Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Five

I feel my eyebrows furrow. "Of course you can, sweetheart."

She presses her nose into my neck and inhales deeply. "Knox set me up with one of his friends. He promised me he was a really nice guy and that we had a lot in common. So, I agreed to go out for dinner with him. His name is Josh and he was cute from the photos I saw. The night he was supposed to pick me up for our date, I curled my hair and Kennedy did my makeup and I wore my prettiest dress, and then the moment I heard him knock on the apartment door, I burst into tears. I couldn't stop crying. I tried so hard, and I just couldn't. All I could think about was you. Kennedy had to lie and tell him I was sick. I felt so fucking terrible. He seemed like such a nice guy, and I ruined everything."

I open my mouth to comfort her, but I don't get the chance before she presses a kiss against my mouth.

It's only the briefest touch of lips, but it's enough to knock the breath out of me and stun me into silence.

Blossom pulls back and takes my face between her hands. When her eyes meet mine, they're glossy and wide and brimming with tears.

"Please, Bryce." Her voice is barely audible. "Please forgive me. Please be mine again. I don't want anyone else. All I want is you."

My heart skips a beat.

There's this tiny voice in the back of my head, screaming at me not to do this, that she's drunk and that she would never say all of this if she was sober.

A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts.

Slowly, I raise my hand to my face and wipe my mouth with the back of it.

Blossom visibly flinches.

"Not you," I clarify. "Just the alcohol. Go brush your teeth. Then I'm going to get you something to eat. We'll talk once you've sobered up a bit."

Good job, Bryce. Restraint.

Blossom nods in understanding and stands up from my lap. I follow her lead, and when I offer her my hand, she links her fingers through mine and leads us into her bathroom.

I let go of her hand when she stops in front of the sink and reaches for her toothbrush.

Suddenly, she freezes.

When she turns to face me, her face is green.

Her eyes widen and she points at the door. "Out."

I frown. "Why? You literally just dragged me in here."

She opens her mouth to speak again. 

But then she drops to her knees and vomits into the toilet.

I grimace. "Ah. I see."

Blossom glares at me over her shoulder momentarily before puking again with a sad moan of defeat.

I lower myself down onto my knees and gently gather her hair into a fist to keep the long strands away from her face. My other hand slides under the hem of her T-shirt and begins to rub slow circles against her back. When she moans this time, it's a moan of relief.

She pukes a couple more times before flushing the toilet and slumping against my chest. I release my grip on her hair and continue to rub her back as she catches her breath.

"Why the fuck didn't you leave? I told you to leave," she grumbles.

I kiss the side of her head. "Someone needed to hold your hair back for you. Now let's get up. You brush your teeth and I'm going to go make you some tea and crackers."

🌸🌸🌸

I find Blossom curled up in bed under the fluffy blanket I gave her for her birthday. She took a quick shower after throwing up, and I gave her some privacy and went into the kitchen to make her tea.

I place the steaming mug on her bedside table and hand her the plate of saltine crackers. She takes them from me gingerly and settles back against her headboard with a sigh.

"You don't have to stay," she says softly, picking up a cracker and inspecting it closely. She raises it to her lips and nibbles on just the corner.

"I know. But I want to stay, if you'll have me." I sit down on the edge of her bed and smile.

She pops the rest of the cracker into her mouth, chews slowly, swallows. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

I reach for her free hand. "There's nothing better than spending time with my girl."

Her cheeks flush a deep shade of pink.

I continue. "Besides, I wouldn't want to leave you here alone. I can tell you need company. How about we settle in for the night and watch a movie?"

Blossom grins and scoots over in bed. I pull back the covers and climb in beside her, and she immediately snuggles into my body.

"You're the best boyfriend ever. You're so caring. Your future wife is going to be so lucky to have you," she confesses quietly.

I have to look away from her. "I know you're drunk, but we broke up, remember?"

She huffs out a loud sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Worst fucking decision of my life. I guess it's too late now, though. Can you hand me my tea?"

I nod wordlessly and hand her the mug.

She takes a sip and winces. "Fuck. That's hot. What do you want to watch? Nothing scary. Don't be an asshole."

I laugh and reach for Blossom's TV remote. I turn on the television and scroll through options for several minutes before finding what I'm looking for.

I hit play and glance over at my sweet girl. She's studying another cracker and not paying any attention to the screen until she hears the opening music and immediately perks up.

"We're watching Tangled? Really? You're okay to watch a Disney movie with me?" she asks excitedly.

I laugh and kiss her hair. "Of course. Enjoy your evening before your hangover hits you tomorrow morning."

Blossom groans and buries her face into my shoulder.

I simply hold her tighter.

A/N: I <3 drunk Blossom.

Anyway . . . Hi friends! How is everyone holding up? I'm done school in just over a month which is super exciting and I can't wait for summer break. I'm hoping that I'll be able to write more once school is out so stay tuned <3