Songs for this chapter:
• You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
• My Everything - Ariana Grande
Chapter Two:
Bryce's POV
The moment that we step into the hallway, I close the door behind us.
Blossom immediately raises her hand, ready to slap me right across the face.
She remains like this for several moments, her hand open as her outstretched arm shakes. Her eyes have already welled up with tears, eyebrows furrowed, bottom lip trembling as she stares at my face.
Slowly, she lowers her arm.
"I can't slap you," she mumbles. "That's not right. I would be so upset if you hit me and so I shouldn't do the same. I'm just really mad and I really want to hurt you the way that you hurt me."
"You can slap me, Blossom. I probably deserve it. I don't think you could hurt me much anyway, meanwhile I could probably destroy you if I wanted," I respond blandly.
She shakes her head at me furiously, and I now watch as she wraps her arms around herself, trying to cover up her body.
That facade that she had been putting on in there has completely melted away. She's back to her true self, a little bit timid and insecure but also incredibly adorable, hilarious, and sweet.
"You've already destroyed me emotionally," Blossom whispers, her eyes now on the ground as she seems to be examining her shoelaces.
Of course she thinks I've destroyed her, and rightfully so. I'm a huge, massive fuckup.
I've always known that this day would come; the day that she realises that I am absolutely no good for her. I make poor decisions and I constantly say the wrong fucking thing, not to mention that I'm fucking terrible at romantic shit.
I pray every day that she'll stay with me. I've held on to the fact that maybe, she'll be there by my side as I grow, moving past my mistakes and figuring all of my shit out.
I also know that this is too much to ask of her, and so I've never bothered discussing these feelings with her.
She could do so much better than me. She could date a guy like Mateo, who is kind and generous and will probably have a successful career as a lawyer, and I'm sure that type of guy would make her much happier than I ever will.
Because I don't know what to say in response to her statement, she continues to speak, now telling me, "I'll never hit you, no matter how majorly you screw up. I don't even know why the thought crossed my mind. I'm just very upset and severely heartbroken right now."
"Can I explain? Please, baby girl? It isn't what it looked like, I swear it. Just—fuck, just let me explain," I plea.
She contemplates my request for a moment before telling me, "I don't want to be here, Bryce. Not when they're both inside, only ten metres away. I'll listen to what you have to say, but . . . not here."
"All right, sweetheart. Where do you want to go?" I ask her, offering my hand.
She stares blankly down at my hand, whispering, "I don't want to touch you right now. Not after she was just sitting in your lap and touching your tattoos. Why was she only wearing lingerie? Did you two just finish having sex?"
"Oh, Blossom. Of course not. We weren't having sex. I didn't kiss her. Hell, I didn't touch her at all. She just has a lot of confidence and likes her body a lot, so her preferred attire is . . . nearly naked. It's just how she always has been," I explain, slowly retracting my hand.
Blossom sniffles, eyes now meeting mine. "I wish I had that level of confidence. I envy her for that."
She now glances back downwards, this time so that she can stare at her own body. She eyes her clothing in disgust, and I watch as she tries to pull her thin tank top up to cover more of her cleavage.
"I don't know why I'm wearing this. I feel strange and insecure. I just wanted you to look at me instead of her and so I tried to show a lot of skin but now I'm just uncomfortable. I feel naked," Blossom sighs, toying with the ends of her hair.
"You don't need to wear shit like this to get my attention. I love you just as much in summer dresses and oversized sweatshirts as I do in lingerie. Do you want to go back inside to change before we head out?" I ask her, and she shakes her head.
"Let's not go back in there. Can we please just go? I need to be anywhere but here. I don't care where," Blossom begs, her eyes filling with tears once more.
I can't let her go outside like this at the end of November, and so I pull my white sweatshirt up over my head, then telling Blossom, "Raise your arms up, baby."
"What? No. Now you'll be cold," she argues, and I roll my eyes at her.
"You're wearing fucking shorts, Blossom. Arms up," I repeat, failing to mention that I have sweatpants for her to wear in the car.
And so reluctantly, she raises her arms up. I pull the sweatshirt down over her head, and once her head pokes through she adjusts the sleeves, also tugging the bottom hem down so that it completely covers her shorts.
"Cutie," I murmur, and she just gives me a slight shrug of her shoulders.
"Let's go," she demands, and I watch as she turns on her heel, beginning to head down the hallway and away from my apartment.
I follow her to the elevators where we wait in silence. When the doors finally slide open, we step on, finding ourselves alone.
Blossom keeps stealing quick glances at me out of the corner of her eye. I can tell that she still has tears welling up, and I'm waiting for her to burst out sobbing any minute now.
I don't have to wait much longer as the tears soon begin to pour down her cheeks.
She's not sobbing, just crying silently, and it's somehow more painful to see. Her shoulders are shaking as the tears flow freely down her face, and she doesn't even make a move to wipe them away as the elevator descends.
I don't know how to handle this situation. I would usually scoop her up into my arms and cradle her as she cries, stroking her back as I promise that it'll all be all right, but she doesn't want me to fucking touch her right now, apparently.
"Blossom? Darling?" I ask and she chokes on something, coughing twice before falling silent once again.
She doesn't get a chance to respond to me before the elevator lurches to a halt. She steps out into the hallway with tears still falling, and I follow her helplessly.
When we reach the car, I unlock the doors so that Blossom can take a seat as I pop open the trunk.
I retrieve a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, slamming the trunk shut before walking around the vehicle. I open the door, taking a seat before slamming the door shut while turning to my girl.
I find her with her head leaning against the window, still crying.
But now, she's sobbing.
She's hysteric. She's saying words that I can't make out. She's shaking her head at absolutely nothing, and she's tugging at the hem of the sweatshirt that she's wearing as if she's gripping her final bit of sanity.
I feel so fucking helpless.
"Blossom? Talk to me, my love. Please," I beg, and though she doesn't look towards me, she does speak to me.
"I saw their suitcases in the spare bedroom. The bedroom that is supposed to be mine in less than a month's time," she chokes out. "I can't believe that you have two people staying with you and you didn't even bother telling me, as if I wouldn't be over at all while they're there with you."
I open my mouth to defend myself but she snaps, cutting me off.
"I'm not finished, Bryce! Can't you keep your damn mouth shut for two freaking minutes? Anyway, I hope you know that if you have sex with her tonight . . . I'll be beyond devastated. Words won't even be able to describe the feeling. I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive you. Sex is so special to me and I like the idea of us only being with each other from now on," she concludes, slumping back in her seat.
She uses the sleeve of the sweatshirt to dab away at some of the tears, and once her face is significantly more dry she takes a deep breath in, holding for a few seconds before exhaling.
"I didn't know that they were coming, baby. If I had known, I would've told you. I really hoped that you would never have to meet either of them, as they're not people you would want to be associated with. I won't have sex with Scarlett, I promise. Nothing will happen between us whatsoever," I swear, and Blossom whimpers.
"She was sitting in your lap. I hate that image, and it's still engraved in my mind. I love sitting in your lap and I don't want any other girl to, but you still let her," Blossom sighs, curling herself up into a ball with her knees to her chest.
"I know, and once again, I'm so fucking sorry," I respond.
Blossom just nods at me, glancing down at the pile of clothes in my lap. "Do you want this sweater back?" she asks me. "I can just wear the other one."
I shake my head at her, pulling the sweatshirt I'm holding up over my head, telling her, "It's fine. I know that you like wearing my clothes right after I've worn them so that they smell like me."
Her cheeks blush red, and I swear that I see the slightest trace of a smile reach her lips.
"You're right," she whispers, and I grin as I hand her the pair of sweatpants.
"Put these on, baby. I don't want my girl getting frostbite," I murmur, and she slowly unfolds the pants.
"Um . . . could you maybe just close your eyes for a minute? I want to take these shorts off. I'd rather not wear them under the pants," Blossom responds nervously, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red.
"I've seen you naked several times before, Blossom," I remind her, hoping to get a laugh out of her.
Blossom twists her head around to look at me, the smile gone from her face.
"Yeah, but you just saw her so close to naked and the thought is making me uncomfortable," she mutters, and I frown.
As much as it breaks my heart to not fight her on the matter, I shut my eyes.
I hear the sound of her shuffling around, presumably pulling her shorts off and then putting on the pants.
A few seconds later, Blossom taps me on the hand a few times, and I swear to God that literal fucking chills shoot through my body from even just the smallest skin-on-skin contact with her.
"You can open your eyes now, Bryce," she whispers, and as my eyes open I feel her dainty fingers close around mine.
"I know that you really don't want to touch me right now, but I think a hug may make you feel better," I suggest, and I watch as she slowly climbs over the centre console and into my lap.
She wraps her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, before nuzzling her face against my chest.
I wrap my own arms around her small body and she feels so right in my arms like this. I love how she clings to me as if I'm her rock, and I love how she trusts me even though she's still upset about the Scarlett situation.
I stroke her back as she remains still. She seems to be breathing in my scent as she presses her face to my chest, and I try my best to memorise how she feels in my arms just incase this doesn't happen again.
"Can we talk about something? Without you getting offended. I just think that this conversation needs to happen before I move in with you," Blossom asks, her face still pressed against me.
Although I have no fucking clue what she's talking about, I nod before resting my chin atop her head.
"Of course, beautiful," I tell her, and she squeezes me tighter.
"Well I just . . . I just want to make sure that you still want me. It's okay if you don't, I guess: you deserve to be happy. But I just . . . I don't know. You get my point," Blossom mutters, and I feel her press her face harder against my chest.
I pause, blinking a few times as I remain silent.
What have I been doing wrong to give her the impression that I don't want her anymore?
"Baby girl . . ." I trail off. "Of course I still want you. You're my everything. I love you. So much."
She sits back in my lap so that she can now look me in the eye, and I see surprise in her eyes.
"Oh. Um, that's good," she responds awkwardly.
I frown, not sure what the hell is going through her mind right now.
"Do you love me back?" I ask her, and her eyes go wide with shock.
"Oh! Yeah. Of course I love you, Bryce. So, so much. You're so perfect and you're so sweet to me and you always know how to make me the happiest girl alive. Thank you for everything," she responds, and I draw her back to my body so that her head is on my shoulder.
"Thank fucking God. Just let me hold you for a moment, sweetheart," I whisper to her, and she just nods in agreement.
I enjoy the quietness for a little while. I hear Blossom begin to cry at some point in time, and so I play with her hair as I whisper how much I love her, how much I want to be with her forever.
"I want to bring you somewhere where we can just be us and talk about shit. Is that okay? Are you all right being alone with me?" I ask her.
"Yes," she chokes out. "Please bring me somewhere else, Bryce. Please."
A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a little while, but I'm kind of letting the stress of school catch up to me and so I haven't really been in a good headspace to write lately.
What do you think Lexi and Bryce need to talk about? Do you think Bryce should apologize for how Lexi found him and Scarlett even though he and Scarlett didn't do anything together?
I really want to reach 1k reads on here by chapter four, so please share, vote, and comment to get this book ranked!