I've been waiting all afternoon to hear from Bryce again, but he hasn't called me back.

I cut off another piece of the turkey on my plate, deciding that I should at least wait until a little later, not sure what his plans are for dinner.

I know that I'm getting obsessive over it, but I can't avoid the fleeting thoughts that maybe something is wrong.

Today has been great, and I've loved having the day to spend with my family. My parents and uncle have been in the kitchen working on dinner all day since after we had opened presents, leaving Charlie and I to entertain the twins all day.

Apart from the phone call incident earlier on, Addison and Adriana have actually been pretty nice.

Addison apologized for stealing my phone, and I didn't hold it against her. We spent the morning and afternoon watching classic Christmas movies and eating junk food, and though I'm still not thrilled with the twins, they're beginning to grow on me.

"Hey Lex, can you pass me the ketchup?" my brother asks me, and I nod to him, handing the bottle over. I immediately go back into my little bubble of thoughts, and I find myself biting my lip.

"Is everything all right?" he asks me, this time far quieter, and I nod at him, shaking off the fog in my mind.

He doesn't seem to buy it as he leans a little closer, then whispering, "Does it have something to do with Bryce?"

I should have realized that he can read me too well, meaning that there's no way I could get this past him. Nonetheless, I shake my head, avoiding eye contact.

This makes him laugh, and he gives my arm a squeeze grinning.

"I still can't wait for the wedding!" he teases, and unfortunately his words were a little too loud as the twins, who are sitting right across from us, seem to catch on to our conversation.

"What wedding?" Adriana asks, tilting her head to the side.

Her tone sounds genuine but I can't help but to bury my face in my heads well my brother laughs like an idiot from beside me.

To add to the fire, Uncle Mike then asks, "Someone's getting married?"

My parents hear this, and I elbow Charlie in the ribs to show my annoyance.

"Wait, Dad, did you finally find someone?" Addison asks, and my dad spits out his wine back into his glass.

My mom gives him a disapproving glance, but leans her head against his shoulder when he reaches for her hand. He gives her cheek a kiss and she blushes, pulling her face away from him.

"No, Addy. I did not," my uncle answers, shooting daggers at my brother.

He shoots Uncle Mike a sheepish smile, before turning to me, Charlie, Addison, and Adriana.

"No one is getting married anytime soon," my dad sighs, and I tune out the rest of the conversation, taking another bite of mashed potatoes.

"I'm gonna call him later," I tell Charlie, and he gives me a knowing smile, taking a sip of his soda.

"Of course you will," he says back. "No matter what, you always go running back to him, huh? He could probably kill someone and you'd still love him."

"I don't love him," I state, not quite sure who I'm trying to convince; myself or my brother.

Because the more I think about it, the more I realize how deep my feelings for him run.

Thankfully, Charlie decides to change the topic, and he turns towards our parents. Putting on a charming smile, he asks, "Hey, Mom and Dad, can Lexi and I go to a party on New Year's Eve?"

Our dad is the first one to acknowledge the question, and he turns to us with one eyebrow quirked up.

"Will there be alcohol?" he immediately asks, and Uncle Mike snorts from down the table.

"No?" Charlie replies, clearly not sure how to answer the question.

There clearly will be alcohol, and a lot of it, I'm sure.

Mom laughs, squeezing our dad's hand. "Where's the party?" she asks, and Charlie smiles, clearly more pleased with her reaction than our dad's

"Bryce's house," he answers, and she thinks for a moment before answering him.

"All right. You two are welcome to go. Just don't expect us to take care of you if you come home drunk, Charlie," she says, and my brother laughs.

Deciding to chime in, I joke around by saying, "What do you mean? Charlie is great at avoiding alcohol!"

I say it with a huge smile plastered across my face, and this earns me a yank on my hair by Charlie.

I push his wrist away, nearly knowing over my glass of water in the process, and my brother smirks at me, both of us knowing that we would be in huge trouble if water spilt all over the fancy table cloth.

"Glad to hear that he's exactly like his father," Uncle Mike says, and Dad throws a piece of carrot at him, which he somehow manages to catch in his mouth.

Our mom claps for him, clearly impressed, and Uncle Mike jokingly bows to the applause.

"You know, I didn't agree to go to the party in the first place," I remind Charlie, but he doesn't seem fazed by the comment.

He instantly answers, telling me, "Do you really expect Jasmine to let you miss it? Because I'm sure she'll show up here and drag you there herself if she has to."

"True," I agree, pouring a little bit more gravy onto my food.

After we've all finished eating, I offer to help with the dishes but end up getting shooed away to the living room with Charlie and the girls. I sit down on the couch with the three of them, followed by Uncle Mike who takes a seat in between his daughters, his glass of red wine still in hand.

When I look to the clock and see that it's nearly seven, I realize that now would probably be a perfect time to call Bryce.

I'd like to have a real conversation unlike the chat we had earlier, half of which went on while my whole family was in the room.

We had just finished opening presents and were all still gathered in the living room, Charlie and I distracted with setting up my new laptop, giving Addison the chance to hijack my phone.

I stand up from my seat, causing everyone in the room's eyes to fall to me.

"Where are you off to?" Charlie asks me, and I give him a small smile.

"Off to call my 'future husband', as you'd say," I tell him, and he sticks his tongue out at me.

"All right," he sighs aloud, before mouthing words that look suspiciously like 'no phone sex'.

I gape at him, a little disturbed by the idea seeing as I don't even know what he means, and it just encourages me to turn on my heel and head out of the room even faster.

Walking up the stairs, I pull my phone out of my pocket, finding Bryce's contact and pressing the button to call him.

Bryce picks up the call right away and I get a huge, giddy smile on my face as I climb up the stairs.

"Hey Blossom. How have you been since last time we talked?" he asks me just as I enter my room, closing the door shut behind me.

"I'm the same as earlier. What about you?" I reply, laying back in my bed and setting the phone on speaker, placing it down beside me to free up my hands.

I pull my hair up into a ponytail using the scrunchie laying on my bedside table to tie it back.

"I've been fine. My dad is on a work call right now so I'm just chilling in my room," he informs me, and I pucker my lips at his words.

"A work call? On Christmas?" I ask, and I hear Bryce chuckle.

"Yes, Miss Brooks. A work call on Christmas. I never took you for the overly festive type," he comments, and I giggle.

Time really does fly when you're having fun seeing as I only thought that Bryce and I were chatting for ten minutes or so, but it turns out that it's been over an hour and a half.

We spent our time talking about school, our friends, and he even opened up to me about his mom a little bit more.

"When is Ivy Day this year?" I ask him, hearing the sudden faint sound of music playing in the background.

Though I can't tell what the song is or who the artist is, the tune is slow and sweet, not like the kind of music I would expect Bryce to listen to.

"March twenty-third. I think MIT and Caltech release their decisions a little earlier though," he tells me.

"Where did you apply to?" I ask him, picturing the way he's probably smiling right now.

He loves to talk about university and academics, and always gets so passionate about it.

"I applied to Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Caltech, MIT, obviously Columbia, and Emory and University of Miami were my safety schools," he explains to me.

I scoot back in my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin and letting my head fall to the plush pillow.

"No Canadian schools?" I ask, and Bryce laughs.

"I didn't realize I would be back in Canada when I finalized my choices. I started applying last year," he clarifies, and I smile at how eager he surely was.

There's a knock on the door that breaks me from the haze I'm in from talking to Bryce, and it causes me to sit up in bed.

I switch Bryce off of speaker phone, holding it back to my ear as my uncle appears in the doorway.

When he sees me talking on the phone he remains silent, and I give him a small, thankful smile.

Then refocusing my attention to Bryce, I tell him, "I've got to go, Bryce, but we can talk again tomorrow."

He let's out a small sigh, and I can envision how he's probably running his fingers through his hair right now.

"Okay, baby. Bye," he says, and I bite my lip.

"Bye," I reply, hanging up the phone.

I would call him every single day if it means that I get to hear him call me 'baby' over and over again.

"We're eating dessert downstairs if you'd like to join," Uncle Mike says, and when I don't make an effort to move he walks into the room.

"Can I sit?" he asks me, looking at the edge of the bed, and I nod at him, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs.

He sits down, folding his hands together in his lap before raising a eyebrow at me.

Him and my dad are alike in both their looks and their mannerisms it seems, and this is proven by the way he seems to enjoy nagging Charlie and I just as much as my dad.

"What's so special about that boy? My girls seems to love him and, unless I'm greatly mistaken, they've never even met him before last week," he says, making both of us chuckle.

"Everyone seems to love him. He's very charming," I explain, and he laughs some more.

"Believe me, I've noticed. Now, when do you hear back from Juilliard?" he asks me, and I feel myself tense a little at the mention of my dream school.

"It might not be until early April," I sigh, reminded that I won't know where my future is taking me for another four months.

"I'm sure you'll get in, Lexi. You're incredibly talented and committed to your craft. Not to mention that they invited you for a live audition, which not everyone gets to do. They must see something special," Uncle Mike smiles, standing up from the bed.

"Now let's go eat some pie."

I laugh, standing up from the bed.

🌸🌸🌸

"You four haven't left the house in two days. How about you guys go downtown and walk along the boardwalk or something?" Uncle Mike offers, and Charlie looks totally repulsed by the idea.

Even though I'm on the same page as my brother, both of us really not in the mood to have to take care of the twins all day, our uncle does have a point in that we've been cooped up in the home for both Boxing Day and Christmas Day.

Charlie looks like he's about to say something rude, so I nudge him in the arm, hoping that he'll keep his mouth shut.

"Yeah, we can do that," I answer, but Charlie shakes his head at me.

"I can't. I made plans with Daniel and Ryan," he tells me.

"Well, I can't drive, so we're going to have an issue," I sigh, watching as Charlie grabs his phone and begins to type madly.

Addison finds what I said really funny apparently as she begins to giggle obnoxiously, twirling her hair around one finger.

"Aren't you seventeen? And you still can't drive?" she asks mockingly, and my eyes widen at her bluntness.

"No. I can't," I sigh, leaning back in my seat.

I'm starting to regret not having my parents teach me to drive when they were giving Charlie his lessons more and more each day.

Most of my friends can drive, even if they don't have cars of their own.

Now that I actually think about it, I may be the only one who can't.

"Call Bryce and ask him to go with you then," Charlie tells me, and at the mention of Bryce's name, Addison and Adriana both nearly leap out of their seats.

"Oh my God! Please do!" Adriana begs me, and I give her a doubting look.

Unfortunately for them, I'm pretty sure that they had an awful first impression on Bryce. He probably wants to get as far away from them as he possibly can, and I don't blame him, not one bit.

But then again, I wouldn't mind spending some time with Bryce today. Preferably we would be alone, but having to deal with two thirteen-year-old girls tagging along is still better than nothing.

This is why, all things considered, I pull my phone out of my pocket, making the girls squeal.

Uncle Mike shakes his head at his daughters, standing up from his seat on the couch and heading to join my parents in the kitchen.

It's mid-afternoon now, so I'm sure that it's safe to say that he must be awake now.

This is further proven when Bryce picks up the phone as soon as I call him, and I smile when he immediately asks, "Hey, Blossom. Missed me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. Can you do me a favour?" I question, and I hear him sigh from the other end of the line.

"I suppose. What do you need?" he respond, and I look over to find the girls in the edge of their seats, eyes wide as they try and catch some of our conversation from Bryce's end of the line.

"Charlie is being a jerk and decided to ditch us for Dan and Ry. And I obviously can't drive so I was wondering if you could give Addison, Adriana, and I a drive downtown. If you don't have any plans today, you could spend the day with us too if you'd like," I say, and I get suddenly nervous when he doesn't reply right away.

"Sure, Blossom. Do you want me to come pick you guys up right now?" he asks me, and I feel super relieved.

Grinning now, I respond by saying, "Thank you so much. I'll see you then."

There's a huge smile on my face now, and it doesn't fade even when Bryce says goodbye, then hanging up the phone.

"He's coming?" Adriana asks, and I give her a small nod.

Her and her twin squeal, and I have to leave the room to get away from the painful sounds.

Charlie follows me out, and we both end up heading upstairs.

"Are you actually going to Daniel's place or was that just a lie to get out of spending time with your family?" I ask him, and he laughs at me, heading into his bedroom.

"I'm actually going, but very funny. I'll see you later," he tells me, and I give him a smile, walking into my own bedroom.

I decide to change into a pair of light denim jeans as well as a grey turtleneck to help keep warm. I then put in a pair of diamond earrings, clasping my cherry blossom necklace around my neck. I also choose to slip into my black combat boots, grabbing a warm jacket from my closet before heading back downstairs.

"Are you guys ready to go?" I ask the girls, who are standing around the foyer, fixing their hair in the mirror. Addison is also applying a thick coat of lipgloss to her lips, and it looks painfully sticky.

"Yep!" they exclaim in perfect unison, and I give them a small smile, grabbing their coats from the closet and handing them to each girl.

They don't even bother thanking me before they pull them on to their shoulders, and this is then followed by a ring of the doorbell that makes them both squeal.

Addison beats me to the door, flinging it open and jumping up on her toes when she sees Bryce standing there.

"Hi Bryce! How are you?" she asks him, and Adriana joins her in the doorway, both wearing huge smiles.

I have to bite down hard on my lip to stop myself from bursting out into a fit of laughter at the regret flashing in Bryce's eyes.

"I'm great, thanks," Bryce answers monotonously, stepping past the girls and right towards me.

I feel a blush rise to my cheeks as he does this, and the rosy colour just deepens when he brings a hand to my chin, tilting my face up to meet his.

"Pourquoi vos parents ne pourraient-elles pas vous emmener?" Bryce asks me, kissing me on the tip of the nose which makes me giggle.

He smiles at me and I mirror the expression, answering, "Je ne sais pas."

I know Bryce must be speaking French in hopes of hiding what he's saying from the girls, and as far as I know they don't speak French, so it seems to work.

When we turn to them, they're both gaping at us, their mouthes hanging open in mild confusion.

"Allons-y!" Bryce grins, placing one of his hands on the small of my back to guide me out of the house.

"We're heading out!" I call back to my parents who are still in the kitchen, but we don't bother waiting for a reply as Bryce and I step out of the house, the twins following behind us.

I shut the door, turning the key in the lock before looking out onto the driveway to see that Bryce has driven a car that looks too expensive for his own good. It's polished perfectly, and the exterior is a dark navy colour, standing out in the white of the snow remaining on the ground.

"Nice car," I tease, and he gives my hair a tug, wrapping his arm tighter around me.