Flowers on the Floor

CHAPTER IX: HOPE IS A HEARTACHE

I leave for Mexico in the morning and, for whatever reason, I just now decided to pack.

Everything about our trip to New York still plays in the back of my mind but I force myself not to linger on it for too long. It only makes it worse. I begin folding clothes and placing them into my suitcase when my phone vibrates on the nightstand. Ignoring it, I automatically assume its from the groupchat and the last thing I want is to be a part of a conversation that involves Hailee. I can't seem to see or hear her name without picturing her in tears while confessing her feelings for me.

I finish packing everything in a matter of forty minutes and place my luggage downstairs next to my front door. Making my way back upstairs to gather my travel documents, I hear my phone vibrating as if someone is calling me. Curious on whether or not it's Eiza, I cross the room to retrieve my phone. It's a group FaceTime request from Meredith. I hesitate for a while, contemplating on whether or not I care to join. Ultimately, I plan on being off-the-grid in Mexico so I decide to be social and accept the call...

Four squares appear on my screen and I'm shocked to find that everyone in the groupchat is available at the same time. "Hailee, get me backstage passes to Comic Con this weekend!" Alissa says, climbing out of her car to walk inside her house.

Hailee smiles and shakes her head. "I don't think that's how that works."

I hear the sound of Alissa's car locking in the background. "What?! You're Gwen and they can't give you backstage passes?" Alissa asks, shocked. "That's criminal. I was trying to drag [Y/N] with me."

I shake my head at her words. "I couldn't go anyway. I fly to Cancun tomorrow." I gather my travel documents and make my way downstairs to place them into my carry-on.

"Cancun?!" Meredith asks. "Oh shit, that is tomorrow... I'm supposed to take you to LAX."

"When were you going to tell us that?!" Alissa says. "Weren't you just in New York?!"

I laugh at their reactions.

"I suppose you're back on your travel kick?" Lauren says, smiling. "Is it for the internship?"

I shake my head and enter the living room to sit on the couch. "No, it was my graduation present from my parents. Eiza and I are going." I reach for the remote and turn the TV on.

__________

Hailee's POV

I know I heard that wrong.

"Eiza?!" Meredith says before pausing. "Ohhh, right, she's from Mexico so that makes sense. She has family there."

I watch as [Y/N] turns her eyes from the TV to look at her phone. "She isn't visiting family. We're staying at an all-inclusive resort for three nights. My parents set the whole thing up." She answers, nonchalantly. Why the hell are they going on vacation together? When did they plan to go together?

"Wait, your parents bought you a vacation so you and Eiza could go?" Lauren asks.

[Y/N], who is appearing to get frustrated with all of the questions, shakes her head again. "No. They assumed I would take Dallas but, of course, that isn't happening. Why is this a shock... is Eiza going to murder me while we're out there or something?"