Always There

Chapter Seventy-Five

Songs for this chapter:
• If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels

Chapter Seventy-Five:

Bryce's POV

"There you go, sweetheart. Let's get you all warmed up," I say gently, draping the blanket around Blossom's shoulders.

Despite the hot shower that she took, as soon as I set her down on the couch, she began to shiver. I noticed how pale she looked when she wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep warm, and so before settling down onto the couch with her, I went back into the bedroom to grab that blanket that she loves so much.

And now that I've wrapped her up in the blanket, she looks a little bit more comfortable as she sits next to me on the couch, curled up under the blanket.

"Thank you, Bryce," she whispers sweetly, giving me a shy smile.

I reach out towards her, smoothing down her damp hair as I smile back at her. "No problem, baby girl. Do you think you're ready to talk to me about everything that happened today?"

Blossom sighs gently before nodding her head at me. "Yeah. I'm ready. You can ask me whatever questions that you want."

I can feel my smile turn sad. "All right. You know that I wouldn't make you have this conversation if I didn't think it was necessary, right?"

She nods at me.

"Then I'd really like to know why you didn't call me as soon as you realised that your flight wasn't today. I would've came and picked you up no matter where you were so that we could come back here and figure something out for you," I tell her quietly.

Blossom's eyebrows furrow. "I forgot to charge my phone last night. I didn't notice that my phone battery was so low until it was already at five percent, and since I have such an old phone with a terrible battery life, my phone died as I was typing a text message to you. I then spent ten minutes digging around in my luggage for my phone charger before realising that I forgot it at Kennedy's uncle's apartment. I gave my key back to him before they left for the airport, and so I couldn't go back and get it. I thought about buying a new charger, but the amount of money in my bank account really is pathetic and I really couldn't afford it since I thought I may need to make the money last for a few days."

I sigh. "They left for the airport before you?"

Blossom nods again. "We left the house at the same time but their flight was in the morning and mine was a little bit later, or so I thought. I decided to hang out at the cafe I work at for a few hours before heading to the airport."

My eyebrows furrow even further. "You said that you were going to text me. Why didn't you come directly here after your phone died?"

Blossom shrugs. "I didn't want to show up uninvited. I thought that that would be very rude of me. I only was able to work up the courage to come here when the rain didn't seem like it was going to stop after it had been raining for several hours and I realised that I really couldn't sleep on the street and that it was worth stopping by here just to at least try and see if you would let me stay. You were even kinder than I ever could have anticipated, though. Thank you for letting me take a shower. I was so cold and I felt so dirty."

Hearing her talk about how scared and alone she felt is painful. God, it's so fucking painful and all I want to do right now is pull her into my lap and hold her to my chest, as if that's enough to protect her from all of the darkness in the world.

Instead, I take her face in my hands, keeping my touch gentle. "You always have a place here, Blossom. Whether you need a place to stay for a little while or just somewhere to escape to for a few hours, you are always welcome here."