Songs for this chapter:
• Winter Things - Ariana Grande
• human - Christina Perri
Chapter Thirty-Three:
Bryce's POV
"I'm going to die, Bryce. I am literally going to fall and hit my head and die," Blossom whispers, her ankles wobbling as she holds on to me for dear life.
It already took me far longer than necessary to get Blossom onto the ice after spending quite some time lacing her skates for her thanks to her squirming, but now that she is on the ice, she's refusing to move.
She was able to skate a few feet holding my hand but now she has her arms circled around my waist as she stands completely still, having a hard time balancing on her skates.
Jordan and Mateo are casually skating along as they talk to once another, hopefully not a continuation of the weird ass conversation that we had had earlier.
Blossom and I never got to finish after they interrupted us this morning and I'm still fucking pissed about it.
Charlie and Jasmine are chasing each other around the rink like idiots, leaving me with a shit ton of questions about what sort of relationship they have with each other at the moment.
"Can't we just go sit down and drink hot chocolate? I regret agreeing to come along today. This is freaking scary," Blossom whines, squeezing me impossibly tighter.
I tug the baby pink hat that she's wearing down over her eyes and she scowls at me. I know that she doesn't want to let go of me, though, and so she doesn't lift the hat from over her eyes as I bargain, "If you skate with me for fifteen more minutes, I'll buy you a hot chocolate and then I can drive you home so that you can take a hot shower. Deal?"
I push the hat up over her eyes so that I can use her expression to try and figure out what she could possibly be thinking. To my surprise, her response is, "Only if you agree to shower with me."
I feel my eyebrows fly up before I break into a huge grin. "You really are turning into a little sex addict, aren't you?"
She smiles back at me, her eyes not leaving mine for even a second before she says, "What can I say? I learnt from the best."
I lean down to press a kiss to her forehead, eliciting a soft giggle from her lips, before I reply, "Of course I'll take a shower with you later. I'd love to finish what we had started his morning before we were rudely interrupted by those assholes."
I nod my head towards Jordan and Mateo and Blossom giggles some more, carefully releasing her grip on my waist. She immediately reaches for both of my hands, holding tightly for balance.
I let go of one of her hands so that we're able to skate side by side and it takes Blossom a few seconds of wobbling before she's able to balance. I give her a reassuring smile before taking off, moving slowly so that my girl can skate at the same pace.
To her credit, she doesn't actually fall on her face or on her ass as we skate around the rink. She refuses to let up the death grip that she has on my hand but she doesn't complain even as she stumbles, allowing me to catch her around her waist before we continue on.
When I suggest that she tries to skate on her own without holding on to me, she shakes her head rapidly, giving my arm a tug, and then tells me, "I wouldn't want to let go of your hand anyway. I always feel safer with you."
It would be impossible for me to say no to that shy smile and twinkling set of hazel eyes and so I lean in to kiss her on the lips before taking her hand and skating her around the outside of the rink once more.
Blossom eventually gets too tired for me to be able to persuade her to skate anymore, and since I only requested fifteen minutes of skating from her, a limit we had far surpassed, I help her off of the ice without a complaint. I assist her in taking her skates off as well after I take my own off, leaving her to put her shoes on as I bring our skates back to the rental place.
When I return, I find Blossom seated on one of the benches, her hair up in a ponytail and her hat no longer on her head. She's wearing the cherry blossom earrings that I had just given her for Christmas and I can see her necklace around her neck as well.
When we make eye contact she grins and waves at me, standing up from her seat. I then watch as she reaches into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out her charm bracelet and her two rings.
"You've given me a complete collection of jewelry. I love it," she says softly, amusement dancing in her eyes as she slips the ring with my name on it onto her right hand and her promise ring onto her left hand.
I now take her charm bracelet from her hand, fastening it around her wrist. She gives me a grateful smile, squeezing my hand firmly as I link my fingers through hers.
"Let's go get you your hot chocolate and then we can sit down and wait for everyone, all right, sweetheart?" I ask her, tugging her close to my side.
She gives me a small smile and a nod of her head and so I tug her along, towards the Tim Hortons nearby. I order her drink for her and watch in amusement as she reaches for her pocket to retrieve money as I knew damn well that I was going to pay for it myself.
It only became more entertaining when she realised that she has absolutely no money on her. She shoots me a timid smile as she watches me grab my own wallet, kissing me on the cheek as I hand the cashier a five dollar bill. I drop some of the change into the tip box before tucking my wallet back into my pocket, watching Blossom's smile widen as she takes the cup of hot chocolate from the worker, thanking her before she reaches for my hand.
She skips along beside me as we head back to the skating rink, sipping from her hot chocolate as we walk. "Thank you, Bryce," she whispers to me.
Before I get a chance to reply, Jasmine and Jordan are walking towards us briskly.
Well, actually, Jasmine is dragging Jordan along as if he's a small fucking child, which he sort of is.
"Those earrings are new, aren't they? And so is that bracelet! Is that what you bought her for Christmas, Bryce?" Jasmine asks, barely giving Blossom any space as she examines her earrings closely.
Blossom bites her lip. "Yes, they are. He bought me a bracelet too. And tickets to see a musical together. And a ring," she exclaims, giggling as she holds up her right hand for both Jordan and Jasmine to see.
They take one look at the ring she's wearing with my name on it before they both glare at me.
Judgemental motherfuckers.
"You're willingly wearing a ring that says that bastard's name on it?" Jordan asks Blossom, nodding his head towards me.
Blossom's smile dims the slightest bit and I instantly want to punch Jordan in the fucking face for it.
"Why wouldn't I want to wear a ring that says his name?" she asks, a genuine question.
Jordan and Jasmine make eye contact for a moment but Jordan is still the one to answer as he says, "I don't know, Lexi. You and Bryce just seem to be really possessive over one another. I know it's because you love each other a lot, but it's just . . . shocking sometimes."
I watch as something unidentifiable flashes in Blossom's eyes.
She retracts her hand from where she had been holding it out for Jasmine and Jordan to look at her ring, scowling at them both as she takes another sip of her hot chocolate.
She takes a deep breath inwards before she begins to speak.
"I don't want to hear your comments about my relationship. Everyone is always so judgmental and they always say that we're too possessive but I think that that's bullshit. I've lived the last three years of my life scared of the world because I was kidnapped and nearly sold into sex trafficking and so don't you think I deserve to have someone by my side who makes me feel safe and protected for once?" she hisses, fuming.
Jordan and Jasmine are staring at her with wide eyes now.
Jasmine is the first to speak, telling my girl, "Calm down, Lex. We're not trying to offend you. You and Bryce just seem to have a really intense relationship and you two have been that way since before you even got together. You also seem to be a lot more vulnerable since you two have gotten together: you never used to cry much."
There seems to be literal fucking steam coming out of Blossom's ears.
"Is there something wrong with being vulnerable? I had always been too scared to show my emotions and Bryce has taught me that it's okay to cry and be happy. Could you please just leave me alone?" Blossom snaps, giving me a quick glance before storming away from Jasmine, Jordan, and I.
I make a move to grab her arm but I don't want to hurt her and so I don't actually touch her. My fingertips brush against her but she doesn't even give me a second glance as she hurries away.
I watch her disappear around a corner and I feel the overwhelming need to follow after her so that I can keep her safe.
If some fucker even tries to touch her, I will literally lose my fucking shit.
Jasmine and Jordan are staring at me and not Blossom. The lack of concern in their eyes for their friend makes me want to strangle them.
"What the fuck, guys? You didn't have to ruin her day over a goddamn Christmas present," I spit, scowling at them both.
Their faces suddenly pale and I finally see some regret in their eyes as softly, Jordan says, "I didn't mean to hurt her feelings and I feel like shit knowing that I did."
"Whatever. I need to go find her," I say, my voice sharp.
They both shoot me an empathetic smile but I don't give them a second glance as I turn on my heel, hurrying in the direction that Blossom had gone in.
🌸🌸🌸
It turns out that she didn't get too far. I find her walking down the sidewalk, sipping from her cup of hot chocolate while examining her other hand. I can see from here that she has tears rolling down her cheeks and it breaks my heart to fucking pieces to see her so upset over something that seems so minuscule.
She stops her pacing when she sees me approaching and she pulls the hot chocolate cup away from her face. Her bottom lip begins to quiver and I just begin to walk faster, not slowing down until I'm directly in front of her.
I waste no time before I pull her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her body. It's easy to forget how small she is; so slim and short and generally tiny.
"There's no need to cry, Blossom. They didn't mean to make you sad. They're just being judgemental," I assure her, keeping my arms tight around her.
She sniffles and pulls her face away from my chest. I can't help but to smile when I realise that she'd been holding her hot chocolate far away from herself so that she wouldn't spill it on us.
"I don't understand why it's such a bad thing for me to like people knowing that you're mine and I'm yours," she then says, her voice merely a faint whisper.
Lexi's POV
I've been through so much hell that it hurts me beyond what words can describe to have people look at me as though I'm weak for wanting Bryce to be there to protect me.
I was kidnapped and nearly sold into a sex trafficking ring when I was only fourteen years old.
I had a mother who didn't show any love for me after the kidnapping, which I assumed was because she blamed me for what had happened.
I've had multiple guys, drunk and sober, touch me without my consent at parties and at school.
I've had a man come so close to raping me that the memory of the event is enough to bring me to tears within seconds.
And there was only one person who was there for me.
Bryce Freaking Bradshaw.
He was the big, strong man who would kill a thousand men to keep me protected and so he was able to get all of those awful guys to leave me alone.
But more importantly, he was the emotional support that made me feel okay for once.
He held me while I cried myself to sleep that night at Ryan's cottage when it felt like my world was crumbling apart after that drunk guy attempted to force himself on me in the bathroom at that house party, and he holds me while I sleep every night now. He holds my hand too when I feel like I'm going to fall and he gives me the best advice I could ever ask for. Not to mention that his kisses are intoxicating and his embrace makes me feel the safest that I've ever felt before.
I think that I deserve to feel safe for once in my a life, and it just so happens to be Bryce who is capable of giving me that comfort and security.
After so many years of sadness for the both of us, we're finally happy. Together.
"I want to go home now, Bryce. I want to take a hot shower with you and then I want to cuddle for a little bit. Do you think we can do that?" I ask Bryce quietly, staring directly up into his amber eyes.
It hurts my heart to see how genuinely concerned he is for me at the moment.
"Yeah, baby. Of course we can. Let's go let your brother know that we're heading out and then I'll get my pretty girl back home. Sounds good, yes?" he replies.
I nod enthusiastically, pressing a kiss to the stubble on his jaw.
A/N: I'm finally back from vacation and so hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly again!