessed. There were many more occasions as to why Taylor hated London, she needed this fresh start, if not for herself then for her daughter. USA is where their future was waiting for them and for now it was just
So Long London
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