As always, I awoke first. I admired Simon peacefully sleeping, his usual furrowed eyebrows in worry, not able to be seen.
I huddled closer in to his body, his arm instinctively resting on my back. I embraced the warmth that was radiating off his body, nuzzling my head under his neck.
Not long later I made the executive decision to get up, especially considering there was only a few hours left till I had to be at the airport.
Simon took me out for lunch before we stopped by my flat. I made my way up, expecting only to say bye to Freya and grab my suitcase however, I could hear several voices as I neared the front door.
Cautiously unlocking it, I opened it to reveal the girls who all jumped out from behind the kitchen bar.
I giggled and ran over to hug each of them, tightly squeezing every single one and accepting a card from them all. We talked for a little while until Simon, from the couch, in a sad tone, suggested heading off.
The girls all quickly turned to me as if to quickly discuss Simon, but I dismissed it, not ready to cry yet.
Understanding, they engulfed me in one large group hug and then sent me to my room to collect my suitcase.
As I stood in my packed up and empty room, I looked around, reflecting on how much has changed since I first arrived.
I took the handle of my suitcase, rolling it over to the front door as I waited for Simon to get up. One last time, I hugged Freya tightly, both of us ignoring the tears in our eyes.
"We'll still talk, don't worry. Who else am I going to rant to in the mornings?", she jokingly whispered in my ear, at which I smiled.
I waved to them all, following Simon out.
The whole journey to the airport was relatively quiet. I turned in my seat to face Simon, rather than the front.
I studied his face, noticing his eyes focused on the road as if he were avoiding me. His body looked tense, as his stiff arms held onto the wheel.
Taking his left hand, I held it in mine, absentmindedly playing with each finger. He intertwined our hands and let them sit in my lap.
He looked over to me and smiled, quickly looking back to the road, barely making eye contact.
He parked at the airport, getting out to take my suitcase out for me. The reality of leaving suddenly hit me, and I threw my arms around Simon, holding onto him tightly.
He too, wrapped his arms around me, both of us standing in what felt like silence, despite the clear presence of other people leaving for trips, and cars honking and the low rumble of planes taking off.
I looked up to kiss him, feeling him roughly stumble back in shock whilst still holding on to me.
He leaned against his car, his hands cupping my face as we engaged in a passionate kiss, my hands running through his styled hair.
We both held onto each other tightly, tears starting to fall down my cheeks as I eventually had to break away from the kiss. Simon wiped my tears away, only to be replaced by fresh ones.
He took my hand in one of his and held onto the handle of my suitcase in the other, and led me towards the entrance.
I took deep breaths, walking up to the check-in counter to send my suitcase through. As I collected my ticket and boarding pass, and moved away, towards the entrance to the security area, I felt Simon pull me to the side.
I put down my backpack and fell back into Simon's arms. Again, we stood in silence, soaking up our last moments together, unsure of when the next time we would see each other would be.
His head rested on mine while I leaned against his chest, hearing his heart beat slowly. We were like that for what must've been fifteen minutes, but felt like ten seconds.
I hesitantly pulled away, somewhat afraid that it would be for the last time ever.
"Simon, I need you do to something."
Confused, he questioned me.
"Can you just go first? I won't be able to go in if you're still standing here," I asked, trying to explain my logic.
He nodded, the usual blue spark in his eyes, absent. "I love you," he whispered in a hoarse voice, trying to avoid crying, himself.
My heart felt like it was breaking as I noticed his saddened expression, lacking his usual buoyancy.
"Hey, what's up?", I asked, gently stroking his cheek.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just really gonna fucking miss you," he said, laughing at his voice cracking.
I grinned and kissed him once, before he pulled back and waited for me to shoo him off. He forced a small smile and turned around, walking back in the direction of where he had parked the Tesla.
I smiled when he turned to look back once, waving, before sighing deeply and heading in.
As I sat at the boarding gate, I face timed Simon. "Simon, I forgot to tell you something." I noticed he was still driving back, but he managed to talk to me the whole time.
"What is it?", I saw him glance quickly at the phone.
"I forgot to say," I paused to smile, "I love you too."
His concerned frown was replaced by a smile as he sat in silence for a moment. We then continued talking until eventually, my flight number was called and I reluctantly ended the call, promising to message him as soon as I arrived back home.
I quickly sent a message to my mum, letting her know I was boarding, before I stood up and joined the queue of people ready for the 8 hour flight we all had ahead of us.
