Growing Older (Travlyn Fic)

Katelyn

The man in the dark suit was back. And he wanted to speak with me.
I had just finished my shift at the Cafe and he had walked over to me, looking  mysterious.
"Ms. Lynn, your answer." I look over at Travis. He nods. Okay. He thinks I should see what he wants. I bite my lip. I'm surprise I haven't bit through it by now.
"Fine." I wait.
"Alone." Does this guy think I'm stupid? Travis shakes his head at me. I know what could happen. He steps forward.
"She will not be going with you, alone," Travis says, his voice chilly.
The man huffs. Well sorry. Sorry for being safe.
"Fine. Both of you, come then." Abby tugs on my hair.
"I don't like this," Travis mutters.
"Me either, but we might as well go see... stop that Abigail," I tell her the fussy one year old.  I'm worried. But I'm strong. I could whip this guy's butt.
He leads us outside. Not into a dark alley though. To a park bench.
"Sit," he commands. I don't like his tone.
"What is this about?" I say, refusing to sit. Travis wraps his arm around me.
"You get straight to the point."
"Always has," Travis adds.
"Da!" Travis hands her a packet.
"Drink that." He's good with Abby. Real, good. I guess he's trying to be the father he never had.
Wow. That's deep. I brush a piece of slightly oily hair out of my face. I really need to shower. Especially, because it's date night tonight. The man huffs. Again. What is with this guy and huffing? I think we should just leave.
"Fine. We —Phoenix Alliance Records —want to give you a record deal." What? My jaw drops. A record deal? Me? Katelyn Fier? Travis drops the diaper bag. I watch, still in shock as it's contents spill onto the park grass.
"Uh oh!" Abby exclaims. Travis goes red. I quickly kneel down and shove the diapers and rainbow teething rings back into the polka dotted bag. I stand up again, brushing dirt off my pants.
"Excuse me?" I say, still in denial. Not me, Katelyn who could barely sing in front of her own father. Not me, Katelyn whose overly violent. Surely, this is a mistake.
"We'd like to offer you a record deal," the man says, exasperated. I bite my lip. I still can't believe it. The man is looking at me like I'm stupid, which I really don't appreciate. Travis's phone rings. He picks it up, then frowns. Who is it?
"I'll just take this... it's Aph." Oh. That in itself isn't odd. It's the timing. Aphmau never calls right now, she's either taking a creative writing course or working. I watch Travis walk a few steps away, still holding Abby. He keeps his eyes on me the whole time.
"I understand this is a big decision for you to make, Ms. Lynne..."
"Fier, actually," I tell him. "Katelyn Fier." The man nods.
"Ms. Fier, this is something you should consider carefully. However, we do not offer second chances at PA, so chose well." He hands me a crisp clean business card. "I hope to do business with you." He turns around, his suit coat flying out behind him like a cape.
"Wait," I say. "What is your name!" The man turns to me and removes his sunglasses.
"John Brightport," the man says. The son of the founder of the city Brightport? I assume so.
"See you soon, Ms. Fier." He walks off towards a black car. Of course he drives a black car. What else? Travis walks back towards me. I feel a bit panicked seeing the concerned look on his face. What's wrong? Can't we get a break?
"Yeah. Therapy is probably the best thing. I really recommend it, Laur, more than pills. Do talk to Garroth, okay? Tell him everything, don't hold back," Travis's voice seems calm, but I can sense the hard, worried edge in it. Is he talking to Laurence? Oh Irene.
I walk towards him, my feet echoing on the sidewalk.
Laurence, I mouth. He nods. I open my arms wide and Abby leans towards me. She drops her packet and my arm jets out, lighting speed, to grab it before it hits the ground. I proceed to take her from Travis.
"Is Daddy talking to Uncle Laurie?" I ask her. She smiles. I notice her face is covered with apple sauce just as she rubs it all over my shirt.
"Ga da hkufn be da!" She says happily. I sigh. At least her face is clean.
"Oh, Abigail." I stuff the business card into the diaper bag, so she doesn't wreck it.
"Definitely talk to Aphmau. She's gone through this, though you'll be different than me. Yeah, she will proceed to ask you how you are everyday for the rest of your life. Still checks in on me and it's been like six years." I smile. She does. Every morning. He'll get a text or she'll call, but she will check.
"Okay, call me if you need me, kay? Kay, bye." He ends the call, proceeding to rub his hands through his hair.
"You good, love?" He nods.
"I see Miss Abby has cleaned her face in your shoulder," he says, noticing the tan stain on my pale blue shirt. I nod. Abby laughs, like she's all innocent. He smiles.
"Better yours than mine," he jokes. I smack him lightly, no easy feat, considering my hands are full of a bag and a child.
"That's not nice, stupid. Here take this bag," I practically throw the bag into his gut.
"Sure thing, dummy." He kisses my cheek. It's the only thing he can reach. I'm sure he'd kiss my forehead if he could.
His smile fades. What's wrong?
"I guess we have to decide about the record thing."
"Yeah. I'm actually really excited about that, it's a great opportunity. But we'll have to think this through and how it would work... what's wrong?" I bite my lip. He looks at his feet. "Trav, come on!"
His voice shakes when he speaks.
"I don't think that you should take the record deal."

******
So our journey and conflict and plot begin!
This is exciting and I can't wait for the next chapter.
If you don't know who John is, he's a very minor character in MCD — the Lord of Brightport in S2. Speaking of which, what's your opinion on the MCD Remake?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of the story and thanks for reading.
-AJKBOOKWORM