To Have, To Hold, and To Leave: A Bryce Hall FanFiction «completed»

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"I get that you guys are, like, major influencers or whatever, but I don't follow Hollywood Fix. I really don't think it's that big of a deal," I shrugged. 
"Sit down, Kate," Josh said gently. 
"Why?" I demanded, feeling the anger rising in my chest.
"Kate, please," Nessa begged. 

Bryce and I sat down next to each other on the couch, and Josh and Nessa both pulled up Hollywood Fix's Twitter on their phones. 
"What the hell?" I scoffed. 
"I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?" Bryce joked, chuckling. 
"How can you be so nonchalant about this?" I asked, turning to face him. 
"Because I'm not the liar in this situation. You are," he replied, standing up. 

Josh and Nessa were both standing in front of us, and they shared a look before either of them spoke. 
"Kate, er, Kathryn, Kate? I don't really know what to call you. Is all of this true?" Nessa asked. She looked hurt and confused. 
I shook my head. "Not all of it. I legally changed my name to Kate Williams, but my birth name is Kathryn Williamson. I went to UCLA, and I graduated. I am from Ohio," I listed, getting kind of tired of defending myself from Addison's lies. "I didn't stalk Postmates until Bryce's name came up, and I never, ever cheated on my husband. I don't know who Addison is saying that I did cheat with, but I promise you that the only person that I've ever been with is Bryce."

"Do you have your phone on you, Kate?" Josh asked. He looked protective and concerned, and for a split second, I was grateful, but that faded as I realized that I was the thing that he wanted to protect people from.
I patted my pockets. "Shit, no. I must have left it in my room when I got changed. Why?" 
"Addison said that you cheated on Bryce with Griffin, Jaden, and Kio. I, uh, I figured that you might be getting some phone calls," he explained. 
I sighed. "Son of a bitch. Your ex-girlfriend is a real bitch, Bryce. I hope that you know that."
"She just didn't want to see me get hurt," Bryce shrugged, a smug smirk on his face. At this moment, I was unsure how I had ever fallen in love with someone whose ego was that big.

"Can I borrow someone's phone, please?" I asked, ignoring Bryce. 
Bryce chuckled. "I've got your phone. I'm waiting for the messages to roll in. I was really hoping that I could get some answers before you deleted all of the messages."
"Did anyone call me? Please, Bryce. I can't lose my family over a bunch of lies," I practically begged.
He nodded. "Three missed calls from Griffin. Five from Jaden. Oh, and a text from Kio. 'What the hell is Addison's deal? LOL.' God, I miss Kio," he read, holding my phone just out of reach. 
"Don't be an asshole. I need to talk to them. Please, Bryce," I whispered, tears filling my eyes. 

Josh and Nessa watched on silently, and I resented them for taking sides immediately. Sure, they had known Addison longer than they had known me, but I had explained away every lie that she had told. I didn't have anyone left if they all turned on me, but Addison had an army of loving people behind her. I couldn't afford to lose them. 
"Oh, look at that," Bryce announced, holding the phone above his head as he flipped the ringer on. "Mads is calling. That's not going to go over well, now, is it?" 
"Bryce," Josh interjected, a warning tone in his voice, "just give the damn phone to her. You've had your fun being a dick about it, but it's time to let her explain the situation to other people that this has affected. You owe her that much. You did cheat on her with Addison."
"But I only cheated with one girl. She cheated on me with three separate people. That's awful," Bryce said in an attempt to excuse his behavior.
"Our kids weren't picked up from school on time because you were too busy fucking Addison. I don't even want to hear about how damn awful you think I am," I yelled, immediately transferring a hand to my belly. I was almost positive that these were just a false alarm, but with my luck lately, I was probably already in labor. 

He reluctantly handed me the phone, and Jaden's name was flashing across the screen. "Hello? Jay, I can explain," I answered, choking on a sob. 
"No," he replied.
"No?" 
"Addison is really trying to fuck you over. That's not fair. You and I both know that nothing has happened between us. We're like siblings. That part is all going to be okay. I really want to talk about the rest," he said, his voice trailing off. 
"There is very little truth to the rest of it. Yeah, I changed my name. No, I didn't pretend to go to UCLA or be a driver for Postmates. I never cheated on Bryce. There's nothing to explain. You know me, Jay."
"I know," he sighed. "I have a feeling that I'm not the only person that wanted to talk to you, so I'm gonna let you go. Remember, if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."
"Thank you, Jaden. I love you," I whispered. 
"I love you, too," he replied, hanging up. 

"I'm calling Griffin. I'll text Kio back later. I don't owe anyone else any explanations. Bryce, call Renee and get us an emergency session. For literally as soon as she possibly can," I said, dialing Griffin's number. 
"Hey, kiddo," he answered. 
"Hey, Griff. I take it that you called me because you saw Addison's interview."
"I did. We went on a date when your husband told you that he wanted a divorce, but it was more like us just going to dinner as friends. That's certainly not cheating on him," Griffin chuckled awkwardly. 
I groaned again before I had a chance to reply. "Um, I hate to change the subject, but I think my water just broke."