Miss Matched [COMPLETED]

41. Simon

Tayla disappears through the security doors, and I take a deep shuddering breath. She's gone. Despair settles over me, a weighted blanket. Then I remember she loves me, loves me enough to want us to be together, to say it not once this morning, but twice. A sentiment that vibrated off her all day yesterday, but I wasn't sure she'd ever give the words to me again.

She's thrown the door to her heart wide open, and I'm never again giving her a reason to shut it. From my phone, I scan through the flight prices and find the airline with the cheapest flexible fare. With a deep breath, I go to the ticketing counter and hesitate.

She told me to book a flight but not when I should book it. We're not breaking up, but I'm not really sure we're together either. A weird limbo. Wait for her, do long distance, or reorganize my whole life to chase after her. The only option she vetoed was kicking me to the curb.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the ticketing counter glances up from her computer.

"I need a flight to Scotland, but I'm not sure when, exactly." I purse my lips and take out my wallet. "Do you have a flight that's perfect for indecisive dickheads?"

She lets out a startled laugh. "We have flexible flights." She grins.

"How do those work? Can I change the dates and time at short notice? I also—" Saying it out loud feels like a jinx. "I might not need the return part of the flight for quite a while."

She rummages around her desk and plops a pamphlet on the counter and takes me through the flight options, circling numbers and terms. At the end of it, my head is spinning, but I'm confident she's given me the best option for my strange set of circumstances. She probably learned far more about my personal life than she actually needed for me to buy the ticket. Ah well. Unloading all the baggage on someone who could care less felt surprisingly good.

"All right, Mr. Buchannan, you're all set. A flexible fare that gives you lots of options." She passes me the paperwork over the counter. "Good luck. I really hope it works out for you."

I give her a partial grin. "Me too." I stare down at the printed itinerary. "Me too." When I leave the counter, I snap a photo of the flight details and text them to Tayla. I don't expect to hear from her, but my phone pings almost immediately.

I love you. I don't know what I'm doing. This feels like a mistake. What am I doing?

I suck in a deep breath at her words. She's not normally one to freak out. Going to Scotland was never a dream of Tayla's, so I can understand why she's struggling to reconcile her choice. Still, the opportunity to live in another country, experience a different culture is pretty amazing. Rather than trying to reassure her via text, I type back: Can I call?

Yes.

I press the phone to my ear, grabbing a seat by the window. My flight isn't for a couple hours, but I'm not sure if I'm going back into the city center. When she picks up, she says my name on a shaky exhale.

"I've got my flight, Tay. So, whenever you want me to come, you just have to ask. Are you okay? Do you want me to book a flight I won't take to get back there with you?"

"You'd do that?"

"In a heartbeat." I run a hand down my face and suppress a sigh. Hearing her voice over the phone drives home how much distance will be between us soon. "If I haven't made it clear yet, Tay. I'll do anything to be with you. Anything."

"I love you. I love you so much." Her voice catches on a sob. "I feel like I've screwed this all up."

"Hey, hey," I murmur, holding the phone tight against my ear. "You're an amazing vet, and they're damn lucky to have you. This year is an experience of a lifetime. Maybe right this minute it doesn't feel like it, but you're going to be great."