Just Across the Platform

an emotional goodbye

I heard the curtains being opened and instantly shielded myself from the light using my arm.

"Still not a morning person?" My mum says laughing and I grumble slightly.

"I'll make us some breakfast," she says going to leave the room.

"No, wait, I'm treating us to breakfast," I say, hopping out of bed quickly.

"Where?" she says, holding the door.

"Costa, where else?" I say smiling and she laughs in response, heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

I put a minimal amount of makeup on and straightened my hair, before throwing on one of the jumpers I'd packed and a pair of jeans.

. . . .

We sat at Costa and the amount of times we had done this was surely impossible to count. Back when I used to live at home, my mum and I would always come to Costa.

If any one of us were upset or just wanted to talk, we would always take a trip to Costa and get a coffee. My mum would always order the vanilla almond latte and I wasn't a fan of coffee, so I would opt for the mango and passion fruit smoothie.

It felt exactly like old times as we spoke for almost two hours, the time flew straight by.

. . . .

We got back home and it was already half three. I would have to be getting the train soon to get back to the university.

I gathered all my things in my bag and hugged my mum tight. Spending this time with her had really cheered me up and I wanted to make more of an effort to come and see her.

"We have to do this again soon," she says, holding on to me.

"We will, I promise," I say quietly, gently rubbing her back.

We lean away from eachother and she smiles sadly as I wave goodbye, making my way to the train station.

. . . .

*ring ring*

"Hey, you on your way back?" Eesha asks casually.

"Yeah, on my way to the station now," I reply, walking a bit faster as I didn't want to miss the train.

"That's good, I made us some dinner."

"Thanks, can't wait. Well I'll see you in a bit then anyway," I say as we end the call and I hurry into the station to get my ticket.

I board the train just on time and quickly find a seat. There was now wifi so I turned off my data and continued listening to my music. I reflected on everything whilst I sat on the train - it gave me space and time to properly think. However, along with that, came drowsiness and my eyes started to shut of their own accord.

"We are now arriving at London King's Cross Station. Please make sure you have all your belongings before you leave the train. Thank you."

Blinking quickly to get myself awake, I lifted my bag off the seat and put it over my shoulder as I waited for the doors to open.

I slid my ticket into the machine and strolled through the doors, emerging on the other side.

What I didn't expect to see was Jimin standing there, looking straight at me. Had he come here just for me?

I walked up to him, about to ask him exactly that, but he pulled me into a hug.

"I missed you," He whispered into my hair and my heart skipped a beat. Or maybe it just stopped working altogether.

My throat went dry as he held me close to him for a long time, longer than was necessary and I started to fear for my health. I took a step back, allowing my heart rate to slow down and my head to think straight.

"You came all the way here for me?" I ask, looking up at him in wonder.

"No, I came here for my cousin."

The Jimin that I knew was back and I rolled my eyes.

"You didn't have to," I say as we begin to walk to the University.

"I know," He pauses and looks to me.

"But I wanted to," He finishes and looks back to the road, causing me to blush slightly and duck my head. My mum's words echoed in my head, should I tell him how I feel?

"Jimin, I-"

"Simran?" I heard someone call my name and turned to see Taehyung walking up to us.

"Tae? What are you doing here?" I ask and he stops in front of me.

"I'm on my way to the station, I'm going back home, I need some time away," He says and Jimin looks at him for a fleeting moment before speaking up.

"I know this isn't the best time. I just want you to know there's no hard feelings. I..." He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"I forgive you for what you did, it's in the past now. No point holding on to it," He says, offering his hand to Tae. I widen my eyes slightly as Tae takes it and they share a bro hug.

Tae takes a step back and turns to me.

"How long will you be gone for?" I ask, sad to see him leaving.

"I'm not sure," He says, his eyes slightly downcast, not wanting to look at me.

He suddenly looks up abruptly and his eyes sparkled. Almost as if he was about to...

"I have to go now. Make sure you don't walk into any roads without looking," He says, slowly walking back, pointing his hand at me.

"I'm sure Jimin will make sure of that," He laughs, but I know that laugh all too well. It was an attempt to hide pain and sorrow, and I couldn't look away from his eyes. They shone with the tears, threatening to spill.

"Tae!" My voice cracks slightly with emotion and I almost go after him, but Jimin catches my arm.

"It's not like he's not coming back." Jimin says and I turn to him.

"It still hurts to leave someone, or have someone leave you," I say bluntly and Jimin looks taken aback. His eyes dart around and he looks uncomfortable, raising my suspicions.

However, I don't have time to dwell on it as I turn one last time.

But Taehyung's already gone.