reputation

The Hearing

July 15th, 2018.

Twenty-two - Taylor

The past month had been filled with doctors appointments and tears shed at the airport. Despite the fact that Emma was moving around far better than she was just a few short weeks ago, Taylor still refused to allow her to tag along for shows. There had been plenty of things keeping her busy in New York, anyways. In between shows, Taylor had gone home as much as she could. They would spend the week doing whatever would keep Emma from thinking too much about what was going on that she would spiral, and Taylor would fly out as late as she could the night before the show.

The plane jerked as the front wheels touched the runway. It was dark when she stepped onto the tarmac, the moon invisible behind a thick layer of clouds. The first droplets of rain pricked her skin, causing the fine hairs on the back of her arms to stand up. Thunder rolled somewhere in the distance, but the noise was quickly forgotten about as the black SUV pulled up beside her.

Taylor slid in the backseat while Luke loaded their bags into the trunk. She dug around the pockets of her jacket until she found her phone and quickly pulled it out, turning off airplane mode and checking to make sure she hadn't missed a message from her mom, Emma, or Freddy. She slid over to Emma's contact and hovered a finger over the call button, but ultimately decided against it. It was late, and Emma was more than likely asleep already.

When they arrived back at the apartment, Taylor turned the doorknob as gently as she could, careful not to make a sound so as to not wake anyone up. To her surprise, Emma was sitting on the couch wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket, staring at the TV blankly while it played a rerun of Criminal Minds. She didn't look over towards them until Taylor touched her shoulder.

"You're home," Emma smiled, her whole face lighting up at the realization.

"I am," Taylor laughed. She leaned over to place a soft kiss on Emma's lips before pulling back and staring at her for a moment. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping well for a few days. Taylor cupped Emma's cheek and kissed her again. "What are you doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep." Emma shrugged and let part of the blanket slip from her grasp.

Taylor didn't have to ask why. James' preliminary hearing was the day after tomorrow to see if they even had enough evidence for the case to go to trial, if he doesn't accept the plea deal he was offered. Taylor would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about it too. "I'm sorry, honey. I know this is hard on you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hold me?" Emma asked weakly, her voice wavering.

"I can do that. How about we go lay down in our room?"

When Emma agreed, Taylor scooped her up, blanket and all, and cradled her like a baby. She walked slowly to their room, careful not to somehow hurt Emma, before pulling the blankets aside and laying Emma under them. Taylor quickly changed, crawled under the blanket, and let her squirm around on top of her until she got comfortable.

Silence filled the room, only broken by the pelting of rain on the windows. The lights in the room were off, but the cracked bathroom door let in just enough light for Taylor to see Emma's face. Her lips were twisted down in a frown, and her eyebrows were furrowed tightly. Taylor pressed her lips against Emma's cheek and held them there until she tasted a salty tear. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do if this doesn't go how I want it to," she sniffled softly. More tears trailed down her face, each followed slowly by another until the floodgates broke. Taylor held her tight while her body shook with sobs and rubbed a hand over her back.

"It will all be okay. If it doesn't go your way, we will figure it out from there."