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“Bryce! S-stop! Please! Ah!” I laugh uncontrollably. “Uncle! Uncle!” When he finally lets go, I’m out of breath. But that doesn’t stop him from pushing me up against the wall and devouring my mouth with his.
“Mm. You’re lucky everyone will be here soon, otherwise you and I would be taking a detour to the bedroom.” Bryce looks hungrily at me, biting his lip.
“Yeah, yeah, caveman. You can throw me over your shoulder when we get to the new house. Pack!” I point back towards the bedroom.
Bryce winks and obeys, saying, “I’m holding you to that, Kitty Kat.”
The last few months have been full of difficulties for me. Bryce has never wavered in his stance on being there for me through it all, though. He’s stood next to me through everything.
It’s a good thing I live on the first floor because when I came home from the hospital, I was in a wheelchair for a while since my leg was still in a cast. I would’ve preferred crutches, but a broken arm didn’t allow me that luxury. When I got home, Bryce simply moved in with me. He had only signed a six-month lease, so he was already pretty much living month to month.
We sold whatever furniture we didn’t want to keep. The rest went to storage for whenever we bought a house. Today, we’re finally getting ready to move into that house.
Bryce was my hero throughout this entire ordeal. Austin had told me how hard it was for Bryce to hold it together when he got there. When I came home from the hospital, he helped me through everything. Even getting in a vehicle again. There was a period where it terrified me to get into a car. I still get anxiety, but it’s getting better. And as long as I’m with him, I’m usually okay.
We bought a house on the northwest side of the valley. It’s in a newer neighborhood, so there are a lot of young families there. One day, when we start a family of our own, there will be plenty of kids for them to play with. That’s in the future, but it’s nice to think about.
We were originally going to rent and then buy a home, but after everything, Bryce didn’t want to wait any longer. He wanted to finally put down roots and start our life together. I honestly wanted the same.
Today, all of our friends and family are coming to help move us and get us settled. Even his parents flew in. We can seriously use the help, to be honest. I still favor my good leg and arm. Bryce tells me it’s natural to do. I’m just afraid I’ll break them again.
Nighttime is rough for me. I have nightmares of the accident.
Usually, the same scene plays out. There’s a jolt, and I wake up in the car, I talk to a man, and I ask for Bryce. Sometimes, in my dreams, no one comes to help me. Therapy’s helping with the anxiety and panic that comes with being in an accident like that. The nightmares are getting less frequent, and Bryce has me wake him up if he doesn’t hear me so he can hold me until I’m comfortable enough to fall asleep again.
Things have improved, and I’m getting better. Physically and mentally. I have Bryce to thank for a lot of that. I love him more than he may realize.
“We’re here!” Ruth calls into the apartment after walking through the front door. “Oh! Katrina, come here, sweetie. How are you doing?” She rushes over to me and hugs me. Because of the accident, we couldn’t go out there last month. We had to postpone the trip I got for Bryce for Valentine’s Day. It was a tough decision, but there was a lot going on with getting me back on my feet. With my recovery requiring physical therapy, it was just better to postpone for now. I think I was more upset over it. It didn’t seem to bother Bryce that we had to push the dates back.
Ignoring her question, I try for a subject change. “Hi, Ruth. How are you? How was the flight in?”
She pulls back and studies me. “You didn’t answer me. How are you doing?”
“She’s fine, mom. Let the poor girl go. Also, what? Am I not that important anymore?” Bryce throws his hands in the air. Ruth narrows her eyes at her son, and he chuckles, adding, “Fine, dote on her. I’ll just be over here packing and wishing my mom loved me as much as she loves my girlfriend.”
“That boy of mine,” She laughs and shakes her head, grinning.
I finally say with a chuckle, “To answer your question, I’m fine. Much stronger and doing better every day.” Her hands are soon on my face, and she kisses me on the cheek.
“I’m so glad to hear you’re better. Okay, what do you need us to do?” Ruth rolls up her sleeves and begins taping a nearby box.
“Still not going to say hi to me, mom?” Bryce yells from the bedroom.
“Oh, fine!” Ruth huffs. She giggles, making her way over to him and hugging him tight. Bryce. He’s such a momma’s boy.
Greg and Ruth begin packing up what we left in the bathroom. We’re almost ready to go. My parents, my sister, and her husband are coming with the truck and van. Hopefully, we can do all of this in one trip.
“Hey, Kitty Kat.” Bryce again sneaks up on me. I turn around and throw my hands around his neck. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Hm. Let me think,” I tease, wrinkling my nose and pretending to be deep in thought.
“Well, if you have to think about it, I haven’t said it nearly enough. So, let me fix that. Sweetheart, I love you so very much. Today will go down as one of the best.” He smiles against my lips, kissing me.
“You have more than one?” I cock an eyebrow.
“Of course. The day I met you. Christmas Day, when I first kissed you. Oh, when I finally told you I love you, which also was the day we found each other again. The day you woke up in the hospital. Oh, and I can’t forget every day I wake up next to you. Just to name a few,” Bryce shrugs and gives me his signature panty-dropping smile. Butterflies swirl around in my stomach. This man still gives me fricking butterflies.
Once the moving truck’s packed up, Bryce’s dad, Greg, drives it to our new place. Bryce and I jump into his truck, and I’m so ready to get settled into the new place. My insides are doing flip-flops with the excitement of our new house. Ourhome.