Promises to Keep

the trip - part one

"So. I heard some good news" Jamie looked at Tayla knowingly. 

"Good news...?" Tayla trailed off, confused. 

"You know, about Tyler" he whispered, just to make sure Tyler couldn't hear, since it was obvious by the tension of the room when he entered that there was some awkwardness to be sensed. 

"I'm still lost" Tayla told Jamie honestly. 

"I'm ready" Tyler huffed down the stairs, before Tayla was able to ask Jamie what he meant. "See ya, Tay" he waved, nearly running out of the house. Jamie followed suit, wondering when the hell the both of them would just get together already. 

***

Tayla hadn't spoken to Tyler much since Nick had come around, and now that the second round of the playoffs was set to start in less than an hour, the amount of time she had to talk to him was even less. This time, however, she didn't travel to San Jose to write her articles. Instead, she had opted to stay home to write the articles. She wasn't sure why she had chosen to stay home; something told her it was the right thing to do. 

Katie had gone, as did Cassidy, meeting up with their parents whilst away. They had urged Tayla to come along with them too, but she respectfully declined. She stayed instead in her PJ's, on the couch, watching the game comfortably alone. 

Katie 7:03 p.m.

wish u were here!!

Tayla 7:04 p.m.

kinda wish I was too!

Katie 7:05 p.m.

why did you stay home anyway? is it because of Tyler? you can't hide from him forever

damn. Tayla couldn't slide much past Katie; she knew her too well, and was too observant. 

Cassidy has been added to the conversation!

Cassidy 7:06 p.m.

really should have come!! we miss you

Tayla 7:07 p.m.

i'm not trying to hide... i'm not really sure what i'm doing

Cassidy 7:07 p.m.

just text him right now and tell him you love him

Katie 7:08 p.m. 

do it!! 

Tayla 7:08 p.m.

are you crazy?? that's not something I can send via text

Katie 7:09 p.m.

why isn't it??

Cassidy 7:09 p.m.

you're obvi scared, so why not just make it easier on yourself

Tayla 7:10 p.m.

yes I'm scared!!! and I can't do that bc we're not in middle school

Game is about to start pay attention!!!

Tayla set her phone down, and heard several vibrations but continued to ignore it. She couldn't just text Tyler "Oh hey. Just so you know, I'm in love with you. If you don't feel the same, that's cool; I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship!" 

But how could she do it? Suddenly, the answer seemed all too obvious. 

***

The Stars had lost game one. The feeling was all too familiar, but at least this time they didn't get their asses handed to them. Tyler sat in his hotel room, going over the loss over and over in his head. There was one thing that stuck out the most about it; Tayla wasn't there. He kept looking at his phone, looking and waiting for a text or a phone call that never came. 

Tayla 11:58 p.m.

good game Ty. sorry I missed it

Tyler 11:58 p.m.

thanks. wish you were here

He answered and waited for over a half hour; but no response ever came. Sighing heavily and wondering how tonight could possibly get much worse, he decided to go to sleep. Jamie was sharing a room with him, but Katie was down, so he was spending time with her before coming to the room. He felt his eyes grow heavy pretty quickly, and he drifted off into a deep sleep. 

Three loud knocks at the door startled him out of his sleep. He groggily looked at the clock and noticed it was just after four in the morning. He looked over to see Jamie's bed was empty and made; did he lose his room key? 

Stumbling out of bed, he neglected to put on pants or a shirt; truly believing it was Jamie, he knew he didn't need to. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he opened the door.

"Jesus dude, it's like four am! Where the hell have you-" he finally opened his eyes wide enough to see it wasn't Jamie who was standing in front of him; it was Tayla.