Always There

Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Three:

Lexi's POV

"Wait!" I call out just as Bryce steps into the hallway and out of my dorm room.

Bryce turns around to face me, one eyebrow raised. I can feel Kennedy giving me a strange look from where she's sitting at her desk.

"Is everything all right, Blossom?" he asks worriedly.

I nod at him, shooting up from my seat on my bed. "Yeah. Can I just have one more hug before you go, though?"

Bryce suddenly grins so wide that my heart aches.

I hurry across the room and I fall right into his arms without a second thought.

"I'm going to miss you," I whisper, fighting back tears as I bury my face into the material of Bryce's T-shirt.

His arms come around me and he holds me tight. I feel his fingertips digging into the skin of my back as he clings to me tightly, as though he doesn't plan on letting go any time soon.

"I'm going to miss you too, Blossom. So much," he whispers against my hair, kissing me several times on the top of my head.

I tighten my grip on him, somehow. "Will we see each other again, someday? The past two months have been so lonely for me. I don't know how I'll survive if I never see you again."

I feel Bryce nod against the top of my head. "Yes. Of course. We'll see each other again. We always seem to find our way back to each other, don't we?"

🌸🌸🌸

"Knox? What are you doing here?" I ask incredulously as Knox makes his way towards me, sticking his hands in his pockets.

He has a cocky smile on his face and a twinkle in his sapphire blue eyes. He's wearing a white T-shirt, a pair of navy blue athletic shorts, and a pair of sneakers. His hair is damp with sweat and so I can only assume that he's stopped into the cafe on his way back to Juilliard after going for a jog.

"I was on my way back to campus and when I checked the time, I realised that you had probably just gotten off your shift. I thought I'd see if you wanted to walk back to campus with me so that we can grab dinner together. I haven't eaten yet," Knox answers, pulling out the chair in front of him and taking a seat at the opposite side of the table from me.

I can't help but to smile at this. It always makes me so happy to have Knox stop by to see me.

I take a little sip of my chai latte before I respond to Knox. "That's really sweet, Knox. Thank you for coming to see me. I really needed this today."

Knox's smile suddenly turns sad. "Kennedy told me that you had a hard time saying goodbye to Bryce earlier. How are you feeling now?"

I shrug at him, taking another sip of tea. "I'm fine, I guess. Just sad. Bryce was so different last night and this morning. He was so kind and so sweet. He seemed like he was genuinely sorry, but the issue is that he didn't apologise. He seemed sorry but he didn't say the words I needed to hear him say."

Knox's eyebrows furrow, and he reaches across the table to rest his hand atop mine in a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry, little one. I wish I could do something to make it better. You probably need something to eat though, Lex. Are you able to leave right now?"

I nod at him and stand up from my seat, tucking my chair in after myself. I then pick up my latte, holding it in both hands to savour its warmth despite the fact that it's summer and already hot as hell outside.

Knox stands up as well, and he earns himself a smile when he tucks his chair back in after himself. When he catches me grinning, he just smiles even wider.

"I'm good to leave. I just wanted a chai latte before I left and so I was sitting down to drink it. I'm super hungry, and I'd love to go get dinner with you," I tell Knox as I take a few steps towards him.

He wraps an arm around my waist and we make our way out of the cafe. I wave goodbye to my co-workers quickly on our way out, and Knox ends up having to practically pull me out of the cafe before I get caught up in a conversation with Angie about the date her girlfriend took her on last night even though we already spoke about it the whole time I was working.

Once Knox successfully manages to pull me out the door, we're immediately swept into the wave of people walking down the busy street. Knox uses his grip on my waist to tuck me in close against his side as we walk, and I can't help but to rest the side of my head against his chest because I just feel so safe in his arms.

"You're getting oddly cuddly considering how sweaty I am, little one," Knox comments, giving my waist a gentle squeeze.

I stick my tongue out at him. "Some girls like when guys are all sweaty, you know. Some girls think it's hot."

Knox raises an eyebrow at me. "Do you think that it's hot?"

I shrug my shoulders at him. "Maybe I would think it's hot if I got to see Bryce all hot and sweaty after a workout. It would be even better if I could actually watch him work out, too."

Knox scoffs and I can't help but to giggle, taking another sip of tea as we wait at the curb of the sidewalk for the light to change so that we can cross the street.

When the light finally does turn, we begin to cross, and I ask, "How was last night for you? Did anything happen with Jane?"

Knox seems momentarily stunned by the fact that I even asked this question, but eventually, he says, "Last night was wonderful. We didn't go home together, if that's what you're asking. She's a lovely girl and I don't want to move too fast and screw things up with her."

I feel my smile dim just the slightest bit before I'm able to catch it and smile widely again. "I hope things work out well for you, Knox. I really do. You deserve to be happy."

Knox kisses me on the forehead. "Thank you, Lexi."

I don't say anything else for a little while as we continue to make our way down the street and towards Juilliard, but eventually, I'm able to work up the courage to say something else to Knox.

"Knox?" I ask shyly.

Knox looks down at me with a quizzical expression on his face. "Yeah?"

"Don't hide anything from her," I say softly, but still loudly enough that Knox is able to hear me over the blaring noises all around us. "Jane, I mean. Be honest with her. She reminds me a lot of me, you know. That's why I can tell that she wouldn't like being lied to. It would break her heart to be lied to by someone she trusts so much. Just like it broke mine."

A/N: There is a two week time jump from this chapter to the next chapter. Just thought I would give you guys a heads up so that there isn't any confusion even though I'm pretty sure the amount of time that has passed will be mentioned in the chapter :-)