Touchdown Hearts: The Swift-Kelce Love Story!

Chapter Five

"i feel like i'm never going to be the     
                      same."

tay sat on the edge of her bed, knees pulled to her chest, staring blankly at the dent in her wall. the world outside carried on, cars honking, people talking, life moving forward.

but inside her room, it was still. the weight of everything that had happened pressed down on her, and it felt like she was stuck beneath it, unable to move, unable to breathe.

the miscarriage had shattered her in ways she hadn't been prepared for. it had started out as a normal day, and then, out of nowhere, the pain hit her, sharp and unbearable.

she had panicked, grabbing her phone and called everyone she could think of but the calls went unanswered ending with calling travis. somehow, even in that moment of chaos, she knew it had to be him. not taylor. not blake. it had to be travis.

and travis had been there in minutes, like he always was. he didn't ask questions, didn't panic. he just took her to the hospital.

she remembered his hands steady on the wheel, his voice calm even though she could see the fear in his eyes.

at the hospital, the doctor had said those words she never thought she'd hear "i'm sorry. there's no heartbeat." everything had gone numb after that. she could barely hear what the doctor said next.

she could barely see through the haze of grief that had settled over her. it was travis who stayed with her through it all, who held her hand in the cold hospital room as she cried in silence. taylor had been busy that day, by the time he'd made it to the hospital, it was already over.

her phone buzzed next to her, bringing her back to the present. tay glanced at the screen, already knowing who it was. taylor's texts had been coming nonstop.

8:35 am

i miss you, tay. please, we need to talk.
i'm here. just let me in.

she hadn't answered him. not because she didn't love him, she did. but because she couldn't. taylor hadn't been there when it happened. he hadn't seen her break down, hadn't held her as her world fell apart. travis had, and right now, travis was the only person she could stand to be around. the only one who had been with her through the worst of it.

blake had tried too, sending messages after she left tay the next day that sat unread on her phone. 'i'm here for you, tay. anytime you need me. i'm worried about you. please call me back.' but tay couldn't talk to blake either. not yet. not about all the pain, she couldn't express.

without thinking, she picked up her phone and scrolled past the unread messages from taylor and blake, stopping at travis' name. she hesitated, then typed a quick message 'can you come over?' his reply was immediate. 'be there in ten.'

ten minutes later, there was a soft knock on her door. tay didn't move. she knew travis would let himself in, he had a key. the door opened quietly, and moments later, he was sitting beside her on the bed, just like he had been in the hospital.

he didn't say anything. he didn't need to. tay stared at her hands, her voice barely above a whisper when she finally spoke. "i keep thinking about that day." taylor said unable to make eye contact with travis, "i know," travis said softly.

"the hospital, the doctor... i wasn't ready. i don't think I'll ever be ready to let go of her." tay's voice cracked. "i can't talk to taylor about it. he wasn't there. he doesn't know what it felt like."

travis didn't rush to fill the silence, just let her words sit in the air. "he's been trying so hard to reach me, but i can't... i can't go there with him." tears welled in her eyes, but she kept staring at her hands. "he keeps saying we'll get through this together, but i feel like i'm pushing him away. like i'm pushing everyone away".