Taylor x Travis: In Every Life

central park

for all the coach reid lovers, i apologize in advance 

Taylor's POV

I knew what I'd said was a mistake. God, I really shouldn't have said it, but I'd been lost in the interview and hadn't realized I'd fucked up until after the sentence had left my lips.

"Oh, no it really was cute, he was like a little lost puppy or something."

As soon as I'd answered the interviewer's question about Travis' mission with the friendship bracelet last year, my mouth went dry. I was tired from lack of sleep the previous night, and my response had just slipped out before I'd thought about it properly. Forcing a smile onto my face, I tried to play it off as a joke. But shit, it didn't really seem to work.

My apartment was quiet when I got back two hours later, and I swallowed nervously as I closed the front door behind me and shook the December snow off my jacket before hanging it up. Silence was never a good thing. Travis didn't exist in silence. There was always something he was doing, so if he was quiet, I'd really fucked up.

"Travis, honey?" I called out as I put my shoes away. Nothing.

Telling myself maybe he was just working, I walked down the hallway and turned the corner into the living room. Travis was sitting at the table off to the left, staring down at his computer as he worked. He was far too focused to just be working.

"So." He looked up at me. "I'm a lost puppy am I? Desperate for your attention?" I swallowed, fiddling with my fingers. "You know, it's funny, because I was under the impression we didn't talk about our relationship for the cameras except in passing. But if we're doing this, the least you could have done is warned me."

"Travis that's not what I meant, I didn't mean to say it like that." I whispered.

"Oh yeah?" He turned his computer around so I could see the screen "Did you mean it like this?"

I looked down, and my breath caught. God, people worked fast. On the screen were pictures of Travis edited as a puppy, with me standing over him like some kind of dictator. I knew they were probably meant to be funny, but Travis obviously didn't appreciate it. God, I really shouldn't have said it. Especially in a live interview. The one time I agreed to something live where nothing could be edited out, I'd fucked up.

"Travis I'm sorry." I breathed. "I wasn't thinking."

"That's one way of putting it." He huffed, closing his computer.

"It'll blow over." I said weakly. "I'll say I didn't mean it."

"No Taylor, that'll only draw attention to it more." Travis shook his head at me.

That hurt, and he knew it. Travis only called me by my name when talking about me to other people. He never called me by my name to my face. It was always baby, princess, sweetheart. Not Taylor. Travis knew what that meant to me, and I flushed, falling silent.

Travis stood, taking his computer and walking past me. I flinched as he passed. He always touched my arm, or my cheek, or my hair when he walked by me. Every time, even when we disagreed. It was like him calling me by my first name; he was really mad about this. Tears filled my eyes as I heard a door close, and the apartment fell silent again. He must be really upset about it to be acting like this, and I felt so incredibly awful about what I'd done. I wanted to put out something asking people not to make fun of it, but Travis was right; that would only draw their attention to it more. 

Turning around, I went down the hallway and knocked quietly on the closed office door. No response, of course. Letting out a sigh, I leaned against the wall next to the door and slid down to sit on the ground. I couldn't decide whether to go in or not. Did Travis need space, or did he need me to keep apologizing. Even after almost two and half years together, sometimes I still couldn't tell. He'd always been a closed back when he was angry, and it wasn't his fault, that was just the way he was. But it made it hard for me to make things better.