I suddenly shoot straight up in bed, my heart racing faster than it ever has before.

I had just had a flashback in the form of a nightmare, but it all felt even more really than it usual does; being dragged into the room, a door slammed and suddenly opened, being slapped in the face repeatedly as I sobbed and sobbed, begging to be left alone.

I've given up on keeping track of what those people's prison sentences are like. Just hearing their names or seeing photos of their tired faces is enough to send me spiraling into an emotional breakdown.

Glancing over to my phone, I see that it's just past two in the morning. I'm sure everyone in my house is asleep, and I'm praying that I don't wake them up because of how hard I'm crying.

I try to stifle my sobs by pressing my face into the palms of my hands, biting down hard on the inside of my cheek until it nearly draws blood, but none of this is stopping the emotional trauma.

The past week of my life has been filled with love and happiness and good memories in the making. Bryce and I have been practically inseparable, and we end up talking over the phone for hours everyday after school.

I'm sure my parents are beginning to catch on to there being a reason why their daughter locks herself in her room everyday for so long, but I doubt that they've figured it out yet.

My fingers are weak and shaking as I grab my phone, unlocking it to send a quick text message.

I don't even get a text back before my phone starts vibrating, showing an incoming call. I pick up, and the moment I do, I hear a caring voice straight away.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really," I respond meekly, pulling my knees up to my chest.

I wrap my free arm around them, curling up into a ball against the headboard.

"I'm on my way."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

I then hang up the call, falling backwards and burying my face into the pillow.

I lay there for awhile, the tears still pouring relentlessly as I wait for a text message saying that he's here. I have no clue how I'm going to get downstairs to let him in without waking someone up, but I guess I'll have to manage.

This nightmare was probably the worst yet. I could feel every touch to the point that it really did seem real. I could almost feel my skin burning, my vision getting cloudy as I began thinking what this could turn into.

I'm broken from these thoughts by a light tapping sound on my window.

At first I think that it must be a tree branch or something, but though there's a tree near the window, there's a large landing, almost a flat extension of roof, between it an the house. When I need to clear my mind I love to sometimes go out there to sit down and watch the stars, but I really don't know why it's even there.

The tapping sounds again, and so I climb out of bed, wiping furiously at the tears on my cheeks.

I crouch down on the floor to stare out the window, and I nearly jump when I see a face there.

I pull up both the glass pane and the screen before stepping out onto the landing.

I'm immediately pulled into a pair of strong arms, now seated in his lap as he lets me cry into his shoulder.

"What happened, baby? Did you have a nightmare?" Bryce asks me, and all I can do is nod, crying a little harder.

He begins to massage gentle circles on the small of my back, pressing his cheek to the top of my head in a comforting, dominant way.

"Shh, you're safe now. I'll always keep you safe. I hate to see my pretty girl cry," Bryce murmurs, and I pull my face away from the crook of his neck.

"How can you keep me safe if we're not even in the same country?" I ask, but he doesn't say anything so I continue.

"The dream just felt so real, Bryce. I can't believe that it was just a memory," I whisper, and Bryce carefully takes my face between his hands, pulling me back so that he can look me in the eye.

"I'm so sorry, Blossom. You don't deserve having to deal with this trauma and shit all because of those sick fucks," he tells me, and I nod.

My tears are finally staring to slow down, and Bryce uses his thumbs to wipe my cheeks dry.

"It's not your fault. Thank you for coming," I say quietly, but my voice sounds dull and exhausted.

Bryce bites down on his bottom lip. "I'm trying to think of something I can do to make you happy. I miss that smile of yours. Nice sweatshirt, by the way."

Crap. I'm wearing the sweatshirt that I had stolen from him after that night on the field trip.

I can feel my eyes go wide in horror, and it makes Bryce burst out laughing so hard that his whole body is practically shaking. He leans forward to press his forehead against my chest, but I quickly push him away, feeling extremely embarrassed right now.

"I can explain . . . I didn't mean to take it. I was wearing it when I left and I just forgot to give it back to you," I half lie, feeling my cheeks go red with shame.

Bryce is still laughing as he watches me, eventually controlling his breathing and sitting up straight.

"Fuck, you're hilarious. And adorable. Don't worry about it. I like it better on you," he tells me, and I narrow my eyes at him.

I make a move to get out of his lap, but he grabs my waist, stopping me.

"Nope. I drove my ass all the way over here so there's no way that I'm letting you leave me so soon," Bryce says, and it brings a thought to my head.

"Wait. How the heck did you get up on the roof, Bryce?" I ask him, and he gets a cocky smile on his face.

"I climbed the tree," he answers coolly, and I blink a few times at him.

"That's not safe," I tell him, crossing my arms across my chest. "What if you had fallen and gotten hurt? I would've been super sad," I say, annoyed with how irrational he's being right now.

"Well, good news; I didn't. So what do you want to go and do?" he asks, and I'm instantly confused.

"What do you mean? It's two in the morning. Nothing is open, and I'll get killed if I leave the house," I say, and Bryce gets a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Do you have a fake ID?" he asks me, and my jaw drops.

"No, Bryce! Of course not! We're not going to a bar! Do you even have a fake ID?" I reply, and he tilts his head to the side, running the tip of his tongue along his top lip.

"I will neither confirm or deny that. What time did you go to sleep at?" he then asks, and I shrug at him.

"Ten o'clock," I say, and I know he's trying hard not to laugh at how lame that is right now.

"So you got four hours of sleep. Perfect. I survive off of less than two a night so you're good to go. How about we just go for a drive to help you take your mind off things. I'll have you back before your parents wake up," Bryce offers, and for some strange reason, the idea thrills me.

I've never done anything 'rebellious' like this. I thought only teenagers in movies snuck out at night with their boyfriends, but now my life is turning into that.

And I'm freaking excited about it.

"I don't really look presentable though. I have to get changed and do something with my hair before we can go," I tell him, twirling my fingers through my ponytail.

All I'm wearing is Bryce's white sweatshirt and a pair of loose black shorts that are certainly way too short to wear out in public. It's luckily not too too cold this February night, but if I didn't have Bryce's body warmth, I would definitely be freezing right now.

He shakes his head at me, laughing. "Don't be silly. You look perfect. And we'll be in my car with the heating on, so you don't need to worry about what you're wearing," he insists, and reluctantly I nod my head in agreement.

"All right. How are you getting back down?" I ask.

Then, with a huge grin tugging at the corner of his lips, Bryce carefully slides down the flat roof until his legs are dangling over the edge.

"I'll climb back down the tree, of course," he says as he turns back to me.

He winks, and I feel my mouth drop open in horror.

"That's an awful idea! You're going to fall," I say, and Bryce shakes his head at me.

"You go back inside, grab whatever you need, and meet me at the doorstep, okay?" Bryce suggests, and I begin to move back towards the window.

"You could just come in too," I suggest, but he shakes his head once again.

"Nah. I wouldn't want to wake anyone up. See you in a second," he answers.

I really don't want to witness him climbing down a tree, and so I take his advice straight away, crawling back through the window and into my bedroom.

I shut the screen and then the glass pane, pulling down my blinds too. I don't know how I forgot tonight, but I'm glad I did, or else I probably wouldn't have noticed Bryce.

I then head over to my bedside table, grabbing my phone and house keys before heading out of my room.

I attempt to shut my bedroom door as quietly at possible, but I apparently failed as the door to my brother's own bedroom slowly opens.

When he sees me standing there, his expression shifts to one of confusion, and he takes a few careful steps towards me.

"Where are you off to?" he asks in a whisper, and I suddenly feel nervous.

"I'm going out with Bryce. Please don't try and talk me out of it because I already know how stupid this is," I reply just as quietly, and to my delight, he just stands there smiling.

"Have fun," is the only other thing he says to me before he heads right back into his room.

That was strange. But I'm certainly not going to complain.

Excitement is thrumming within me as I tiptoe down the stairs, careful to make sure that they don't creak under my feet. I slip on a pair of flats before cautiously opening the front door, being even more careful as I close it behind me.

I press my key into the lock, twisting it, before spinning around to find Bryce standing right there, one of his feet propped up on the bottom step.

"Jeez!" I exclaim, jumping back a little seeing as he startled me.

The cold of the night is apparent against my bare legs, and so I hurry down the stairs towards him. His first instinct is to snake his arm around my waist, and he holds me close to his side as we walk towards his truck.

He opens the door for me, and I reach up on my toes to peck him on the cheek before taking my seat.

He shuts my door for me too, and I watch him carefully as he walks around the vehicle to take his own seat.

"Where to, Princess?" Bryce asks me, pulling the car off of the curb and out onto the street.

I giggle at the nickname, and he reaches over to give my thigh a squeeze just as he makes a right-hand turn.

"Jordan calls me that, may I remind you. And I have no clue where to go. It was your idea, so you figure it out," I say, and he gives my arm a small nudge with his elbow.

"This is what I get for being nice to you, huh?" he teases, and I laugh once again.

"I'm just joking, darling. How about we find a parking lot somewhere and we can sit and chat? Anything to distract you," he then adds, and I get a huge, beaming smile on my face.

"Perfect," I grin, and Bryce smiles back.

We end up in an empty parking lot a few minutes away. It's in the middle of a huge park of trees by the water, but I'm pretty sure that I may freeze to death if we go outside right now.

"I haven't gotten a proper kiss yet," Bryce comments as he pulls into a parking spot right next to the entrance of a trail.

A few street lamps give us a little bit of light even as the headlights of his truck shut off, and I unbuckle my seatbelt, turning my body towards him.

I reach up, holding his jaw in one of my hands before bringing his face down to kiss me. It's a soft, gentle, and romantic kiss that nearly makes me shudder, and when I feel his hands gently cupping the back of my neck, I do my best to lean into his body despite the restrictions of the car.

His lips taste like cinnamon per usual, and I still have no clue why.

He suddenly pries my mouth open with his, deepening the kiss as he slips his tongue past the barrier. I don't know if he intended to let out the deep groan that he did, but I felt the sound vibrate through my whole body.

One of his hands leaves my neck and trails all the way down to my thigh, his fingertips on my bare skin making me shudder.

"Thank you for doing all of this for me. I really appreciate you," I say against his lips, and he smiles, pulling his face a few inches away.

"Of course, my love," he replies, and when I meet his eyes, my heart melts.

"I have a question," I say out of the blue, and Bryce tilts his head to the side.

Leaning back in his seat a little, he gestures for me to ask away, and so I do.

"Why are you always so protective when something happens to me? I appreciate it, don't get me wrong, but I think I could probably defend myself sometimes," I say, and Bryce's eyebrows furrow in concern.

He sits there, watching me for a moment as he thinks about his answer before then unbuckling his seatbelt as he turns to stare right at me.

"If something were to ever happen to you . . . Fuck, I don't know what I would do. You're so damn important to me, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that you're suffering while I could've stopped it," he whispers, not giving me a chance to respond before switching the subject.

"Let's go get some fresh air. A walk would be nice," Bryce suddenly suggests, and I feel my eyes narrow at him.

"You said we wouldn't leave the car! I'm wearing shorts! Do you want your girlfriend to get hypothermia? I would've changed if you had told me," I pout, but he laughs my comments away.

I hear a familiar click of the car unlocking, followed by Bryce opening his door. I remain in my seat, unimpressed, but as soon as Bryce steps out of the vehicle he grins at me.

"I have clothes for you to borrow, if you don't mind grabbing them from right behind you. I'd appreciate if you'd hurry up. We don't have all night," he says with a wink, and I let out a huff.