I'm New York City

twenty eight

I paced back and forth in the kitchen. Joe and I have been arguing on the phone for the past couple minutes. I knew that he would be worked up about this, but didn't know it would be this bad.

"What the fuck, Taylor? Do I need to fly back there right now? I swear to god if he approaches our kids again, if he approaches you," he says through the phone.

I shook my head, rubbing my forehead as I then looked out the big windows, looking out into the city.

"Their fine, everything will be okay. I'm sure he won't be here for long anyway. I just can't believe he would even talk to Sage after what he did," I tell him.

"Yeah right, after he tried killing our daughter? He knows where we live, he knows what Sage looks like now. We can't catch a break and now I'm miles away from you all," he sighed.

I sighed, knowing what he said was true. Ivy was currently at school while Sage was in the office doing some school work. I had no plans for Sage to be going outside anytime soon, at least without me. Ivy on the other hand was getting picked up and dropped of by our security guards, so I knew she would be fine.

"Just keep an extra close eye on the kids, Tay. I don't think I could handle it again if he goes near them," Joe said, making me nod my head.

I walked into the office where Sage was now putting away her school supplies. I smiled at her, rubbing her shoulders as she slumped down into the chair. I haven't spoken up on the topic of Travis again because I really don't want to make it seem like a big deal or for them to get even more curious than they already are.

"Are you already done for the day?" I asked, receiving a nod.

"I already finished most of my assignments and readings before, so there wasn't much for me to do this morning," she told me.

By the time Ivy came home, she rushed into the living room, throwing her backpack and lunch box onto the counter as she ran up to her bedroom. I chuckled at her energy that looked like she would honestly knock out any second. Ivy's after school activities have slowed down since their seasons were coming to an end.

I was starting on dinner when I got an incoming call from Tree. I was confused since she usually doesn't call me around this time and I don't have anything going on at the moment.

"Hey, what's up?" I say into the phone.

"Taylor, I'm on my way up to your door, but the guards just got done dealing with Mr. Kelce at the lobby," she says, making me stop in my tracks.

"W-What?" I asked and then the line went dead.

That's when I got a knock on the door and quickly opened it, letting Tree in. Sage looked over from the living room, giving Tree a quick wave and Tree greeted her with big smile.

"I don't want her around, when I talk about this," Tree whispered into my ear. I nodded my head, walking over to Sage.

"Can you go up to your room, babe? Tree and I need to talk for a moment," I tell her and she quickly heads up the stairs.

Tree and I sit down on the couch and she lets out a huge sigh.

"So, I was stopping by because I was in your part of the neighborhood when I saw him talking to the people at the front desk. He had a bouquet of flowers and he glanced at me, but I got into the elevator before he could say anything. Have you two been talking?" she asked, making me immediately shake my head.

"God no, he accidentally met Sage outside at this little stand and he introduced himself, other than that I have seen him in person since," I informed her.

"Joe and I are both angry about this whole situation and now that the girls know about him, I just don't know what to do. I don't know what he's trying to do," I sighed.

I can't believe he would have the audacity to show up to my home, with flowers after everything he did. Fully knowing that I have a husband and two kids that want nothing to do with him. I'm even more confused on why he is doing all this when he too has a family of his own.

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this and we're going to make sure that he stays away from you all," Tree said.

"Ugh! Why can't he just leave me alone. God forbid, if he sees Ivy out and about and terrifies her. She knows about him, but all she knows is that we don't like him," I tell her.

"Your security are in the progress of banning him from coming into the building. They all know about him, so I feel like we shouldn't worry about him trying to come up and see you, but we still need to be cautious," she informs me, making me nod my head.

Tree ended up staying for dinner and the girls were more than happy to see her again after a couple months. She had always been a big help for my family, whether it was work related or not, also she's been with the kids since they were really little so they see her as family too.

We did our normal routine where we FaceTimed Joe and the girls got to tell him everything he missed out on, not much. I planned on telling Joe about Travis trying to come here later when the girls were in bed. Tree informed me that she would be keeping me updated while I led her out.

While I was doing the dishes, I sighed to myself thinking about how we could never catch a break, fan or not, this would always happen.

-

I woke up in the middle of the night because I was in desperate need for some water. I usually have my water bottle in my room, but tonight I just didn't. I knew that Mom had stayed up late since she was talking to Dad over the phone, but I was way too tired after we had dinner.

When I tip toed out of my bedroom, I could still see some light from underneath my parent's door. I decided not to think much of it and headed towards the kitchen. I was trying to quietly fill up my water bottle, but it seemed like everything was making as much noise as it could. I felt like I was chugging on my water for ages until I finally felt satisfied.

As I headed back upstairs, I could hear light sniffles coming from my parent's room. I stopped in my tracks, leaning against the door to hear better. It sounded like Mom was crying. I didn't know what to do in this situation, do I go in there and see what's wrong or do I just go back to bed?

I tiptoed back into my room, putting my water bottle down on my nightstand and made my way back out, standing in front of their door. Right as I was about to turn the handle, the door opened, almost making me scream. I was faced by Mom's tear stained face. I gasped right when I saw her and she shook her head, pulling me in for a hug.

"A-Are you okay?" I asked as she sniffled into my shoulder.

"I'll be okay, babe," she whispered, rubbing my back.

"Did I wake you?" she asked, making me shake my head.

"I went to get water," I informed her.

She then pulled my arm, dragging me inside of the bedroom as she closed the door behind her. I guess I was sleeping here tonight. She pulled the covers over us, snuggling as close as she could to me, running her fingers through my hair.

"I miss your dad, that's all," she whispered.

"I miss him too," I replied. I had never been away from him this long. I thought it would be worse, but I was still with Mom, so it actually didn't seem that bad.

I knew that it was going to be hard on Mom for him to be away for so long, especially to be the only one looking after us. I told myself that I'd try my best to be on my best behavior, but sometimes Ivy really tries me. With me being home schooled, that already made things easier for her and she only needed to worry about Ivy and she goes from school and back just fine.

One thing that did concern me was how focused she was on this Travis guy. I just know if he tries something again, I'd make sure that he'd regret it. No one messes with my mom. I knew that he tried coming up here, I could hear Mom and Tree talking about it, but just acted clueless.

I looked up after awhile and saw that Mom had already fallen asleep, she looked so exhausted. I felt bad. I turned around, facing her chest and snuggled closer, feeling her arm bring me closer.

"Night, baby girl." she whispered.