Always There

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Fifty-Nine:

Lexi's POV

"Thank you so much for bringing me here. It means a lot," I say sheepishly, staring down into my glass of iced tea.

Knox reaches across the table, resting his hand on top of mine.

He gives my hand a gentle squeeze as he grins at me. His dark hair is tousled atop his head and he looks absurdly adorable right now, his blue eyes shining bright.

"No problem, little one. You needed to eat something and I really wanted to see a smile on your pretty face. I'm sorry that your boyfriend is such an arsehole," Knox tells me sadly.

I look up at him again. Our eyes meet, and my breath nearly catches in my throat when I see how intense his gaze is.

"He's not my boyfriend anymore, Knox," I say softly. It's so tempting to look away from him, but at the same time, I just can't look away.

Knox tilts his head to the side. "Of course not. That wanker never deserved the title in the first place. You need to find somebody honest who will treat you well."

I pluck one of the remaining fries off of my plate, popping it into my mouth as I ponder this.

After arriving at my old dorm, I took a nap in my old bed. It was oddly comforting, but I couldn't help but to wish I was at home with Bryce, in the massive bed in our bedroom.

That's not your home anymore, Lexi, and that isn't your bedroom either. It's all Bryce's.

I woke up to find myself clutching my stuffed unicorn to my chest because it still smells like Bryce.

When I rolled over in bed I was greeted by Knox, sitting on Kennedy's bed, watching me. I bolted upright in bed at that, which made Knox chuckle.

"Hey, little one. Kennedy had to meet up with some friends to study, but she let me stay here to wait for you to wake up. How about you get dressed and then we'll go out to get a bite to eat," Knox said softly.

He stood up from Kennedy's bed and instead sat down on my bed, next to me. He brushed my hair back from my face and tucked it behind my ears before giving me a small smile.

I rested my chin on the head of the unicorn. I know that I'm eighteen years old and probably shouldn't have an emotional attachment to a darn stuffed animal, but it's just so soft and adorable—definitely the cutest stuffed animal I've ever seen—and since Bryce gave it to me, it's precious.

"Okay. I don't really feel like eating but I probably should. I just need to change and then we can go," I replied.

Knox's attention seemed suddenly drawn to the unicorn in my hand, as though he was noticing it for the first time.

"No offence, Lexi, by why do you have that unicorn? I don't remember you having it before," he asked.

For some reason, his words almost did offend me.

"Bryce got it for me when I was in the hospital. It's special to me," I said.

Knox just smiled at me at this, and then left my room to give me some privacy. I changed out of Bryce's sweatpants into a pair of jeans, but when I then went to lift Bryce's sweatshirt up over my head, I just couldn't do it.

I grabbed my wallet and slipped on my white Converse before meeting Knox in the hallway. He suggested that we stop by a diner a few blocks away, and so here we are now, sitting across from each other in a booth at said diner.

"Bryce treated me well most of the time," I say, finding myself becoming a little bit defensive. "And he loved me unconditionally. I'm so grateful for all of the time I had with him and all of the experiences we shared together. Especially considering that I know I'm probably not going to be able to get over him. Ever."

Knox raises one of his eyebrows. "Really? You don't think you'll ever move on?"

I shrug my shoulders at him, taking a sip of my iced tea. "He's my soulmate. I know a lot of people don't believe in the idea of soulmates, but I do, and Bryce is it for me. Even if I date and fall in love with someone else, I'll never be able to love him the same way I love Bryce, and that wouldn't be fair to them."

I'm unable to identify the emotion that passes over Knox's face.

"If you think that way, little one, you're going to be bloody miserable for the rest of your life. Do you really never want to be in a relationship ever again?" he asks me. There's no mocking undertone to his voice.

"I don't know, Knox. I'm just so confused right now. A part of me wants this all to just be a dream, and the other part of me knows that this isn't a dream and just wants to run back to Bryce's apartment and kiss him senseless," I say, even though the thought is extremely embarrassing.

I expect Knox to tease me for being so clingy and desperate for Bryce's attention.

Instead, by some miracle, he manages to make me laugh.

"You really expect me to believe that if you went back to Bryce's apartment right now, you would simply just kiss him? I don't think I believe you. I think you'd do a lot more than kiss the bastard. I've seen the way you look at him—as though you're ready to tear his clothes into shreds at any given moment," Knox says with an adorable little grin.

I stick my tongue out at him. "Shut up! I do not!"

Knox sticks his tongue out in return, and the light refracts off of his tongue piercing. "You totally do. There's no point in denying it."

I huff. "Give me a break. I already miss him and I broke up with him today. I don't know how I'm going to keep myself away from him. I'm pathetic."

Knox's cocky demeanour immediately diminishes.

"You're not pathetic. Not at all," he says to me kindly.

I take a deep breath. "I'm wearing his sweatshirt. And I'm wearing all of the jewelry he's given me over the years, except for my promise ring, because I gave it back to him—which I totally regret now. I'm the crazy ex-girlfriend who's never going to move on and we've only been broken up for a matter of hours. There's clearly something wrong with me."

Knox squeezes my hand again, much more firmly this time. His eyes are sad as he stares at me, and he bites down on his bottom lip as he considers my words.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Lexi. I mean that. It breaks my heart to see you speak so poorly about yourself. As you said, you just broke up with him—nobody is expecting you to have moved on since this morning. You have time," he tells me.

I can't help but to bury my face in my hands. "I'm so sorry, Knox. You could be doing so many other things with your afternoon and yet you're here, dealing with me, who's being whiny and immature and overdramatic."

Since my hands are covering my face, Knox gives my forearm one last gentle squeeze. There's something oddly comforting about the gesture, coming from him.

"Don't apologise, little one. There's no place I'd rather be right now," he claims.

Tears spring up in my eyes—I'm apparently an emotional wreck today—and I pull my face out of my hands, forcing myself to look at Knox. "Really?"

He nods, smiling. "Really "

And at that—to my complete and utter embarrassment—I blurt out, "Can I have a hug?"

Knox seems surprised by my words as well, but I watch as, without a moment of hesitation, he slides out of his side of the booth, stands up, and opens his arms for me.

I slide out of my side of the booth as well, falling right into his embrace.

A/N: Short chapter again (they'll go back to being regular length soon) but I hope all you Knexi shippers are happy.

I just ordered some books online because the bookstores are closed (the virus) and I'm super pumped because I preordered Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi and I'm excited but also sad for my favourite series to be over :(

Also, I know this is a minuscule problem but my show (Into The Woods) is probably going to be cancelled but my grandma just mailed me a congratulations card and now I'm just sad because I was so excited and she was so proud of me :( </3