Promises to Keep

the trip - part one

Dallas Stars vs the San Jose Sharks. Round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were set to begin, and Tyler was stressed. Things were seemingly awkward between him and Tayla, and he wondered if it had anything to do with Nick being in his yard only two nights ago. 

Tyler sat on the couch in his house, with his dogs all napping around him. He sat in grey sweats and no shirt, as he often did, with Sports Centre playing on mute in the background. He scrolled through his phone, trying his best to avoid all the negative comments that always seemed to be floating around; the internet was a dangerous and crazy place. 

"Ty?" 

Tyler's heart began to pound at the sound of her voice. 

"In here!" he yelled, and the dogs stirred slightly, wagging their tails with excitement when they saw Tayla come into the room. Immediately, all three got up from his side and began to attack Tayla with licks and hugs. "You know, sometimes I think they like you more than me" he tried to break what he perceived as an awkward silence. 

"How are my guys, hmm?" she asked, kneeling down to their level. "That's because we bond when we miss you when you're on the road" Tayla told him honestly, blushing slightly. To be totally honest, she was feeling awkward around Tyler ever since her revelation. Especially now, where he sat on the couch with no shirt; damn she thought, biting her lip and having to shake her head to avoid staring too much. Tyler noticed she lingered her stare a little longer than usual, but didn't think anything of it. 

"If I could take you with me, I would" Tyler told mostly Tayla, who did sometimes join Tyler and the team on the road. It wasn't for him though, it was because of her job. 

"I come sometimes" she pointed out just what Tyler had been thinking. Tayla got up from the ground, and eyed the dogs, carefully avoiding eye contact with Tyler. 

"Is everything ok...?" Tyler trailed off slowly, unsure if it was something he had done. 

"Yeah, everything's fine" Tayla smiled, again, averting eye contact. She knew she couldn't do this forever; she just couldn't avoid her feelings. "I'm just really tired" she lied, unsure why she had even done so. 

"Does it have anything to do with Nick?" Tyler asked, gulping. 

"In a way, I guess so" Tayla confessed, half telling the truth. Though her and Nick were on good terms, she was certain they would never cross paths purposely again. Though this saddened her slightly, the appearance in her life opened her eyes to Tyler; the one who had been there all along. 

"I'm glad" Tyler replied, his voice sounding slightly shaky. It was like his heart was shattered all over again. 

"He helped me realize something really important..."Tayla trailed off, wondering if this was how she should approach it. 

"Tyler!!"

Tayla mentally cursed Jamie; why did he have to come around now?

"Yeah man?" Tyler shook himself from his thoughts, and tried to understand what Tayla had meant by Nick helping her realize something really important. 

"Ready to go?" he asked, sauntering into the room. "I'll take that as a no" he added, once he was far enough into the room. "Come on dude, we're going to be late!" he urged urgently. 

"Uh- shit I'm sorry I didn't even realize it was time to get ready" Tyler scrambled to get up off the couch and head to his room. With all the swirling thoughts of Tayla, he totally forgot about the interview he and Jamie were going to do, as a promo for the second round for the playoffs.