Where the hell did that come from?
“Wow,” Bea says with a content sigh. “What got you going there, tiger?”
Alexander doesn’t answer. He gets dressed and dips down to kiss Bea on the cheek before he goes.
“Damn, girl. You live like this?”
Rina elbows Peter in the stomach. “Don’t say that, you dick. You’re so freaking rude.”
He chuckles good-naturedly. “I was only joking. Trust me, my place is in rougher shape.”
Eden smiles, though there’s a tingle of bashful shame coloring her cheeks. She knows her apartment has seen better days. She counts her blessings that she did the dishes and took out the trash earlier that morning. It’s not filthy, just a bit neglected. An abandoned home in the middle of nowhere.
“Don’t worry,” she says lightly. “I’ll get him back for it later. Please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll hop in the shower and be out in a second.”
“I’ll order Chinese,” Freddie says. “Or should we just get KFC?”
“But I want nachos!” Rina protests.
“Get all three,” Peter insists. “Beer and chicken wings are divine. And the more we order, the more we might actually get to eat before Rina breathes it all down.”
Rina elbows Peter in the stomach again. “Shut up. I’m not that bad.”
“Oh, please,” Freddie says with a snort. “I’ve seen you down a whole-ass chicken all by yourself.”
“I washungry.”
Eden holds back a laugh as she ventures down the hall, making a pitstop to her room. They’re four highly trained chefs—well, maybe not her—arguing about what kind of fast-food they want to eat. She doesn’t know why she feels like she’s committing a cardinal sin, but screw it. A little chow mein, chicken wings, and fully loaded nachos to share doesn’t sound half bad. Eden’s in definite need of comfort food.
She deposits her tips for the night. Little by little, she’s getting closer to her last five grand. It should feel like an achievement.
All she feels is tired.
She’s so close she can taste it. She tells herself that she just has to put up with things for a little while longer. Once she has the funds...
Then I can finally find them.
Eden hides the coffee tin under a pile of old sweaters in the drawer before shutting it securely. She’s sure that her new friends aren’t going to snoop around and take what isn’t theirs, but Eden’s learned to be cautious. After the stunt Parsons pulled ten years ago, she can’t even bring herself to trust the banks to keep an eye on her money. It’s safer where she can see it, touch it, obsess over every penny.
She gets in the shower and lets the hot spray trickle over her, washing away the sticky strawberry mess she couldn’t quite get rid of back at the restaurant. Eden shampoos her hair, massaging her scalp with the tips of her fingers.
She knows it wasn’t an accident. Eden should have suspected right away that Hector was up to no good when he followed her into the walk-in, but she didn’t know what to expect. Before she knew what was happening, she tripped over his extended foot, stumbled, and dropped the bin on herself. She didn’t even remember screaming in shock, the sudden cold whiting her mind.
And then Alexander was there in the blink of an eye.
At first, Eden thought he was going to berate her for being careless. Instead, he put distance between her and Hector, standing in front of her like a shield. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt more protected. She could sense the rage in his stance, in the way his fists were clenched, in the tightness of his jaw. He looked about ready to choke Hector to death.
Eden decides not to dwell on it. It’s over now. If Hector tries something like that again, she’ll deal with it appropriately. For now, all she can do is keep an eye out.
She gets out of the shower, dries off, and puts on a fresh set of sweatpants and her old Lady Gaga T-shirt she bought second hand at a thrift store. She used to dream about going to a big concert when she was a little girl, the idea of flashing lights and loud music and maybe even fireworks filling her with glee. It was a simpler time, back when she was still full of hope and had a bright future.
Before my parents...
“Eden!” Freddie shouts from the living room. “Show’s starting!”
“Coming!” she calls back.
Rina scooches over on the couch to make room for her while Peter hands her a can of beer. Eden normally doesn’t drink—mostly because she can’t afford to—but she takes it and cracks it open. Freddie and Peter sit together on the floor in front of the coffee table, Peter’s arm comfortably slung over Freddie’s shoulder. Eden thinks they look cute together. The small TV—she got it for cheap at the local pawn shop—casts an array of light across their faces, the familiar blue of the Jeopardy title card filling the dimly lit living room. It’s a late-night rerun, but she has zero complaints if it means getting the opportunity to hang out with her new friends.
