Status: in progress
Promises to Keep
the trip - part one
Dallas Stars vs the San Jose Sharks. Round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were set to begin, and Tyler was stressed. Things were seemingly awkward between him and Tayla, and he wondered if it had anything to do with Nick being in his yard only two nights ago.
Tyler sat on the couch in his house, with his dogs all napping around him. He sat in grey sweats and no shirt, as he often did, with Sports Centre playing on mute in the background. He scrolled through his phone, trying his best to avoid all the negative comments that always seemed to be floating around; the internet was a dangerous and crazy place.
"Ty?"
Tyler's heart began to pound at the sound of her voice.
"In here!" he yelled, and the dogs stirred slightly, wagging their tails with excitement when they saw Tayla come into the room. Immediately, all three got up from his side and began to attack Tayla with licks and hugs. "You know, sometimes I think they like you more than me" he tried to break what he perceived as an awkward silence.
"How are my guys, hmm?" she asked, kneeling down to their level. "That's because we bond when we miss you when you're on the road" Tayla told him honestly, blushing slightly. To be totally honest, she was feeling awkward around Tyler ever since her revelation. Especially now, where he sat on the couch with no shirt; damn she thought, biting her lip and having to shake her head to avoid staring too much. Tyler noticed she lingered her stare a little longer than usual, but didn't think anything of it.
"If I could take you with me, I would" Tyler told mostly Tayla, who did sometimes join Tyler and the team on the road. It wasn't for him though, it was because of her job.
"I come sometimes" she pointed out just what Tyler had been thinking. Tayla got up from the ground, and eyed the dogs, carefully avoiding eye contact with Tyler.
"Is everything ok...?" Tyler trailed off slowly, unsure if it was something he had done.
"Yeah, everything's fine" Tayla smiled, again, averting eye contact. She knew she couldn't do this forever; she just couldn't avoid her feelings. "I'm just really tired" she lied, unsure why she had even done so.
"Does it have anything to do with Nick?" Tyler asked, gulping.
"In a way, I guess so" Tayla confessed, half telling the truth. Though her and Nick were on good terms, she was certain they would never cross paths purposely again. Though this saddened her slightly, the appearance in her life opened her eyes to Tyler; the one who had been there all along.
"I'm glad" Tyler replied, his voice sounding slightly shaky. It was like his heart was shattered all over again.
"He helped me realize something really important..."Tayla trailed off, wondering if this was how she should approach it.
"Tyler!!"
Tayla mentally cursed Jamie; why did he have to come around now?
"Yeah man?" Tyler shook himself from his thoughts, and tried to understand what Tayla had meant by Nick helping her realize something really important.
"Ready to go?" he asked, sauntering into the room. "I'll take that as a no" he added, once he was far enough into the room. "Come on dude, we're going to be late!" he urged urgently.
"Uh- shit I'm sorry I didn't even realize it was time to get ready" Tyler scrambled to get up off the couch and head to his room. With all the swirling thoughts of Tayla, he totally forgot about the interview he and Jamie were going to do, as a promo for the second round for the playoffs.
"So. I heard some good news" Jamie looked at Tayla knowingly.
"Good news...?" Tayla trailed off, confused.
"You know, about Tyler" he whispered, just to make sure Tyler couldn't hear, since it was obvious by the tension of the room when he entered that there was some awkwardness to be sensed.
"I'm still lost" Tayla told Jamie honestly.
"I'm ready" Tyler huffed down the stairs, before Tayla was able to ask Jamie what he meant. "See ya, Tay" he waved, nearly running out of the house. Jamie followed suit, wondering when the hell the both of them would just get together already.
***
Tayla hadn't spoken to Tyler much since Nick had come around, and now that the second round of the playoffs was set to start in less than an hour, the amount of time she had to talk to him was even less. This time, however, she didn't travel to San Jose to write her articles. Instead, she had opted to stay home to write the articles. She wasn't sure why she had chosen to stay home; something told her it was the right thing to do.
Katie had gone, as did Cassidy, meeting up with their parents whilst away. They had urged Tayla to come along with them too, but she respectfully declined. She stayed instead in her PJ's, on the couch, watching the game comfortably alone.
Katie 7:03 p.m.
wish u were here!!
Tayla 7:04 p.m.
kinda wish I was too!
Katie 7:05 p.m.
why did you stay home anyway? is it because of Tyler? you can't hide from him forever
damn. Tayla couldn't slide much past Katie; she knew her too well, and was too observant.
Cassidy has been added to the conversation!
Cassidy 7:06 p.m.
really should have come!! we miss you
Tayla 7:07 p.m.
i'm not trying to hide... i'm not really sure what i'm doing
Cassidy 7:07 p.m.
just text him right now and tell him you love him
Katie 7:08 p.m.
do it!!
Tayla 7:08 p.m.
are you crazy?? that's not something I can send via text
Katie 7:09 p.m.
why isn't it??
Cassidy 7:09 p.m.
you're obvi scared, so why not just make it easier on yourself
Tayla 7:10 p.m.
yes I'm scared!!! and I can't do that bc we're not in middle school
Game is about to start pay attention!!!
Tayla set her phone down, and heard several vibrations but continued to ignore it. She couldn't just text Tyler "Oh hey. Just so you know, I'm in love with you. If you don't feel the same, that's cool; I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship!"
But how could she do it? Suddenly, the answer seemed all too obvious.
***
The Stars had lost game one. The feeling was all too familiar, but at least this time they didn't get their asses handed to them. Tyler sat in his hotel room, going over the loss over and over in his head. There was one thing that stuck out the most about it; Tayla wasn't there. He kept looking at his phone, looking and waiting for a text or a phone call that never came.
Tayla 11:58 p.m.
good game Ty. sorry I missed it
Tyler 11:58 p.m.
thanks. wish you were here
He answered and waited for over a half hour; but no response ever came. Sighing heavily and wondering how tonight could possibly get much worse, he decided to go to sleep. Jamie was sharing a room with him, but Katie was down, so he was spending time with her before coming to the room. He felt his eyes grow heavy pretty quickly, and he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Three loud knocks at the door startled him out of his sleep. He groggily looked at the clock and noticed it was just after four in the morning. He looked over to see Jamie's bed was empty and made; did he lose his room key?
Stumbling out of bed, he neglected to put on pants or a shirt; truly believing it was Jamie, he knew he didn't need to. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he opened the door.
"Jesus dude, it's like four am! Where the hell have you-" he finally opened his eyes wide enough to see it wasn't Jamie who was standing in front of him; it was Tayla.
Tyler sat on the couch in his house, with his dogs all napping around him. He sat in grey sweats and no shirt, as he often did, with Sports Centre playing on mute in the background. He scrolled through his phone, trying his best to avoid all the negative comments that always seemed to be floating around; the internet was a dangerous and crazy place.
"Ty?"
Tyler's heart began to pound at the sound of her voice.
"In here!" he yelled, and the dogs stirred slightly, wagging their tails with excitement when they saw Tayla come into the room. Immediately, all three got up from his side and began to attack Tayla with licks and hugs. "You know, sometimes I think they like you more than me" he tried to break what he perceived as an awkward silence.
"How are my guys, hmm?" she asked, kneeling down to their level. "That's because we bond when we miss you when you're on the road" Tayla told him honestly, blushing slightly. To be totally honest, she was feeling awkward around Tyler ever since her revelation. Especially now, where he sat on the couch with no shirt; damn she thought, biting her lip and having to shake her head to avoid staring too much. Tyler noticed she lingered her stare a little longer than usual, but didn't think anything of it.
"If I could take you with me, I would" Tyler told mostly Tayla, who did sometimes join Tyler and the team on the road. It wasn't for him though, it was because of her job.
"I come sometimes" she pointed out just what Tyler had been thinking. Tayla got up from the ground, and eyed the dogs, carefully avoiding eye contact with Tyler.
"Is everything ok...?" Tyler trailed off slowly, unsure if it was something he had done.
"Yeah, everything's fine" Tayla smiled, again, averting eye contact. She knew she couldn't do this forever; she just couldn't avoid her feelings. "I'm just really tired" she lied, unsure why she had even done so.
"Does it have anything to do with Nick?" Tyler asked, gulping.
"In a way, I guess so" Tayla confessed, half telling the truth. Though her and Nick were on good terms, she was certain they would never cross paths purposely again. Though this saddened her slightly, the appearance in her life opened her eyes to Tyler; the one who had been there all along.
"I'm glad" Tyler replied, his voice sounding slightly shaky. It was like his heart was shattered all over again.
"He helped me realize something really important..."Tayla trailed off, wondering if this was how she should approach it.
"Tyler!!"
Tayla mentally cursed Jamie; why did he have to come around now?
"Yeah man?" Tyler shook himself from his thoughts, and tried to understand what Tayla had meant by Nick helping her realize something really important.
"Ready to go?" he asked, sauntering into the room. "I'll take that as a no" he added, once he was far enough into the room. "Come on dude, we're going to be late!" he urged urgently.
"Uh- shit I'm sorry I didn't even realize it was time to get ready" Tyler scrambled to get up off the couch and head to his room. With all the swirling thoughts of Tayla, he totally forgot about the interview he and Jamie were going to do, as a promo for the second round for the playoffs.
"So. I heard some good news" Jamie looked at Tayla knowingly.
"Good news...?" Tayla trailed off, confused.
"You know, about Tyler" he whispered, just to make sure Tyler couldn't hear, since it was obvious by the tension of the room when he entered that there was some awkwardness to be sensed.
"I'm still lost" Tayla told Jamie honestly.
"I'm ready" Tyler huffed down the stairs, before Tayla was able to ask Jamie what he meant. "See ya, Tay" he waved, nearly running out of the house. Jamie followed suit, wondering when the hell the both of them would just get together already.
***
Tayla hadn't spoken to Tyler much since Nick had come around, and now that the second round of the playoffs was set to start in less than an hour, the amount of time she had to talk to him was even less. This time, however, she didn't travel to San Jose to write her articles. Instead, she had opted to stay home to write the articles. She wasn't sure why she had chosen to stay home; something told her it was the right thing to do.
Katie had gone, as did Cassidy, meeting up with their parents whilst away. They had urged Tayla to come along with them too, but she respectfully declined. She stayed instead in her PJ's, on the couch, watching the game comfortably alone.
Katie 7:03 p.m.
wish u were here!!
Tayla 7:04 p.m.
kinda wish I was too!
Katie 7:05 p.m.
why did you stay home anyway? is it because of Tyler? you can't hide from him forever
damn. Tayla couldn't slide much past Katie; she knew her too well, and was too observant.
Cassidy has been added to the conversation!
Cassidy 7:06 p.m.
really should have come!! we miss you
Tayla 7:07 p.m.
i'm not trying to hide... i'm not really sure what i'm doing
Cassidy 7:07 p.m.
just text him right now and tell him you love him
Katie 7:08 p.m.
do it!!
Tayla 7:08 p.m.
are you crazy?? that's not something I can send via text
Katie 7:09 p.m.
why isn't it??
Cassidy 7:09 p.m.
you're obvi scared, so why not just make it easier on yourself
Tayla 7:10 p.m.
yes I'm scared!!! and I can't do that bc we're not in middle school
Game is about to start pay attention!!!
Tayla set her phone down, and heard several vibrations but continued to ignore it. She couldn't just text Tyler "Oh hey. Just so you know, I'm in love with you. If you don't feel the same, that's cool; I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship!"
But how could she do it? Suddenly, the answer seemed all too obvious.
***
The Stars had lost game one. The feeling was all too familiar, but at least this time they didn't get their asses handed to them. Tyler sat in his hotel room, going over the loss over and over in his head. There was one thing that stuck out the most about it; Tayla wasn't there. He kept looking at his phone, looking and waiting for a text or a phone call that never came.
Tayla 11:58 p.m.
good game Ty. sorry I missed it
Tyler 11:58 p.m.
thanks. wish you were here
He answered and waited for over a half hour; but no response ever came. Sighing heavily and wondering how tonight could possibly get much worse, he decided to go to sleep. Jamie was sharing a room with him, but Katie was down, so he was spending time with her before coming to the room. He felt his eyes grow heavy pretty quickly, and he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Three loud knocks at the door startled him out of his sleep. He groggily looked at the clock and noticed it was just after four in the morning. He looked over to see Jamie's bed was empty and made; did he lose his room key?
Stumbling out of bed, he neglected to put on pants or a shirt; truly believing it was Jamie, he knew he didn't need to. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he opened the door.
"Jesus dude, it's like four am! Where the hell have you-" he finally opened his eyes wide enough to see it wasn't Jamie who was standing in front of him; it was Tayla.