4. CHAPTER 4
“ R ise and shine. Your master is here.”
The door to the glorified shack flies open, drowning me in even more unwanted cold than I’ve been suffering through since I doubled up my sweatpants, put on Tek’s jacket, and climbed into my extremely inadequate sleeping bag.
Inviting himself in, Eden pushes the hair off my face, and laughs. “You look like shit, little man.”
“That’s because I didn’t sleep.”
“Then you should have lit the stove… Don’t look at me like that.
There was plenty of wood. You made sure of it.
” Ignoring him further, I bring my legs up to my chest, but my knees hang off the edge on the crappy old cot.
“Ah, cheer up, would ya? I’ve come bearing gifts.
” Like he’s Santa Claus, Eden triumphantly holds up a bowl, a fork, and a small pot.
“Unless you chowed down on dry ramen, I’m assuming you haven't eaten.
“And what do you expect me to do now? Soak the noodles in cold water?”
“Thank you, would have sufficed.” Eden puts his ‘gifts’ on the stove.
It’s one of those small pot belly ones with a black smoke pipe that empties out through the roof, and has a flat top you can cook on.
“Bleh." He screws up his face and closes the cast iron door back up. “You’re gonna need to clean that out before you use it. I don’t think this thing’s seen life in fifty years. ”
Shutting my eyes so I don’t have to look at him, I clench my jaw to stop from crying.
“I told you to get up.” Eden's voice raises, and when I don’t move, he grabs my sleeping bag, and throws me against the wall beside the cot.
“What the hell was that for?” I ask, rubbing the back of my head.
“I don’t like being ignored.”
“Then why don’t you try being nicer?”
“Cause I’m not the desperate one.” With a swipe of his hand he sends the pot, bowl and fork crashing against the opposite wall. “Now get the fuck up!”
The noise makes me jump, and I tense every muscle—holding myself as still as I can—as he laughs at me.
I feel so small.
Even from a distance, I can feel the weight of him on my legs and his hands back around my throat.
I hate myself for doing it, but I just don't have the strength to put up a fight. So I slide out of my sleeping bag and stand in front of him.
“See now? It’s not so hard to do as you’re told.”
I nod, and hope it’s enough.
“Does Tek know you have his jacket?”
“He gave it to me.”
Pinching the shoulders, Eden pulls at the jacket. “Are you sure you’re related? You could fit three of you in this thing.”
“I guess I take after my mom.”
Gripping my chin, he forces my head up. “Maybe… I guess you are kinda pretty. And that’s not something anyone’s ever said about your brother.”
“Is that your way of saying he’s ugly?” The second the words leave my mouth I wince.
“God you’re jumpy. But no. Very far from it.”
Stepping back, Eden looks me up and down. He focuses on how my sweats are tucked into my socks, then laughs at me again as he leaves. “I expect you inside in five minutes. Brush your teeth, and bring your phone if you want some charge.”
I listen to him whistle until I know he’s back inside his cabin, but remain standing in the middle of this damn shack for the whole five minutes—maybe more—just blank. Void of all thought. I know I should be moving, but my brain and body have both shut down.
I flinch when Eden calls out my name, and I frantically peel off my top pair of pants. Grabbing my phone I ignore the hundred missed calls and texts, then slide my feet into my sneakers without bothering to do them up.
On the porch, I gently open and close the screen door, then pause, unsure about whether or not to knock.
“Get inside, you idiot.” I quickly kick my shoes back off and step inside. The smell of wood smoke and cigarettes hits me before the warmth does. “You don’t have to take your shoes off.”
“I always will.”
“Yeah, I know. It was hard enough to get your brother to not change into slippers at the shop.”
"Shoes are dirty, why would you want to bring that inside?"
Opposite where I'm standing—with the couch on my right and the kitchen and loft to my left—Eden slams a skillet down on the top of the large black stove.
“How fucking polite of you," he snarls, and has a hold of me before I can even figure out how I offended him. “If this place is so disgusting to you, then you won’t mind cleaning it.” He throws me toward the kitchen, but I catch my footing. “Start in the bathroom. I filled the tank up from the lake yesterday, but don’t be stupid enough to drink the water.”
Gripping the sink, I keep still as Eden walks behind me. In the window’s reflection, I watch him enter a small room beneath the stairs and return with eggs and a loaf of bread.
“What the fuck are you still standing there for? For Christ’s sake, have you never done anything for yourself? The bathroom is the only door that hasn’t been opened. Everything you need is in there, and if you ask me one fucking question, I swear to god you’re sleeping outside tonight.”
My fingers slide off the edge of the sink until my nails are digging into my palms. Biting my tongue, I turn towards the bathroom just as Eden cracks an egg into the pan. At the sound of its sizzle, I reflexively look over my shoulder and watch him crack the second one.
With a perplexed look on his face, he walks right past me like I’m not even there. Lifting the lid of a red pail on the counter, he puts the shells in then heads back to the eggs.
“I hope you don’t think any of this is for you,” he says before cutting off two slices from the loaf and tossing them into the griddle pan as well.
I gulp, and turn my head away, but the emptiness of my stomach betrays me and gurgles louder than the frying eggs.
“Oh my god—you did. Wow. I mean… I must have gotten confused because, you know, you have ramen. The ramen that's going to last you twelve weeks.” The look of spiteful glee falls from his face the second his mocking is through, and I’m certain, in this moment, that I’ve made a deal with the devil.
I’m just not sure yet whether I’ve sold him my soul, as well.