Always There

Chapter Ninety-Four

Chapter Ninety-Four:

Bryce's POV

I know that Blossom and I probably look ridiculous right now, but God, I don't even fucking care because she's practically radiating happiness.

That's all that really matters to me, to be honest. All that matters is that she's happy and safe, and I can tell that she feels both of those things right now.

I'm still kneeling on the floor, my arms around Blossom, which puts me at the perfect height for her to wrap her arms around me and bury her face into the crook of my neck. She's clinging on to me so damn tight, her fingertips digging into my skin through my shirt, and I'm certain that this is the most wonderful feeling that I've felt in a very long time.

I can't help but to hug her just a little bit tighter. My arms are around her waist and my palms are flattened against the small of her back, which means that I can feel the way her entire body is trembling as she holds on to me tightly. Her face is pressed so hard into my neck that the sounds of her little sobs and gasps and whimpers are mostly contained, but I can still feel her hot tears against my skin.

I know that I should be focused on stopping the tears pouring down her cheeks right now, but since I know that they're happy tears, I can't help the way my heart swells when I consider just how emotionally overwhelmed she was to see me today.

I knew surprising her for her birthday would bring her immense joy, but God, I didn't think she would be quite this happy.

"I can't believe you're nineteen already, honey. Fuck, time has gone by so damn fast. How have you been? You holding up all right, sweetheart?" I ask Blossom softly, my lips brushing against the smooth skin of her neck.

She lets out a broken sob, this one particularly loud, before pulling her face out from where she's buried it in the crook of my neck. Her face now merely a few inches away from mine, I'm able to get a good look at her flushed, tear-stained cheeks, her wide eyes, and her pouted lips.

Fuck, I want to kiss those lips.

I manage to hold back, though, because no matter how fucking badly I want to kiss her, I know that this is just not the time.

I instead reach up to take her face between my hands and brush my thumbs gently against her cheekbones. I give her a small smile and she lets out another little sob that somehow makes her lower lip tremble even harder.

"I've been having a hard time," Blossom whispers, finally answering my question. "But I think I'm okay now, because now you're here, and everything is okay when I'm with you."

She sniffles again, and I watch as she purses her lips together tightly as though she's trying her very best to conceal the fact that her lower lip is trembling even harder now. I can tell that she's about to burst into tears all over again, and so even though I want to ask her a million questions about how she's been, I open my arms wide for her so that I can give her another hug.

She falls right into my arms once again, and I'm officially convinced that this is the best feeling in the whole fucking world.

She flings her arms around me and buries her face into the crook of my neck, and I can't help but to smile as I wrap my arms around her and gently kiss the side of her head.

Since Blossom seems satisfied to simply wrap her entire body around me and hold on tightly, I'm able to look over her shoulder at where her three friends are still standing and watching us. Kennedy and Nathan are holding hands and Kennedy is snuggled up against his side, her head leaning against his bicep. She's holding her phone up in front of her face with her free hand, presumably video recording Blossom and I's little reunion, and her and Nathan are both wearing massive smiles on their faces as they watch us.

I give Kennedy a thumbs-up and she grins even wider at me.

Knox is standing beside Kennedy, his hands tucked into his pockets. The expression on his face right now is really fucking confusing—his lips are turned up slightly into a smile, but his head is tilted to the side and he's got one eyebrow raised as though he's deep in thought—but I'm still able to tell that he's genuinely happy for Blossom right now.

I smile at him. "Hey."

He nods at me and returns my smile. "Hi, Bryce."

When I look away from Knox, I dimly become aware of the fact that there are quite a few students that have stopped in the hallways to gather around and watch us. Since I know Blossom well enough to know that this would probably embarrass her, I give her one final squeeze before unwrapping my arms from around her.

She continues to hold on to me tightly, though, and so I let out a little sigh before whispering, "Hey, honey. I know you missed me a lot, and I really don't blame you, but we've got a bit of an audience. How about you let me stand up so that we can head outside. I have a little something for you in my car."

This manages to elicit a little giggle from Blossom, and so reluctantly, she unwraps her arms from around me and takes a step backwards. This allows me to stand up from the kneeling position that I was in while Blossom held on to me, and as soon as I've straightened my shirt, Blossom reaches down to grab my hand and hold it firmly.

I laugh as I finally get a good look at her. She's wearing a pair of black leggings and a red sweatshirt of mine that she took with her when she moved out, so oversized on her that it falls down to her knees. She's wearing her white Converse on her feet, her hair is pulled up into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and upon closer inspection, I'm able to see that she's wearing almost all of the jewelry that I've given her over the years.

"You look beautiful," I whisper, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Blossom blinks up at me. "Really? I thought that I looked sort of crappy today."

I smile at her, shaking my head slightly. "Not all all."

Blossom does her best to smile back at me before reaching up to wipe away the tears still clinging to her cheeks even though she's no longer crying. Because my sweater is clearly not her size, the sleeves are far too long on her, and so her hands are covered by the thick material and she's able to use her sweater paws to dry up her tears.

"I'm really sorry for being so emotional today," she says softly. "I just was kind of sad this morning because I thought you would text me to say happy birthday, and then you didn't. But this is so much better. I'm so thankful for you, Bryce."

I chuckle a little bit at this, but I can't ignore the way my heart clenches upon hearing her say that.

I keep my voice low when I reply to her. "You know I'll do anything to see my girl happy."

Blossom giggles and then lifts herself up on her toes to kiss me on the cheek.

A/N: Okay so I know I sort of disappeared for two and a half weeks, but I honestly really don't have anything to say about that because there was really no reason. I just needed a little break because I was getting overwhelmed.

I've also been able to accept that I won't finish writing this book before school starts in September, which is good for me because I really didn't need to put that pressure on myself. I've decided that I'm just going to write whenever I feel like it because I think the story will be the best if I'm able to give myself time to make it as perfect as I possibly can.

I also know that this chapter is quite short, but I think it's super cute and so I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless <3

Thank you for all your love and support (and for not getting annoyed with me when I disappear for a little bit lol).