Lost and Found

Chapter 15

"Are you kidding?!" Meredith said as Sydney replayed her meeting to her and Erica.

"Yeah, happy Monday to me." Sydney said. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

She walked in and sat down, already tired from the day. She pulled out her phone and her papers. She began going over the things she and Brad had discussed when her phone buzzed. I don't want to know who it is, she thought to herself. She started crosschecking seating arrangements when her phone buzzed again. Sighing, she picked it up.

Hey beautiful

How'd you're meeting go?

She stared at the messages on her phone, not sure what to tell him.

Hey baby. It went ok, but there's a bigger story there I can't get into right now. We'll talk later

She put her phone down and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about her conversation with Brad. Knowing it really was nothing I did does make me feel better, she thought to herself, but why do I feel like crying?

That's called closure, her brain reminded her. It was a goodbye.

Or, the dark half said, you still love him.

No, definitely not that. I closed that door a while ago.

But then he knocked, and you opened it right back up. Doesn't that mean something?

Yeah, it means I hate people knocking on my doors. It was just something that hadn't been dealt with and now I finally have.

A knock at Sydney's door snapped her back into reality. She sat up and looked at the door. "Yeah?"

The door opened and Bryce stood there in a pair of red basketball sports and a black tank top. He stepped in and closed her door.

"It's later," He said as he looked at her.

She smiled and let out a small laugh as she got up. He wrapped her arms around him and held him close. The warmth of his body against hers made her let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She felt safe, and she loved the feeling. He pulled her closer to him with a light squeeze before he stepped back.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" she asked as she leaned on her desk.

"Just a feeling after rereading your text about a dozen times."

She sighed and looked at him. "I saw Brad today."

"Are you ok?" he asked as he stepped towards her.

She nodded. "Apparently, he's working for the governor now and since the usual PR person I talk with is out of the country, he was next in line. After our meeting, he asked me to go next door for coffee and I said yes."

Bryce stood there eerily still. "And?"

"He tried to say sorry, I threatened to throw my coffee at him if he uttered that word, and basically, he gave me the closure he never gave me."

He looked at her, not sure whether or not to touch her. "Are you sure you're ok? That's a lot for one day, especially first thing in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm great if I think about it. Kind of felt good actually."

He reached out and took her hands. "Really? No regrets seeing him then?" She shrugged as she watched his thumb stroke her knuckles. "Did you want to cancel tonight?" he asked quietly.