Eden turns to me face on. His shoulders square, and the extra height he holds is amplified tenfold. "I'm not a victim."
"Well you're definitely not a fucking saint. On the surface, what we've done might look the same, but I never hid anything. You never really asked about Carey, and what you did, I told you the truth. I gave him a job at the shop. He is running the place better than Shawn ever did. He's breathed a whole new life into it. But you… You lied to me every time we spoke because you knew how worried I was about my brother. You knew the toll it was taking on my mother. And you chose to let us suffer."
"I was protecting Jin."
"From the first day?"
Eden hesitates, looking away.
"From the first day?" I repeat.
Eden's jaw locks.
"I know you never liked him. And I believe him when he told me that he didn't know you were going to be at the cabin. But I can't believe that you gave a shit about his feelings when he first arrived."
"That's not even relevant now."
"To you maybe."
"Are you ever going to get over this?"
"Perhaps." I shrug. "But that will all depend on how much you grovel for your brother's forgiveness." Eden just stares, but I can tell he's analyzing every word. "At the end of the day, I don't really care what you think about me. We'll get over it, we've been through worse. But you abandoned Carey without any word. All he's ever wanted is to impress you, and for you to love him back."
"I do love him."
"Then you need to start fucking showing it. All you've talked about is how I hurt you and Jin."
"That's because he's my priority."
"And Carey's mine!" I snap. "I shouldn't need to explain to you how unexpected this is for me. But I can promise that the onlyreason I exist is so I can wake up every morning and make sure he feels better than he did the day before."
"Okay, I get it."
"Do you?" I step closer. "Cause I love your brother. He's given me something I never thought I'd ever have again. And I'm willing to abide by whatever rules you lay down to make sure everything works outfor him.Is that something you're willing to do for Jin?"
"Of course it is."
I sigh; "You really are the more stubborn one."
"Am not."
I widen my eyes. "Am too."
"Don't start."
"I'm not."
"For fuck's sake," Eden growls.
"Okay. Okay." I chuckle, and raise my hands in surrender. "But we are on the same team. We really shouldn't be fighting."
"I'm not fighting."
I dip my chin to my chest and just stare. No words necessary.
"Fine." Eden throws his arms out wildly to the side, and when they smack back against his body, he takes a deep breath before saying. "I think your father might actually kill me."
I smile and shake my head. "I don't think he's the one you need to worry about."
