Tayvis One-Shots

you're okay

Taylor's POV

The song had been coming together so well. The melody was smooth, flowing easily as my fingers danced across the piano keys. It was a song about John Mayer. How he had left me, innocent, only 18, and all of our dreams. The lyrics, too, had started to spill out naturally, raw, unfiltered. It felt good to get everything on paper, to finally put into words the emotions that had been bubbling under the surface for weeks.

But then, as the lines became more personal, something shifted. I don't know if it was the way the words hit too close to home or if it was just the weight of everything building up inside me, but suddenly I felt... heavy.

The ache in my chest had been there all day, but now it was becoming harder to ignore. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the melody, trying to push through. I'm okay. I'm okay.

But then it hit me. A memory. The kind that lingers in your mind, even years later, like a ghost you can't shake off.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The words flashed through my mind, and I felt my breath catch. The image of a younger me, alone, broken, flashed before my eyes. The feeling of abandonment, the cold emptiness of trying to figure it all out on my own, crept up like a shadow.

I could feel my heart start to race, beating harder and faster in my chest. I gripped the edge of the chair I was sitting on, staring at the lyrics on my phone, but the words were starting to blur together. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I felt the familiar tightness in my chest.

No. Not now, I thought, my hands trembling as I placed the phone down, trying to steady my breathing. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.

But the words didn't feel true. The air in the room felt thick, suffocating, and I couldn't catch my breath. I stood up, stumbling a bit, but the room around me was spinning. Everything was too bright, too loud, too... much.

I didn't even know where I was going, just that I needed to get away from everything, to escape the crushing weight that felt like it was pressing in from all sides. My legs carried me down the hall to the kitchen, but I couldn't find the strength to open the fridge, to get a glass of water, to do anything.

I sank to my knees on the cool tile floor, my hands shaking as I gripped my knees, trying to hold on to some kind of stability, some kind of control. But it was slipping away faster than I could keep up. My breath was shallow and ragged, coming in bursts as the panic rose higher, swallowing me whole.

I can't do this, I thought. I can't breathe. I can't...

Then I heard the door open, and I snapped my head toward the sound.

"Taylor?"

Travis. His voice was warm, full of concern, but it barely registered as I stared at him, my vision clouding over.

"Travis, I—I can't... I can't breathe," I gasped, my voice cracking as the words escaped.

His face softened instantly, and in a flash, he was at my side, kneeling down to my level. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay." His hands were gentle but firm as he placed them on my shoulders. "Taylor, look at me."

I couldn't. I couldn't focus. My chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself, my breaths erratic and sharp. "I—I can't. I don't know what's happening. It feels... it feels like everything's closing in."

He moved even closer, sliding his hands down my arms and taking my hands in his. His touch grounded me, and his voice, low and soothing, was the only thing that felt real in that moment. "Breathe with me, okay? Just like we practiced. In through your nose, out through your mouth."