Surprise // Braddison

Three.

~ bryce pov

"Idk man.. do I fly back? What do I do?" I asked Blake as I sighed, leaning on the kitchen counter. Marissa had called me letting me know that Izzy was still in the hospital being treated for a virus and dehydration. Jamie hadn't even gone to visit her.. probably still mad about Marissa taking her at all. I felt like a terrible parent, we were both terrible parents for not being there for her.

"Marissa has it.. she's good." He said. And although I knew he was trying to make me feel better.. it didn't. As always, everything was always thrown on her when it wasn't even her child. She was selfless and giving.. but she didn't deserve to be the one to have to deal with all of this.

I was in a tough position living out here. Legally, I couldn't bring her with me as Jamie still had full custody. That would be considered kidnapping.. and bringing anything to the courts always took forever. Every court always wanted to keep the child with their mother if possible, and Jamie's mom had testified for her when she was doing better. But now.. all I've heard from Marissa is that she is too weak to even get out of bed.. I knew she wasn't watching over my daughter at all, leaving her to Jamie who was probably more focused on her drinks than Izzy.

My livelihood was out here though and I'm really just trying to do well for myself for her. I'm working so Izzy never has to miss anything in life. I'm working because Jamie refuses to, saying Izzy is a full time job. But from the thousands of dollars I send her, I would be willing to bet half of it goes to her addiction.

But this would all be worth it soon, that's all I had to keep reminding myself of.. when I finally have her, it will all had been worth it.

"Talk Hall." I heard Mads say as she welcomed herself into our home. "Huh?" I said, hoping if I acted stupid enough, it would turn her away, but I was wrong, it was Mads after all, she knew me too well. Except, she didn't know about Izzy either. I know, my best friend and I even kept it from her, it just made things simpler.. but it started to feel as though I couldn't keep this away from her any longer.

"Don't act dumb Bryce. Why are you lying to Addi and why do you have me lying to her for you??" she asked, bringing up Addison and reminding me that I had promised her I'd pick her up at 6pm for dinner.

"Fuck, i'm late." I said, but as soon as I went to move, Mads grabbed my forearm. "You're already late, start talking.." she said as she let go of my arm to cross both of her arms across her chest, expecting answers from me.

Well here I go.. "Just, don't act too surprised because I don't have much time and I promise I'll explain more later. I have a daughter, in Maryland, that's where I go every time I go out of state. I'm sorry I had to lie to you too but it's not the easiest thing to talk about. Only Josh and Blake know about her so I'd appreciate it if this doesn't leave this room.." And there it was...

Mads' jaw had practically dropped to the floor as I'm certain this was the last thing she expected to hear. Even though I knew her and Addi were only getting closer, she was one of my closest friends and I knew I could trust Mads with this.

"I.. I.. I have so many questions.." She stuttered, barely able to get out a full sentence. "Yes, i'm sure you do, but right now.. I have to meet a very beautiful girl who I have a lot of making up to do to.." I said with a smile as I rushed off.

"Wait, the sisters and mom thing.. you don't-" Before she could finish her sentence, I chuckled and shook my head. "Nope, still a foster kid." Is all I said before running away to get ready before heading off to pick up Addison.

~ addison pov

"Yes, I'm sorry, just one hour, thank you." I said as I hung up the phone with the place we had a reservation at. This was the second time I called, extending our delay from 30 minutes to an hour, and hopefully the last time I had to call.

Where are you Bryce.. I sighed as I looked in the mirror one last time before I finally heard a knock on my door. As I opened, Bryce began to apologize, barely being able to catch his breath. I laughed before I kissed him to cut him off, telling him it was okay. I couldn't help myself, he was just so cute.. I could never stay mad at him.

He held my hand as he guided me to his car and opened the door for me. As he got in the drivers seat, he pulled out flowers from the back seat. "For you, madam." He said with a big cheeky smile as I blushed. I grabbed them, kissing him once again before thanking him for the beautiful flowers. He was so forgiven..

As we arrived to where our reservation was, Bryce helped me out of the car and held my hand. This place was gorgeous.. right on the pier. One of my personal favorite places, but it would now be one of our favorite places to come to together. We peeped the paparazzi that seemed to be waiting for any celebrity, but I wouldn't let them ruin our night.

I felt Bryce's grip tighten around my waist as he guided me towards the flood of paparazzi, asking about our relationship status. A question not even I had an answer to.

As we got past them, we walked into the restaurant, the hostess guiding us to a secluded romantic table where we would be able to have intimate alone time. "This is beautiful Bryce, I didn't even know you had done all of this." I said, having been to this restaurant hundreds of times, and I didn't even know this back part right on the pier even existed.

"Anything for you.." he whispered into my ear before kissing my cheek. I smiled at him as he ordered wine and appetizers for us. The waiter placing our orders and allowing us to enjoy the sunset.

I held onto Bryce's hand, enjoying his company without all the chaos of loud music, parties and his roommates. Although we had been on dates before, nothing beat this. Maybe tonight would finally be the night that he would officially make me his.. one could only hope.

"Addison?" I heard him say my name as I looked up at him, still leaning on his chest. "Thank you." was all he said with a small smile. I questioned what he was thanking me for and just received a small kiss.

"Thank you for being my rock.. you have no idea what you mean to me, and how you keep me grounded. I know I'm a lot to deal with, but you, you understand me and support me.. and I couldn't ask for anything more in a partner." He said sweetly.. "A partner?" I asked as he grinned and chuckled.

"Well.. that's if you'd like to be my girlfriend?" He asked as my eyes brightened up and I instantly nodded. "I would love to be your girlfriend.." I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Bryce Hall.. the party animal settling down? For me and only me. He was all mine.

"You make me so happy.." I said as I leaned back from the kiss, but leaning my forehead onto his. "I want to keep making you happy." He already did.. every single day was a blessing with him. And I was so excited to get to know him more and love him.

"You are so special Bryce.. something about you has always intrigued me about you. I can tell you have a lifetime of stories to tell, and I am here to hear all of them. I want to be your person, the person you feel you can tell anything to.. because I will always be here for you, no matter what." I said, in hopes that Bryce would know he could open up to me. I wanted to hear about his upbringing, his family, his friends, where he came from.. I wanted to hear all of that. Up to now, it had been more of a superficial relationship. Our sexual attraction brought us together.. but I wanted more than that, I needed more than that for this to work.

"There's.. there's a lot to share, Addison. And I will, I promise I will open up to you. I trust you and you give me a sense of comfort I've never felt before with any other female.. but please also know it's not easy for me to speak about my past. I have wounds that are still not fully healed, and I need to work on that myself before I can bring that baggage onto you." I could tell Bryce had a rough upbringing.. god only knows what he has been through to make him the strong person he is today.

"Don't say that.. you are not baggage and never will be. When you're ready to talk, I'm here." I said, not wanting to rush him. I wanted him to feel comfortable when speaking to me, and wanted him to initiate these conversations because he wanted to.

"Wine for the beautiful couple." We heard our waiter say, both of us looking at him as if we had almost forgotten we were still at a restaurant. We both thanked him as Bryce took both of our wine glasses, handing one to me.

"A cheers.. to hopefully the start of something special." He said sweetly as we cheered and sipped our drinks. A start to hopefully our forever... 

** lol i've gotten a couple of requests to finish Law of Attraction 😭 I will definitely see if I can for y'all but no promises