Invisible String [T.S-E.S BOOK ONE]

19

May 16th, 2013

Taylor paced her dressing room. She'd played this show a million times for thousands of different people but tonight was different. She was playing for her girlfriend's parents and little brother. How could she not freak the hell out over that.

"Taylor, it's fine. From what you've told me, they seem like very nice people." Her mom placed her hands on her shoulders to try and calm her down.

Taylor shook her head. "It's not that. It's just...I want to impress them. They need to know I deserve to be with their daughter."

"Of course you do, sweetheart." Andrea pressed a sweet kiss to the side of Taylor's head. "You love her and she loves you."

"I know, but what if they don't want their daughter with someone like me. It's not like I can give her everything she wants." Taylor continued to freak out. "I can't even show her off to the world."

"That's not the end all be all of love." Andrea forced Taylor to sit down.

She kneeled in front of her daughter. It brought her back to a time many years ago when she sat in front of a much younger Taylor, patching her physical cuts and scrapes. Now here she is patching her emotional ones. A mother's work was truly never done.

"Honey, love is about so much more than declarations to the world." Andrea spoke softly, taking Taylor's hand in hers. "Love is about secret moments that only you share. It's about leaving a permanent mark on somebody who will always receive it with a smile. Don't get caught up in what the world says." Andrea reassured her. "And from what I've heard and seen, that's Eleanor. And I'm sure her parents value that over any public displays you could do."

Taylor's breathing finally began to return to normal, her relationship anxiety turning into the normal show anxiety that she was used to. Paul and Catherine were going to love it. They loved her. They loved her because she loved their daughter.

"Okay." She breathed out a shaky breath of relief. "Okay, I can do this."

"Of course you can." Andrea kissed her daughter's hand. "Now go get your hair and makeup done. I'm going to head to the VIP section and get Catherine, Paul, and Anthony settled in."

Taylor didn't let go of her mom's hand, instead she squeezed it tightly. "Thank you mom."

Andrea pressed a sweet kiss to the top of Taylor's head. "Anything for you honey."

Once her mother was gone, Taylor pulled out her phone. Eleanor was in the middle of her game, so she opted to just text her.

Jacket Thief
i know you're killing it on the field right now, but i just wanted to say i love you before i go on stage

Like she expected, there was no response, but it was still nice to know that she could text that to Eleanor. It provided a certain level of contentment.

————

In the VIP tent, Anthony was losing his mind. Ever since Taylor walked into his life when he was ten, he'd become a massive Swiftie. The guys at school made fun of him for it, but he didn't really care. He had half a mind to just blurt out that Taylor was his sister-in-law and the most incredible person he knew, but he had enough common sense not to. Plus they weren't even married, so he'd be spreading false information anyway. That alone was grounds for Eleanor to beat his ass. But she never would, she loved him too much. So he bit his tongue and let them make fun of him. They were just a bunch of stupid boys anyway. They didn't understand that she actually made some pretty good music.