After a messy divorce, Joe Jonas finds himself lost within the inability to move on with his life. That is, until he unexpectedly starts to feel a love he never thought he'd experience again, let alone with a stranger.
The willpower it took to not go off on Sophie once Joe and Nick informed us what had occurred was strong, but I didn't want to make the situation any worse. Truth be known, I was terrified I would be prohibited to continue to see their girls, but Joe assured me that wouldn't be the case. Not on his watch.
To my surprise, Kevin and Pri were the most passionate with expressing their distaste for Sophie. Their focus wasn't necessarily on Sophie, but more on how it was affecting Joe.
If what all of this had taught me, it was Joe's family and friends had such unconditional love and care for each other that were completely unmatched. They would go above and beyond, even the smallest of gestures having the most meaning.
Giving Joe his own alone time with his daughters, I removed myself over into the living room. On the couch was Nick, looking equally tired as Joe, while scrolling on his phone with his jacket on top of him to be used as a substitute for a blanket. He laid there on his side with his head resting on top of the arm of the couch, deep in thought, yet isolated all at once.
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"For someone that can afford a house like this, I figured you'd at least own blankets," I sat down on the floor by him, still providing him personal space.
He lowered his phone face down on the tiniest of free area in front of him, "It was all I had without actually getting up."
"Do you want me to get you one?" I offered, "It's no biggie."
"I'm good. Thank you though," he replied, "Hey, Taylor?"
I kept eye-contact with him, letting him continue with my full attention.
"Joe really appreciates you being here for him," he said, "I do too."
"He's..." I shook my head repeatedly, glancing away to nothing in particular, "Changed everything I thought I knew about life. All of you have."
"What do you mean?" his eyes were full of curiosity.
I wanted to tell him, but I didn't think it would've been fair not to tell Joe first. I chose to keep it rather simple, yet still from the heart, "He wasn't the only one struggling when we met. I don't have family. At least not like y'all. We aren't this large, close-knit family. Liv was all I had then. I know I don't express it all that much, but I'm terrified of my phone ringing, because I know any day I'll be losing my sister."
He softened up while raising himself off the couch and sat on the floor next to me, attentively observing tears welling up in my eyes. This was the warmest he'd been towards me since I had known him.
"Taylor," he put his arm around me, keeping our gaze, "I know nothing I say will fix it, but I'm here just as much as Joe is. You don't have to say it out loud to express it. Sometimes words aren't efficient enough, and that's okay."
"I don't know who I am without her," I shrugged, a few tears escaping down my cheeks.
"I know," he said, getting choked up himself, "We're here with you, okay?"
Hearing him get emotional only made my tears flow more. I never thought I'd be crying in front of Nick of all people.
"Hey, Babe?" Priyanka called out from a few rooms down, "Do you know where Malti's binky is?"
"Um," he cleared his throat, glancing around the living room, "I think I might have put it on the piano in the front room."
Looking around myself, I slightly grinned at the very obvious sight of a binky on the living room table our backs were up against for support. Picking it up, I held it in front of him, "You mean this one?"
He let out a light chuckle, "Yeah. Thanks."
"It's in here," I shouted to Pri.
"Oh my god, thank you!" she said with a smile as she entered the living room, although that smile didn't last long as she saw the both of us sitting on the floor, "Tay, what's wrong?" Without any hesitation, she knelt onto her knees in front of me, grabbing both my hands into hers.
Nick and I exchanged looks, giving me the floor to talk as I pleased, "I was just telling Nick how much all of you have impacted my life, and how grateful I am to know I won't be alone when I finally have to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" she questioned, moving my hair behind my ear to reveal more of my tear-stained face, "Where are you going?"
"Not me," I clarified, "Liv."
"Oh, Hun," she leaned in and wrapped her arms around me with empathy, knowing all too well how difficult it was to lose an immediate family member to cancer, "I'm so sorry."
"How did you do it?" my voice cracked, finally able to completely break.
"It was really hard," she began to cry with me, remembering the moment she lost her father, "My whole world stopped for a while. I regretted all the times I forgot to call them for their birthdays or chose work over spending the holidays with them. I regretted it after it was already too late. I was so angry. Why him? Why take someone's daddy away from their little girl? That pain never goes away. It becomes a constant companion, but you have to allow it to be."
I closed my eyes as we wept together, my chin on top of her shoulder. She was right. Why? Why Liv? She never would get the chance to be a wife, a mom, an aunt to my kids. All the last holidays were passing by or had already passed by. Her last Christmas I couldn't take back. I wanted so badly to reverse time. I treated her like shit for no reason. I accused her and Joe, the two most important people in my life, of doing the unthinkable. All for what, exactly? I never even asked her how she was handling it. It was always about me, how I was handling it.
God, please just let me go back in time with the knowledge I had now.
