Only Me and You │TAYLOR SWIFT │Book ONE │

038

There's 41 chapters in the book, plus an epilogue. So that's four chapters left for us.
ANYWHO, comment and vote to get my book higher on the charts!

December 3rd, 2023

It took Taylor two days to muster the courage required to seek out Elara. On the first day, she remained glued to her bed, tears streaming down her face as she lamented to her mother about the inevitable demise of every relationship she had. She cried herself to sleep, her sorrows echoing through her bedroom.

However, today was different. Taylor resolved to cast aside her despair and take action. Her destination was Maisie's house, where the tabloids had spotted Elara. The questions that plagued her mind demanded answers, and she wasn't going to wait for them.

As she prepared to leave, Taylor's mind raced, emotions trying to gain control of her actions. The fear of what she'd discover was eating her alive, yet she persisted.

Arriving at Maisie's doorstep, Taylor took a deep breath, steeling herself for the encounter. She knocked on the door harshly, and saw some running around inside the house through the frosted window before Maisie came to open the door.

"Taylor! What are you doing here?" She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"Where's Elara? I know she's here!" Taylor yelled, inviting herself into the house, where she looked around trying to find her.

She found Elara, stepping out of the bathroom, her eyes doing a pristine job of hiding the fear she was holding in. "Tay! Why are you here?"

Elara knew why her girlfriend was there. She just didn't know how to go about this conversation. "Where the hell were you? You can't just ignore my texts, turn off your location, and then go to your friends house all undercover!"

"Tay, I swear, nothing happened." Maisie nodded in agreement. Taylor, not believing, pushed Elara's shoulder slightly in annoyance of her lying. She yelped out in pain, her face crinkled in agony as she grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Elara, I'm not hiding things from Taylor Swift." Maisie said, sending Elara a glare. Elara groaned out, looking down at her feet. "She went to see her dad. He beat her up and she wanted to stay with me until the bruises were gone."

In that moment, Taylor noticed the heavy makeup caked onto Elara's face. Her entire body was covered in oversized sweats, and Taylor frowned, not sure what to believe.

She started trying to talk, but Elara just raised up her shirt, revealing her ribs. The skin was mottled with deep purples, blues, and hints of yellow, each color telling a story of injury and healing. The bruises spread around her torso like watercolor, marking the tender flesh with a reminder of the incident. She looked closer, not being able to tell if it was broken or bruised, yet they were definitely enough to make Elara wince when Taylor put her hand out to them.

"Why would you go see him Elara? Without telling me?" Taylor knew her father hurt her, but seeing it first hand was terrifying.

"Are you mad at me?" Elara mumbled.

Taylor scoffed. "Of course I'm mad at you! I'm disappointed you thought you needed to hide this from me! We promised not to keep secrets from each other, and here you are, sneaking out from our house like a child to go see your abusive child. I was worried sick about you!" Taylor was now screaming, and Elara was starting to tear up.

"I'm sorry. You aren't going to break up with me, right?" She whispered, and Taylor shook her head, her face lightening.

"No, I'm not. But I'm disappointed in you because I love you and your just doing things that aren't responsible, putting yourself in danger and not telling me!" She stopped herself, realizing what she said.