When Worlds Collide

Arms of Safety

Travis:

"Mister Kelce... Mister Kelce!" a loud voice echoed urgently. I turned my head to the side and saw Tory rushing toward me, looking panicked. Concern flooded my mind as I turned fully to face her.
"Tory, what's happened?" I asked, a sense of dread creeping into my voice. She seemed too shaken to speak, stuttering as she tried to get the words out.
"Ta... Tayl... Miss Swift.."
My stomach dropped. Every alarm bell in my head went off at once.
Taylor had been gone for too long, and l'd already started to worry.
My voice grew sharper, more intense, as the fear took hold of me.
"Tory, what's wrong with her? Tell me where she is!"
My tone must have frightened her, but I couldn't control it. I had to know what was happening. She lifted a trembling arm, pointing toward the bar in the suite, and in that instant, my feet started moving on their own. I was running.
When I reached the bar, I froze.
There, on the floor, Taylor lay sprawled, looking disturbingly still. A cold chill shot down my spine as the sight sank in. Her face was pale, her body lifeless. I fell to my knees beside her, panic surging through me.

"Baby... hey," murmured, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. Not-hing. She didn't respond. My heart began to race wildly, fear clawing at me, so I shook her again, harder this time.
Still nothing.
The silence was unbearable, as though the world itself had gone still. Tears pricked at my eyes, welling up until they spilled hot down my cheeks. Tory stood nearby I hadn't even realized she was there until I glanced up at her.
"Tory, get help! Now!" My voice was loud, maybe too loud, but I didn't care. I needed her to move, to bring someone, anyone who could help. She ran without hesitation, her footsteps fading as she hurried away.

Turning back to Taylor, I reached out, my hand shaking as I brushed a strand of hair from her face.
"Please, sweetheart," I whispered, barely able to speak past the lump in my throat. But she remained still, her silence like a weight pressing down on me.

It didn't take long for the paramedics to arrive. The moment they heard that Taylor Swift was lying unconscious on the floor, they sprinted over without hesitation.
Mr. Parker burst into the room, his expression frozen in shock.
He rushed toward me and knelt beside me, his eyes scanning my tear-streaked, red face.
"Mr. Kelce," he said, his voice sharp and commanding, "please, tell me what happened here.
Why is Miss Swift on the floor... unconscious?" His voice grew louder, anger and concern mingling together. I understood his frustration. No one had informed him about what had happened-but honestly, there hadn't been any time.
"She... she wanted to get something to drink for us," stammered through the tears that streamed down my face. "And then, at some point, Tory came running to me, panicked, saying something was wrong with her. I ran here as fast as I could, and she was just lying there..."
More tears fell, uncontrollably now, as I struggled to speak through the lump in my throat.

He looked at me with concern etched deeply into his face. Tory entered the room, and I immedia-tely stood up, walking over to her, knowing that Taylor's well-being depended on getting to the truth.
"Alright," I said firmly, standing beside her, "you're going to tell me exactly what happened right now. And let me warn you-don't even think about lying."
Tory swallowed hard, her nervous-ness evident, before she began to speak.
"U-uh... so, I came back from the restroom," she stammered, her voice shaky. "I walked through the door, and then... I saw Taylor.

She was in Miss Brown's grip..."
My eyes widened in shock, and a wave of anger surged through me, hot and blinding.
"... Miss Brown was saying something to her," Tory continued, her voice trembling. "She was saying things like, 'You ruined everything.
It was all perfect before you showed up. He loved me, and then you came! Or something like that. I think she was talking about you."
Tory's eyes darted nervously around the room as she recounted the scene. "You could see it in her face... the way her grip tightened around Miss Swift's neck, the way her words got sharper... more venomous. It was getting worse.

So, I stepped in. I pulled her aside and forced her to let go of Miss Swift's neck. That's when Taylor collapsed to the floor, and Miss Brown... she just ran off."
As she finished, I could feel my hands clenching into fists. The fury inside me was almost unbe-arable, but I forced myself to focus. Taylor needed me.

I wrapped my arms around her in a grateful embrace. "Thank you,"
I whispered softly into the hug.
When we pulled apart, I told her to repeat everything she had just told me to Mr. Parker. She nodded and did exactly that.
I sat down on a chair next to Taylor. The paramedics were still at her side, monitoring her, but they reassured me that she should wake up any moment now.
It was surreal, how different the worlds felt in this very moment.
Out there, in the stadium, the crowd was oblivious to everything happening here.

They were fully immersed in the game, cheering, laughing. But here, in this room, tears had been shed, fear had gripped our hearts, and chaos had unfolded.
Then, suddenly-
"Travis..."
I heard a soft, confused voice and felt a light touch on my leg. My head snapped down, and I stared into her ocean-blue eyes. If I could drown in them, I would. A smile crept onto my face, and a single warm tear slid down my cheek.
"Sweetheart," I whispered, my voice filled with hope.

I nearly jumped out of the chair, dropping to my knees beside her. Taylor leaned back against the wall, and I pulled her into my arms, pressing my face into the curve of her neck. She was warm, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt safe.

I held her as if letting go would make her slip away again, my arms wrapped securely around her, my face buried in the crook of her neck. Her scent, faint and familiar, was like a balm to my frayed nerves. For a moment, the world outside this small room ceased to exist no chaos, no fear, just the steady rhythm of her breathing as it started to normalize.
Taylor's hands, trembling but deliberate, found their way to my back. She clung to me with a quiet desperation that mirrored my own, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt as if anchoring herself to reality.

I felt her exhale, a shaky but relieving breath, against my shoulder. It was like she was letting go of the weight that had been crushing her just moments ago.
I pulled back just enough to look at her face, my hands gently cradling her cheeks. Her ocean-blue eyes, though slightly glassy, locked onto mine with a softness that made my chest ache. They held a quiet strength, a flicker of reassurance that she was here, with me.
"You're okay," I whispered, my voice barely audible, more to myself than to her.

She gave me the faintest smile, a tender curve of her lips that sent warmth flooding through me. Her hand reached up, brushing away the tear that had slipped down my cheek, her touch as light as a feather.
"You were crying," she murmured, her voice hoarse but touched with a gentle teasing tone.
I couldn't help but chuckle softly, my smile widening despite every-thing. "You scared the hell out of me," I admitted, my voice breaking slightly.
Taylor tilted her head just enough to rest her forehead against mine, the intimacy of the gesture making my heart swell.

We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, sharing a moment of stillness that was more powerful than any words could ever be.
Her fingers traced small, soothing patterns on the back of my neck, grounding me in the present. "I'm here," she whispered, her breath mingling with mine. "I'm okay."
The words were simple, but they carried a weight that eased the tight knot of fear in my chest.
I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into the warmth of her presence, my arms tightening around her just a little more, as if to promise her-and myself-that l'd never let anything like this happen again.
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