Thank you slleepp for the lovely fan-art ❤️ btw, if you guys want to send fan-art, banners, or covers, you can email it to [email protected]. I'd recommend reading the last bit of the last chapter before you start this chapter.

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Sophia's P.O.V.

Kelsey was tipsy by 6pm.

Conner hid the other bottles of alcohol she purchased and said he'd keep an eye on her and would also make sure Bryce didn't see the birthday decoration.

I could sense the hostility he had toward me when he said this, making me regret inviting him. But excluding him from Bryce's birthday party was out of the question.

Bryce and Conner may be going some weird patch in their friendship, but they still spoke to each other and didn't let that hinder their work.

Brooklyn arrived at 5pm, so that explained Kelsey's attraction to the bottle.

She had a firm hand on Conner, sitting on the couch and watching a comedy show on TV.

I was proud of Kelsey for not doing anything extreme since Brooklyn showed up. I was praying that there weren't any cat fights tonight.

Nicolas and I were heating up the appetizers in the kitchen while Brooklyn watched from the counters. "So where's the birthday boy?" Brooklyn asked, popping a grape into her mouth. "I didn't see his car when I pulled up."

I flashed a look at my slim black watch. "He should be here in an hour. He said he would call me when he gets here. I don't want him going up to the rooftop."

"We haven't started on the decorations," Nicolas sighed in distress.

"It's fine. We can get to that next." I gazed at Brooklyn. "Do you want to help?"

"Put up decorations?" she chuckled, but it slowly died down when she saw neither Nicolas nor I were finding humor in her childish tone. "You invited me for the party. I didn't know I had to be a part of the set up crew."

I was a millisecond away from snapping at her. What was the point anymore? I tried and I tried, but it was like we were regressing in our friendship the longer we knew each other.

How was that possible?

"You're helping us." Nicolas snatched the pouch of grapes out of her hands and put it on the island. Brooklyn stretched out her hand for them, but he was faster than her. "You've been here since five and all you've done is munch on grapes for the last hour. You're helping or you're going home."

Brooklyn growled. "Fine, fine. I'll help." She wiped her palms on the skirt of her dress.

It was new. I'd never see her wear it before. That, along with her box braids, she came to the party looking her best. Half of me was happy that she made an effort, but the other half was worried that there was an ulterior motive.

"Did you recently get that dress?" I curiously inquired while she got out a tray, took some tongs, and arranged the appetizers on platters.

"Yes, it is new." She replied with a gleam in her eyes. She glanced down at herself, brushing a braid back behind her ear. "Do you like it?"

"You look beautiful," I beamed.

"Nic?" she twirled around in her red heels, turning to her cousin. "What do you think?"

"You know you look good, Brook. You don't need the check of approve from a guy to know that." He snickered, changing the temperature of the oven. "However, I hope you're not trying to impress anyone in particular...maybe someone whose name rhymes with Goner."

"Conner's here? I didn't even know." She said, unfazed.

"He was sitting in the living room when you came. Stop playing. I know you saw him." Nicolas crossed his arms. "I wasn't born yesterday."

"You always have to be the one that ruins the mood." Brooklyn huffed. "I wasn't going to talk about Conner, but you're the one who brought him up. I didn't come here for him. I came because Sophia invited me."

"Okay. Prove it to me then. There about five single guys who are coming. I hope I see you mingling amongst them and not with a guy who already has a girlfriend."

Her forehead creased, frowning at her cousin. "I brought a date."

"What?" Nicolas gaped at her. "Who is he?"

"He's a chemistry major and he'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Touching her arm, I dropped my voice to a whisper. "You didn't tell me about bringing a date."

"I didn't think you'd mind." She shrugged.

Like Brooklyn predicted, there was a buzz from the lobby. I answered it and the receptionist in the lobby asked me about three individuals, waiting to come up to Bryce's apartment. One guy and two girls. I knew Brooklyn said she wanted to bring her two roommates, so that was who the girls must've been.

"Let them in," I replied into the receiver.

Kelsey got up from the couch when the partygoers arrived. "Who let the Amish girl in?" she giggled, obviously talking about the girl who was wearing conservative clothes. "You know who she reminds me of," Kelsey attempt to say in a whisper, but it was too loud to be a whisper. "She seems like one of those girl who say they're waiting till marriage, and by wait till marriage, I mean they only do anal."

"Kelsey," I hissed.

"Sorry about her. She's drunk." Conner kindly hushed her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "But she might've made that comment if she was sober, too. So I can't be too sorry."

The party didn't start yet and I was already positive that Conner or drunk Kelsey would ruin my plans.

It's going to be a long night.

. . .

"Did you call Bryce?" Nicolas asked. He was on the rooftop with me, adding the last touches for the decoration for Bryce's birthday. "I know you said he'd you an hour ago, but maybe you should call him again."

"I can try." I eased off the ladder and went to my phone that was on a nearby table.

Dialing his number, I put the phone to my ear and waited for the ring. The sound of a phone in the hallway stirred confusion in my stomach.

Setting down the phone, I jogged to the door that connected to the rooftop, and to my surprise, it was Bryce, standing next to the railing.

My dumbstruck reaction melted away, taking on a new emotion when I saw the condition he was in.

His brow was darkened, caked with blood and the bridge of his nose had a scratch along the side.

"What happened to you?" I asked, rushing up to him.

"I-I drifted off the road for a second and lost control of the steering wheel. It's okay. I called for side-road assistance. The car's a little scratched up, but it's nothing major." He winced, grasping his ribs and massaging it. Bryce's vision moved to the space behind me, seeing the birthday decoration. "Conner said you were up here...I didn't know you were preparing for a party."

Damnit Conner. You had one job. One freaking job.

Giving him a nervous grin, I said, "I know you don't like birthday parties."

"I don't," he said, panting and gritting his teeth. "And this isn't really a good time."

"Everyone's already on there way and some have arrived."

"You invited people into my home?" his voice raised. "You didn't ask for permission."

"Kinda ruins the whole surprise." Nicolas added. "Just saying."

"Knowing the kind of people I surround myself with, you think I like surprises?" his tone didn't lighten up. "I like predictability. Anything that goes out of my schedule isn't going to sit well with me. And I especially don't like seeing strangers in my home."

"They're not strangers. A lot of them are your friends and some are mine."

"Sophia..." he sighed. "I can't let them in. You need to call this off. We can't have a party. Definitely not at a time like this; not when our safety is in jeopardy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I squinted at him as he walked further onto the rooftop. "Why wouldn't it be a good time? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Bryce stern expression of disapprove only amplified. "End the party, Sophia. I'm not going to ask you again."

Just as quickly as he had shown up, Bryce exited, using the wall to give him stability while he shuffled his heavy feet to the door.

This party was on my mind for weeks. I wanted to get a slice of normal for the both of us after all of the unbearable drama from last month. I wanted to do something ordinary with Bryce for once.

"Do you want me to call the bakery and cancel the order for the cake?" Nicolas questioned, putting the staple gun down on to the table of appetizers and closed soda cans, sitting in ice. "I'm going to take your complete silence as a yes."

He took a single step to the door. "No." I protested. "Don't call them."

Nicolas twirled, lowering his chin while staring at me with utmost certainty that I had lost my damn mind.

"He doesn't want a birthday party. Did you see him? He looks all torn up. He doesn't need a party. What that boy needs is an ice pack." Nicolas quipped.

Spinning around to the table, I put a few ice cubs inside a hand towel. "There. I'll give this to him and the party can go on."

"You need help. Like psychiatric help." Nicolas kept his judgmental scowl on me as I left the rooftop, trailing behind me. "Reschedule the party if it means that much. Do it when he's feeling better."

"No, Nic, I'm not going to do that." I used my hip to push open the swinging door that led to the stairway. "Do you want to know the last time I did anything normal with Bryce? We've had more near-life experiences than dates. We've never gone on a date. We don't do what normal couples do."

"You live together, he picks you up from classes, and he buys you stuff. Sounds pretty standard to me."

"You know what I mean by normal, Nic. Like dates and stuff." I told him, grudgingly.

"Normality is boring and overrated." He yawned. "Are you happy with him?"

"I am."

"Is he?"

"I'd like to think so." I said with a dose of qualm, putting to rest the pestering voice in my head telling me how he was acting weird nowadays and how he spent more time finding silence by himself than talking to me this week.

"He's happy." I convinced myself to say, shoving my doubt away.

"Then I don't see the problem here." Nicolas went in front of me and pushed the door that would lead us to the apartments. "You're hung up on what other people define as normal and acceptable, but you're ignoring that you're perfect okay at how things are now. You're happy; he's happy. What's the point in trying to make you guys the picture-perfect couple to other people's standards? You're probably just trying to impress people who don't even have happy relationships."

"No I'm not," I utter with a uncommitted undertone. "I...I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing."

"And that's okay." Nicolas stabled me by grasping my shoulders and holding them firmly, graduating pulling us into an embrace in the emptied out hallway.

Uncertainty in my meek response was evident. I had dated other guys before, two to be exact. But neither of them were like Bryce. I never felt like my life was on the line.

With my first boyfriend in high school, it was traditional. Expected. Nothing we did was out of the norm. But with Bryce, everything was so foggy. It was as if I had to take two steps back every time we took a single step forward in the dark.

Ever since last week, Bryce's usually flirtatious attitude had come to a slow, making our intimate interactions few and far apart. He didn't think I noticed his sleepless nights, tossing and turning till the early morning, and his lose of an appetite, but I was attuned to this strange shift.

I just didn't understand why he was pulling back so much.

Breaking the hug, I gazed up at Nicolas. "I think Bryce is going to break up with me."

"What? But you said he's happy with you. That doesn't add up, Sophia." Nicolas studied my face. "Do you think he's going to break up with you or are you jumping to conclusions like you always do?"

"I don't always jump to conclusions."

His brows narrowed.

"Okay, so maybe I have a slight tendency to embellish on the truth and make outlandish assumptions."

"Slightly? That's an understatement." Resting both his hands on my shoulders, Nicolas looked at me, dead-panning. "I'm only going to say this one time and one time only. Take a deep breath, step back, and think before deciding to jump to some outrageous conclusion. Trust me. It'll help you in the long run. Imagine the kind of mess you'd start if you went up to Bryce right and asked him if he was going to break up with you because of a small guess. A guess that could be wrong."

"Or entirely right."

"Or completely wrong," he emphasized. "You don't have any solid evidence."

Dragging a hand up my temple. "You're right, Nic."

"You can say that again." He chuckled. "I hope that helps."

"It did. Really, it does. I appreciate that you brought up how I jump to conclusions. I'll try to be more aware of it."

"It's not going to change overnight. Just be more conscious." He hugged me again and we returned to our path to the apartment.

. . .

Everyone was gone.

Bryce even kicked out Conner and the inebriated Kelsey. I called the theater and told them that we wouldn't be using their vacant screening room for Return of the Living Dead III.

The appetizers were brought back into the apartment and Bryce ate them while on couch, stretching his legs to the coffee table.

I got Nicolas to bring the birthday cake for me and I refrigerated it, not seeing a point in lighting the candles and sing the song.

Bryce wasn't in the mood and neither was I. The tension was laid on thick, boiling the longer we sat in silence.

"I hope you liked it." I murmured after he took a bite of in a chicken nugget. "It would've been nicer if you tried the birthday cake."

"I don't like cakes."

I scrunched my nose. "What kind of monster doesn't like cake?"

"Me." He chewed on the mozzarella stick, dipping it in the sauce. "I think frosting is the worst man-made food creation on earth."

"I wasn't aware that you hated sweet things. I'll get you a cake with no frosting next time. Or better yet, I'll just get you a loaf of bread with your name written on it," I muttered, drowning in bitterness.

"I don't hate all sweet things. I like cookies and brownies." He assured me. "Perhaps if you asked me you'd know that. Who cares though? You knew I hated birthday parties and you still tried to throw one." He sighed.

"I'm sorry for wanting to do something nice for you."

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." His features softened. Wiping the crumbs off his fingers, Bryce picked up the remote and turned the volume down, scooting closer to my side of the couch. "You didn't need to throw me a party, Sophia. I don't need a room full of people on my birthday. I hate people." I laughed at his bluntness. "If all you had planned for the day was the two of us spending the night together, I would've loved that more than any party."

"I thought you hate being around people."

Erasing the small gap between us, he joined his lips to my jaw. "It's not the same with you. I don't hate being around you."

"Your actions this week go against that."

He retreated back. "They do?"

"A little." I admitted. "You've been...standoffish. That's the vibe I've been getting off you lately."

"I know. I apologize. I'm in a stressful position right now, but I don't want you to think I'm pulling away from you and acting like this because of something you did. You're my Sophia at the end of the day, and I love you."

My heart fluttered, relaxing into him. "I love you, too."

Bryce paused from kissing my neck. "You do?" He broke into a smile. "You're not just saying that because it's my birthday?"

I shook my head. "I do love you. I realized a while ago, talking to my mom. I said it in the middle of a conversation, telling her that I love you."

"You did?" His eyes brightened more. I hadn't seen him this happy in days. "What did she say? I know she's not a big fan of me, but I think I can change her mind."

That wasn't something I wanted to tell him. My mom wasn't warming up on the thought of us dating, but I knew she'd come around eventually.

"She was happy for me," I fibbed. "Maybe if we stopped by more often and you got to know her better, things could be easier. Give her time."

"I..." he trailed off, the smile faltering. "I can try."

"You hesitated." I noted. "There was a hesitation."

"No, there wasn't." He disagreed.

"Yes, there was." I inched back. "Bryce, is there something you're holding from me?"

"Of course not." He swiped his thumb across my cheek, looking into me. "Hey, before I forget. I got you something."

"You got me something for your birthday?" I asked with a skeptical look as he took my hand and ushered me upstairs and into his room. "That's weird."

"I wanted to do this for you earlier, but I think it makes more sense that I do it now."

"That's not much of a hint as to what you're giving me."

He sat me down on the unmade bed and I crossed my legs while he pulled the drawer of his dresser.

Bryce crashed on to the mattress and handed me an envelope. "Open it," he grinned.

I pulled at the flap, seeing a slip of paper inside. "Self-defense classes," I read out loud. The other slip of paper was a flyer for practice at a shooting range. "Why would I need this?"

"If there's ever a time I'm not around, you can defend yourself. For the self-defense classes, you can bring a partner. I'll go with you for the first few classes. And if I can't make it for a class, I already asked Kelsey and Anthony to go with you."

He extended his index finger. "One more thing." He reached around behind his back and held out a two-piece swimsuit. "Starting this week, I wanted to teach you how to swim."

"You want to teach me how to swim?" I croaked. There was something so kind in hearing him say that.

"I'd love to teach you." He gave me the gift. "The only reason we met in the first place was because you didn't know how to swim. I want to be the one who teaches you. It's not that hard."

Still choked up on emotions, I was forced into a hug. My mind was going in circles when he put his arms around me and drew me in.

"I promise," he said, seeming to have stopped mid-sentence. There was hidden message in his weary, wobbly proclamation. But I told myself that I was doing exactly what Nicolas said I always did. Jumping to conclusions.

Bryce's P.O.V.

"I promise," I whispered gently into her hair.

I promise I won't forget you, was what I meant.

The words were loud enough to cancel out the sound of my heart breaking.

Sophia pulled back, gazing at me. "Since we're giving out presents, I should get you your gift."

"I don't want a gift." I refused. "You being here is enough."

Her eyes glossed over. "Bryce. I got you a gift and I'm going to give it to you-"

"I don't want it," I stated. Knowing that these moments would be among our last shared memories, I said things I knew I had to get off my chest before it was too late. "You're everything I've ever wanted and everything I never