Journey (3)

Chapter 56

author note: there's a line in here that might possibly be the cringiest thing that's ever been written. i apologise in advance. don't hate me...😭

cornelia street- taylor swift

TESSA'S POV:

It's only a few days until Connor leaves, but I already know that it will be different when he's gone. For one, I'll be thinking constantly about the fact that he'll be going there with Ava, and knowing his track record with Ava, I won't be able to stop overthinking it all.

"Tessa," Connor's voice comes from around the corner. I'm still in his bathroom, brushing my hair in front of the mirror and trying to stop thinking about things that could potentially happen with Ava.

"I'm almost done!" I say, quickly. I brush my hair one last time before putting the brush back down. "I'll be out in a minute."

I open the door to find Connor waiting directly outside it. "You know, I was thinking about something," he starts, leaning against the doorframe. "When I leave, I could give you a key to this place, so you could let yourself in." He shrugs. "It's a lot closer to the hospital than your apartment is, so if you wanted to stay a night or two here while I'm away then I wouldn't mind. If you have an early shift in the morning, it might help you."

I stay silent for a moment, thinking about the offer. "And I wouldn't have to wake up so early." I smile. He knows how much I hate waking up at the earliest hour of the morning for an early shift.

"Exactly," Connor says. "I'll only be gone a week, and you don't have to use my place, but if you did, I wouldn't mind." He smiles. "I know it would make things easier for you."

"It really would," I say, enthusiastically. "Thank you. This is actually going to help me out a lot."

"I knew you'd be happy about it," Connor says. "I already have a spare key. I can give it to you before I leave. Remind me before my flight leaves in a couple of days."

"I will," I tell him, making a mental note to do that. "When does your flight leave again? And do you want me to come to the airport with you." I pause. "I mean...I know we're taking it slow, and I don't know if we've reached the point in our relationship when we can...do that?"

"Tessa, Tessa," Connor interrupts me quickly. "You can come to the airport with me. And you can come and meet me when my flight comes back in a week's time, if you want?"

"Really?" I ask. I wasn't sure if we were at that point in our relationship. We were supposed to be taking it slow, but I really wasn't sure. "Great. That's what I wanted you to say."

"I could tell," Connor says. He gestures to a digital clock on the wall. "I don't want to break this up, but your shift does start soon. I know you agreed to help me pack, but I'll be fine." He laughs. "If you'd prefer, I could leave it until after we both come back here?"

I laugh, not sure if he's being serious or not. "No, it's fine," I say, shaking my head. "You should pack. You need to have enough time to make sure you've got everything."

"Great," Connor says, walking past me into the bathroom. "Remind me about the key later." He waits before closing the bathroom door. "Are you leaving now?" he asks.

I nod. "You're right," I say. "My shift does start really soon and I probably need to leave if I want to get there on time. I'll see you later?"

"In our usual place," Connor adds, as if I would forget, after weeks of doing the same thing after every single shift. "I'll see you then."

"At least we don't have to keep this a secret anymore," I say. "That's a silver lining. We don't have to avoid Will's questions, and we don't have to hide."