heroine (taylor swift and travis kelce)

help

Taylor was sitting with her knees up to her chest on one of Travis' outdoor chairs. He was sat across from her, a beer in his hand. She couldn't bring herself to drink anything. She hadn't drunk anything in the presence of anyone else since Matty had raped her. Not even in a crowded restaurant, not even with her parents or Blake. She couldn't bring herself to. Since she'd had that half a glass of cursed red wine. The red wine that was still embedded in her rug, stained a bright pinky red.

Travis had seen the way her eyes went glossy at the mention of alcohol, and had pulled out another option. He'd had little cartons of juice that his nieces loved, and had offered her one. She'd laughed and said she'd love one.
So there they were, sitting there with wet hair, clothes drenched, the night hours slipping past them like comets in the sky.
"Taylor," Travis said her name as he glanced over at her. "I really don't wanna sound like an idiot right now, but I feel like I've got to ask."
Taylor felt herself tense. What was he going to ask her? Possibilities flashed through her mind, her heart rate speeding at the thought of what he might say.
"Have you been to therapy about it?"
Taylor sighed, wanting the ground to swallow her whole. But she shook her head.
"I... I get really scared to admit it to people. No offence, but I'm still shocked that my brain decided to tell you." He chuckled, and Taylor smiled as she looked over at him. "I find it really hard to trust people with my problems. Especially... especially one as big as that."
"That's understandable," Travis agreed. "I just... I can't help but feel like maybe... maybe an outside perspective would help you. I get that your life is probably filled with shitty outside perspectives and people peering in and all that shit, but I guess I think that it might be good if you talked to someone who'd studied a long, hard degree to be qualified in giving you advice. Support you. Reassure you. Validate your feelings."
She nodded, but still wasn't convinced. Sure, she was perfectly capable of crafting her thoughts into songs, but when it came to sitting in front of a person and being asked deeply personal questions... Taylor hated it.

She'd always struggled with being vulnerable. Detested it. Avoided situations that made her appear so. But for some reason, sitting here tonight... she hadn't felt vulnerable at all. Which was perhaps why she'd found it easy to open up to him, she realised.
"I'm sorry if I've overstepped the mark," Travis said when she didn't say anything.
"No, no. I just... I..." She trailed off. "I always feel like when I'm talking to a therapist... that someone is secretly plotting to put me into an insane asylum and lock me in there and throw the key into the ocean tied to a boulder so no one ever sees or hears from me again." She rolled her eyes. "Stupid, I know."
"Nothing you say is stupid," Taylor couldn't help but smile at his kindness. "If that were to happen, though - I promise I'd come find you. Surely there's only so many insane asylums standing these days. It shouldn't be too difficult for me."
Taylor laughed. "Besides, if I get Jason's wife, Kylie onto it - she'll have you found in minutes. That woman is the greatest detective there ever was, I swear." He told her, chuckling. It made Taylor laugh too - suddenly her overwhelming fear didn't seem so twisted and awful.
"Seriously, if I've got to break down a few doors, I will. Although I fucking hate swimming, so there's no chance I could get the key. But I'd find another way to save you." He chuckled. "You've got goosebumps," Travis noticed. "I hadn't actually noticed it's kind of cold out here."
"Neither had I," Taylor smiled - she wasn't cold. At least, she couldn't feel it. "Why do you hate swimming?"
"I almost drowned, once. I was thirteen and my friends dared me to jump off a wharf and I thought I could handle it... but I couldn't. Let's just say... I'm pretty sure that what happened was a panic attack. I don't get them very often," he admitted. "But that day was the first time I'd ever felt anxiety like that. I suddenly felt very small and tiny, and like I was miles and miles away from land, and everyone had forgotten me." He shuddered just thinking about it. "But anyway, that's enough of that." He checked his watch. "Shit, it's nearly three thirty in the morning. You should get some sleep, superstar. I... I don't want you to feel pressured or anything, but I do have a guest bedroom, if you wanted to sleep here. It's got a lock on it and everything, it's got its own bathroom, too."