Always There

Chapter Two

Songs for this chapter:
• You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
• My Everything - Ariana Grande

Chapter Two:

Bryce's POV

The moment that we step into the hallway, I close the door behind us.

Blossom immediately raises her hand, ready to slap me right across the face.

She remains like this for several moments, her hand open as her outstretched arm shakes. Her eyes have already welled up with tears, eyebrows furrowed, bottom lip trembling as she stares at my face.

Slowly, she lowers her arm.

"I can't slap you," she mumbles. "That's not right. I would be so upset if you hit me and so I shouldn't do the same. I'm just really mad and I really want to hurt you the way that you hurt me."

"You can slap me, Blossom. I probably deserve it. I don't think you could hurt me much anyway, meanwhile I could probably destroy you if I wanted," I respond blandly.

She shakes her head at me furiously, and I now watch as she wraps her arms around herself, trying to cover up her body.

That facade that she had been putting on in there has completely melted away. She's back to her true self, a little bit timid and insecure but also incredibly adorable, hilarious, and sweet.

"You've already destroyed me emotionally," Blossom whispers, her eyes now on the ground as she seems to be examining her shoelaces.

Of course she thinks I've destroyed her, and rightfully so. I'm a huge, massive fuckup.

I've always known that this day would come; the day that she realises that I am absolutely no good for her. I make poor decisions and I constantly say the wrong fucking thing, not to mention that I'm fucking terrible at romantic shit.

I pray every day that she'll stay with me. I've held on to the fact that maybe, she'll be there by my side as I grow, moving past my mistakes and figuring all of my shit out.

I also know that this is too much to ask of her, and so I've never bothered discussing these feelings with her.

She could do so much better than me. She could date a guy like Mateo, who is kind and generous and will probably have a successful career as a lawyer, and I'm sure that type of guy would make her much happier than I ever will.

Because I don't know what to say in response to her statement, she continues to speak, now telling me, "I'll never hit you, no matter how majorly you screw up. I don't even know why the thought crossed my mind. I'm just very upset and severely heartbroken right now."

"Can I explain? Please, baby girl? It isn't what it looked like, I swear it. Just—fuck, just let me explain," I plea.

She contemplates my request for a moment before telling me, "I don't want to be here, Bryce. Not when they're both inside, only ten metres away. I'll listen to what you have to say, but . . . not here."

"All right, sweetheart. Where do you want to go?" I ask her, offering my hand.

She stares blankly down at my hand, whispering, "I don't want to touch you right now. Not after she was just sitting in your lap and touching your tattoos. Why was she only wearing lingerie? Did you two just finish having sex?"

"Oh, Blossom. Of course not. We weren't having sex. I didn't kiss her. Hell, I didn't touch her at all. She just has a lot of confidence and likes her body a lot, so her preferred attire is . . . nearly naked. It's just how she always has been," I explain, slowly retracting my hand.