Brooklyn - Taylor Swift

Part 16

I groaned as the relentless banging on my front door penetrated my foggy mind, shattering the remnants of my sleep. Rubbing my temples, I stumbled out of bed, my head still pounding from last night's escapades. It had been a while since I drank enough to wake up with a headache.

 Memories hit me like a train as I stumbled out of bed, a smile gracing my lips as I remembered the dance Tay and I shared in Brooklyn, a blanket of rain creating an intimacy neither of us had felt in public for years. It almost made me think it wasn't a mistake to drown my sorrows in alcohol. Almost. But I still knew not to drink my pain away; that was a slippery slope I had no intention of going down.

Wearily, I made my way to the door, my body protesting each step as exhaustion weighed my body down. It had been a really long time since I had more than three hours of sleep, and the fact that such a good night's rest was being interrupted was pissing me off already. I swear to God, if this is the twins finally coming home from last night's after-party, I will not hesitate to kill them. I warned them to stay in a hotel and not come back before midday, and if they didn't listen, I swear I'm gonna beat them blue.

As I swung open the door, a rush of cold air hit me, it was then that reality hit me like a freight train. I had completely forgotten about my current attire. Dishevelled, I glanced down to see myself standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers and Mick's worn-out Christmas shirt. Fantastic. I don't even have my compression shorts on. Fan-fucking-tastic.

I'm suddenly hoping it's just dumb and dumber I open the door for.

My eyes widened as I found Taylor standing before me, her face stained with tears, her mascara smudged like an artist's brush gone wild. I quickly crossed my arms, self-consciously trying to hide my exposed state behind the door. It took a moment for my sluggish brain to process the sight before me. Taylor Swift was at my door, crying.

Who do I need to kill? All those self-defence classes I have been forced into suddenly seem like the best thing I have ever done.

"Tay?" I stammered, my voice betraying my surprise. "What... What are you doing here? Are you ok, love? Do I need to hurt someone? Just tell me who I need to get for making you cry," I ask, not giving her time to answer each question as my brain starts catching up to what is happening. She sniffled, attempting to regain her composure, but her teary eyes spoke volumes. "I... I heard your new album," she managed to choke out, her voice quivering with emotion.

That revelation crashed over me like a tidal wave, jolting me awake instantly. The album. My album. I had poured my heart and soul into those songs, baring my deepest vulnerabilities for the world to hear, the boys doing the same for their parts. The album is dedicated to Cora and all the losses the boys and I have faced over the years.

Taylor's opinion mattered to me more than I cared to admit. So the fact that she is now standing at my door, tears running down her face, has me feeling a lot of things. The main one is pure panic.

I pushed aside my self-consciousness and gestured for her to come inside. "Come in, Tay. Let's talk." I quickly pointed her in the direction of the living room before sprinting to my room, slipping on a pair of joggers and a hoodie as quickly as possible before running back through to join her on the worn-out couch. The gravity of the situation sinking in.

Any tiredness left in my body took a backseat as Taylor began to pour out her thoughts; the floodgates of her emotions finally released as soon as I stepped into the open plan room. She spoke with such intensity, her voice raw and unguarded, as if I were the only person in the world who could understand.

"I... I can't believe what I just heard," Taylor began, her voice trembling. "Your album... It's so brutally honest, so painfully real. It's like you've managed to capture the essence of heartbreak and longing in each and every song. It's heart-shattering, honestly, A."