Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Eight

Songs for this chapter:
• Roses - Shawn Mendes

Chapter One Hundred and Eight:

Bryce's POV

"It's official! Blossom is out in the world!" Richard declares from the centre of his living room.

Everyone else whoops and hollers, and Theodore, who is sitting on my left side, pats me on the back.

"Congrats, Bryce. I'm happy for you," he tells me with a grin.

I thank him quietly before Lydia squeezes my shoulder to get my attention.

I turn to face her and she exclaims, "I'm happy for you too! It's such a beautiful song. I'm sure it's the first in many brilliant songs from you."

I give her a brief hug just as Richard approaches the couch that the three of us are seated on. He gives me a big, broad smile and holds his champagne glass in my direction

I clink my glass against his and smile back.

"Congratulations. Cheers to hoping the world loves this song just as much as we do," he says, his smile only growing.

I take a sip from my glass. "I'm just glad at least one good thing came from my breakup."

Richard laughs loudly, as though I just told a very witty joke, but Lydia pats my thigh sympathetically.

Someone from across the room calls Richard over, and so he bids us a quick farewell before heading towards the other man.

As soon as he's out of earshot, Lydia tilts my face down to look at her. "It's beautiful, Bryce. And the world will love it. I just know it."

I smile back at her as best as I can. "Thank you. I'm just . . . sort of scared."

She frowns. "Why's that?"

Even the thought makes me shudder. "Well, I didn't exactly tell Lexi that I'm releasing this song.  Hell, she doesn't even know that I wrote it. I started writing it when we were in high school and so she heard me hum along to it a couple years ago, but she has no clue that it was a song I was writing about her. She never got the chance to hear it because I didn't finish it until after we split. I could never find the ending to the story I wanted to tell, but then we broke up, and the ending became pretty clear."

From a speaker somewhere in the room, the song begins to play and everyone cheers yet again. A few people glance my way and clap briefly and I incline my head at them in acknowledgment before digging around for my phone and yanking it out of my pockets.

On my home screen are notifications from what feels like everyone I know, congratulatory  text messages from my dad and Elena, Matt and Nessa, Jordan and Shawn and Ella, and . . .

I scroll desperately through the notifications.

But no. Nothing from Blossom.

I let out a shuddering sigh and stand up from the couch. I tuck my phone into my pocket and tell Theodore and Lydia, "I'm just heading to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

I sneak through the crowd of people filling up the penthouse as best I can to avoid having to converse with anyone. I only dare to lift my head once I'm free from the main room and walking down a different hallway.

I duck into the second room to my right, which just so happens to be a bathroom.

I shut and lock the door behind me.

And then I press my forehead against the cool wood and I sob.

Lexi's POV

I've been listening to the song on repeat for hours.

My pillow is soaked through with tears and my hands are trembling so badly that I'm not even able to pull my blanket tighter around me despite the shiver in the autumn air tonight.

He just had to release the song on my birthday, didn't he? Midnight on my birthday, I guess, and so technically my birthday won't really start until the morning after I've slept through the night, but still my birthday nonetheless.

Kennedy pops her head through my doorway. She has a sad smile on her face. "I think it's time you go to bed now, Lexi. Then when you wake up in the morning, it'll be your twenty-first birthday, and we're going to have the best time."

I nod weakly, and muster a sad, "Okay. I'll go to sleep now."

I shut my eyes and yank my blanket up over my head.

Kennedy flicks off the overheard light from where she's still standing in the doorway and quietly asks me, "Would you like me to turn the music off too?"

"No," I whisper. "Leave it on, please."

A/N: I know these chapters have all been short but I'm just so glad to be posting more frequently for you guys. I'm sorry if you don't like the short chapters but the next one is already written and it's a pretty long one!