You'll Be Alright - Taylor Swift

Part 10

Waking up with Taylor was a different experience altogether.

There was no yelling, no rough shaking, just a sense of peacefulness and quiet.

It felt weird but in a good way.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I noticed Taylor was still sound asleep. I think she is sleepy. She seemed tired when she came and found me last night. But she didn't yell or get mad like I thought she would. She just sat with me till I got sleepy, and then we went back to bed like nothing happened.

She had sat quietly and watched me play my rock piano, which had never happened before. No one had ever shown interest in my music before. Or anything I do, for that matter. 

Cory would just kick the pebbles away and shout. Sometimes, he would throw the pebbles at me until he got bored. Then he would just hit me. Mummy would give me strange looks and then smile before leaving me alone. She didn't understand what I was doing and never really cared enough to ask. I think she was just glad that, for a moment, I was away from Cory, off in my own world. I wish she could have joined me like Taylor did last night. I wish I could show Mummy my world. 

And the kids at school would take my rocks and throw them at me. Just like Cory, but there would be lots of them, and they would laugh while doing it. I think they thought I was weird. At least, that is one of the many insults they would throw at me, just like the rocks.

But Taylor was different. She didn't seem confused by what I was doing with the pebbles; in fact, she recognised what I was doing. This was a first for me. I don't know how she knew what I was doing, but it made me smile that she understood. 

It had been years since I'd played for anyone other than Mrs Kate, and that felt like a lifetime ago. I was around six years old back then, or at least that's what I thought. According to Taylor, I'm only seven now, so that would have meant I was four when Mrs Kate taught me.

I don't understand what Taylor meant when she told me I wasn't actually nine but seven. How can I be one age twice? That's not how it works, is it? Cory did say I was dumb, so maybe it's normal to be seven twice, although that seems confusing.

Ignoring the sling on the bedside table, I limped into the bathroom to do my morning routine. Brushing my teeth with a casted hand was not easy, but I managed it, making sure to clean my mess up afterwards so Taylor wouldn't get mad at me. When I returned to the bedroom and saw that Taylor was still asleep, I thought about waking her up before brushing that off. Cory hated being woken up. I am not repeating that mistake, especially when I could go back to the living room and play with my pebbles again.

But when I managed to get through to the living room, I was slowed down because of my knee, and I was confused. It was just as I'd left my pebbles untouched. But next to the pebbles was a blue keyboard. I have no idea where it came from or how it got here while I was sleeping. It must have been magic. 

Cory says magic isn't real. But I think he was wrong. Sometimes at school, the other kids would talk about Santa or the tooth fairy or the Easter Bunny, and while I'm not sure who they are, they all seemed pretty magical to me.

I know I shouldn't touch something that isn't mine. In the past, touching something that belonged to someone else, like Cory's things, would lead to punishment. I quickly learned that nothing was truly mine, and that meant I shouldn't touch anything.

I really want to play it, though.

Maybe Taylor was different. She had been kind and understanding so far, even nicer than Mummy, who never physically hurt me. Could I trust her? Maybe I could test her reaction by playing the keyboard? After all, it had been two days since my last beating, longer than I usually go, because Cory always finds a way to be angry at me. I think I could handle it if Taylor got angry with me.