Start Over Island

"Gabby? Are you up yet?" I opened my eyes a little, staring dreamily at the ceiling. The bed was so comfortable, I could lay here forever.

"Will?" I called. There was the sound of footsteps in the room, then I felt two hands cup my face.

"It's time to get up- we check out in an hour! We need to catch our flight," My eyes snapped open. Will was smiling down at me, his short blonde hair in messy waves. He kissed my forehead. "There you are." He chuckled.

"I forgot about the cruise- seems I can't remember," I said, pulling myself out of bed. He watched me with a smile on his face as I got up and walked across the hotel room to the bathroom, our dog licking at my heels.

We spent the next hour packing and trying to force our clothes into the suitcases before hurrying from the hotel room, struggling to get out before we could be given a check-out fee.

We ran from the hotel and to the rental car, where I hopped inside as Will loaded the bags into the trunk. I started the car just as he closed his door and we sped off towards the airport.

"Damn it- we're going to be late," I muttered, slamming my hands on the steering wheel. I felt his hand on my thigh. Teo whined from the backseat, and Will reached back to pet him.

"It'll be fine, we just need to pass this guy- we'll be grandparents before he gets off," Will leaned forward, looking around the giant van in front of us. "You got it, if you come on my side, we can pass him," He said. I turned and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes- just slow down a little when you get in front of him." I nodded and hit the blinker, then slowly veered over. The cars behind me on the interstate slowed down a little as I picked up speed and went around the van as quickly as I could. I hit the brakes a little and slowed back down to regulation speed. I looked in the rearview and was shocked to see the van on my side now, speeding up.

Will seemed to notice this, too. He straightened his shirt and sat up as the van rolled down its window and signalled for me to do the same. I ignored them, and gave the car a bit more speed. The van sped up and kept pace with us. I was beginning to get anxious, and Will picked up on this.

He reached across the dashboard and hit the button to open the sunroof, then unbuckled his seatbelt. I slowed down a little.

"Will- what are you doing?" I asked, looking at him and gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Getting this idiot to leave us alone," He said, standing through the sunroof. "Hey! Go on!" I heard him shout. The man in the van said something, and Will laughed. "Alright buddy, sure. Just go on and find someone else to piss off, will you?" Will pulled himself back down and into the seat.

I sped up and forcefully went around the van again and weaved through more traffic to get him off our trail, and almost missed the exit to the airport. I slammed the brakes and pulled a hard right, sending the car bumping a little. Will was getting our stuff from the glovebox as I pulled into an empty parking spot.

"Well, that was fun," He said jokingly. I gave him a playful look and stepped out of the car, leashing Teo. The Kelpie happily hopped from the car and leaned on my legs. Will went around the back and popped the trunk before retrieving a carrier cart from the stand on the curb, loaded all of our bags, and led the way towards the building.

People were crowding around the entrance and forcing their way through, trying to read the flight schedule and calling loved ones from the payphones. Will took my hand and pulled me through the crowd towards the flight gates, where a harassed looking man was running the booth.

"Here's our tickets, we just need to know where to go," Will said the second they reached the man. He gave Will a grunt and took the tickets, then nodded.

"Last gate on the left. Enjoy your flight." He mumbled, handing me a program. We made our way down the row, desperately trying to get to the gate. We forced our way into the metal detectors and into the gate corridor, where Will broke off at a run to make it to the hall. I followed, laughing as Will occasionally tripped on his own feet and regaining himself.

We put Teo in one of the rental crates, and I got down on my knees. "You be good, okay, Teo?" His tail wagged at his name. "Good boy." I stood up and clipped the plane tag to the crate before pushing him to the pet loading center.

We found the gate, took our small bags and gave the bigger ones to the runner right before the plane took off, and were still finding our seats when the pilot's voice rang through the intercom. I flopped down next to the window, Will boxing me in. I opened my bag and pulled my phone from the pocket and began to scroll through social media.

Will put in his headphones and began to text someone. I didn't pay any attention, the new Ulio jeans had been released and I was putting three pairs on pre-order. I didn't have a single care in the world.