39. CHAPTER 39 #2
“As long as it doesn’t involve an OnlyFans account, or you being around too many other men, of course.”
“I can promise one of those things.” His teeth are back, sinking deeper into my flesh.
My back arches, and I whine. “You can’t stop me from doing what I want.”
“But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
“Out of sight, out of mind. That’s the reason you wouldn’t let me work at the shop.”
“Jin.” His voice is stern, but I snap back just as hard.
“Eden.”
“That’s my boy. Don’t take anyone’s shit. Not even mine.”
“So stop dishing it out, then.”
I pick up the box of cling film and start wrapping it around his calf.
Slowly, his nose traces along the side of my neck and behind my ear. I sigh, and lean into it only for him to whisper, "No,” as he takes the cloth in his hand.
He annoys the shit out of me, but I’ll never give this up.
With my head hung forward, I wait while Eden cleans and prepares my back to be wrapped as well. It stings a little, and is in no way my fault, but I don’t say anything. I know he’s sorry.
After my whole upper torso is wrapped in clingfilm—because it’s the only option we have—I roll my shoulders and listen to the thin plastic crackle.
Gathering everything from the floor, I take it back to the kitchen, and again wash my hands.
It’s so sunny outside today.
It’s been blue skies for over a week.
Even so, and despite the fact that the snow is the lowest and most compacted it’s been all winter—it’s still not safe for Tek to be driving out here. Especially when he’s not thinking rationally.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“His truck’s only a few years old. He should be alright if he takes it slow.”
My head whips around.
“What do you want me to say? You know he’s just as hot headed as I am.”
“Do you think he’d be this upset if it wasn’t you? Or… it wasn’t me?”
“I don’t think any of this is about me. You’re his little brother. He’d hate anyone my age that wanted to be with you. I just so happen to turn it into a betrayal as well.”
With a defeated sigh, I agree. “I really don’t mind if we have to move, though. I definitely wouldn’t miss the chance of running into my parents.”
“Please don’t wish them away.”
“You’ve done well enough without yours.”
“Have I?”
“You own an apartment. You own a business. This cabin.”
“And where do I spend every holiday? Who let me stay with them until I felt safe enough to move into my own place when my real parents didn’t give it a second thought?”
I nod. No matter how much I don’t want to hear it.
Eden holds out his hand in my direction, and like a moth to a flame, he draws me in.
“The fact that they have expectations shows a level of love mine never did. They’re strict.
They don’t take into consideration what you want.
But they do give a shit about what you do with the rest of your life.
” Guiding me between his legs, I sit down, and as he moves my legs so they are over his thighs, he continues.
“I haven’t seen my mother in ten years. There’s no exchanging of presents.
She didn’t even call me this Christmas. But every year I get a gift from your family; birthday and Christmas.
And there’s always a giant chocolate rabbit for me at Easter. ”
Leaning into him, I rest my forehead against the middle of his chest, and breathe him in. “I really wish you’d have been nicer to me.”
“We’re not talking about us right now.”
“I think I was thirteen—the Thanksgiving when the power went out… That’s the first time I noticed you. You’d just shaved all your hair off—d’you remember? You didn’t have that stupid tattoo yet—”
“Hey!” The look on his face is priceless.
“You know I hate it.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s ugly.”
“Your brother did it.”
“I never said it wasn’t well done. I said it was ugly.”
“You’re lucky you’re so cute.”
“And you’re lucky your dick’s so big.”
“I don’t recall you caring about my dick all those times I made you come with my fingers.”
“Ah…” I pinch back a smile. “What were we talking about before?”
Eden plants his hands on my cheeks and gently shakes my head. “We were talking about how much of a little shit you are.” I grin so wide my cheeks push into his palms. “I love you so much.”
I squish his cheeks together as well. “I love you, too.”
“Dropping out of college. Running away. You and your parents will move on from this. You and Tek will be fine.”
“I don’t wanna live with my parents. I can’t move back there.”
“Not even for a little while?” I shake my head, and his hands drop from my face. “I think you should. There’s some mending that needs to be done.”
“I’m not moving back there, Eden.”
“Trust me, I want you in my bed every night just as much as you want to be there. But a slow transition would probably make it easier.”
“Fuck transitions. We’re already together.”
“I’m just trying to make it better for you.”
“What’s best for me is being where you are.”
“Jin—”
“I’m moving from this cabin, to your apartment, and there’s not gonna be any more discussion on the topic.
” Eden roughly slaps his hand against the back of my neck and grips me tight.
I lean back into it, and stare up at him through my eyelashes.
“What happened to you being afraid of what you might do when Tek shows up?”
His eyes change for the third time as he pushes his other hand against my chest. “If they take you from me, I’ll kill them to get you back.”
I shudder as my eyes flutter closed.
Shifting his hand from my chest to the small of my back, he pulls me flush against him.
“I waited thirty-four years for you. And when you’re ready, I’m gonna marry you.”
“I’m ready now.”
He quickly shuts me up with a kiss, because he knows I’ll never be able to resist his lips.
My hands roam his sides before wrapping around his waist.
It feels like a movie. One of those disaster ones where the characters know they are going to die, and just wait for it, content that they’re in the arms of the one they love.
This is the climax of our story.
Jeon Jintae and Eden van der Hart.
Opposites attract.
Age-gap.
Forbidden.
I hear his voice even before the screeching of his breaks.
It sounds different when tires skid across snow.
I squeeze Eden tight. He cups the back of my head and holds me.
We both know the door is unlocked. Tek would have just broken it down, anyway.
Every second we still have before he bursts in is borrowed time.
The door to Tek’s truck slams shut, and I jump. “I wish we had run away.’
“Shhh.” Eden’s voice is gentle as he strokes my hair.
“You better not be anywhere near him!”
I lock my hands behind Eden’s back.
I hear the soles of the heavy military boots my brother always wears stomp onto the porch.
The front door flies open—the handle hitting the wall so hard I know there’ll be a dent there.
I push my face hard against Eden’s chest.
“Get your fucking hands off him, you sick son of a bitch!”
“I don’t wanna fight you.”
“You don’t wanna, what?” Tek’s boots stomp closer. “You’ve been lying to me for months.”
Eden stays quiet.
I wish I knew what he was thinking.
I wish I could make Tek understand.
“I told you to get the fuck away from him!”
I’m jerked forward as Eden falls back.
Tek hit him. Not a punch, but more than a slap.
Eden’s arms leave me to support his fall, but they don’t return.
“I don’t wanna fight you.”
“But I’m gonna kill you as soon as I get him away from you.”
“Him?”
“Fuck you.”
“If you care so much, you can use his name.”
Grabbing my arm, Tek tries to pull me away.
I shake my head, and link my heels together, but he grabs my other arm.
His grip is tight, though as soon as Tek lets go, I’m back against Eden’s chest.
This time my brother’s hands wrap around my ribs, but they slip—tearing the cling film.
“What the… What the fuck!” he yells, even louder than before; the fog of his anger preventing him from seeing what was right in front of him until now.
The crack of his hand against Eden’s face sends a chill down my spine.
“How dare you… What the fuck were you thinking?!”
“You think I forced him to lay there while I did it?”
Tek hits him again, and this time I feel it vibrate through me.
“You better not have forced him to do a fucking thing!”
“He didn’t!” I scream, but it’s muffled in Eden’s flannel.
“Let go of him.”
“No.”
“Get him off of you.”
I feel Eden’s cheek rest against the top of my head. “I’m not making him do anything.”
“Get the fuck off of him, Jin!”
“Not until you promise to talk to us instead of yelling. And please, stop hitting him.”
“Not a fucking chance.”
Tek’s hands force their way between mine and Eden’s bodies. He pulls hard, and I cry, "Stop! You’re hurting me.”
That’s when I feel Eden’s leg rise beside me, and I hear the thud of my brother's body hitting the floor boards before I even realize he’s been kicked to the ground. “Hurt me all you want, but don’t you dare touch him again.”
“He’s my brother.”
“And I’m his boyfriend!” I scream.
“The fuck did you say?” Tek's tone of disgust is a stab in my guts, and the tears are almost instant. For several seconds I feel the red and black cotton of Eden’s shirt dampen against my face before I turn to look at my brother for the first time.
“I said, I'm his boyfriend.”
The look on Tek’s face is no better than the sound of his voice. “You’re nineteen, for fuck’s sake. You’re nobody's anything.”
“So why are you here, then?”
Tek is back on his feet. “To get you away from this degenerate.” He tries again to grab my arm, but Eden slaps him away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Tek.”
“And you’re not staying here.”
“Yes I am. I’m not leaving him.”
“Are you fucking insane? Do you have any idea what Mom and Dad have been through? They've put out missing person's reports.”
“I’m not missing.”
“For god’s sake, you don’t know what you are!”
“I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”
“And you think this was a good one? And you.” He turns his attention to Eden. “Are you the one who convinced him to drop out?”