"I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches, I almost said to you"- Taylor's Sister

Part 8

That night was hard for Sophia. She had spent the entire day feeling invisible, and now, even the quietness of the penthouse didn't bring the peace she so desperately needed. Her parents, Andrea and Scott, had gone out for dinner, and Taylor was in the living room with Travis, working on some new mashups for the Eras Tour. The sound of Taylor's voice, soft but focused, drifted through the walls, reminding Sophia just how distant she felt from this world she was supposed to fit into.

Sophia sat on her bed, trying to distract herself with a movie on her laptop, but every few minutes, her eyes wandered to the door. She felt trapped—both in this room and in the life her parents had forced upon her. Even Connor's messages from earlier weren't enough to ground her anymore. She needed an outlet, something to keep her from feeling like she was being swallowed whole.

Suddenly, there was a light knock at her door, and before she could even respond, it creaked open. Travis stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, his expression easy and friendly. "Hey," he said softly. "Taylor and I are working on some mashups for her tour. Want to join us? Could be fun."

Sophia blinked in surprise. No one had offered her anything fun since she'd arrived. She felt a flicker of excitement—finally, someone acknowledging her existence. Maybe this could be her chance to bond with her sister, to feel a part of something in this chaotic world.

But before she could answer, Taylor's voice cut through the air like a cold breeze. "She wouldn't be interested, Trav," she said dismissively from the living room, not even bothering to come to the door. "It's all technical stuff, way too boring for her."

Sophia felt something snap inside her. For her whole life, she had kept her mouth shut, kept her head down, and tiptoed around Taylor's life like it was some kind of obstacle course she just needed to navigate. She had let herself be dragged across the country, ignored, dismissed, and treated like she was nothing more than an inconvenience. But this? This was too much.

She stood up from the bed so quickly that Travis took a step back, startled. Sophia pushed past him, storming into the living room where Taylor sat, her phone in hand and a keyboard propped on her lap.

"You know what, Taylor? I am interested," Sophia snapped, her voice trembling with anger. "I'm interested in anything that makes me feel like I'm not completely invisible to you! But of course, you wouldn't know that, would you? Because you've never once asked me what I want or how I feel."

Taylor looked up, taken aback by the outburst, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Soph, calm down—"

"No!" Sophia interrupted, her voice rising. "I'm done tiptoeing around your perfect life like I don't exist. My whole life, it's been all about you. And it's always been about you, Taylor. Every time I try to fit in, everyone shuts me out."

Travis shifted uncomfortably, glancing between the two sisters, clearly unsure of what to do. But Sophia didn't care who was watching anymore. The dam had broken, and all her pent-up frustration came spilling out.

"I didn't ask to be part of your world," Sophia continued, her voice cracking. "I didn't ask to be dragged along on this stupid tour or to leave my friends behind. I didn't ask to live in the shadow of your perfect pop star life. But you—you don't even care. You don't care about how I feel because you're too busy being Taylor Swift."

Taylor's face tightened, a flash of hurt crossing her features. "That's not fair, Sophia. I've been trying to include you—"

"No, you haven't!" Sophia shouted, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "You've been pretending like I don't matter. Like I'm just some annoying little sister who's in the way. You couldn't even let me come sit with you and Travis because you assumed I wouldn't be interested. You don't know me at all."

There was a heavy silence, the kind that made the air feel thick and suffocating. Sophia stood there, her chest heaving, waiting for Taylor to say something—anything—that would make her feel like she was wrong. That maybe, just maybe, Taylor had been paying attention after all.

But all Taylor did was look down, her hands resting on the keys of the piano, her face shadowed with guilt and confusion. "I didn't realize..." she started softly, but her words felt hollow, as though she didn't know how to respond.

"Yeah, well, that's the problem," Sophia muttered bitterly, wiping a tear from her cheek. "You never realize. And I'm tired of waiting for you to start."

Without waiting for a response, Sophia turned on her heel and stormed back to her room, slamming the door behind her. She leaned against it, her hands trembling as the anger slowly ebbed away, leaving only the hollow ache of disappointment.

She had finally said it, all of it. But now that the words were out in the open, the crushing weight of her loneliness felt heavier than ever.