Act Three / Chapter Twenty-One

1.3k words
c/w: this chapter covers the events of the 2023 rio shows, so death mention + a brief mention of vomit

Six Days Later, November 17th, 2023, Rio de Jeneiro

Mikah had to leave after the Argentina shows ended, some work commitments for finalization on her upcoming EP and moving some things into Taylor's house. She was supposed to be back by the third Rio show at the earliest, it was going to be fine.

It was supposed to be, at least.

And Taylor was going to be fine. She didn't need Mikah to survive. She had Tree, and her father. She was going to be fine.

The minute she touched down in Rio, though, she could feel it. Something was wrong.

"Looks like the heat is going to be pretty nasty nights one and two," Tree says once they settle into the car to the hotel, "supposed to rain by night three, though. Should be fine."

Taylor just nods in response, feeling herself start to dissociate a little bit. She's absolutely spent, emotionally and physically.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. Need to call Mikah."

"How are things going with you two? I know last week was weird."

Last week, the media attention on Taylor was probably at an all-time high, which is saying a lot. The Twitter reactions to the kiss were fifty-fifty, to say the least. Mostly positive, if you ignore the small amount of very vocal, very pissed off conservatives. There were quite a large amount of people who Tweeted "I KNEW THE WHOLE TIME!!"---Taylor wanted to respond to those the most, she told Mikah "wow, they figured it out before I did!"

But it's been really hard on Mikah. She's handling everything incredibly well, but it's just been so overwhelming, going back to New York for a few days was definitely the right call.

"We're great, just need to check in before she goes to bed."

Tree gives her a gentle smile, but she barely registers it. God, she's exhausted. She leans her head on the window, letting her eyes droop closed.

Her dad gently wakes her when they reach the hotel, letting her lean on him.

"Get some sleep, sweetie," he murmurs as they reach their rooms, "are you good to be alone? Tree or I could stay with you if you need it."

"I'll be okay, thank you, though."

"Alright. Love you, kiddo."

"Love you, too, dad."

The second the door closes, a pang of anxiety hits her in the stomach. She curls onto the bed, pulling her phone out to text Mikah.

***

Taylor: You awake?

Mikah: mhm
is everything okay?

Taylor: Yeah just
Anxious

Mikah: i'm sorry :(
what about?

Taylor: Idk nothing in particular
I just don't feel good
I'm gonna try to sleep I think

Mikah: alright
please call if you need anything. i'll keep my phone on

Taylor: I will. Love you

Mikah: love you too

***

Taylor sets her phone on the nightstand, digging her palms into her eyes until she sees stars. Anything to ground herself. Despite the insistent anxious feeling in her stomach, nagging that something is wrong, she does attempt to sleep.

She only ends up getting about two or three hours, waking up with an awful head and stomachache. But it's fine; she's preformed through worse.

She shoots a text to Tree, just warning her of the situation.

feel like shit. sorry if I'm a bitch.

Reaching for the TV remote, she flips to a random channel showing re-runs of some shitty American 80s movie and tries to sleep again. It's a million degrees outside and she'd like to stay in the comfort of her air conditioned hotel room as long as possible.

She sleeps fitfully for a few more hours until Tree is knocking on her door, notifying that it's time to leave for the stadium.

The heat is absolutely abysmal. Taylor wants absolutely nothing more than to be back in New York, with her girlfriend and where it's winter. But no, she's stuck in heavy, humid, sick-to-her-stomach heat.

"You excited for the show...?" Tree asks, hesitating to approach as her client lies face down on the couch in her dressing room.

"I guess. I can power through it." Taylor shrugs, rolling onto her back.

Tree pulls a chair next to the couch. "You know, if you really feel like you can't do it, you don't have to."

"I'll be okay, I just need to cool down and... yeah."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything."

***

It started cooling down as the sun was setting, but it wasn't enough. Everything was going smoothly until she noticed the first few people trying to flag her down for help. She tries to help as best as she can, but she really can't help but think this is the stadiums job.

She keeps having to flag security for water more and more with each set that passes, eventually having to throw water into the crowd herself.

Adrenaline is one hell of a drug.

The physical effects of the heat don't hit until the end of the show, the stage lifts messing with her balance, or something, because all of a sudden she's violently dizzy and throwing up into that bucket they have under the stage for god knows what. She slowly lowers herself to the ground, trying to regulate herself as best as possible.

To put it plainly, she's dizzy, nauseous, overstimulated, and probably five steps away from a full on panic attack.

Security and medics surround her but she immediately flinches away, curling into herself. It's all too much. Tree is quick to usher them away, snapping into her mom reflexes as she kneels next to the very overwhelmed, very upset Taylor.

"Hey, sweetheart," she murmurs, waiting for Taylor to realize she's there before continuing. "Can I touch you?"

A nod.

"Can the medics touch you?"

A sharp head-shake. No.

"Don't feel good," Taylor groans, pushing her palms into her eyes again. Tree pulls her hands away.

"What can I do to help?" She asks, gently running her thumb along Taylor's hands in an attempt to safely ground her.

"Put my hair up, please."

Tree quickly complies, feeling her forehead quickly while she's at it. "We need to get your temperature down."

Taylor groans, leaning into Tree's touch. "I want Mikah. Or my mom." She sobs.

"I know, honey, I know."

Eventually, Tree managed to coax Taylor out of the corner and with shaking legs she manages to make it out of backstage and into the dressing rooms. Tree sits her down on the couch, draping a towel over her.

"I need to go sort some things out, m'kay? Your dad is gonna come sit with you so you don't have to be alone."

"Can you tell Mikah to call me? It's only like nine or ten there."

"Of course."

Tree's only gone for about 10 minutes, but Scott is immediately at Taylor's side the second she leaves, pulling her into a hug.

When Tree enters the room again, she has a grim, slightly panicked expression on her face. Motioning for Scott to talk with her. Taylor just watches them, another wave of panic washing over her when she hears Tree say something that sounds like I think we need to tell her.

"So," Tree says, getting down to her level, taking her hands. Scott sits beside her again. "The heat tonight brought on a lot of medical issues within the crowd, a lot of people were brought to the hospital."

Taylor nods.

"Well, I've just been informed that, unfortunately, a young girl passed at the hospital after suffering heat stroke." Tree squeezes her hands, trying to keep her as grounded as possible. "Tay, listen to me, this is not your fault."

She nods again, trying her hardest to take in everything but the heat and subsequently the panic are making everything difficult.

The only words that registered in her head were your fault.

🩶🩶🩶

hi besties this chapter took forever i'm so sorry. next one will be quicker i promise.
also like.... forewarning. the rest of the chapters in this book (and the rest of the series, honestly) are going to be quite heavy so. prepare yourself for that. i guess.
50% proofread
vote/comment/etc love youuu