Guide My Steps - A Zak Bagans Story

Creature of Habit

A/N: Gonna edit in the morning! Ignore any mistakes! :)

"I should have told you how I really feel a little in advance. Then I would've had some time to go and work it out. I think I've lost my chance... For the last 3 years I just hid it so well hoping that you'd figure it out because I never could tell it straight to your face..." - Kiss Me Before I Fucking Lose My Mind by Charlie Puth

*

"Son of a bitch. Now?" I mumbled, staring down at my phone.

Apparently, I had been loud enough to draw Aaron's attention away from whatever puzzle game he had been absorbed in. "What's wrong, Emie?"

I said nothing and handed him my cell.

His eyes flashed across the message. The sigh he released was heavy with what sounded like frustration. "He couldn't have picked a better time." Handing me back my phone, he shook his head.

I could only stare at the screen. Only when the it dimmed did I pay any mind to it at all.

"What do I do?" I looked to Aaron.

He shrugged, wrapping an arm around me. "That's up to you, Em." Well, that wasn't much help. "I don't want to dictate what you do or say, but my advice is to think before you speak. Letting him back in can hurt you as much as it may help him, or vice versa. Forgiving is completely okay, but we must not forget what was done, or else we'll continue to make the same mistakes."

Nodding, I took in what Aaron said carefully.

There wasn't really a good or bad choice, right? There was only my decision, and that was what counted most in my mind.

Despite how happy Zak had made me in the past, there was still much more to take into consideration. A text didn't necessarily mean I was letting him back into my life - it could be a way to check up on him instead of meeting in person, or having another accidental run-in.

Answers could be acquired much easier through third-person contact, too. That was a plus.

Was I really ready to just...forget everything he had done to me? All of the pain and agony I was put through...

The heartbreak, the sadness. Countless sleepless nights, days where I couldn't eat because I couldn't keep food down with his betrayal on my mind. The blow up scam that tore through the media about our 'undercover relationship', when the only thing he and I had shared were a few blissful nights, and a knife to the back to quickly disrupt the peace.

"Flight number 105, Las Vegas, Nevada to Sleepy Falls, Florida now boarding at terminal 14." The voice over the intercom was hollow and lacked tone, unlike my mind.

With one glance at Aaron - who began standing, sliding the handle up from his suitcase - I inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply.

My decision was made.

I tucked my phone into my back pocket and followed Aaron to the terminal to board our plane to Florida.

*

The flight was long, as expected. Five hours, to be nearly exact.

Our seats were decent. We had plenty of room in our seats, but the foot space was a bit limited. On the bright side, we weren't squished between two old women who spoke furiously of politics and whose cat was more agile during the nighttime hours.

Speaking from personal experience here. Don't ask.

Aaron slept most of the time, only waking to have a peanut war with me until we got the evil eye from one of the flight attendants. That didn't deter us, though. We continued our antics for a good half an hour before Aaron threw out his white flag and surrendered after I managed an accidental eye shot.