Ours - Taylor Swift WLW Romance Fanfiction

Chapter 18: Mother's Love

Author's note: I'm really proud of this chapter :) I didn't want to split it up, apologies for a longer chapter.

Trigger warning for death and grieving, and abandonment issues

The day started like any other, with Ava and Taylor lounging in Ava's apartment, enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet. Preston and the other bandmates were out running errands, leaving the two lovers alone to enjoy each other's company.
They were just considering ordering in for lunch when Ava's phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, her brow furrowed.

Taylor watched as Ava's expression morphed from confusion to shock to something raw and pained, her face draining of color. She was on her feet in an instant, moving to Ava's side as the other woman swayed slightly on her feet.

"What do you mean, she's dead?" Ava croaked into the phone, her voice small and lost. "I don't... I didn't even..."

Taylor's heart clenched. The rest of the conversation was a blur, Ava making small, choked noises of acknowledgement as the person on the other end of the line presumably offered condolences, explained next steps. When she finally hung up, the phone slipped from her numb fingers, clattering to the floor.

"Ava?" Taylor ventured softly, reaching out to touch her arm. "Baby, what's going on? Talk to me."

For a long, terrifying moment, Ava didn't respond, just stared blankly ahead, her expression utterly devastated. Then, like a switch had been flipped, her face filled with rage.

"She's dead," Ava spat, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "My mother. Or should I say, the woman who gave birth to me and then fucked off into the sunset.

And all this time I was told both of them died in a car crash. Fucking liars."

Taylor flinched at the venom in Ava's voice. "Aves, I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry?" Ava laughed harshly. "Sorry for what, exactly? That the woman who abandoned me, who left me to rot in the system, who never gave a single fuck about me, is gone? Why the hell should you be sorry about that?"

She was pacing now, her movements jerky and agitated, like a caged animal looking for an escape. Taylor watched her helplessly, her heart breaking at the pain she must have been feeling.

"She was still your mother," Taylor tried gently, hesitantly. "It's okay to feel... conflicted. To grieve, even if your relationship was complicated."

Ava turned to her, eyes flashing. "Grieve?" she snarled, her lip curling. "I'm not grieving. I'm fucking furious. I'm furious that she got to walk away, to live her life free and clear while I suffered. I'm furious that she never even tried to find me, to explain herself. And most of all? I'm furious that even now, even in death, she still has the power to make me feel like this."

Her voice cracked on the last word, a sob catching in her throat. But she swallowed it back, her face twisting into a mask of rage once more.

Just then, the front door opened, Preston and the others spilling into the apartment with arms full of groceries and takeout. They froze at the sight of Ava, at the tension crackling in the air.

"Whoa," Kyle said slowly, setting his bags down. "Who died?"

It was meant to be a joke, a lighthearted quip to diffuse the suddenly charged atmosphere. But Ava flinched as if she'd been struck, a strangled noise escaping her lips.

"Aves?" Preston said sharply, concerned. "Everything ok?"

"My mother," Ava gritted out, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. "She's dead."