A Place in This World - A Taylor Swift Adoption Story

I put my heart and my soul

April 26, 2024

Taylor's POV

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I woke up to the sound of things clattering in the penthouse's kitchen.  I thought it was room service, but then I remembered I made Colin put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Immediately, I thought of Rose. Was she in danger? I shot up out of bed, grabbed my robe, and slipped it on as I walked to the kitchen. Rose stood there, looking at me like a deer in the headlights. "Good morning... I'm sorry if I woke you up, I was just hungry," Rose started apologizing, and I sighed after knowing she was okay.

"Kid, I'm okay. Good morning to you too," I say, yawning and sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island. "You know you don't have to cook, right?" I asked her, but Rose shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you spend more money on me for a bit," she said, sounding a little bit like my financial analyst, Spencer. "I want something cooked." I listened to her requests and nodded.

"Sounds great with me," I said, yawning again and getting up. "Go sit down and watch TV while I get changed and all that. I'll make you something." Rose's eyes widened, and her face changed from surprise to excitedness. She hopped up and went to the living room, putting on "The 100" Great show. Maybe I'll introduce her and Alycia. Or Richard. She seemed like a Murphy girl.

I brushed my teeth and changed into something casual, tying my hair up as I looked through the fridge and cupboards. I found some vegetables, specifically onions and peppers, and I knew was I was gonna make. Omelettes. Rose was looking at her phone here and then, erasing notifications and scrolling. I tried seeing what she was scrolling on, but she was too far, so I just let it go. I told her she could tell me anything, and I hope she knew that I meant that. As I chopped up the veggies and meats I was going to add to the omelet, I noticed Rose shuffling, not really paying attention to the TV anymore and just staring at her phone. I let the things simmer and went to go check on her, but she immediately put the phone down. "This show's really good," she said, lying. I wasn't about to call her out though.

"That's good," I say. "I'm glad you like it." I walk back to kitchen, moving the ingredients before putting the eggs in there. I topped it with a bit of salt and made sure to move the eggs around so it wouldn't stick. I looked up quickly. Rose was still staring at her phone, this time not being able to hide the terrified expression on her face. I let it go. I started to plate the omelette, but I noticed Rose sort of running to her room. After plating it and making sure the stove was off, I walked to her room. I saw her lying down, crying into her pillow.

~~~

Rose's POV

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I couldn't take it anymore. I had gotten at least 500 different comments, all commenting on my looks, my voice, or how I robbed the other girls of a chance. I doubt they were from 500 different people, but it still hurt the same. I sobbed into a pillow, trying to make sure Taylor didn't hear. "Rose?"

Crap.

"Yeah?" I said, thinking she was still in the kitchen, but I looked up to see her in the doorframe. "Sorry," I said, quickly wiping away my tears.

"What? No, don't be!" she immediately said, coming in and sitting next to me on the bed. "Listen, I know this can be overwhelming, but I can always send you home? Are you homesick?" she asked.

Here's the thing. I've been to several homes, and every time, I feel like this is a question I get wrong. I'm not homesick if I have no home to go to. Every caretaker seems to care, but how do I know this time, it's real?

"No, I'm not," I say, not necessarily lying. "I just," I start, hesitating. She did say I could tell her, but how do I know she won't make it worse?

I don't, but it's better than the other options.

"It's the girls. They somehow got more people into this and now I keep getting comments on comments saying that I don't deserve this," I start rambling, and Miss Taylor just... listens. She nods and listens. Once I'm done, she opens her arms for a hug. I've never been the biggest hugger, but I needed it, so I went into her arms and she just squeezed me.

"It's not healthy to keep that in, sweetheart," she said, not necessarily scolding me, more as a piece of advice. "How about this. You can leave your phone with me and have a bit of a detox. You probably have questions, and I can answer some of them. Only if it makes you feel better," she said. She wasn't trying to pressure me. I thought about it, still feeling the buzzing. I handed over my phone slowly, hesitating but also knowing that this could be for the best. "Good. Now, come on. Your omelette's probably cold by now."

A/N- I AM SO SORRY FOR NO UPDATES!!! Senior year is a LOT, and I rarely can catch breaks. Hopefully I can start updating more often!