28. Eden
EDEN
“You look great, Ally-Bear,” I repeated for the third time. “Please, get out of the car.”
Alana shook her head, sliding further down on the seat when the front door of my parents’ house opened. “You said it was only family, not extended family as well!”
“They are family. Not blood-related, but family.” I looked at Luan, the husband of one of my father’s best friends, and smiled at him in a greeting way as he came out of the house.
“Besides, it’s my parents’ wedding anniversary.
Of course, everyone is going to be there for the party. I told you that.”
Apparently, their wedding anniversary was their favorite day of the year. I’d like to think the day I was born was their favorite, but whatever. They probably just didn’t want to admit I was their favorite kid.
Would’ve been unfair anyway.
But it was obvious. I mean, neither of my siblings was as awesome as me. All of them would beg to differ… then call me some mean names.
“I didn’t think everyone meant everyone,” she said, almost shrieking.
I heard Luan chuckle as he was about to pass by my car. Part of me was sure he would walk right up to us, but instead, he made his way over to his house. He probably forgot something, or Grey did. It was very fortunate that they all lived on the same street next to each other.
“You made me overdress!” She covered her face with her black purse. “I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.”
“You’re not overdressed,” I assured her. “It’s a huge, elegant party.”
It really wasn’t huge, but elegant nonetheless. My parents loved to go all in.
Her eyes poked out from behind the purse. “My parents never celebrated their anniversary.”
A sigh drew from my lungs. “Well, I wish my parents didn’t either, but they do. It’s twenty-two years now… so a celebration is very much necessary.” I couldn’t remember an anniversary they didn’t celebrate as if it was their actual wedding, but she didn’t need to know that.
I expected Alana to continue to argue with me, but instead, she sat up and dropped her purse on her lap. “Twenty-two years?” I nodded. “Isn’t your sister way older?”
Ah… that topic. Brooke’s favorite. “Brooke’s my half-sister.
She has a different mom, who’s, funny story, actually my—never mind.
” I never had a problem telling my friends that Brooke was both my sister and my cousin…
but it felt strange telling Alana about it.
What if she’d think it was weird and then she’d block my number so she’d never have to hear from me again?
For some reason, the news never made it out into the world that Brooke’s mom was my mom’s twin sister. In fact, barely anyone even knew that Brooke had a different mother than the rest of us. It didn’t matter anyway.
“So your family isn’t perfect?” Alana asked, caution in her tone.
I shook my head. “I never claimed it was. But even if I had, I don’t think the fact Brooke only has the same dad as Elliot, Nova, and I is a flaw.”
“Of course it isn’t, but it sure makes your family seem more… natural.”
I didn’t really get it, to be honest, and I always thought of myself as smart. “Whatever helps you get out of my car.” I held my hand out, waiting for Alana to take it.
“We used to have two cats,” I told her, hoping it would make my family sound even more natural, whatever that was supposed to mean.
“One was called Purrito, the other one Sir Meow. There was this one time, Dad took them to the vet and he was embarrassed by their names, so he said they were called Jack and Ricky.”
Alana laughed, the sweet sound of it digging deep into my bones.
Okay, what else?
Think, Eden, think.
“When I was five, I stole Brooke’s stuffed animal, hid Mr. Fluffles in the oven, and then forgot about him.
For an entire week, Mom and Dad were looking for that bunny, and when Dad finally found him, Mom said: ‘That’s exactly why we should start eating less takeout.
’ My parents’ definition of takeout was whatever Dad could take home from the restaurant,” I told her.
“Seriously. I haven’t eaten actual takeout until I moved out for college. ”
“Not even on vacation?”
I shook my head. “Either Dad cooked or we went to a fancy restaurant.”
“Why?” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I shrugged. “Mom just never wanted us to eat fast food. She insisted home-cooked meals are way better—which they are—and since Dad is a chef, he could at least cook for us, too. My mom can’t cook, so it was always on Dad or my siblings and me when we got older.
The only times we didn’t eat at home, we went to different, expensive restaurants where we had to wait like an hour for our food to be served. ”
Her eyebrows raised slightly. “So, you never just went to McDonalds for dinner?”
“Definitely not.”
She finally took my hand, her fingers trembling slightly as she allowed me to help her out of the car. “You missed out.”
I chuckled lightly. “I beg to differ.”
Perhaps I would’ve thought differently, had I grown up under different circumstances.
But I never felt like I was missing out on anything.
While other people went out to eat at fast food restaurants or ordered in, I got my own chef at home.
Who, alright, happened to have been my dad, but it was still cool.
Though, other kids in my family were teasing my siblings and me about it a lot growing up.
My eyes immediately fell on Alana when she finally decided to move.
The soft fabric of her dress clung to her body, accentuating her curves and drawing my attention to all the places I was sure she didn’t want me to look at.
God, she was so beautiful, and I couldn’t fathom how she didn’t understand that.
As she stepped out, I noticed the hemline of her dress creeping up, revealing more of her smooth skin than I liked. In a swift motion, I reached out and gently tugged on the end of her dress, ensuring it stayed in place.
Alana turned to look at me, her green eyes meeting mine.
Something passed between us which I wasn’t even sure what it was, but then suddenly, a hint of a blush crept up her cheeks.
I had the overwhelming urge to reach out and cup her face with my hands and brush my thumbs over her delicate skin, but instead, I cleared my throat in hopes it would make that feeling go away.
“Shall we go inside?” I gestured toward the front door, hoping she would continue to hold my hand. Maybe she forgot she was holding it… but that would’ve been a bad sign, right?
Alana nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. Together, we walked toward the house, the sound of laughter and soft music growing louder as we approached.
Inside, we barely came across anyone, so I assumed my parents were hosting their party in the backyard. It was cold outside, though perhaps not cold enough that we’d freeze to death. I wasn’t sure yet, so I guess we were going to see how the evening would play out.
It was a great warmth inside the house, cozy enough to make me consider simply staying inside. Perhaps if I hadn’t brought Alana, I would’ve said hello and gone back into the house, but we were here to help Alana get out of her comfort zone.
Since Colin called off his charity event and rescheduled it until further notice, this was all we had.
Alana shivered slightly as we stepped onto the patio, the cool February night air once again hitting us like a tidal wave.
The backyard was transformed into a magical wonderland with twinkling fairy lights strung between trees and a canopy tent set up with tables adorned with elegant centerpieces.
My parents stood near the patio, surrounded by friends and family, their smiles radiant.
Every time my dad looked at my mom, his smile grew bigger and the love in his eyes became palpable.
And each time my mom took a step, Dad pulled her closer to him, as if unable to be apart from her for longer than a millisecond.
It was sickening, yet I couldn’t help but wonder what it must feel like to have someone look at you with that much love and adoration. I wanted to know what it felt like to love someone so much, you couldn’t imagine leaving their side for a single second.
But I’d given up expecting it to ever happen to me.
I led Alana toward my parents, my nerves almost skyrocketing at the thought of them disliking her. Even though she wasn’t going to stay in my life forever, if my mom disliked her, I wouldn’t have known what to do anymore. Mom liked everyone.
“Mom, Dad, this is Alana,” I said, drawing their attention to us.
Alana offered a warm smile, her eyes sparkling in the dim light. She seemed a bit nervous, but that was to be expected. Hopefully, she was going to get more comfortable as the night went on.
Also, I kind of needed her to relax, because I fully planned on using the jacuzzi with her once this party was over. I mean, if I was already back home, I had to use every chance I got to use the jacuzzi.
“It’s lovely to meet you both,” Alana said politely, extending her hand toward my parents. For whatever reason, I felt a ping of pride when I realized she didn’t stutter as she spoke. It might’ve been a minor thing, but fuck if that didn’t make me happy.
My mother beamed a smile at her, clasping Alana’s hand warmly. “The pleasure is all ours. Thank you for coming.”
My father nodded in agreement, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he added, “Any friend of Eden’s, is a friend of ours. Make yourself at home, Alana.”
I shot my father a look, silently begging him not to embarrass me in front of Alana. Thankfully, he seemed to pick up on my unspoken plea and refrained from saying anything else that could’ve potentially mortified me. Or so I thought.
Just as I began to relax, thinking my father would behave himself, he turned to Alana. “Hey, did you already know that Eden’s a hopeless romantic? He always gets these urges to… no, you probably know that already. But did he use all his words on you yet, because he sure loves to talk. And—”
Mom nudged him in the side to make him stop, but it was too late.
A flush of embarrassment crept up my neck as Alana turned her gaze on me, a playful smile on her lips. “Is that so?”
Before I could tell her that my father was just messing with her, the sound of loud laughter erupted behind us.
“Well, well, well,” Jamie chimed in, looking between Alana and me with knowing looks.
Seeing as I’d known Jamie my entire life, I knew exactly what idiotic words could come out of his mouth.
I braced myself for whatever Jamie was about to say, knowing he had a knack for stirring up trouble. Alana shot me a curious glance but said nothing, waiting for Jamie to continue with a small, mischievous smile.
“Look who we have here,” Jamie drawled, his eyes sparkling with all the ideas he had to embarrass me. “It if isn’t Eden and his… date?”
He wasn’t a bad person, and he never purposefully insulted anyone, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like to embarrass me in front of my dates all the time. Okay, he only recently began doing it, and I kind of understood why… it was still embarrassing, though.
Before I could come up with a response, Alana stepped in smoothly. “Yes, I’m Alana,” she said calmly, offering her hand to Jamie, who took it with a smirk.
“Jamie,” I interjected, shooting him a warning look. All these other girls deserved to be taunted just a little bit, seeing as they turned out to be frauds, but not Alana. “Don’t start.”
He merely chuckled, his gaze flicking between Alana and me. “Relax, Eden. I’m just messing with you.” He turned to Alana. “You should watch out for this one. He’s a real heartbreaker.”
I wasn’t a heartbreaker as much as I was the one getting his heart broken. Being a hopeless romantic in a world filled with women who wanted nothing but to fuck someone with money and who could make them a little known on campus was a curse.