Thirty-Three

"Sorry for stopping by so late." I hear Natalie say behind Bryson. I step out so she can see me and the shock on her face. "Who's that?" She asks once she notices me standing there.

"I'm Summer." I step forward before Bryson can say anything. "We used to date." The words hurt to say, they sound foreign and forced. Her confusion only gets worse and it dawned on me that he hasn't mentioned me to her yet.

"It's a long story." Bryson rubs his neck looking very nervous about the situation at hand.

"I have time." Natalie says determined walking past him to stand in front of me. "How come I haven't seen you around before?" Bryson looks over at me as if to ask if I'd be okay and I nod at him to leave it. She deserves to know why her heart will be torn in two.

I lead her to the couch and once again go into detail about the situation. She listens closely to my words at looks over to Bryson a few times to gauge his reaction. I thought it would get easier every time I told my story, but it only gets harder. I apologize to her for putting her in this situation even if it wasn't my fault. She was a stranger to our town, she didn't know the darkness within. She was only here right now because she was taking classes at a college downtown. She was just stopping by to say hi and I happened to be here also.

"You're still in love with him." She says catching me completely off guard and Bryson snaps from his trance and looks between us intensely. "You don't need to say anything, I can see it in your eyes" She looks down with a soft smile with a glimmer of disappointment.

"I never stopped." I say meeting his eyes. She looks up at us and smiles wider.

"I should get going, I have class tomorrow. " She says standing up, I join her. She was doing her best to hide her disappointment but a tear falls down as she turns to the door. I felt sorry for her. I nod at Bryson to follow her out and talk without me. I take a breath as the door closes behind them. I felt bad for her, I didn't want anymore hurt to come from me.

The door opens again and I walk forward. Bryson closes it and leans his back against it looking at me, there was a sadness in his eyes I couldn't decipher.

"Is she okay?" I ask genuinely concerned.

"She will be." He clears his throat. "I told her that I love you, she said she knew that I couldn't love her." He looks down.

"Did you like her?" I ask knowing he most likely did but I wanted to make sure he didn't regret choosing me.

"Yes, but I never wanted it to go farther than friends." He replies.

"Are you sure?" I step closer and he sighs pulling me the rest of the way to him. My hands fall on his chest and he hugs me.

"I lost you once, I won't lose you again." He whispers into my hair and I melt into him. "I do feel bad for leading her on, but in my defense, that's mostly Reese's fault." He jokes lightly and it eases me a little.

"I love you." I say leaning into him still and his heartbeat beats faster at my words.

"I love you too." He replies softly. "Please join me on tour." He pulls me away, begging with his eyes.

"Will everyone be okay with that?" I ask not wanted to intrude on anything. I felt so out of place now and it was hard to shake that off.

"Summer, are you kidding? Of course you're welcome." He shakes his head at me and I chuckle at his dumbfounded expression.

"Okay." I give in and he pulls me back in, practicality suffocating me with his happiness.

"Will you be okay going back to yours to grab stuff?" He asks concerned, "I will be going with you." He quickly adds.

"As long as I'm with you." I hesitantly say back. I hadn't been back since and I was still terrified to go back. At least I only had a few belongings so it wouldn't be hard to pack and then leave.

"I promise I'll keep you safe." He says and I believe him.

"I know." I smile up at him. I knew that he genuinely cared for me and would do anything in his power to keep me out of harm's way. I just feared that Brad would use Bryson against me someday. I could enjoy this moment now but it would end, I just didn't know when and I had to force myself to carry on knowing that.

"Be mine." He takes my hands in his.

"I already am." I laugh at him

♥︎