Something There

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Songs for this chapter:
• Slow Hands - Niall Horan

Chapter Sixty-Nine:

"We've officially graduated from this shithole!" Jordan exclaims, high-fiving me.

I laugh at him, only able to nod because I literally cannot comprehend the fact that high school is over for me; in two months time, I'm starting university in a whole new country, flipping to an entirely new chapter of my life.

"Language, Jordan," Jordan's mom scolds from where she's standing behind him, and he just rolls her eyes at her, ignoring the comment.

We had only just walked out of our graduation ceremony, then finishing taking pictures before gathering all together to chat for a little longer.

Our senior trip was just last week, but it feels long gone. It was a lot of fun, seeing as we all flew to Toronto and ended up staying in a hotel, meaning that Bryce bribed Jasmine to spend the night in Jordan's room so that him and I could stay together.

I feel bad for the girls staying in the room beside us. We found many, many ways to keep ourselves busy all night.

"Is everybody down to go grab something to eat at the diner down the street? It's kind of our last chance to all be together because Bryce is moving in a couple days for some dumb reason," Jordan than suggests, and everyone's response is positive.

Bryce mopes about how he though just him and I could go hang out, but I promise him that we'll make time before he leaves in two days.

We all say goodbye to our parents, everyone figuring out who's driving who before we all climb into different vehicles with promise of all meeting up at the same spot.

Because Leo drove himself, Bryce and I are able to take his truck alone. It's really hard for me to let go of Bryce's hand when I have to, and he turns to kiss me on the forehead, promising that it'll all be okay.

I'm already so emotional about him leaving; I have absolutely no clue how I'm going to handle myself on the day that he actually leaves on.

I'm sure that I'll be a sobbing mess when we say goodbye, and he's probably going to have to pry my hands off from around his body so that he doesn't miss his flight.

I finally let go of Bryce's hand, opening up the car door so that I can climb inside. I shut the door and buckle my seatbelt silently, biting down hard on the inside of my cheek to try and stop myself from saying something desperate and whiny.

I can't bring myself to talk for the duration of the short car ride in fear of bursting out into tears the moment that I do.

Bryce keeps his hand on my thigh the whole drive, but he has to let go when we pull into the parking lot of the diner.

My heart feels heavy as I step out of the car, immediately folding my arms tight against my chest. I have chills running down my back despite the warm 24° temperature today, and I can feel my bottom lip quivering as I try desperately to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

Before I know it, Bryce is standing in front of me. He pulls me into a tight hug, and I wrap my arms around his waist straight away, letting my head rest against his chest for a moment.

"Let's save all the crying and general sadness for Sunday when I go. I want to enjoy our time together," Bryce says pulling away to stare at me.

I nod helplessly to him, trying to mentally piece together the right thing to say right now, but not able to figure it out fast enough as I hear Ryan ask, "Where are Lexi and Bryce?" from where he's standing a few parking spots away from us.