Journey (3)

Chapter 59

the great war- taylor swift

The wait outside the airport seems to take hours, although in reality, it's probably only been several minutes. I mistake every person who walks past for Connor, hoping that he'll walk out of the airport soon.

Eventually, I see him, suitcase in hand. He walks towards me, smiling. "I hope I didn't leave you waiting too long," he says. "I tried to get here as quickly as I could, but you know how long the lines can get in there."

I nod, understanding. "I missed you," I tell him. "It really wasn't the same here without you." Even when we weren't together, Connor would still be at the hospital everyday. This past week has felt completely different without him there.

"I missed you, too," Connor tells me. "I have something for you, actually. It's in my suitcase. Once we get back to my apartment, I'll show you what it is."

"You got something for me?" I ask him. I wasn't expecting him to get me any sort of gift. "You really didn't have to do that...really," I say. "But thank you."

"I think you'll like it," he says, smiling knowingly. "We should get back to my apartment first, though. I really want to unpack all of my things."

...

The drive back to Connor's apartment is quick, and soon enough, he is pushing open the door to the apartment.

"So, how was it?" I ask him, as we both step inside. "Did you have a great time there? Aside from all of the conferences?"

"Most of my day was taken up by the conferences," Connor admits, placing his suitcase down. "But in my spare time, I went to a few places. I saw the city, it was amazing. You would have loved it." 

I smile, wistfully. "I'm sure I would," I tell him. "I imagine you're probably exhausted from the flight? We can just sit here and order takeout if you want?" I suggest. I would offer to cook, but that's never been a great skill of mine, and after a long flight, the last thing he needs is for me to set off the smoke alarm.

"Actually, I really want to shower," Connor tells me. "The one in my hotel room was broken for the last day of the trip. I'll shower, and then we can order takeout. How does that sound?"

"Great," I say. "What about your suitcase? I don't mind getting a head start on unpacking it." I figured that was the least I could do.

"The gift that I bought for you is on there," Connor reminds me. I had forgotten about that. "You can find it in the case, if you want to." He smiles. "I'll see you in about twenty minutes."

I open the case and start to take things out of it. Surprisingly, it still smells of my perfume, but I wonder if Connor even noticed that. I start to take out shirts and sweaters that have been slightly screwed up.

I take them out, and fold them into neat piles on the floor, organising them. I start to take out more and more things, until I suddenly see something. Something that definitely isn't meant to be there.

I reach into the suitcase and take out a lanyard. It's a bright blue colour, with the logo of the surgical conference on the side. It looks exactly like the one that Connor had, except I already took out the first lanyard. This is a second one.

I check the name, and I almost feel my shoulders sink with the predictability of it all. I knew it. I should have known it.

The name on the lanyard is Ava Bekker. Ava's lanyard is in Connor's suitcase. That means they must have been together at one point. She must have been in his hotel room, or him in hers. Even then, how did Ava's lanyard get into Connor's bag?