Author's Note: Hey Everyone! In honour of Chloe's birthday we decided to upload a CPOV for you guys. Happy Birthday Chloe! Enjoy.
CPOV
"I know, Bryce. I'm sorry, I promise. I hadn't noticed my phone's battery was getting so low..." I paused, uncertain if he was okay with me talking. He hadn't exactly been done speaking. I just wanted to make sure he knew that I had sincerely forgotten that the battery was so low on my cell phone. I had forgotten to charge it and it had been dead this morning when he had tried to call me.
One major thing I knew about Bryce was that he did not like it when he couldn't get in contact with me. He hadn't been thrilled with my decision to move to New York while he was either at Harvard or back home. His plan had been for me to go wherever he went. With me being so far away from him, he got anxious. He liked to speak with me every day. I knew that. I should have doubled checked my phone to make sure it was charged. I guess I was kind of careless sometimes...
"Yeah, sure. Just don't fucking do it again, Chloe. Pay more attention," he told me firmly. I winced at his cursing. He only cursed when he was really upset. I was in trouble. I knew even if he said he was letting it go, it would come back at me when I saw him or the next time I did something wrong. I tended to do things wrong a lot of the time, according to him.
"Okay. I won't. I'll start charging it more often," I promised him, stopping to sit on a bench on the side of the street.
My legs were feeling a bit wobbly from the sound of his voice. I got shaky like that sometimes when I was talking to him. I got really overwhelmed when Bryce got upset. I just tried so hard to make him happy and hated to disappoint him. Sometimes it felt hopeless, though. I didn't know if I could ever please him fully. It seemed like every two minutes I was doing something else wrong.
"You'd better," he grumbled. "I have to go though. I'm going out with some of the guys. I'll be calling you tonight though. Have your damn cell charged this time, if that's not too much to ask."
I could hear the hardness in his voice. It sent a chill down my spine just thinking about what his face looked right now. His grey eyes were probably boiling with anger. His knuckles were probably white from gripping the phone as he spoke to me. I bit my lip between my teeth, pushing the images out of my mind. I was all the way out in New York. He couldn't hurt me.
He didn't ever hurt me...
Well... not really. When I did something wrong he usually just yelled. A lot. Sometimes he got carried away, but I knew that wasn't his fault. He was only trying to teach me to be a better person, a better me. There was always room for improvement. I would accept it. I wanted to be better. I wanted to be good enough for him.
That was... how things were for everyone... right?
I was lucky to have Bryce... really. I knew sometimes he made me shaky and scared... upset and frustrated. But I knew that with every relationship came flaws and barriers that would have to be overcome. Bryce was just trying to help me do that.
He really was an amazing guy. He was smart. He was practically a shoe in for Harvard. His parents were pretty high up in society. My parents really liked that. They wanted a guy with a good family for me. They were actually the ones who introduced me to Bryce.
My parents had met Bryce's parents at a get together. Bryce was single and so was I and our parents thought it was a perfect opportunity. When I first heard about it, I was nervous. Obviously, I had never met Bryce before. I hadn't even heard of him before, but my parents wanted me to go out on a date with him. They told me he was great and that they had met him before. My dad really liked him, so I figured he must be a good guy...
A few days later, Bryce was at my door with a bouquet of flowers in hand. The smile he first gave me was so sweet I almost melted at the sight of it. He was a good looking guy. And polite, too. Our first date was amazing. He was so sweet to me, being a gentlemen and respecting me. He asked me tons of questions about my future and what I liked and didn't like. I was practically smitten over him on the first date.
After that day, we were officially a couple. Things started to change after a few months, though... Sure, Bryce was still great, smart, and could charm his way into anything, but he acted differently towards me. He was more demanding, in ways. I knew he was the man and he should be the dominant one in the relationship. That was how it should be, right? That's how my parents were, anyways. My dad made the important decisions and my mom stood by him loyally like she should. That's what I did for Bryce.
Sometimes I just didn't know if it was right though... I knew that the books I read weren't real relationships. They were someone writing a story. Fiction. The books were not real. But in those books, the characters had something I didn't. They felt things I didn't. Their relationships were so different. The couples were more... equal.
I knew it was probably just me being foolish and wanting something that wasn't real. I was being selfish. I had a boyfriend who would provide me with a good future. We would have a family and both have great jobs. Our parents would be overjoyed with our marriage and their grandchildren. I would be content. My life would be good.
I had a nagging feeling that I would never get more than content, though. I wouldn't have the head over heels love that I read about or the happiness that made people want to whistle when they worked. Maybe I was hard to please or I was expecting too much. I was being unrealistic. Maybe there wasn't a real happily ever after?
I was more fortunate than others. I had a boyfriend who cared for me. That's why he always called. He wanted to make sure I was okay.
"All right. Have fun with your friends. I'll talk to you tonight." I frowned though, wondering if he was going to go out drinking with his friends. Ever since he started going to Harvard, he had been drinking a lot. The past few times when we had visited with each other, he had made me drink with him. I didn't like it... and I didn't enjoy it when he called when he was drunk. He got mad a lot more easily.
"Oh, I will definitely have fun, Chlo," he said in a low voice. "When I get home we'll both have even more fun. Just because we're in different places doesn't mean we can't do things over the phone."
He chuckled mischievously, I guess thinking about our phone call...
"Looking forward to it," I replied automatically, trying to sound as earnest as possible. I didn't want him to think I wasn't looking forward to it. Even if I kind of wasn't...
"I bet you are, babe. But I got to go. I love you."
That was another thing that bothered me sometimes. I didn't get goosebumps or butterflies in my stomach when he said those three words. Maybe something was wrong with me or I was just absurd and believed in things that were surreal.
"I love you, too," I replied with a smile. It was true. I loved him for putting up with me. I had flaws. So many flaws. And he put up with every single one of them.
I got up from the street bench. My legs weren't wobbly anymore. I started walking back down the street, waiting for Bryce to end the phone call. He was being oddly silent after my 'I love you'.
"How much do you love me?" he asked me slowly, an edge to his voice that made me tense. Did I do something wrong?
I thought he had to go?
I was afraid that this was a trick question and chewed on my bottom lip nervously, thinking it through.
"You know what? Never fucking mind. You have to think about how much you love me? All I do for you Chlo and I ask you one simple question and you can't even answer it for me," he growled at me viciously.
"N-no, Bryce. I was going to answer. I love you more than anything. I swear. I have no idea what I'd do without you. I love you so much," I pleaded with him, stopping in my tracks, not even feeling all of the people shoving by me through the crazy crowds of New York.
"Right. I'll talk to you later, Chlo." It almost sounded like a threat. It shouldn't have, but it did. With that, he hung up his phone and I heard the line disconnect. That was proof enough that I messed up almost every two minutes. I couldn't even answer a question!
I sighed sadly, blinking away the irrational tears that were threatening to fall. It all felt so hopeless.
After putting my phone back in my pocket, I ducked my head, beginning to face the crowds again as I walked toward work, my heart heavy. At this rate, I was going to be late. I quickened my pace, not wanting to disappoint another person today by being late for work. It was a small book store... there weren't too many other employees working there.
I kept my head down, not wanting anyone to see my teary eyes. I was being a child. An irrational, selfish child. That was what I always was.
I picked up my pace even more, just wanting to get to work and get my mind off of Bryce and life.
After a moment, I looked up, though. I knew I shouldn't be looking down at the ground when walking through these kind of crowds. I was likely to get hit. And just as that thought crossed my mind, sure enough, I collided with a body.
I was too caught off guard by the coincidence that I couldn't catch myself and I saw myself falling towards the street. The street full of cars zooming by.
I took a breath and shut my eyes, bracing myself for an impact. But suddenly, there was a pair of arms pulling me tightly, and then I was crushed to someone's chest. My mind was spinning. Through my panic though, I couldn't help but smell something amazing. I took a deep breath and smelled it again. So warm... comforting.
I opened my eyes, seeing myself being let go by the stranger who had just saved my life. When I saw his face though, I realized it was actually the same guy who had pushed me into the traffic.
My eyes slowly drifted up to his eyes and I froze. They were a soft, light brown shade. They were sparkling, but burning with concern.
"I—He—I-I'm sorry..." the stranger rambled apologetically, holding my arm a bit too tightly. He seemed to realize his grip, because he suddenly let go and started to brush my sleeve. I looked down quickly, hoping that something wasn't on my shirt. That would have looked really bad. Bryce hated it when I let myself get dirty.
There was nothing on my sleeve though. He was just brushing it. The light touch of his fingertips sent a chill down my spine. It was different than earlier, though. It was a good chill. I felt goosebumps on my arm and almost gasped out loud. I had goosebumps.
I heard a quiet chuckle and looked away from my arm. There was another boy with shaggy, curly blonde hair. He looked around my age, too. He also looked completely amused by the situation. Was I missing something or was it usually funny to almost kill someone? I knew that wasn't the reason though, because behind the amusement, I saw the same concern that was in the brown eyed stranger's eyes.
"It's fine. You might have just saved my life. New York traffic is crazy, you know..." I chuckled quietly, nervously smoothing out my shirt. That made the boy's hand fall off of my arm and the warmth that had filled my body suddenly started to fade. I almost panicked.
"I'm Chloe, by the way," I added on smoothly, trying to get my mind off of his touch and my goosebumps. I could at least be polite. Technically, he had saved my life.
The boy stared at me silently, his eyes locked on my face intently. Did I have something on my face?
I pretended I didn't notice as I looked at the boy. I had only noticed his eyes before. Now I looked closer.
He had a baseball cap pulled down low on his head. It was lower than I usually saw people wearing them. He had brown hair that swept over his eyebrows, to the left. It was shaggy like the other boy's, but straight instead of curled.
I squinted my eyes when I saw the sun glint off of something on his face. There was a deep scar over his eyebrow. It was small and I only noticed it because I was looking so closely. I scanned down his face and saw another on his chin. My curiosity spiked and I suddenly had the urge to ask him how he got them. I wanted to hear their stories.
I shook my head, looking down. That wasn't a very nice thing to ask someone. It could sound cold and weird. I was so curious about things that had obviously hurt him.
My head was down and I saw the boy behind the brown eyed boy kick him gently, getting his attention.
"Huh? Oh! Chloe... I'm Nick." He struggled over his words when I looked up at him. He had the biggest smile on his face though, and something odd happened. The surreal things I had been hoping for before sort of... came to life?
My heart pounded against my chest and my stomach tightened nervously. It felt a bit sick... it was the butterflies. It was good sick, in a way. The goosebumps were all over my body again. How is it possible that one smile from this stranger could do all that to me? Was I dreaming?
The boy offered me his hand politely, keeping his sparkling brown eyes on mine. Desire took over me at the thought of him touching me again and I reached out without a thought and shook his hand, returning his wide smile.
"I apologize for that. My friend here has some anger problems and he takes it out on me," the stranger, Nick, told me teasingly, giving his friend a hard look.
His friend shoved him lightly the side, rolling his eyes. They were both obviously just kidding around. They looked really close. It made me smile. For some reason, I was really glad he had a good friend that he could joke around with. I didn't have one of those. It looked... nice.
"Yes, I am very sorry. I have a raging temper. I have to take it out on someone," his friend apologized, giving me a crooked smile. I was almost dazzled by his smile as well. Definitely not as much as Nick's, but he had a nice smile too.
I laughed and decided to play along with their little game.
"Aww, you poor thing," I cooed gently to Nick, pretending to feel bad that he was getting beaten up by his friend. I reached out and stroked his arm with care. Okay, maybe it was an excuse to feel the electric feeling that surged through me at his touch and brought up my goosebumps.
Nick's cheek turned a light shade of red with my teasing and he ducked his head, probably trying to hide his blush. Was he blushing because of me? Hope soared in my mind at that thought. Did he like me? I wanted him to so badly...
Chloe, you a have boyfriend. Remember Bryce? A voice in the back of my head reminded me.
Oh... right. Well, it wasn't like I was going to date the guy or have an affair... And technically, Bryce wasn't my boyfriend right now. We were on a break since we had moved to different places. It was his idea... and I knew for a fact that he looked at other girls because he liked to compare me to them. I was just looking at Nick. It was okay.
"I know, but what can I do? He has to take it out on someone," Nick mumbled softly, sounding completely vulnerable. I wanted to hug him, even though I knew it was all a game.
His friend scoffed at his vulnerable state. "It toughens him up," his friend assured me with a smirk.
He reached out to hit Nick and I slapped his hand playfully away. And then I panicked for a moment. What was that? I was being so open with them. I usually shied away from this kind of thing.
"I think he is tough enough for now," I managed to laugh, happy that I was able to smile and joke around. I didn't really have any friends here and it felt good to tease. I know, pretty pathetic, no real friends...
"Now, what can I do to make you feel better, you poor thing?" I found myself, well, maybe flirting? This had to be a dream. I would never flirt with a random guy. I would never flirt with any guy really... other than Bryce. This flirting seemed so much more carefree than the flirting with Bryce.
I hadn't noticed until now, but I was stroking Nick's arm again. My hand had a weird connection with his bicep. It was so muscular. Not abnormally big, like with body builders, but bigger than average guys. It was impressive. I liked the feeling of it. So smooth and hard...
"Well," Nick started, flashing me a stunning grin. "Maybe... if it's not too much, I mean... I could have your number? You know, just in case he loses it one day and I need someone to take me to the hospital," he suggested nervously, peering down at me. His eyes were hesitant and his cheeks were on fire. I could feel my own cheeks heating up at his suggestion. He was asking for my number.
I laughed at his reasoning for getting my number and nodded, "Oh, well if it's a life or death kind of situation, then I'd better give you it, eh?" I played along with the game and knelt to the ground to get a pen and paper out of my bag. It surprised me when Nick knelt down beside me, keeping his eyes on me with a smile. I bit back a smile as I dug through my bag. He liked me. I could see it... I could feel it. How was it possible?
I was definitely having a dream. I must have fallen asleep reading one of my books and now I was one of the characters, finding her true love.
True love?
I shook myself out of my thoughts and quickly scribbled down my number when I found a paper and pen, handing it to him. "There you are," I smiled. It was such a weird feeling. I had never really given my number out to a guy before. Bryce would hate it if he found out. Fear rushed through me and I found myself peering over my shoulder, stupidly wondering if he was around. He was in a totally different city.
I stood up, slipping my backpack back on. Nick followed.
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," Nick chuckled, slipping my number into his pocket. I wondered if he would call. I hoped so...
"I guess I sort of owe you, right?" I reminded him, pointing towards the road. He had saved my life only minutes before.
Nick laughed at that. It was such a carefree laugh. It was mesmerizing. I watched him laugh. I probably looked like a freak, swooning at watching a total stranger laugh. It made my insides melt, though. I liked him.
Bryce! Chloe, think about Bryce. You have no chance with this guy because you already have someone. Leave before you do something stupid.
I hated that voice in the back of my head. I knew it was right, though. I don't even know why I gave him my number. I wouldn't be able to go out with him...
"I'd better go though. Gotta get to work," I said sadly, hating the idea of leaving, but knowing it was the right thing to do. I was already running late. I had already done something stupid. I didn't even know this guy and I gave him my number.
When I saw Nick's smile fade at my words, it made all those doubts about giving him my number disappear. He didn't want me to go, either.
"'Kay, see you later," he murmured quietly, looking at me in a longing way.
I gave him a big smile, hoping it'd make him feel better. It made me feel better. Maybe he'd call.
"Be nice!" I shouted to his friend as I turned to leave, sending him a playful wink. He laughed, but nodded.
I could feel Nick's eyes burning into my back as I walked away. There was an odd skip in my step that I had never had before. I liked it. It was... happiness.
Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe I wasn't doomed to a lifetime of contentment. Maybe I had found happiness... it wasn't impossible for me, after all.
If he called.
Author's Note: There was Chloe's point of view when her and Nick met. Soooo glad that they met. Did you guys like it? Hope so! Review! xD.