Always There

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight:

Lexi's POV

"Will you at least let me walk you to the door?" Bryce asks, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.

Grinning, I nod at him before slipping out of his car, slamming the door shut behind myself. Bryce is at my side a few moments later, and he reaches down for my hand before we take off in the direction of the dorm building.

"I still can't believe that you're hanging out with her over me today," Bryce whines, guiding me through the crowd of people waiting for the elevators.

Since my floor is so close to the ground, I usually just take the stairs. Bryce is obviously aware of this as he doesn't bother joining the elevator line, instead dragging me towards the staircase. We scale the stairs in silence, Bryce still holding my hand. I know that he's upset that I'm spending some time with Kennedy today as he doesn't want to be alone with Scarlett and Anders, but I promised him that I would be home for dinner.

I don't understand why being around those two makes him so uncomfortable, considering they were supposedly friends once upon a time.

I guess that it could be because he's scared that something will happen between him and Scarlett, but that's a little bit upsetting for me to think about considering that I would hope he would be capable of trusting himself and his own actions.

We soon reach my dorm, and I strain up on the tops of my toes to kiss Bryce on the cheek before turning around to knock on the door, just in case Kennedy is inside.

Sure enough, the door comes flying open in no time and I'm crushed into a hug.

"It feels so weird to not see you all the time! I can't wait for you to be back living here," Kennedy exclaims before pulling away, placing her hands on my shoulders so that she can hold me in place.

I'm really not going to enjoy having a conversation with her about moving in with Bryce.

But then again, I still haven't even had the conversation with my parents . . .

"I definitely agree that it's weird to not be around each other so often anymore," I respond, giving her a wide smile.

She grins back before removing her hands form my shoulders, now turning to Bryce to say, "It's been awhile since I've seen you, shithead."

Bryce looks momentarily offended before he asks, "What did I do to deserve that nickname?"

Kennedy sighs, crossing her arms. I watch as she backs into the room, taking a seat down on her bed while folding her legs underneath herself.

Taking Bryce's hand, I bring him into the room as well. He shuts the door behind us and when he takes a seat down on my bed I let him pull me directly into his lap.

"You broke her heart, Bryce! She was so upset! You'd be lying if you said that you couldn't tell how badly you hurt her!" Kennedy hisses, and Bryce's eyes widen a little bit.

He slowly wraps his arms around my waist, squeezing tight.

It's as if he's scared that Kennedy bringing back these memories will make me want to flee again.

"I know that I fucked up, dammit. I'm trying to make it better, I swear," Bryce says sternly, and Kennedy's cheeks blush a little red, as if she's suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Whatever. I just know how bad heartbreak can be," she mumbles, and Bryce raises his eyebrows at her.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean? Did you stop seeing the purple-haired kid?" Bryce asks bluntly, and Kennedy scowls at him.