Restart My Heart

Start Again

*as always, a song from my writing playlist: True Colors by Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake (from Trolls)

~~

BRIEF SUMMARY: It's New Year's Eve and Lucy is planning on going on vacation. She's halfway to her destination when, infuriatingly, she misses her connecting flight. Since it's holiday season, there are no immediate flights she can board. To Lucy's dismay, another passenger has missed the flight too and the airlines have provided only one room in the hotel. She will have to survive the next twelve hours with this passenger, a man named Liam with a bad attitude. Will Cupid strike before they leave?

~~

This was written for the #CupidStrikesonNewYear contest, and the blurb is the prompt I was given (aside from the Lucy and Liam, who are all mine), and I was limited to 1500 words. Hope you like it!

~~

Relax, Lucy thought to herself, nervously munching on her bagel. It was around 5:00 P.M., and there was no way she was missing her connecting flight. The airline made it clear it would not be until 8:00. She had time to sit in the little Starbucks and gather her thoughts.

Lucy pulled out a crinkled piece of paper from her pocket. It read: 1. Watch the ball drop in Times Square.

I should probably call Mom, she thought after about an hour of sitting. As she made her way to a less crowded area, she felt inexplicably nervous leaving the area where she would be sure to hear her flight called. Just to make sure, Lucy asked the lady at the check-in once more what time her flight was, and with a sigh, she told her, "8:00, ma'am."

Smiling in satisfaction, she walked to a quiet place and spoke with her mother for what turned out to be an hour. Not that she minded; without her father around this year, it was getting harder for the two of them.

By the time she got back to her luggage, all of the people in her section had vanished aside from a man with colorfully streaked blond hair and olive skin. Her heart sank. Did she miss the flight? No, I couldn't have. She checked her phone. 7:06.

She marched up to the check-in lady with a panic. It was a completely different girl. "Excuse me, but where is everyone? I thought the connecting flight from Texas to New York took off at 8:00?"

The Lady's eyebrows knit in confusion. "I'm sorry, ma'am, the flight took off about a half-hour ago."

Lucy paled. "No--no, that can't be. Only an hour ago I asked the other woman working this desk and she said more than once that it would be 8:00."

"Did you catch her name, ma'am?"

"Paris." Lucy startled and turned around at the sound of a gravelly voice. She recognized him as the man who had been sitting in the seating area alone. "I caught her name. It was Paris."

"Oh. Yes, Paris. I'm afraid she went home sick only moments ago, I believe with a fever. She seemed a little out of it, to tell you the truth."

"I'll say," scoffed the man.

Lucy sighed harshly and rubbed her temples. "Well, she was so out of it she told us the wrong time. God, I knew I should've booked a nonstop flight."

"Listen, I've got places to be. When's the next flight?" The man's hands twitched and he hunched his shoulders.

The Lady set a regretful expression on her face. "I'm very sorry, sir, but the only flight from here to New York is in twelve hours. It's the holidays, you see..."

"What?" Lucy hissed. She didn't miss the man's eye roll. "I have to be in New York City by tonight and you're telling me I can't because I missed my flight because your coworker was sick? Unbelievable!"