almost | taylor swift au

chapter 24

The next morning begins with breakfast and a bus ride to Los Angeles. It's only about two hours to get there, which is fine by Taylor. It feels weird to sit up front instead of in the back of the bus with the band, her head on Jett's shoulder.

But up front is exactly where she is.

Fourteen rows. That's how far is between her and Jett on this godforsaken charter bus. She can't take it. She wants to turn around and sneak a peak at him, see if he's missing her touch as much as she's missing his today. But she doesn't want to risk him seeing her looking.

So she stays put, her eyes straight ahead, and hopes that the bus ride will be over soon. She tries her hardest to focus on the music flowing in through her earbuds. She tries to not think about what's going on behind her, though she can hear the faint laughter of the boys in the band being their usual selves.

She finds her heart yearning to be back there with them. For things to be like they were, just a few short days ago. The last time that they were all on this bus.

But they're not like that. Not anymore. And that hurts.

She fights back the tears for the bus ride, and as soon as she steps off the bus in the hotel parking lot, her eyes fall onto Gracie. She's right here waiting, just like she said she'd be. She's standing outside of a little black sedan.

Taylor quickly collects her suitcase and runs over to her friend. The two instantly leap into each other's arms with a hug. "T, I'm so glad you're here," Gracie tells her. She picks up the suitcase and lifts it into the trunk of her car, then her and Taylor climb into the front seat.

"So, how has everything been?" Gracie asks.

Those five words are all it takes to set Taylor off. The tears that she has been holding back all day start to spill over from her eyes and down her cheeks. "It's been awful," she admits in a small voice. "The bus ride... it was so terrible. I was sitting up front, everyone else was in the back... I could just feel them looking at me. They all knew I wasn't sitting with Jett. His eyes were burning into the back of my head. It was so humiliating."

Inside, Taylor is punching herself. She didn't want to unload all of this on Gracie, but here it is, all coming out. "The breakup... it was so awful. We had this huge fight, and it was just a completely out of nowhere fight. I thought he was in a great mood, I was in a great mood... and then he just started saying really mean things to me, and I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't just sit there and look pretty and let him trample all over me. I had to open my stupid fucking mouth and say something."

Gracie furrows her eyebrows. "I'm so sorry," she says. "But you did the right thing. You can't just let him walk all over you. You are just as much of a person as he is, and if he isn't going to treat you as such, then you've gotta call it quits."

Taylor sighs. "But it just really hurts. I miss him."

"It's hard at first, but every day, it'll get a little easier. And soon, you're not going to have to see him at all." Gracie can only hope that the next few days are going to be healing for Taylor, but she also knows that they're going to be hard. She's prepared to do all that she can to help make them better, to create a time that Taylor might look back on with some fond memories in the future.

Neither of them know that in years to come, they will look at the next few days as a really formative time for both of them. Of the time that really solidified their friendship, one that was going to last for a lifetime. One that makes them absolutely inseparable.

Right now, Gracie just wants to get Taylor to a home with people who are going to embrace her, show her the love and care that she deserves right now. She knows that her friend is absolutely shattered inside. And she knows that the motherly care that her mom will provide can help to heal that. Every breakup that Gracie has been through, her mom has been there to help her. She's made cookies and watched stupid movies with her and just been an ear to listen.