Stay - Taylor Swift

Chapter 10

Taylor's breath hitched, the words she had blurted out registering in her brain. Grace didn't say anything, letting it all sink in. She couldn't understand it at first, how Taylor would suddenly wake up one day and like her.

But it wasn't as sudden as she thought, the late night calls, flirty texts and close hugs. She had been going along with it, not even realizing she was leading Taylor on. Of course, there were the occasional thoughts in the back of her head. She had disregarded the semi-colons instead of regular ones in the smiley-faces Taylor sent, thinking it was just meant to be playful.

She had noticed the way Taylor looked at her, the way they were connected at the hip. She didn't suspect that the older girl was harbouring feelings for her, however.

"How long?" Grace asked quietly, they hadn't moved from their spot against the wall. Taylor was no longer resting her head on Grace's shoulder instead, she was now looking away from her.

"I don't know," Taylor answered honestly, "I didn't realize until Tuesday night."

Grace gulped, unsure of how to act now, "Okay."

"Why do you just say okay? Can't you say anything else? Yell at me or leave or something! This is killing me," Taylor exclaimed. She could feel tears threatening to return to her eyes. She closed, them and tried to hold them back.

"I'm sorry- it's just a lot, Tay," Grace apologized. She could hear the pain in Taylor's voice again, hoping that the blonde wouldn't break again.

Please don't cry. I can't handle that again.

Taylor didn't answer, focusing on keeping her breath even. She had hoped Grace would speak again and say something that would make it all okay, but the room remained quiet. There was a ticking noise from the clock in the hallway, slowly driving Taylor to the brink of insanity.

Grace stood up, wiping off the back of her pants as if she just stood up from sitting on the grass. She turned to face the singer, holding a hand out for her to grab onto. Taylor looked up at her confused, before taking the hand and letting Grace help her off the ground.

She felt physically weak, her body asking for proper care after being neglected for so long. Grace helped her onto her feet, holding her hand and leading her out of the room and up the stairs.

"Where are you taking me?" Taylor grumbled, following the brunette up the staircase.

"To shower," Grace told her, still holding Taylor's hand. It was as if letting go would mean Taylor wouldn't follow, "You stink."

"Gee, thanks," Taylor scoffed, "Not like I haven't been having a mental crisis for the last couple days."

"It's noon on Friday and I'm pretty sure you haven't showered since Tuesday morning," Grace replied, not caring if Taylor was offended anymore. Taylor needed to finally get herself back together and if it meant Grace had to spoon feed her every task that was involved in it, so be it.

Taylor mumbled something Grace decided she probably wouldn't appreciate hearing. She had cancelled her sessions that day, telling her clients there was an emergency. She was glad she had found Taylor when she did, fearing how much worse the downward spiral could have gotten.

"Shower, put on some clean clothes. Come to the kitchen when you're done," Grace gently nudged Taylor into her bedroom and towards the bathroom.

Taylor didn't answer, throwing her hands up in defeat before entering the bathroom. Grace waited near the closet until she heard the water running before going downstairs to prepare something for Taylor to eat.

She decided on a noodle stir-fry, chopping some vegetables finely and dicing some chicken. It wasn't hard to make and came together fairly quick, the aroma in the air when Taylor finally came downstairs.