Bounce Back

Chapter 38

Ryan's POV

As predicted the end of the summer approached way too quickly. By the time that I was leaving Tyler had already been gone for almost two weeks. We'd talked almost every day and I could hear just how excited he was for me to join him.

I was flying out early in the afternoon and he promised that he would meet me at the airport. My stuff had been shipped out and Tyler had told me that it was now safely in the dorm.

In the end all I had was a backpack of stuff that was going on the plane with me. I woke up way earlier than I needed to and I couldn't get back to sleep again. In the end I gave up and got up.

Neither of my parents were going to work today but they weren't travelling with me. They couldn't take the time off work to fly out with me but I didn't really mind that much. I think that the whole thing would be very awkward if they were.

I found both of them in the kitchen. They were both softly talking as they made breakfast but they both stopped when they noticed me come in.

"How did you sleep?" Mom asked.

"Not too bad but I'm awake earlier than I hoped," I said.

"Are you ready to leave?" Dad asked.

"Yeah,"

"Your Dad and I were talking and before you go we need to talk," Mom added.

I nodded but for a minute none of us said anything.

"We have always wanted what is best for you and you have always been a smart kid," Dad started.

"I know that but this is my life and I have to do what I want and maybe make a mistake or two but I have to do that for myself," I explained.

"I guess that we can work with that. Just promise that you will talk to us if something isn't working," Mom said.

I nodded because it wasn't that hard of a promise to make and if it meant that we stopped arguing I was all for it.

"Do you want us to take you to the airport?" she asked.

I nodded because I wanted them to be there. I still had a couple of hours before I had to even think about leaving and the only thing that I could think of going was for a run. All of my friends had already left so I couldn't even go out and spend the time with them.

I had a spare pair of running clothes that I was going to leave behind so I changed into them, grabbed my headphones and headed out. I pushed myself though my usual route but it was different to be running without Tyler beside me.

I managed to find ways to keep myself entertained for the rest of the morning and at last I collecting my bag from my room. It was pretty much empty except for some long finished with textbooks and some clothes.

The car ride to the airport was pretty quiet. Dad drove with Mom in the front and me in the back. Dad parked and we still didn't talk as we headed to the terminal. I checked in before joining them again.

"Promise that you will call when you get to the college?" Mom asked.

I nodded before wrapping both of them in a hug.

"You better call often," Mom added.

I nodded because I would miss talking to my parents everyday about what we had all been up to. I hugged them once more before continuing through security. I still had about twenty minutes before the plane was supposed to board so I sent a text to Tyler.

I didn't get a response before I did actually board and had to switch my phone onto flight mode. The flight wasn't too bad and soon enough I was off the plane and I saw Tyler waiting for me. I headed straight for him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you," I whispered against him.

"Do you have any bags?" he asked.

I shook my head and he started to drag me out of the airport. I followed him out into the parking lot and found his car. We caught up with each other as he drove towards the university. Traffic wasn't too bad at this time of day so the drive wasn't bad.

Tyler knew how to navigate the campus and so I just stared at the window and watched everything go by. At last he pulled up in front of a dorm block. I grabbed my backpack and followed him up. As we headed up Tyler handed me my key.

I couldn't help the smile on my face as I pushed the door open. It was a pretty boring dorm room really and very simple but it was enough. I dumped by bag with my boxes before collapsing on the bed that I could tell wasn't Tyler's.

"What's the team like?" I asked as he slid beside me.

"They seem really nice so far. We actually haven't spent a lot of time together yet," he said.

We continued to talk as we lay there. I knew that I should get up and unpack but it was comfortable lying beside Tyler again. At last I clambered over him and opened the first box. Realistically I didn't have a lot of stuff to unpack but it was still painful.

"There is a really good place for food if you want to go," Tyler suggested from his place on my bed.

I hadn't realised how hungry I was until he said something so I nodded. We locked the dorm and he grabbed my hand so that he could pull me to our destination. It wasn't particularly busy at this time so we ordered and had a choice of tables.

We were talking when someone came up from behind Tyler who clearly knew us. I couldn't help but notice how his eyes were stuck on our hands on the table.

"Tyler, it's good to see you man," he said.

Tyler turned around just as the guy slid into the seat beside him.

"Ry, this is Luke from the team. Luke, this is my boyfriend Ryan," Tyler said, clearly realising that he had to say something.

"Boyfriend?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, is it going to be a problem?" Tyler asked.

"Of course not. Just surprised," Luke said quickly.

Tyler smiled as our food arrived.

"Are you going to tell the rest of the team?" Luke asked.

"Yeah."

Luke nodded and I listened to the two of them talk for a while until Luke had to leave to do something else. I could tell that Tyler was slightly surprised but very pleased to see that one of the team was fine with us and I think that it would help him tell the rest of them.

The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed and I remembered to have a short call with my parents before I fell asleep. I was starting to get more nervous because classes were about to start and the idea scared me a little bit.

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The Wise One