Not a bad thing

Matt’s POV
We ran into the reception hall of the airport and were scanning the departure screens to find any flights to Iowa. There was a flight to Des Moines, it was leaving in 10 minutes. That must be it! We all rushed over to the departure gate. My heart was beating in my throat. The doors to the gate were closed. “Please miss, I really need to intercept someone on this plane. She can’t leave!” The woman looked at me with a sad face “I’m really sorry sir, but the plane is already leaving” She pointed through the window at a plane that was already taxiing over the airstrip.

It was like watching an accident happen. I didn’t want to look at it, but I couldn’t turn away. After the plane was really out of my sight, I felt a Brian’s hand on my shoulder “We will get her back buddy, let’s go home and think of a plan” I shook of his hand and stormed away from them, kicking a trash can, punching the first wall I came across. I saw all these people looking, but I couldn’t care less. “Matt. Matt! Calm down! We need to get you home, and not into a police cell.” I let him take me with them. As we got into a cab I heard Lynn tell the driver my address “No. I don’t want to go to my house. I need to be around Izzie or at least something closest to her, drop me off at her house”.

When we entered Izzie’s house I walked straight for her bedroom, I let myself fall on her bed, burying my head in her pillow. It smelled like her, I breathed in her scent, not able to let go of the it. I heard the door and Brian’s voice “Matt, do you need something? Lynn is leaving messages for Izzie, it will be okay, she will call back and you will be able to explain everything to her, she will come back.” I didn’t reply, I didn’t feel like talking. I heard Brian close the door again. I got my phone out of my pocket and texted Izzie.

- Izzie, please call me when you get this. It is all just one big misunderstanding. I love you. –

I lay there on her bed, not able to move. I just had my phone in hand, waiting for her call. I heard the door open and close a few times, but no one really came in. After a while I send her another message.

- I love you, please give me a chance to explain. Please tell me where you are. I need you, Izzie -

A few hours passed. I knew she must have landed by now. Why wasn’t she calling me back?

- Iz, please tell me where you are, let me come over, I will explain everything. Please, I can’t live without you –

I must have fallen asleep, the sun was shining in to the room, mocking me. I got a hold of my phone. Still no message.

- I’m begging you, please listen to me. I love you so much -

I turned around, not wanting to face this world, I closed my eyes again. I was so tired.

I probably dozed off, because when I woke up, Lizzy was lying on the bed too, watching me.
“Matt, sweetie, you need to get up, take a shower, or at least have something to eat.” She stroked my face. “She will be back. We will get her to listen.” Lizzy whispered.
“I can’t lose her Liz, I just can’t, not over this”
“I know, I know. But you need to get up now, okay? You need to eat something.”
I sighed “I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to shower, I just want to stay here.”
“No Matt, you need to get out, we need to make a plan to get your girl home again, get our girl home again, everyone is worried, about her, about you. You need to get up and you need to fight. You act like it is all over. You act like there is nothing you can do about it. Nothing happened, we all believe you and Izzie will too as soon as she hears the whole story. So you need to get out and you need to get ready. Ready to force her to listen to you” Liz spoke to me firmly.
“Okay” I said quietly “I will get out of bed, I will take a shower, but I’m wearing my sweatpants”
Liz chuckled, “I wouldn’t want it any other way”

She got up of the bed and walked for the living room, looking at me one last time before she went through the door “Come on Matt, she loves you, you love her, I must be okay”.

Arin’s POV
We were all at Izzie’s house, we all kinda slept there. Not really sleeping, but well, dozing. We couldn’t let Matt stay there all by his self. While Lynn and Matt had run out of the club, Liz had brought us all up to speed. How Tess kissed Matt, how Izzie and Brian were gone and how Lynn got the text saying Izzie was gone. When we all arrived at Izzie’s house later on, we got the rest of the story.

Izzie only saw the kiss and took off. Not telling Brian where she was going. In the meantime we figured out she had to be in Iowa, but where exactly? Nobody knew. We were all trying to help, but we couldn’t really do anything. I thought about sending Izzie a text, she would probably get enough calls and texts from all of us, but I just wanted her to know what was going on, so she could make her own, well educated, decision. I walked out on the beach with my phone, still thinking about what to do. Hell! I like her too, she has become my friend too

- Izzie, I know everyone is asking something from you at this moment and you are choosing not to respond. I’m not asking anything from you, I just hope that you are okay. I think you should know all the facts, before you decide on anything rash. It’s too much to tell you by text, but I am more than happy to tell you, by phone or come over if you need me to. We all miss you, Arin. -

I walked back into the house and saw Matt coming out of the bathroom, he looked like crap. That tall, broad man, was induced to one small pile of sad. I felt sorry for him. Matt walked over to the couch, looking around the room, acknowledging that everyone was here, but that was about it. He sat down and just stared out of the window.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, I got a text
- I love you for this Arin, but I can’t. I’m safe, that’s all I can do right now –

Rye stood beside me and saw the text, almost saying something out loud. I motioned her to the door and we were walking onto the beach together. As soon as we were out of reach of the house, Rye said to me, a little too loud, “You need to tell everyone Arin! You can’t keep this. None of us heard anything back and she is texting you!” I got a hold of her arms “Rye! Tone it down! This is the first thing I heard of her, if she is responding to me, she might open up to me and I can tell her about Matt and Tess and she can come back. If I tell the rest, everyone will jump on her and she might retract again.” Rye sighed, I could see from her face that she agreed with me “Okay, but if this is not fixed at the end of the week, we are telling the rest. And you will keep me in the loop if you hear anything from her. She is my friend too, Arin” I nodded, “Okay, let’s go back to the others”.

Izzie’s POV
It was 5 am when I arrived at Des Moines airport. I was waiting for my suitcase snuggled up in one of Matt’s hoodies. Yes, that was the one thing of his I grabbed out of my house. I was hurt, but I wasn’t ready to let go of him quite yet. This sweater smelled like him and I wanted to hold on to it forever. If I couldn’t have him, I wanted to at least keep his scent with me for now.

I mooched out in the reception hall, heading outside to get a cab, when I heard my name “Izzie! Izzie!” I saw Tammy walking towards me, she hugged me “You didn’t think I would let you get a cab did you?” She took a good look at me, I hadn’t told her why I was coming, I just told her I needed to get away and if I could stay with her for a while. After taking me up from head to toe, her reaction was clear; “You look like crap” She put her arm around me and started guiding me outside “Geez, thanks Tammy, no need to sugar-coat it” She kissed my temple “Do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head. “Okay, let’s go home then, there is someone waiting for you.”

Tammy’s husband greeted me with a hug, I always had a huge weak spot for him, he was one of the nicest guys I ever met, and I was so happy he married Tammy. “I prepared the guestroom for you, you can stay as long as you want, you know that right?” I hugged them both “You guys are the best. Can we catch up tomorrow? I’m exhausted” They both looked at me with pity in their eyes, I know they deserved an explanation, but I wasn’t up for it now. They wished me a good night and let me go to my room.

I put my suitcase in the corner of the room and got undressed. I held on to Matt’s sweater, snuggling into it as I laid down on the bed. I turned on my phone, and I got a bunch of messages from all of them. My girl friends begging me to come back, at least to them. The guys telling me that Matt was miserable. Brian telling me he missed me, asking me where I was.

The last few messages from Matt crushed the pieces of my already broken heart. He sounded so sad, he was begging, I put my finger on the call button, it would be so easy. But then the image of Matt kissing the blonde appeared in my head and I felt the tears in my eyes again. I was so tired of crying, I was so tired of being hurt, I was so tired of feeling this miserable every time I loved again. There was always a perfectly good explanation, but I always ended up being hurt.

After a few hours of tossing and turning and new messages from Matt, I finally fell into a restless sleep. I was woken up by a small knock on the door and Tammy popping her head around the door. “I brought you breakfast, or better said, lunch” She put the tray on my nightstand and sat down on the bed. “Do you want to talk?” I shook my head and felt tears in my eyes. My phone made a beeping sound, indicating that I received a new message.

- Izzie, I know everyone is asking something from you at this moment and you are choosing not to respond. I’m not asking anything from you, I just hope that you are okay. I think you should know all the facts, before you decide on anything rash. It’s too much to tell you by text, but I am more than happy to tell you, by phone or come over if you need me to. We all miss you, Arin. -

Tammy looked at me “I know you don’t want to talk, but you look like crap, I’m guessing you barely slept and that sweater doesn’t look like yours either. Izzie, don’t you think it is better to get this of your chest? Let go of the demons?” I shrugged, I didn’t really want to talk, but maybe she was right. “Eat something, take a bath and I will see you in the living room, I will make a big pot of tea. I have all day.”

Going over to Iowa to be with Tammy was a good decision. She was my colleague first, but we soon had become friends and I don’t see her nearly enough. None of my friends, not even Lynn, knew exactly where Tammy lived and that was exactly what I needed, to disappear. I hated keeping my friends in the dark, but I didn’t want to put them in an awkward position of choosing between me and Matt.

Maybe that was the reason I was so touched by Arin’s message, he just wanted to help, but it was too soon, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. In contrary to every other message I had received last night, I replied to Arin’s with shaking hands, vision blurry

- I love you for this Arin, but I can’t. I’m safe, that’s all I can do right now –

Notes

Guess they didn´t make it on time huh? :(

<3