Kaelyn Erin Ross has a dream... there's only one problem. She is an orphan and can't chase it until she's 18. See what happens when Taylor Swift adopts her.
"Yeah..." I said. I felt my eyes flooding with tears at the thought of Cason, my brother. "Cason Jackson Ross." I said, as I wiped my eyes. "He uh... he couldn't live with what my mom was... and then his girlfriend of 3 years and him broke up, and he lost his job and... the world fell down I guess."
"Oh my God I'm so sorry," Taylor said. She unbuckled her seatbelt.
"What are you doing, you're supposed to be in your seat-"
She got up and walked to my side of the table, sat down beside of me and hugged me. I felt my tears start to flow out of my eyes.
"I'm so sorry," Taylor said, rubbing my back.
"I just... I..." I couldn't talk. We stayed in a long hug for a long time.
"Nobody deserves what happened to you," Taylor said.
"But nobody deserves being adopted by you either," I said through tears. It was so true. Nobody had ever been this nice to me except my mom, nobody had ever made an effort to comfort me. In this moment, this moment right here, I did not deserve to be hugging her.
"I'm so so so sorry that that happened to you," Taylor said. She gave great hugs, and was so good at comforting. It'd been a long time since somebody cared enough to let me cry on them.
Taylor's Point of View
I could not believe that Kaelyn had just watched that, on top of everything else with her mom.
"Who was the man?" I asked.
She paused for a moment, dread in her eyes. "My brother." Her voice cracked. My jaw dropped in shock.
"Y-your brother?" I asked. I didn't know she had one.
"Yeah..." She said. The hurt on her face was so evident. Tears suddenly flooded her eyes. "Carson Jackson Ross." She said his name as if it meant the world. "He uh... he couldn't live with what my mom was... and then his girlfriend of 3 years and him broke up, and he lost his job and... the world fell down I guess." She stuttered and began crying as her voice cracked on the last note, as if that was all she could manage.
"Oh my God I'm so sorry," I said. Screw this. I began unbuckling my seat belt.
"What are you doing, you're supposed to be in your seat-"
Screw that, I thought as I walked over, sat down beside her, and pulled her into a long hug, rubbing her back. I felt her sobbing on my shoulder. How could a child go through that, especially without their mother. How has she dealt with it, without going insane?
"I'm so. Sorry." I said trying not to cry. Be strong, Taylor. Be strong for her.
"I just... I..." She stuttered in between sobs.
I held her small figure in my arms.
"Nobody deserves what happened to you." I said. I will never, ever, ever let anything happen to her again. She was so beautiful, sweet, and talented and full of purpose, and at a young age, too. Nobody deserved what she'd gone through, especially not her.
"But nobody deserves being adopted by you either," she said through tears. Oh my God. She didn't just say that. After everything, all this, she's the one who acts grateful rather than bitter. She was so sweet. Nope, here they come. I watched a tear fall onto Kaelyn's shirt. Now I was crying too.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," I said, trying to sooth her. I hugged her tightly and continued rubbing her back smoothly. She was skinny with a tiny form, and smelled like flowers.
"I wish I could just go back in time you know," she said. "My brother and I had always looked out for each other... and my mom told him if she died, that he would need to take care of me. And I resented him for what he did, I thought it was selfish of him to end his life like that..."
She was so deep and grounded, down to earth for a kid... but I guess after all that, I would be too.
"But he wasn't selfish at all," She continued. "I would have too, given I was in that position..."
It broke my heart heating that from her. I continued hugging her tightly, and rubbing her back. Finally we pulled away, and she wiped underneath her eyes. I carefully did the same, making sure I didn't ruin my eye liner and mascara. I didn't wanna look like a emotional crazy demon on the first day I had with her.
"You can unbuckle your seatbelts now," the pilot said over the intercom. Kaelyn and I looked at each other with a knowing glance.
It's so odd how you can meet somebody and have a bond with them in the first few hours. I'd felt like I'd known her all my life.
"Wanna watch a movie and eat ice cream?" I ask.
"Sure," Kaelyn said and began looking around for a TV.
"In here," I said, getting up. "There's a small room." I opened a door and walked inside the tiny room.
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"It's so pretty," Kaelyn said, as she walked in, and traced her finger over the window glass. "But still terrifying."
I laughed at her, as I slid the movie The Notebook into the DVD player. It was one of the few I had on the plane.
"What are we watching?" She asked.
"The Notebook," I replied. "A classic love story."
"Sounds good," she said, taking a seat. I sat down beside her and clicked play on the remote. The movie began playing. A flight attendant walked in and got us some chocolate ice cream, fat free of course, since I'm already starting my tour diet. I'll start working out for it in December.
Kaelyn took a big spoon of ice cream and shoved it in her mouth and we began to laugh as most of it didn't fit and smeared all over her face. I whipped out my phone and started videoing.
"Oh my God, Kaelyn, we are so posting this on your birthday," I said laughing. She laughed as well.
"Oh really?" She said, making a face.
I laughed at her stupid face. "You look like an elf." I said.
She busted out laughing. I stopped recording.
"That ones definitely going on the tour funny moments video reel," I said. She continued laughing.
