16:58

Chapter Twenty

Hey," Bryce says. "I didn't expect to hear from you."

"Yeah..uh sorry," I say, rubbing my neck.

"Why did you call?" he asks.

"I don't know. I can't sleep."

"Okay," Bryce says.

There's silence and I decide to fill it, "It's funny you answered. It always goes to voicemail when I call you."

"Oh. Yeah." I hear him sigh. "Look, you should go back to bed. I should too."

"Wait," I say. "I...uh...Can we meet up?"

He doesn't say anything for a minute. My face starts to redden and I'm about to say forget it. But then Bryce says, "Yeah, sure."

I sigh with relief. "Okay."

I hear him moving around. "I can pick you up in ten minutes," he says.

"Okay," I say. "Thanks. See you in a few minutes."

"I'm glad you called, Andy." He hangs up and my stomach starts fluttering with nerves. Why am I nervous? It's just Bryce.

I shake my head as I pull on sneakers and a sweatshirt. I feel like a teenager sneaking out. But I'm somewhat of an adult going out to talk to my boyfriend about our future. I hope this is going to help. I don't even know why I called Bryce. I could have gone back to sleep. But I called Bryce. That has to mean something.

It's strange because I don't even know if I want us to be okay. I don't know if we can be okay. I literally ran out of a car and started crying. I thought Bryce was cheating, and he still might be. We have so many issues that he doesn't seem to be aware of.

I sigh as I walk quietly out of my room and down the hallway. I don't want to wake up Dad. The last thing I need is for him to know what I'm doing sneaking out of the house at two in the morning.

Fuck. I don't know why I'm doing this. It doesn't make any sense. But maybe talking to him will.

I grab keys from a drawer in the kitchen and quietly step out of the house. Bryce pulls up after a few minutes. I take a deep breath in before I get in his car. I almost smile when I see him.

He looks like the Bryce I knew in high school. He looks boyish again. His blonde hair is disheveled and he has a hint of stubble. He's dressed in athletic pants and a sweatshirt. He looks so different from the colder business man he's been since his job. The clean shaven, gelled hair, immaculate suit wearing man.

It's good to see him like this.

"You okay?" Bryce asks as he pulls away.

I blink. "Yeah, sure."

"Just seemed like you zoned out," he says. I shrug. The next few minutes are spent in silence as he pulls onto a main road.

"Sooooo..." I trail off. Bryce casts a glance at me.

"Soooo...," he says. I almost smile, but I stop myself before I do. I really hope he doesn't bring up the proposal. I try to think of something to say, but end up with nothing.

Bryce must know because he sighs and looks at me. "You called me, Andy. There's something you want to talk about."

I shrug. "I guess. I think I just wanted to see you."

"You think?"

I sigh. "Bryce, I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I called you." I think about it for a minute. "Forget it. You can just turn right fucking around."