“Baby, please, I’m sorry,” she sobs, reaching out to touch me. She is crying even harder than she did on Sunday morning and her chest is heaving. So it’s true. She’s apologizing. She really did lie. “I’m so, so sorry!”
I dodge her outstretched hand and shake my head at her in disbelief. She is pathetic. “You’re a psychopath!” I yell, and the house falls into silence. Dean and Jake are watching from the living room, Rachael from the stairs.
“I hate you!” Tiffani screams, but she isn’t talking to me. No, she’s talking to Eden, as though this is all her fault. But it’s not. Tiffani has brought all of this upon herself, yet the look she gives Eden is full of loathing, and I swear that, just for a second, her expression almost grows threatening.
I realize then that Tiffani has the prime opportunity to share mineand Eden’s secret. Why shouldn’t she? She hates Eden, and she must know by this point that there is no way in hell I will ever go back to her. Why should she protect us? She has every reason to tell everyone the truth, and I’m waiting for it. Waiting for her to say the words. Waiting for our friends to think I’m out of my fucking mind.
But Tiffani never does say anything. She only lets out a wail and turns her back on us, burying her head in her hands as she runs back upstairs. She even pushes Rachael out of the way so hard that she falls against the wall.
That bitch. Finally, I snap and I slam my hand down against the countertop. I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe deeply.
This is good, I tell myself. Tiffaniisn’tpregnant, which means there is no longer any reason for me to stick around here. I’m finally free of her. It’s finally over.
“I’m leaving,” I announce as I open my eyes again. “I’m not staying here. She’s insane.” I feel almost…relieved. Eden is still standing by my side, still staring up at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. She still looks terrified, but she doesn’t need to be. Everything will be okay now. I’ll sort my life out just like I was planning to, and I’ll get to focus solely on her.I’ll get to be with her.
I hear Tiffani’s bedroom door slam, but I don’t care. I have no sympathy for her. She will convince herself that she’s the victim, but she isn’t. Neither of us are. I just want to get out of this damn house. I grab my car keys from the countertop and make for the door, leaving behind my friends, whose eyes are all fixed on me. I’m sure Rachael can fill Dean and Jake in on what just went down, because right now, I don’t have the energy to stick around. I throw open the front door and step out into the pounding rain, inhaling the fresh, cool air.
I’m free. I’m finally fucking free.
The rain is so heavy that it soaks me completely as I sprint across the lawn to my car on the driveway. I slide into the car and slam the door shut behind me, then I release the breath I’ve been holding. I sit in silence, running a hand through my wet hair and watching the rain flow down my windshield. I like the sound of it, the rain. It relaxes me as I squint through the window, a lump in my throat as I stare at the front door of Tiffani’s house. I’m waiting for Eden to follow me. I amprayingshe will follow me.
I start up my engine while I wait for her, ready to make a quick getaway. We’ll take off together, we’ll get away from here, we’ll go home. I’ll talk to Mom, I’ll fix things, I’ll do everything right from now on. I’m ready. I’m ready for change. Finally, the front door opens and Eden steps outside with her hood pulled up over her head. She pulls it tight around her face and runs over to the car, her Converse—a different pair this time—splashing through the puddles that have formed across the driveway. She stops outside my window and knocks against the glass, but she is too blurry through the rain. I don’t know what she’s doing, but I crack the window open a little and yell, “Get in!”
Eden runs around the car and slides into my passenger seat, bringing the wind and the rain with her. She quickly pulls the door shut behind her, blowing out a breath of air and pushing down her hood. Wet strands of hair frame her pale face and rosy cheeks. She isn’t wearing any makeup, but she doesn’t need it. Her hazel eyes are so bright, so captivating.
“Ready to go?” I ask, grabbing the steering wheel.
“No, Tyler,” she says quietly. “I’m gonna go back inside.” Wait. What? She’s not coming with me? She’s going back inside? For a second, I wonder if she’s just being sarcastic, but when I search her expression, I realize she isn’t kidding.
“Why the hell did you just come out here?”
“Because,” she says, wiping her hand across her face to dry away the drops of rain on her skin, “I need to talk to you first, so listen.” Her tone has grown solemn, and as her eyes meet mine, her mouth aligns into a perfect frown. “First things first: please don’t ever go back to Tiffani.”
I almost laugh. She really thinks I would ever go back to Tiffani after this? “Screw Tiffani,” I say, glancing out the window to the rain. Angrily, I roll my eyes and grip the steering wheel even harder. “She’s unbelievable.”
“Tyler,” Eden says, but now her voice has gone quiet, low, husky. Her eyes are intense, and I find myself being drawn into them as I look back over at her. Her frown has deepened. “Please go home and talk to your mom. She’s there alone just now, and trust me, she’ll let you back into the house. She has something she needs to tell you, and it’s really, really important.”
If Mom had something she needed to say, she would have called by now. I haven’t heard from her at all, which means she still hasn’t forgiven me. “I’m not welcome there,” I say through stiff lips.
“I’m serious,” Eden says. Shifting in her seat, she angles herself toward me, fumbling with her hands in her lap. She’s anxious about something and the atmosphere is beginning to grow tense, yet I can’t figure out why. “Just hear her out, Tyler. Go home and ask her about New York.”
I glance at her. I really don’t know what the hell she’s talking about. “New York?”
“Talk to your mom, Tyler,” she says with a small nod of encouragement.
“Okay,” I finally agree. I was planning on talking to Mom anyway. Sighing, I pull at the ends of my hair again, feeling the dampness of the rain.
Eden has suddenly gone silent, and when I look at her, she is staring at me with an expression I’ve never seen in her features before. Her eyesare crinkling at their corners as they gloss over, and she is biting down hard on her lower lip, but it isn’t enough to stop it from quivering. Something is wrong. I’ve never seen her gaze look so pained before.
“What?” I ask.
“I would kill to be able to kiss you every day,” she says so quietly it’s almost a whisper. That husky tone… It’s so mesmerizing against the sound of the rain hammering against the car.
“You can,” I say, sitting up and angling my jaw toward her. My pulse begins to race as I gently smolder my eyes at her, taking her in. I swallow. I could kiss her right now. And tomorrow. And the day after that. I could kiss her forever. “Every single day. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Me either,” she says but then inhales a deep breath of air. Her features twist, her forehead creases with worry. “But that’s the problem, Tyler.Wewouldn’t mind,” she murmurs. “What about everyone else?”
I take a minute to process her question. What is she saying? She can’t be having doubts now. We’ve already gotten in so deep, already come so far. I know that we’re stepsiblings, but it’s just a label. We aren’t related by blood. It’s different, but it’s not wrong. We’ll deal with it. Is she…is she scared?Please, no.
