SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER || t.s.

07. if i'm all dressed up

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. brighton brielle . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

"Alright, pretty girl," Taylor said as she zipped Brighton Brielle into the second size of the dress she was trying on. "How does this one feel? Too big? Too small? Just right?"

"I like it," Brighton Brielle replied, flashing Taylor a thumbs-up. "I think this is probably going to the best size."

"Okay, awesome," Taylor nodded. "Do you want to work on your hair and makeup next, or find things to accessorize the dress with?"

Brighton Brielle shrugged. "Whatever you think is best."

"Let's do your hair and makeup," Taylor said with a small nod. "That way, we can play around with hair accessories and jewelry after it's all done."

Brighton Brielle nodded before leading Taylor down the hallway to her bathroom. When she'd moved in, Travis had given her the guest room and bathroom that were farthest away from his master bedroom, which she was secretly grateful for. It wasn't that she hated her father, per se, but she definitely didn't feel like he was her father. She knew she shared half of her DNA with him, and from a biological standpoint, that made him her father, but his actions and DNA didn't match up.

She was never too sure how to feel about him abandoning her mother when Lily found out she was pregnant. On one hand, it was a shitty move, leaving his pregnant girlfriend—his nineteen-year-old pregnant girlfriend—to fend for herself, but on the other hand, Travis had been nineteen, too. He was just a kid as well. A really stupid kid, but a kid nonetheless.

When she was old enough to understand the situation, she'd decided that her life had been plenty good without a father and that it wasn't worth wishing he was around. Lily had been the perfect mother in every manner; taking her on trips for her birthday or school breaks, engaging in her interests, and always, always showing up when it mattered. She couldn't be too sure, but something told her that having a father who was a famous football player might have meant that he wouldn't be showing up for her nearly as much.

"Alright, what are we thinking?" Taylor asked, running her fingers through Brighton Brielle's long, wavy blonde hair. "Do you want it all down? All up? Half up?"

"Half up," Brighton Brielle echoed. "Thank you."

"Of course," Taylor said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side as she looked in the mirror at the two of them. "I'll pull the sides to the back of your head, we can give you some more defined curls, and then we can see if you have any sort of hairpieces that we can add to make it look a little bit fancier. Sound good?"

Brighton Brielle nodded again, and Taylor got to work, humming to herself as she gently worked through the tangles in Brighton Brielle's hair.

This was the other thing. Taylor. Brighton Brielle still wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that Travis was dating Taylor Swift. Ironically, she was much less concerned about the fact that it was Taylor Swift than she was when she thought about how Taylor had also known Lily. And Taylor had known Brighton Brielle, too. Well, at least she'd known her when she was younger. When Lily was still alive. When there was never a thought in her mind that she'd have to meet Travis, much less live with him.

It was weird for her to think about. Would Taylor tell Travis the stories of how she met Brighton Brielle and Lily, much like how Lily had told those same stories to everyone who would listen? How was Taylor able to remember her after all those years, when she hadn't seen Brighton Brielle since she was a six-year-old in pigtails and a blue glittery dress? Hell, she wasn't even sure if Lily had ever told Taylor her full name. She knew from Taylor's stories that Taylor had been told her name was going to be Brielle. And she knew from Lily's stories that Lily had always referred to her as Bella around Taylor. Or... almost always.