Stay - Taylor Swift

Chapter 2

When Taylor woke the morning following the album release party, she stretched her muscles and opened her eyes to see the sun shining in through the large window next to the bed. She laid peacefully and let herself adjust to the light. She had no plans for the day, something she was grateful for after the past few days of meetings and events.

Taylor picked her phone up from the nightstand and looked at the time, it was shortly after ten and she knew she shouldn't waste the day away in bed. She clicked through a few emails only because she knew they didn't need to be responded to. She saw the texts from her parents saying they were getting ready to take off and would call her when they landed. She sent a message back to her mom saying she loved them both.

Taylor had been trying to get better at communicating her feelings and taking care of herself. Years of not eating or sleeping properly on tour had not only damaged her body but her self esteem. She got out of bed and walked into the ensuite to shower.

She let the hot water run down her body, enjoying the burn of it against her skin as it really woke her up. She takes about a ten minute shower and dries herself off. She then goes to the closet and picks out a dress for the day. She didn't originally plan on leaving the house but she had nothing to do and all day to do it.

She feeds the cats when she gets downstairs before making a pot of coffee, texting Parker he could come get some if he wanted to. Parker was with her at all times and lived wherever she went on the other side of the house or apartment, but if she was going out she had a few more guards join him.

"Good morning, Ms. Swift," Parker says as he enters the kitchen and goes to the coffee maker. It was weird having him around when she had to first hire full time security but it had been a few years now and it became increasingly normal for them to talk or eat together.

He had brown eyes and short dark hair, normally he dressed in a dress shirt and black pants but was wearing a t-shirt at the moment. He was early thirties and didn't have any family left, so he didn't mind his job in the slightest. Taylor sat down at the counter island and sipped her coffee, her laptop open to the emails she didn't want to go through.

"Morning," she replied as she clicked on an email from Karlie. It was an invite to her Christmas party in mid-December and she was letting Taylor know long in advance because apparently her attendance was mandatory.

Taylor and Parker sat quietly for a few minutes, her on the computer (she had covered the back in stickers of cats and butterflies) and him filling out miscellaneous paperwork.

"Do you think we could do something today? Maybe I could grab lunch with a friend?" Taylor asked as she turned to face him, it might seem unusual that she has to ask her employee that but he was in charge of keeping her safe and if he didn't think it was a good idea, it probably was not.

"If you'd like to, anyone in particular? I can arrange for a car out of here," Parker answered the blonde as he looked up to meet her face. He was at the table in the dining room, visible to her through the archway.

"I was hoping maybe Karlie, if she's not busy."

"Just let me know what you wish to do," Parker then turned his attention back to his paperwork. Taylor had no idea what kind of paperwork he was filling out, but it wasn't an uncommon thing for him to be with a stack of files throughout the day. She had come to assume it was most likely paperwork for her tour, as he filled out requests for security at each show.

Taylor picked up the smartphone next to her cup of coffee, seeing it was already quarter past eleven. She unlocked it and opened up her contacts, pressing Karlie's name and hitting dial. It rung twice before she heard her friends voice on the other end.