y/n l/n felt a little emptier today than most.

when she woke up to an empty bed, again, she found herself growing rather agitated.

she knew dating matt simmons meant dealing with days and nights alone due to his traveling and long hours worth of paperwork,

but it didn't stop her from wishing they spent more time together.

as she sat up in the bed to look around,

her eyes scanned lingering emptiness of the room.

matt soon walked into the bedroom with his phone to his ear,

completely oblivious to the girlfriend who remained awake.

he muttered beneath his breath,

too quiet for y/n to hear.

"hey, let me call you back,"

he spoke once realizing y/n was awake,

and placed the cell to his pocket.

"how'd you sleep?"

"...why aren't you at work?"

"i have the week off."

"w-what? why didn't you tell me that?"

he shrugged nonchalantly,

"i forgot."

she laughed without humor,

and listened to the twinge of mockery ring throughout the air.

"right. cause that's just easy information to forget."

"did i miss something?"

y/n climbed down from the bed and walked past him,

ignoring his senseless question,

and closed the bathroom door behind her.

locking it,

y/n then looked at herself in the mirror and took notice of the bags under her eyes.

her skin was rather dull now,

and she was forcing herself to face the truth.

y/n l/n and matt simmons were meeting their end.

despite being old enough to accept when things are over,

y/n knew there was no age limit to painful breakups.

she had made the assumption long ago that matt was the person she was destined for.

yet,

here she sat,

letting her eyes cloud with tears because the end was drawing closer than she expected.

with his extra shifts,

the distance he placed between them,

and his now secret phone calls,

y/n couldn't help but feel maybe he had already moved on.

she let these confusing, hurtful thoughts continue while she prepared for her morning.

and when she stepped out of the bathroom,

half expecting matt to be gone,

she was surprised to find him sitting on the edge of the bed,

"you feeling okay?"

he asked.

y/n only nodded,

and shyly made way to the closet where her clothes remained hung.

"i'm sorry i didn't tell you about my time off. it was...i didn't even want to take it, honestly."

"it's fine."

"yet, i still have the feeling it's not fine."

y/n turned to face him with her eyes now brimmed with tears.

the knot in her throat was much too thick for her to try and speak,

which only deepened matt's worries.

"hey, hey, what's wrong?"

he got up from the bed and inched closer

to her,

close enough to offer her support.

but she only shied away from his touch.

"i just...i didn't expect this to end is all."

"wait, what? what are you talking about?"

"i'm talking about you, and the way you refuse to talk to me, spend time with me, even look at me. hell, matt, you've become a stranger in your own home! and it's so obvious that you're over this relationship."

matt felt his heart sink a little at the sight,

and the words hurrying out of her mouth were enough to make his throat tighten.

"why would i want to leave you, y/n?"

"i don't know...you tell me."

"well, i-i don't know either. look,"

he sighed and laced his hand with hers.

despite the anger festering in her core,

she mollified from the small act and allowed him to continue,

"i'll admit, i've been...distant. it's just work. i'm not used to it yet. i thought i could shut it out and be normal, but i see it's doing more damage than good."

"why didn't you talk to me about it?"

"i didn't want to worry you, y/n."

matt brought the worried girl close to his chest and held her.

hearing his heart beat rhythmically beneath her was enough to make her legs weaken.

he let his hands rake through her hair,

"i don't see myself living a life without you beside me, y/n. i'm sorry i haven't been doing my job to keep you happy. i'm going to do better."

he reassured quickly,

but never failing to keep his tone steady.

she looked up to meet his eyes,

"i'm sorry."

"you have nothing to be sorry for, love."

"are we okay?"

matt cupped her cheek with his hand,

and let the pad of his thumb caress the soft skin beneath,

"more than okay. cause you and i have a vacation to take."

he smiled wide enough to make y/n laugh,

"what?"

"yeah! i was on the phone with the traveling agency when i came in."

"oh...oh my god..the traveling agency!"

she sighed to herself with an embarrassed laugh,

remembering his hushed tones and hurrying around.

matt began to laugh along with her,

"mhm. i wanted to surprise you."

"well, i am certainly surprised."

he laid a kiss to her forehead then looked back down at her,

"you are, without a doubt, the greatest thing to happen to me. i love you, y/n."

"i love you more...more than you'll ever know."

matt and y/n found themselves heading to her dream vacation,

and she had never felt so content with life.

she found it rather amusing that she had woken up with such worry about their relationship,

when it had never been so sturdy.

matt kissed y/n's temple,

and let the love pour out from the deepest parts of him.

this is where his forever remained:

traveling around the world with his love.