Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Songs for this chapter:
• This Town - Niall Horan

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight:

Bryce's POV

Blossom's small hand is resting in mine as she bounces nervously on the balls of her feet beside me.

The two of us are huddled together on the same step of the escalator as we descend to the airport's baggage claim. After an exhausting couple days of travel, we've finally made it home, and finally, I'm going to be able to bring Blossom to be with her family.

"You okay, sweetheart?" I ask her softly, leaning down to whisper the words into her ear.

Blossom's face tilts up towards me
and she gives me the slightest of nods, but her anxious bouncing doesn't stop until we reach the end of the escalator and have to step off and onto the cool marble floor.

I glance over my shoulder at Jordan, Aidan, and Sawyer as they follow Blossom and I off the escalator. "Lexi's brother is picking her up and taking her to the hospital to see her family. We'll get a taxi or something once she's with him," I inform them.

The only response I get is a few nods of heads as we step through a set of automatic sliding doors and into the baggage claim.

The wide, open room is filled with bustling bodies, families and couples and solo travellers hurrying through with luggage rolling along behind them as they try to get to their destinations. I scan the room, searching for Charlie's familiar face, but the only thing that seems to catch my eye is a flash of bright blue hair in the back corner of the room, as far away from the baggage carousels as possible.

I give Blossom's handle a gentle squeeze. "I see Charlie. Jasmine is with him. I'll bring you over to them and then I'll go find your suitcase so that you three can head to the hospital. Okay, baby?"

Blossom gives me a small, slight nod as we begin to head in Charlie's direction.

"Are the two of them still together? They're almost more confusing than us," I murmur as we slip through gaps in the crowd. I'm dimly aware of Jordan, Aidan, and Sawyer disappearing into the crowd and starting away from us, likely to find our bags.

Blossom grins a little to herself and shrugs her shoulders at me.

Once we finally break free from the crowd, Blossom drops my hand and sprints towards her brother. He looks different from the last time I saw him, older, with a close-shaven beard and his hair pushed back from his face for once.

I'm not sure when the last time Blossom and Charlie saw each other was, but I can tell that it was far too long ago for their liking by the way Blossom launches herself into his chest and Charlies's fingertips dig in his sister's back. A beat doesn't pass before Blossom dissolves into tears, and as she presses her face into his sweatshirt, I feel my heart clench in my chest.

"Oh my fucking God, Lex. These past few days . . . I needed you here so badly," Charlie whispers. His voice breaks on the last word, and I avert my eyes away from the siblings, feeling like this is a private moment I shouldn't intrude on.

Instead, I turn towards Jasmine. Her electric blue hair is piled in a messy bun atop her head, and dark circles are etched underneath her eyes. A small side smile turns up the corners of her lips, but it isn't enough to hide her deep exhaustion.

"Hey, Jasmine," I begin to say, taking a few more steps towards her and the Brookses. "How have you—"

And then, I accidentally gasp out loud, finally taking in Jasmine's appearance from head to toe.