Begin Again

Chapter Eleven

*A Few Days Later*

Taylor's POV

I awoke in the middle of the night, thirsty for a cool glass of water. I slipped out of bed and looked over to see if I'd awoken Ed, when I realized he wasn't in even in bed. I looked over my shoulder and into the bathroom, but saw that it was empty. I quickly grabbed my phone from the nightstand and turned it on, seeing one new message from Ed. I quickly opened it, and saw a video.

In the video, he was driving the car. Odd. I hit play.

"Hey, Taylor, um...listen, I just got a call from my mum and told me that Matt, my brother, was in a really bad car accident. I'm flying to England, my flight leaves in about an hour. I know you don't really know, or remember I should say, any of my family, so I didn't want to overwhelm you...but, uh...yeah, that's where I'm headed now, is the airport...I should've woken you up, I'm sorry, Taylor, I should've just woken you up before I left and just told you, you're gonna hate me now because I was too weak to even tell you I had to leave!" He let out a deep sigh and I could tell he was on the verge of tears. "I was too weak to tell you to your face that I had to go, and now I'm telling you over a stupid text that you won't even see til tomorrow, all because I knew how torn up you would be about me leaving and I was too selfish and didn't want to see you upset. What the hell kind of person am I? I'm supposed to be there for you! I'm supposed to take care of you, and make everything okay, but instead I'm only making it worse!" He pounded his fist on the steering wheel, drawing in a few heavy breaths before speaking again. "Listen, Taylor, I am so so sorry for leaving you like this. I shouldn't've done it, and now I feel so stupid, I'm so so sorry. I'll be back in the middle of the night Sunday, so when you wake up Monday morning, you'll wake up with my arms around your waist, alright? I love you, Taylor, I love you so so much, and I am so so sorry for leaving you, I am the stupidest human being ever. I love you, so much." He said, before reaching over and shutting off the video.

I was shocked to say the least. He was gone? Today's Friday, so he won't be gone for all that long, but...being without him...he's my only source of comfort, of safety...

My breathing quickened as I thought about all this, as I thought about how he was all the way across the ocean and he wouldn't be back for the next few days. I was hurt he didn't say goodbye, but it made me feel a little better that he was so torn up about it, that he was truly, sincerely sorry.

I backed out of the video and to our string of texts. That's when I noticed that he had sent the video only fifteen minutes ago. Didn't he say his plane was to take off in an hour?

I knew exactly what I had to do, and I launched into action. I grabbed Ed's worn hoodie off the end of the bed and threw it on to keep me warm, and I pulled on my old tennis shoes. I ran downstairs and was in the car in about thirty seconds, already speeding out of the neighborhood. I knew that the drive to the airport was about fifteen minutes, tops. And with the way I was driving, it might as well be ten. I just hoped and prayed that Ed would still be in the airport, that he hadn't told the pilot of his private jet to just leave already.

I was there quickly, and I parked my car and hurried inside, running like the wind down to the special little gate that they have for private jets. When I got there, I looked around, scanning the crowds for any redheaded British man that I would call mine.

Finally.

I saw him, there he was, just about to take his shoes off for security. "ED!" I screamed, running over as fast as my legs could carry me, but he didn't notice. "ED!" I yelled again, and he turned slightly. I waved my arms as I ran over, and he finally caught sight of me, just as I neared him. At first, he couldn't believe what he saw, before he relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. I hurled myself into him, throwing my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around me tight, letting his head fall onto my shoulder. "You're not going anywhere without me." I told him, sounding more forceful than I had anticipated. I clutched onto him, as if though I was afraid that he might escape, even though he was hanging back onto me.

He let out a light chuckle. "I...I didn't think you would want to come, I...I just figured you wouldn't want to, I didn't know..." He drew in a relaxed breath before exhaling again, placing a kiss on my head. "I'm surprised you'd even still want to be around me, I abandoned you in the middle of the night even though I promised I would always be there for you, and all I left you was a stupid video trying hopelessly to explain myself. If you don't mind me asking...why're you here? How'd you see my video? I figured I'd be in London by time you even woke."

"I was thirsty for a glass of water, and when I got up I noticed you weren't in bed. I saw you weren't in the bathroom, so I looked at my phone, and sure enough, there was the video. Luckily, I had woken up just a few minutes after you had sent it, and when I realized you said your flight would leave in an hour, I drove here on the whim that maybe you would still be here. Ed, I love you, and I don't care where you're going, I want to come with. I know they're your family and maybe I don't know them full well yet, but why not start now? I care about you with all my heart, so by extension I care about your family too. What's important to you is important to me, and if you're going to see your brother because he was in a car crash and you're worried about him, then I'm not going to let the fact that I don't remember him yet from getting in the way of spending time with you. You're...you're the one thing that keeps me sane, and safe, and there is no way that I'm going to let you just fly away to the other side of the Atlantic without me." I buried my face in his chest, before taking a step back, realizing why he might've been asking all these questions. "Unless, of course, you don't want me to come, then I'll stay home, I...I don't want to sound clingy." I muttered, taking a few steps back.

Ed barely let me though, as his hands flew out to my waist and pulled me back into him, crushing me into his chest. "No, never, Taylor, never ever ever would I not want you around. Never." He repeated, rubbing my back. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way, I'm sorry for leaving you, that was so stupid of me, I was too selfish because I didn't want to see you upset, and I just left. I'm so so sorry, Taylor." He let out a sigh of relief. "I just love you. A whole hell of a lot."

I smiled, relaxing into him. "I love you too, Ed." We stood holding each other happily for a few moments. "So should we go and see Matt then?" I asked, pulling away a little bit to face him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I guess we should." He led the way through security, and fifteen minutes later, we were on the plane, waiting for takeoff. "You sure you want to come?" He asked, and I nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, of course. I'm not going to be alone until Monday morning just because I don't know your family. I love you too much." I curled up into his side and rested my head on his chest. His arms slipped around me, and I absentmindedly traced his tattoos. "And next time, wake me up please? I would rather lose sleep than miss you, okay?" I reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Of course, Taylor. Again, I'm so sorry, I'm so incredibly sorry for leaving you. I swear, it won't ever happen again. I love you, beautiful girl."

"I love you too, Ed, I really really love you too."

A/N: sorry it took me so long to post this, I've been on vacation! Thanks for reading!