delicate (tayvis one shots)

spaces between us

Taylor sat in front of her typewriter, staring at the blinking cursor on the screen. The soft glow of the lamp beside her cast shadows across the room, but none as deep as the one that had settled in her chest. Her fingers hovered above the keys, but no words came. Not tonight.

For years, words had been her refuge—her escape from the reality she never quite knew how to face. She wrote stories of love and heartbreak, of longing and loss. Tales woven from her own fractured experiences, pieces of her heart disguised in characters and settings. But lately, the words had started to fail her.

It was because of him.

Travis.

The thought of him alone was enough to pull her under, into the endless tide of emotions she had tried so hard to avoid. He had been in her life for years, drifting in and out like a quiet storm. Always there when she needed him, always just close enough to touch—but never closer. Not really.

She had written about him too, of course. Though she doubted he knew. Characters in her stories, unnamed and unrecognized, but always carrying his shadow. The best friend she couldn't forget. The almost-love that haunted her more than any finished romance.

They were always just shy of something real.

Her fingers twitched, and finally, she began to type. Slowly at first, the words stumbling out, broken but insistent.

"There's a moment, right before the end, when you think about all the things you never said. You replay the chances you didn't take, the silences you let stretch too long. It feels like drowning, knowing the weight of everything unsaid might be the very thing that pulls you under."

She stopped, blinking at the screen, the edges of her vision blurring with tears. Travis had sent her a message earlier that evening. The familiar warmth of his voice still lingered in her mind, but she hadn't responded. She couldn't. Not when her heart felt so raw, so exposed.

The last time they spoke, he had asked her to stop running. To stop hiding behind her words and finally say what she felt. But how could she? How could she tell him that she had loved him for years, in ways too complicated and painful to ever make sense of?

He was her friend. Her constant. To admit she needed more—wanted more—was a risk she wasn't sure she could take.

But the silence between them had grown too loud.

(...)

The rain fell hard against the windows, a rhythmic tapping that filled the silence of the empty room. Taylor curled up on the couch, an old draft of her latest book lying abandoned beside her. She hadn't touched it in days, unable to focus on anything except the gnawing ache in her chest.

Travis had stopped calling.

She had noticed it two weeks ago, how the steady stream of texts and late-night phone calls had slowly dwindled to nothing. At first, she thought he was busy—caught up in the whirlwind of his own life, just as she was. But as the days stretched on, the truth began to settle over her like a cold, suffocating blanket.

He was pulling away. Maybe he had finally given up on waiting for her to figure out her own heart.

Taylor stood, walking toward her bookshelf. It was filled with stories of lost love and regret, of all the ways people hurt each other without meaning to. She reached for one of the books she had written years ago. The Spaces Between Us. The title felt cruel now, a bitter reminder of the space she had built between herself and Travis.

She flipped through the pages until she found the passage she was looking for.

"There are loves that linger like ghosts, haunting the edges of your life. They stay, not because you asked them to, but because you never had the courage to let them in."

Taylor closed the book with a heavy sigh, the weight of those words pressing down on her. She had written them about Travis. She had always known that. But she had never admitted it—not to him, not even to herself.

Now, it felt like it was too late.

The sound of a knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She wasn't expecting anyone, and for a moment, she hesitated. But something told her to open it.

When she did, she found Travis standing there, drenched from the rain. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, neither of them said anything. The air between them crackled with tension, the kind that had always existed but never been acknowledged.

"I didn't think you'd come," she said softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.

Travis stepped inside, his presence filling the small space, overwhelming her senses in the way only he could.

"I almost didn't," he admitted, his voice rough, tired. "But I couldn't just... leave things like this."

Taylor wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling vulnerable in a way she wasn't used to. "I thought maybe you'd finally given up on me."

Travis shook his head, his gaze never leaving hers. "I'll never give up on you, Taylor. But I need to know... what do you want from me? From us?"

The question hung in the air, heavy with the weight of years of unspoken feelings. Taylor's throat tightened, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

"I don't know," she whispered, the words choking out of her. "I don't know how to not lose you."

"You're not going to lose me," he said, his voice firm but gentle. "But you have to stop running. You have to be honest with me... with yourself."

Taylor felt the tears spill over before she could stop them. For so long, she had kept her feelings locked away, hidden behind her stories and her songs. But now, standing here in front of him, she couldn't hide anymore.

"I love you," she said, her voice breaking. "I've loved you for so long, but I didn't know how to tell you. I was scared... scared of ruining everything."

Travis' expression softened, his eyes filled with something she couldn't quite read. Relief? Sadness? Both?

"I've been waiting to hear you say that for years," he said quietly. "But, Taylor... I can't keep waiting forever."

The truth of his words hit her like a punch to the gut. She had known this day would come, the day when he couldn't wait any longer. But that didn't make it any less painful.

"I know," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

There was a long silence, the kind that felt final. Taylor wanted to reach out, to pull him closer, but something in his eyes told her it was too late. She had pushed him away one too many times, and now the space between them was too vast to bridge.

Travis stepped toward the door, hesitating for just a moment. "Take care of yourself, Tay."

And then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him, leaving Taylor alone with nothing but the rain and the unwritten story of what they could have been.

(...)

I'm not usually a fan of sad endings, but I really liked the idea of this story. I'm thinking of doing a part 2 with a happier twist. Let me know what you think.