1 (jaylor) wisteria hearts and caged folk songs

chapter twelve.

The following day, Taylor woke up in Joe's arms and quickly decided that she never wanted to leave. He was still sound asleep, so she just lay there with her eyes closed. She was meeting up with Abigail tomorrow and was trying not to think about it for too long because it made her feel very anxious. She hadn't seen her in months, in fact, it might have been an entire year. It had reached the stage where Adam hadn't let her see any of her friends, and she had to make up lies about why she couldn't see them. She had quite an extensive list of reasons now. Adam was always worried that they'd say something to manipulate her into leaving him, that they just couldn't be trusted.

Joe looked so beautiful, lying on his side with his arm draped across her, with his eyes closed and his soft breaths. She kept trying to decide what her favourite thing about him was. She loved it when he smiled, or when he held her hand. She loved it when he spoke to her softly under the cover of night. She loved it when he played the piano or spoke poetry to her. She really couldn't choose, because she loved everything that he did, every little thing. But she loved it when he was asleep because it was then that she could never believe that she was lucky enough to be sleeping beside someone so... magical.

Austin was arriving tomorrow afternoon, and Taylor helped her mom set up the bedroom. Joe had gone out somewhere in the car, telling her that he had to pick something up, and she was missing him already. She'd noticed that the amount of paparazzi waiting outside her Mom's house had increased as more people discovered where she was staying at the moment. She loved being here, with her family. And it was even better with Joe here with her. She'd never taken Adam here for Christmas.
"I'm seeing Abigail tomorrow morning," Taylor told her mom as they made the bed. "I can't even remember the last time I saw her."
"That'll be lovely, honey. Really nice. I'm sure the two of you will have lots to talk about." Taylor looked down at the mention of that because she didn't want to have to explain it all again to someone else. She wondered whether it would be something she'd have to talk about to people forever. Would it ever leave her?
"Sorry, Taylor. I didn't mean it like that - I'm sure that she's been very busy too, and she's always asking me how you're going." She knew that her mom didn't mean it like that. But she knew that it was going to be a conversation that she had to have with everyone she knew.

Taylor happily helped her mom tidy the house, and once it was finished, the two of them sat in the kitchen and stared out at the dreary day. There was a sharp beep, and Andrea was on her feet immediately. It was her home phone, and it was the sort of beep that only occurred when the security had found someone on the property. Their security had control of the locks in the house, and with the first sight of an intruder, the whole house was put on lockdown.
Taylor had always ensured that her parents had around-the-clock security, just like she did. Her parents were quite famous too - as they often attended things with her. They often put themselves in the spotlight. So of course, she had ensured that they were always safe. Andrea went over to the phone and heard her security.
"Hello, Mrs Swift." They always bothered with the pleasantries.
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly. She didn't want to make Taylor stressed.
"It appears that your daughter's ex-boyfriend has been trying to... get through." Andrea's heart plummeted. She didn't want Taylor to find out about this. "He says that he's supposed to be spending Christmas here, with her."
"And where is he now?" Andrea kept her voice as calm as possible.
"Heading towards the front door - but we've got people coming up the drive as we speak, and the doors are locked. He can't get in." Her security sounded so sure of this point. Andrea wished that Scott was here - he'd gone to lunch with a friend - because he was always calm in these situations. She was the worrier, the panicked.
"Make sure you sort it out, please." Andrea tried to keep the stress from her voice. She hung up and moved over to the window. Taylor wasn't paying attention and was looking at something on her phone. She couldn't see Adam, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. The house was all locked. Every door and window.
"Honey?" Andrea smiled at her daughter. "Would you mind going up to get me a jersey from my wardrobe? It's a little chilly and I've got to keep an eye on the pudding." Taylor nodded, and Andrea was relieved when she saw her go up the stairs.