Chapter 60
Present Day
It’s Friday, five days later, and I still haven’t heard from Mom.
I’ve been waiting for her to call, or at least send me a text, but she never does check in with me.
Does she even know where I’m staying? Does she even know if I’m alright?
I figure she’s still upset with me. It’s not like Mom to cut me off like this; she’s constantly checking in on me, making sure I’m okay, letting me know that she’s always there for me.
On Sunday, I’ll make the first move. I’ll try to talk to her.
I didn’t hear from Eden for the first couple days either.
She has every right to be furious at me, so I expected the silence.
On Wednesday, I was surprised to see her name flash across my phone.
It was a simple message: Was I okay? But even though I knew the answer, I couldn’t admit that no, I’m not .
I didn’t reply, and I haven’t replied to any of her other messages either.
She invited me to meet her for coffee at the Refinery yesterday.
Asked if I was staying at Dean’s. Warned me to stay away from Declan.
Then, she asked if I even remember what happened between us last weekend. I still couldn’t reply to her.
Of course I remember what happened. It’s been on my mind the entire week.
She’s been on my mind. I wish things could have turned out differently.
It felt like everything was finally working out.
I was going to fix everything; I was going to be with her and only her.
But now it seems like I’ve lost all of that.
I’m suddenly on a different path, and I don’t know where Eden fits in my life anymore.
“So you really weren’t kidding when you said there’d be no beer, huh?
” I hear Jake mutter, and I tear my gaze away from the rain pummeling against the window to look at him.
He’s sprawled out across the couch opposite me, his head resting on his propped-up arm.
He isn’t talking to me, but rather to Tiffani.
She’s invited our friends over to hang out, but so far, it’s pretty damn awkward.
Maybe it’s because only Jake and Dean have arrived.
Meghan is grounded, Rachael hasn’t turned up, and Eden isn’t invited.
It’s torrential rain outside too, which is only bringing the general mood down further.
The skies are gray; the rain is endless.
“Why can’t we just hang out without getting wasted for once?
” Tiffani says from beside me, and I can just sense the dramatic eye roll.
She’s sitting crossed-legged by my side, her head resting on my bicep, her hand on my thigh.
She tosses the TV remote over to Jake, nearly hurling it straight off his damn head. “Find something good to watch.”
My gaze travels to Dean, but he’s already staring back across the living room at me with his eyebrows furrowed.
He’s sitting on the other end of the couch from Jake, but he’s bolt upright and clearly uncomfortable.
He gives Tiffani’s hand on my thigh a pointed glance, then shakes his head in disapproval.
“Can someone text Rachael and ask her where the hell she is?” Tiffani asks, then sighs as she sits up and pushes herself away from me, getting to her feet. “I’ll get us some food,” she says over her shoulder, crossing over to the kitchen.
As soon as she is out of earshot, Dean seizes his opportunity to ask me the question that he has clearly been dying to ask. “So…you’re broken up?” he asks, skeptically raising an eyebrow. “Because it sure doesn’t look that way.”
“Sort of,” I admit. I don’t really know what Tiffani and I are right now, but we definitely aren’t officially back together or anything. I slump back against the cushions, eyeing Dean suspiciously. “Where’d you hear that from anyway?”
“Who do you think? Rachael,” Dean says, but I guess I could have figured that out by myself.
Tiffani was with Rachael last night, and they’re best friends.
Of course she’ll have brought Rachael up to date on everything that has happened this past week…
Did she tell her that I was working for Declan Portwood?
Did she tell her about my relationship with Eden?
That I’ve been kicked out of my own house?
That she’s pregnant? Do our friends know everything ?
Suddenly, I shoot upright, and I can’t help but narrow my eyes at Dean. “What else did you hear?” I ask, my tone threatening. I have too many secrets, and I want to keep them that way.
“God, you’re so fucking problematic,” Jake remarks as he’s flicking through the TV channels.
He doesn’t even look over at me, but he’s probably hoping that my temper will snap.
He loves it when I make a fool out of myself.
“We heard you broke up with Tiff, but yet you’re pretty much living here.
Clearly, you two are still a thing. Shocker ,” he dramatically gasps.
He sets down the remote and finally turns his head to look at me.
“End of story,” he says, and he doesn’t know it, but his words fill me with relief.
So they don’t know that there is so much more to the story than just that.
Tiffani cheerily calls my name from the kitchen, so I grit my teeth and let this conversation go.
I head over to the kitchen to join her as she’s filling a bowl of tortilla chips.
There’s popcorn popping in the microwave, and I lean back against the countertop as I watch Tiffani closely.
She’s wearing a smile that is almost too happy, a smile that is so forced and so fake.
Sometimes I seriously wonder if she may just be a better actor than I am.
How can she act so calm? How can she act like we have everything under control when we don’t?
I’ve been on edge the entire week, I’m barely sleeping, and I feel sick every time I think about our situation.
How can she pretend that everything is fine?
The microwave beeps and she spins around to grab the bowl of popcorn, but it burns her hands and she laughs out loud as she quickly drops the bowl onto the countertop.
She looks up at me from beneath her eyelashes, blushing.
I just can’t keep up with this whole performance, but I try my best to at least offer her a smile. Even place my hand over hers.
“Rachael!” she suddenly exclaims as her gaze drifts over my shoulder. She grabs the bowl of popcorn and nudges me out the way. I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. But then I hear Tiffani say, “Eden?”
Immediately, I spin around, my heartbeat rocketing…and she’s really there. Standing at the door by Rachael’s side is Eden, and it is the first time I have seen her since Sunday.
“It took you long enough to notice us!” Rachael says as she wanders into the house.
“Sorry,” Tiffani says, but her entire tone has changed. So has her demeanor. Her body has tensed up next to me, and she remains glued to the spot as she stares at Eden.
But Eden is only looking at me. Our eyes meet, and the hazel of her eyes only makes me fall in love with her all over again.
God, I miss her. What is she doing here though?
She is anxious; I can see it in her expression, in all of her perfect features.
Have I ruined everything between us? Does she still care about me?
I want to run to her, pull her into my arms, and tell her that I’m sorry.
That I want to be with her. That I love her.
“Tiff, can we talk to you for a sec?” Rachael asks as she clears her throat on the staircase.
“Sure,” Tiffani says, but her act is slipping. Her eyes are narrowed into a sharp glare, and her tone is bitter as she slams the bowl of popcorn back onto the countertop and walks away from me. She storms past Rachael, all the way upstairs.
I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I need to talk to Eden.
Quickly, I force my legs to move and I make my way toward her, but I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say.
I can sense Dean’s eyes on us, and my stomach is in knots as I near her.
Suddenly, she heads for the staircase after Tiffani and Rachael, but I manage to reach out and grasp her elbow.
I pull her back toward me, keeping her close, then move my lips to her ear.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss under my breath. I know Eden can be pretty fearless, but she has some serious nerve turning up here. Tiffani could destroy her entire life if she wanted to. Make it miserable. Turn everyone against her.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Eden says, her tone sharp. She pulls her arm free from my grip and steps back, fixing me with a firm look. She is furious but also disappointed. Mostly, she’s hurt.
I know how this looks. But I’m not running back to Tiffani.
I don’t want to be with Tiffani. I’m only here because I have no other choice, because I can’t just bail on her when she needs me.
I couldn’t do that. I don’t care about much in my life, but I do care about doing the right thing when I can.
Dad made too many mistakes, and he never tried hard enough to fix them. I can’t be him.
I don’t even know what to say to her, at least not now, not here.
So I walk away. I head back over to Dean and Jake, and Rachael is yelling Eden’s name from upstairs, and when I glance over my shoulder a few moments later, Eden has disappeared.
I collapse down onto the couch and run my hands into my hair, groaning.
“What’s going on?” Dean asks, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who has no idea.
Why is Eden here? Why is she upstairs with Tiffani and Rachael? What the hell are they talking about? It sends my mind into overdrive and the paranoia sets in. Is there something else going on here that I don’t know about?