Only Me and You │TAYLOR SWIFT

026

I know I said before I wasn't going to do any more trigger warnings, and to just be prepared, but this chapter goes into detail about anorexia and has a lot of hospital and medical stress. If you'd be uncomfortable reading, I'll have a short summary to read at the end instead! Love you, and make sure to care for yourself!

September 15th, 2024

Taylor is sitting on Elara's couch, binging Gilmore Girls for the third time this month, throwing popcorn at the screen anytime something happens that she doesn't like. She'd been staying in Elara's house that whole week, and trying to help her every day.

When Taylor had gone into Elara's room earlier that day, she brought her an entire box or Oreo's, because Lucy said that would be what she was most likely to eat. It was left untouched, just like everything else Taylor brought.

So maybe there wasn't too much progress, but Taylor was trying to stay positive. Just yesterday, Elara looked at Taylor when she Taylor laid up against her lap. Affection always helped the blonde, so she hoped maybe it would help her.

It seemed they were always drinking coffee on that show. Taylor didn't blame them, she lived off caffeine and wine.

Her phone dinged, and her phone lit up, showing she had an incoming call from a recently saved number.

"Taylor! Where's Elara? I think I've called everyone!" Jennie sounded panicked. "She won't answer her phone, I've been calling her all day. She didn't answer, Lucy didn't answer, Sabrina didn't answer, I didn't know where to call." Taylor frowned. She felt bad for Jennie. She'd been working her ass off to try to get the media to forget about the Owen drama, but it didn't seem to be working. And she didn't know Elara was MIA.

"Elara's alive. I'm at her house." Taylor replied, and she could hear the sigh over the line.

"Oh thank god! Can you tell her to answer her phone? And ask her why she's not at the stadium? I'm not making her stay at a hotel because the show's in New York, and she's taking advantage of it!"

Taylor pursed her lips. "I can try. But she isn't going to."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Yeah, small problem. She like, is detached from the world. She won't get out of bed, or even look at me." Taylor squinted, bracing for the wrath of the publicist.

She didn't seem to be mad though, just concerned. "Is she okay? Why didn't you call me Taylor? What happened? You should've called me, damn you!" She heard her take a deep breath, and then continue. "Look, she's really dedicated to her shows. Maybe if you tell her she has one, it'll spark some motivation?"

Jennie was right. If there was anything in the world Elara cared about, it was her career and her fans. Taylor remembered a vlog Elara did for her starstruck Tour when she had some kind of virus, and had to throw up every time there was an outfit change and she was off stage. Didn't miss a beat though.

"Okay, I'll try. I'll call you back after, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Taylor. Also, give Tree a raise. She's been helping me with all this Owen shit recently, and she's so fucking good at her job." Taylor chuckled and promised to reward her. "Bye, Taylor."

She hung up and immediately ran up the stairs with a pep in her step. One foot after the other, she reached Elara's room and opened the door.

Sitting on her bed in the exact same position as she was last time, was Elara. Her lips her cracked, her skin concealing her bones just barely. Her collarbones were getting more visible each day, and her cheeks were hollowing out.