continuation of rain on me. (tw)
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Walking into his home, it felt like walking into a meat locker. It was freezing, and that was her first sign that major changes happened in his life since they had last spoken to each other. He was known to be a hot-natured person. His apartments had always been cold places. The temperature in her let her know that no one else lived with him, there was no one ti make him turn the AC up when it started to feel like the Arctic.
"Is your girlfriend away?" Taylor asked him as they walked in. She was already ready to put a hoodie on, just to survive this cold.
"I do not have a girlfriend. We broke up. It's just me. And baby girl when it's my week." He told her. He and Kayla had always had a rocky relationship. And in the last couple of months of their relationship, Travis started to realize, she wasn't who he wanted. She wasn't who he needed to spend the rest of his life with. He closed the front door, and placed the diaper bag he was carrying down on the floor near the door. "Let me show you to the guest room." Taylor just nodded.
He walked her up the stairs and down one of the hallways to where she would be sleeping. Lucky for her, somehow through this whole transaction from crib to car, from car to house Joshua had remained asleep. Taylor was silently thanking God, because he was a difficult one to get to sleep. Walking into the room, it was just as cold, if not colder, than the rest of the house. She walked over to the bed, and laid her son down, covering him with the blankets. "Thank you." She whispered to Travis, with a weak smile.
"You're welcome, Tay." He whispered back, leaving the room, and closing the door behind him. She looked around for a second, and then hurried to the door and opened it. Seeing him not to far away.
"Trav..." Travis turned around and looked at her. "Can... can I have some clothes? I would like to take a shower. I just grabbed things for Josh"
"Sure, Tay. C'mon." He told her, leading her down the hallway into his bedroom. "You can take a shower in there, shower's bigger, more space than the other bathrooms." He told her. He didn't know what exactly she had gone though tonight, but he was sure she needed a long hot shower, and his bathroom was the best place to do just that. "I'll bring you some clothes in." He started to go through his dresser drawers to find her something to put on once she got out of the shower. "You want a hoodie or something?"
"Yes, it's freezing in this house." She told him, causing him to let out a little chuckle. He did love keep his house at a brisk 65 degrees. He felt like he helped him sleep better and relax more. He never did the actual research on it, but he know how his body felt when his home was cold.
"Let me throw a towel in the towel warmer for when you get out." He told her, laughing. He moved into the bathroom, with her close behind him. He took a towel from the linen closet an stuffed it into the towel warmer. For the first time since they had been together again, he got a look at her face, seeing under her left eye was starting to turn black and blue. She sealed his lips, not wanting to say anything. "Have a good shower." He told her. She nodded, her arms wrapped around herself, as he left out of the bathroom. He pulled the door as he walked out, not exactly closing it behind him. He heard the water of the shower starting to run.
He dug out a pair of his sweatpants and a hoodie for her to wear. He was about to walk into the bathroom, to hand her the clothes he gathered for her when he heard her. She was crying. He could hear the pain in her cries, in the gasps for air she was taken. It hurt him to hear her like that. It made him regret their past together. Because if things hadn't ended the way they did, she wouldn't be going through this. She wouldn't be hurting, and she would be loved the way she deserved.
He took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom, placing the clothes on the bathroom counter and quickly moved out of the bathroom, trying to make as little noise as possible. While she would know he intruded briefly on her moments alone, he didn't want to linger, didn't want to be noticed. He climbed into his bed, his mind replaying the last moments of their relationship. The last moments of happiness she probably had in a relationship.
"Taylor... I think we should see other people." The second the words came out of his mouth was the second he regretted saying anything at all. Everything about her demeanor changed. He could almost see her heart drop the second the words left his lips.
"What..." She asked, the tears welling up in her eyes. The shake in her voice.
"We've been together since high school, Tay. I think we might need to explore other people. Other options. How do we know that we're right for each other if we've only ever dated each other?" They were twenty-five years old. And since they were 15 years old, they had been together. Not married, just together. Life with her was smooth, easy, happy... But was it right? Those were the thoughts that played into his mind. Was he settling with her because they had been together, so long? Or were they perfect for each other? How could they know if they had never been with anyone else?
"I... I don't want to see other people, Travis. I only want you." She told him, the sobs coming from her body, almost violently.
"I'm sorry, Tay... I think we need to do this, to better ourselves. Maybe one day we will come back together and realize that all we ever needed was each other but for now... I think this is what is right for the both of us..." He wanted to pull her into a hug. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to make it out. "I love you, Tay... I do."
"Just.... just... leave.... Travis" She told him between sobs. She was close to hyperventilating. Close to falling apart.
"I love you, Taylor." He said one last time. She retreated into a bedroom, slamming the door behind her and he walked out of the apartment that they had been sharing for the better part of 4 years.
Taylor stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel from the towel warmer. She wrapped the towel around her body, and suddenly the tears were flowing from her eyes again. Somehow, just the towel being warm and around her felt like a hug from him. A loving hug that she had been so use to. Their breakup had been rough on her. She spent months not talking to him, not wanting to hear his voice or see his face, but also, only wanting him. Only wanting to be with him. He had been her best friend for all those years, and her best friend was the one to break her. He was the only person that could make her feel so low. Travis. Her Travis. The one that made her cry with laughter. The one that made every right. The one that she could talk to or call for everything. Her... Travis. Until he wasn't hers anymore.
She stood wrapped in that towel until it started to get cool. She wanted to stuff it back into that damn holder, and start over, but she knew she would be there all night doing that. She dried off her body, and put on the clothes that he left on the counter for her. A pair of his sweatpants and a hoodie. Pulling the hoodie over her head brought her back to those days, Those days where she would steal his clothes just because they smelled like him. Just because they reminded her of him. Just because they were his.
She folded up her dirty clothes and the towel she had used, and exited the bathroom. Seeing Travis sitting in his bed, scrolling through his phone. "Thank you again..." She whispered to him again as she started out of his bedroom.
He looked up from his phone, a small smile surfacing on his face. "Anytime, Tay. Anytime." She walked out of his room and down the hallway back to the room he was lending her for the night. She closed the door softly behind her and placed the dirty things neatly onto the floor. She would deal with them tomorrow once the sun was up. She crawled into bed, next to her son, who had surprisingly still not woken up. Pulling the covers over herself, she closed her eyes, hoping that maybe when she woke up, this whole night might end up being a dream.
