Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six

Songs for this chapter:
• Never Not - Lauv

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six:

Bryce's POV

I open the door of our car for Blossom. She looks much more comfortable and relaxed now that she's wearing a sweater of mine over her jeans rather than her ripped shirt, and even though her experience with Liam just now certainly did not go ideally, I see relief on her face.

Relief to know that he will never hurt her ever again.

"Are you okay to sit in the back again, honey?" I ask her softly as she slips under my arm and climbs up into the SUV. I always travel in these boring-ass black SUVs even when there's only four people in the car, but the third row is finally coming in handy now that Blossom is travelling with us.

She gives me a small nod before climbing into the third row and tucking herself into one of the corner seats.

I step into the car as well and claim the seat in the middle row beside Jordan. I slam the door shut after me and reach to buckle my seatbelt, but I spot Blossom in my peripheral vision and frown.

She somehow looks so sad back there, huddled against the side of the car with the hood of my sweatshirt pulled low over her face.

And so I slip off my seat and claim the middle seat of the back row instead.

I buckle my seat belt and wrap my arm around Blossom's shoulders. I tuck her in against my side, and even though Liam was just touching her in various disgusting ways, she still doesn't flinch when I hold her close.

"Better?" I whisper.

She nods and leans in to rest her head against my chest.

As Sawyer begins to back out of the parking spot, I glance down at Blossom's face again to find that her eyes have fluttered shut and her lips have lifted into the smallest of smiles.

I kiss the top of her head and close my eyes too, content knowing that even though I've fucked up so many times in my life, I finally did something right this time.

I protected Blossom when she needed it the most, and now I just need to pray that I can be by her side always so that no one can hurt her again.

🌸🌸🌸

Blossom narrows her eyes at the pair of dark sunglasses in my outstretched hands.

I sigh. "Come on, sweet girl. I know it's a little bit strange to wear sunglasses inside, but we want to avoid having people recognize us if we can. I care about you too much to let the media sink their claws into you right now."

Blossom sticks her nose up in the air defiantly, but I see her expression soften at my words.

This time, when I unfold the sunglasses and slide them onto Blossom's face, she leaves them resting on the bridge of her nose and tugs her hood down low, casting her face in a shadow.

I secure my own sunglasses over my eyes and make sure that my hood is pulled over my face as well before taking Blossom's hand in mine.

Together, we begin to follow Jordan, Sawyer, and Aidan into the airport, hand in hand.

"Although the four of us are quite conspicuous considering, you know, that we're four tall men dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, we would get recognized a lot more frequently if my face and tattoos could be seen," I murmur into my girl's ear as we slip into the building and begin to walk towards the luggage check.