new romantics - taylor swift and travis kelce

I guess a lesser woman would've lost hope

-Taylors pov-

Looking out of the hotel window I look down at Vienna. We are in town for the concerts tomorrow and the two following nights. But that's not what's on my mind.

Last week Patrick, Joe's brother, texted me that Joe was getting out of rehab today. This morning to be precise. Recently he has been doing good and has been motivated to get his act together, so they let him out early for his good progress. Of course, there was still a chance he would mess up and not get released, but judging by the string of unanswered calls on my phone, I would say he is out.

Rehab was only a step in the right direction for Joe, one of many on the road to redemption. It will take a hell of a lot of convincing for me to let him be alone with thea ever again, but it proves that he intends to get better. At least that's what he wants me to believe.

After knowing him for so long, and seeing his destructive patterns grow, I'm skeptical to believe that it's real change. It's hypocritical of me, as I do believe in second chances, but it's hard for me to give it to him. With thea being in the picture the risks are just too high to fail. My.... our... daughter has been through so much and deserves some peace.

My phone goes off again and I look towards the closed door to theas room. She decided that she is a big girl and wants to play by herself, and I didn't object, too much on my mind for that.

I wish travis was here. He has been so supportive through all of this, and I value his opinion and judgment. With time he has grown protective of Thea and is sceptical of Joe's sudden change as well. Part of me feels like it's too good to be true, that there has to be something else underlying this.

Sighing I pick up my phone and press accept. He will just keep calling and calling if I don't pick up. Joe is persistent like that, and won't take a hint.

"Hello?" I say.

"taylor. Finally, you pick up. Why didn't you take my call?" Joe sounds wounded.

"I've been busy Joe" I lie. I have been in my hotel room all day, on order by my security due to an escalating threat that they still haven't gotten control over. So I've essentially been on Housearest and watched way too many old episodes of Grey's Anatomy to make me feel better. I started to watch the whole thing over from the start, and currently, I just finished the episode with the plane crash. That episode hits me every fucking time I watch it.

"Well.. okay. But I'm out. They let me out early for exemplary behavior or whatever. Anyway. I want to see thea. Are you going to be in the UK soon? Or should I come to you? I have some downtime before my next project" he sounds excited by the prospect of seeing his daughter, but there is also a hint of nervousness in his voice. It's small, and if you didn't know him you wouldn't be able to detect it.

"Joe" I sigh. "we aren't there yet. It's good that you're getting better. But rehab was only a stop along the way. There is anger management and approval from your therapist. You can't just see thea whenever you want. There are steps to be taken, protocols to follow"

When it comes to her well-being I might be a bit overprotective, but rather than put her in harm's way. She is so young and susceptible to bad influences, and I don't want her father to be one of them. He needs to be much better before I will allow him near thea. Not to mention that she needs to see a therapist first too.

"I've done the fucking work, Taylor. Don't be like that. We can work something out together. We don't need all of these other people meddling in our business. It's what's best for thea" he argues.

"I'm sorry, but I won't go outside the terms set by the court. And certainly not without supervision from your therapist. Have you even gotten one yet? Because that's part of the terms and should have been lined up by the time you got out. And you may be her father, but at the moment you don't get to decide what's best for her, that's my job"