Long Distance Call | tayley ✓

4 | Goodbye

[Taylor]

It was quite the surprise when I arrived at the local pizza place to see a former classmate of mine. She bumped into me, which must be her thing with me. Ah, how could I ever forget when she dropped an entire cup of hot coffee on me?

I almost forget the entire reason that I came to the restaurant. I believe that I was planning on enjoying a few slices of pizza for myself, but Hayley saved me the money. I offered to pay at least half of the cost of the pizza — even though I devoured more than half of the pizza pie — but she refused to take even a dollar from me.

I stand up, extending my hand towards her. She takes my hand into her smaller one, shaking it. I look up to notice a grin upon her features. Her beautiful features, may I add. I clear my throat.

"It was nice seeing you," I say as my hand slips away from her grip. I spin around without another word being shared, walking over to my new black Mustang that sits in the parking lot of the place.

—

The next few days fly by, most likely because I spent it with family and said my sad goodbyes to everybody. It was heartbreaking when I was finally packing, and yes, I procrastinated with doing so. The fact that I had been chosen to be a member of Manchester United still seemed unreal to me.

"Goodbye, Taylor. You promise to call and text us all the time? We don't care if it costs us more, we always want to keep in touch with you," my mother begs as I drag my several bags along. My car couldn't be sent over considering all of the differences between the way vehicles worked in the US and Europe.

I had worked something out so I'd use my car, in which I treated as if it's my precious child, only when back home. When in Europe, I'll be making the best of a leased car, which I plan to be similar to the Mustang model in which I already own. The whole new system of driving will definitely take time to grow used to, but I won't have to take a whole new test since I had gotten myself an international driving permit. I'll figure it all out when I get there.

But in response to my mother's pleading, I nod. She gives me a smile and I can't help notice the tears that seem to be gathering in her eyes. She blinks rapidly to fight them back, causing for me to frown a little bit.

My dad is the next one to step up. Him and I have never been too close. I've always feared him, honestly. But he approaches me and pats my shoulder. I bite my lip nervously as he does so, but after a second, his arms come tightly around my body. It's a bit of a shock, considering it doesn't feel like we've hugged in quite a while. But I return the embrace, my eyes going closed.

Even though I fear him, I'm gonna miss him.

After him, both of my older brothers come forward. My oldest brother, Chris, sighs and wraps an arm around me. The middle son of the family brings his hand up, messing with my freshly groomed curls. I swat his hand away and run a hand through my hair in a desperate attempt to fix it.

"We're gonna miss you," Chris chimes in.

"Yeah, even though we love teasing you, we'll miss you. Keep in touch, okay?" Justin says, and I look over to see the expression upon his face. He definitely does not appear as heartbroken as my mother, who is now clinging onto my father. My father seems to be more pained than I imagined he would be. I look over to Chris to witness a near identical look.

"I'll be alright, guys. I'll skype you, okay? It'll be like I'm not even gone," I state, though I know that it won't be the same. But I think that I need some time away from the family. We'll see how things go without being surrounded by them 24/7. The worst part will most likely be not having meals cooked for me.

I say goodbye once more to my family and go through the entire screening process, taking my time since my ten AM flight isn't for some time. I find my gate and take a seat near an outlet, needing to charge my phone. My bags are set down next to me, and I curl up into a ball as I plug my charger into the wall. While I wait, I press my back against the wall.

As I sit, my anxiety suddenly begins to get going. Perfect timing. I lift my phone up, wanting to text my best friend, Jeremy.

Taylor: Jerm. I'm scared.

I send my short and simple message. Seconds later, I see that he's not only read it, but is now typing.

Germy: Duuude. No. Your flight has wifi, right? Text me when you're in the air. I know you're not big on flying, but just text me when you're there. What's on your mind?

I sigh a tiny bit over his response. Not a negative kind of sigh. But a thankful one, grateful for the fact that I have such a loyal friend by my side. I respond.

Taylor: I'm just nervous for this. I'm not gonna know anyone there.

I send it, and receive a message shortly after.

Germy: Wait, I know someone who lives in England. That girl Kat that I met online. I know that she lives near where you'll be staying. But I'm sure that she could show you around if you need. You have a place, right? If you don't, she could probably take care of you for a bit. I'll text her to let her know and see if I can give you her number. I'll get back to you.

I thank him and place my phone back down.

Soon later, they allow for us to board the plane. I find myself in the middle seat, lucky me. At least there's nothing about the two strangers surrounding me that really sticks out and makes them a nuisance, other than how they occasionally exchange words and weird noises every now and then. I try my best to ignore them and soon insert my earbuds into my ears to enjoy some of the music of my phone. No response from Jeremy.

I listen to some mewithoutYou while wearing my comfortable mewithoutYou crewneck. Is it obvious that they're my favorite band?

The flight takes off after some time, which means that the wifi is accessible and that we can watch TV with the limited channels that our own individual, small televisions contain. I turn my attention from my music to the TV, tuning the channel to MTV, but deciding to change it when I see that the only thing that's playing, and seems to be playing for quite some time is Teen Mom. Yeah, uh, no thanks.

I go through the channels, finding that Back To The Future is being played, and from what I can see, it seems to be a marathon. After a few minutes of watching, I glance over to look through the small window of my row.

We're so high in the air that it's a little terrifying. We'll be there, soon.