Sterling’s POV:
When she stepped closer to me and grabbed my sleeve tightly, I glanced down at Eden, confusion spread across my face. What was she doing? She wasn’t even looking at—
Oh.
I followed her gaze to a tall, dark-haired guy I’d seen before. A guy I’d seen with her before… But not for a while.
They had dated, hadn’t they? And they’d been happy. I wondered what happened between them to make tough, sturdy Eden act scared and alone.
I wanted to put my arm around her and hold her close, but I was worried that would just make her fall further away from me. So instead, I simply turned us in another direction, making a wide circle around the boy who hurt the girl I liked.
Eden's POV:
I whipped my head in Sterling's direction, eyes wide. I grabbed his arm tighter,
"No, not there," I whispered. "Please. Let's just get out here."
I didn't wait for his reply. I pushed against the crowd, his arm tightly in my hold. I couldn't stay here. I'd vouch in for Sterling's disappearance from class. I could even get him caught up in class.
But he'd seen me vulnerable, and I couldn't let him out of my sight.
I, Eden Rose McArthur, was scared of being alone.
Sterling’s POV:
I let her lead me wherever we were headed. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice with my arm in her death-lock-of-a-grip. Not that I wanted to, either.
She looked so scared, so hurt. I wanted to be able to put a smile on her face and see her beautiful eyes light up like the sun. I just wanted her to be happy
Eden's POV:
Sterling didn't say anything as I dragged him off. Even I didn't know where we were going, but I didn't care as long as I could wash his face from my mind.
Finally, I stopped when I got to the place I sat alone most of the time. It was in school but it didn't matter. There was hardly anyone who came here. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, but nothing could stop the rapid beating of my heart.
It wasn't fair. It was too easy for him to move on. Why was it so difficult for me to do the same?
Sterling’s POV:
I sat beside Eden, looking at her worriedly. I wanted to know what happened, but I wouldn’t press. She would tell me if she felt like it.
“Hey. You okay?” I asked softly, wanting to take her hand in mine but knowing she would only pull away.
Eden's POV:
I hid my face in my hands, feeling weak. I wanted it to stop? Why won't stop? Why was it so hard?
"Why won't it just stop…?" I whispered, biting my lip in an attempt to calm myself down. "Why does it hurt so much?"
Sterling’s POV:
Biting my lip, I made a decision. I would do whatever it took to make her feel better, to see her happy and snarky again.
So I carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to me.
“Hey, it’ll be okay… You’ll be fine,” I whispered, hoping that she would hear the sincerity in my voice. “I’m here for you if you need anything. Just let me know.”
Eden's POV:
I winced when I felt Sterling draw me closer, but I didn't put away. I let him wrap his arms around me, closing my eyes and pretending I wasn't being like this.
"He said he loved me," I scoffed, not knowing where this was coming from. I hated feeling like this. "He didn't. I was just a game to him, another level to pass. The worst part is that I let him make a fool out of me. I trusted him, and this is where I ended up."
Sterling’s POV:
Oh… So that’s why she doesn’t trust me. She just doesn’t trust any guy. Not after what he did to her.
“That was stupid of him. You are an amazing girl, Eden. He was blind not to be able to see that,” I said softly, wanting to go punch the guy in the face. It wouldn’t be the first time if done something like that, and now I actually had a good reason to… “I promise you that I’m not going to do that to you. I want to get to know you better, and I promise not to break your trust the way he did. I would never make you feel that way…”
Eden's POV:
I smiled mockingly even though I knew he wouldn't be able to see it. That's what they all said, and they'd leave anyway. Once they get bored, they leave. They always do.
"Won't you, though?" I murmured instead, feeling myself relaxing in his hold. "Once they find out I'm not as interesting as they think I am, they leave. They always leave… What makes you any different?"
Sterling's POV:
"I won't leave you. No matter what I find out. You'll just have to trust me, Eden," I told her quietly, rubbing her back with a gentle hand. "When I make a promise, I keep that promise."
Eden's POV:
I closed my eyes again, resting my head against his chest. It felt nice, having someone next to you like this. I could feel my heart beat faster, but this time it wasn't because I was afraid. Slowly, I relaxed, my exhaustion creeping up at me. Before I knew it, I fell into the darkness, being surrounded by the person I wanted to push away desperately.
(Awwwww…)
Sterling’s POV:
She fell asleep on me… I couldn’t believe it. Gosh, she looked so peaceful in her sleep…
I smiled and run a hand over her hair. I really hoped that her dreams were better than what she’d gone through, that they were good and calming.
Lucas's POV:
It had been ten minutes already. I stared at Eden, who was busy on her phone. Occasionally, her cheeks would flame red before she'd take a deep breath. It would work until a few seconds later.
What happened to her while she skipped school the other day?
My eyes widened.
"Hey, Eden, I'm going to go see Ash real quick," I called out to Eden, knowing very well she couldn't hear me. It must be because of that guy I saw in the zoo with her. It had to be.
Ash was going to be thrilled!
(It's okay. xD)
Eden's POV:
My cheeks flamed again. Every time I remembered what happened the other day with Sterling. How could I let my guard down like that? How could I let him see such a weak part of me like that? How could I be so pathetic like that?
But he remained patient. Even when I… fell asleep on him, he remained patient.
My cheeks turned red once again. I groaned, ripping the earphones from my ears. This was bad. This was terrible. Why did I do that?
It had been late afternoon when I woke up. An hour had passed since school ended, yet Sterling didn't wake me up. It was troublesome. I couldn't believe I ran away like that.
(I wrote something, but it was all deleted…. sigh)
Sterling’s POV:
Every time I thought about Eden falling asleep on me the other day, I couldn’t help but smile. She was really rather adorable when she slept, not that she wasn’t otherwise. But I also had enjoyed getting to run my fingers through her soft hair, even if she didn’t realize I was doing it…
Okay, that sounded way less creepy in my head, I swear!
(I hate it when that happens. :/)
Lucas’s POV:
I knocked on the door, waiting for Ashley to open it. Instead of her, a man poked his head through the door.
“Uncle Leo!” I exclaimed. “Hello.”
Uncle smiled.
“Lucas,” he opened the door wider, beckoning me to enter. I did so slowly. “Ashley’s in her room.”
I nodded, thanked him and walked up the stairs to Ashley’s room. I opened it without knocking, being extremely excited.
“Ash! I think Eden’s finally got a crush!”
Ashley’s POV:
My head shot up from my sketchbook when Lucas suddenly burst into the room, and my eyes widened as I quickly closed it. I was drawing something as a surprise for him, but he didn’t know it yet. Hence the “surprise” part.
“Gosh! Knock before you just waltz on in here, would you?” I said, staring at him as I clutched the book to my chest, my heart pounding from the shock. “What if I was changing?”
Lucas’s POV:
Normally I would have blushed. I would have also inquired about the book she was holding like it was very dear to her. This wasn’t normal.
“Eden constantly blushes every five seconds,” I declared seriously. “Did she tell you what happened yesterday?”
Ashley’s POV:
Wow, he didn’t even answer me. This must really be serious. Eden must be acting really strangely for him to be like this. Which made sense, from what he’d already told me. Eden never blushed.
“She’s been blushing? Now that’s… that’s definitely new,” I said, blinking at Lucas. I glanced around the room for a moment before just stuffing the sketchbook in the drawer of the nightstand that stood beside my bed. “She hasn’t said anything to me about anything. Actually… she has seemed a little more distant than usual.”
Lucas’s POV:
“I think it’s because of the guy from the zoo,” I said, quickly sitting down next to her. “Her face turns extremely red, Ash. You should have seen her!”
Then I frowned.
“She really hasn’t talked to you? At all?” I frowned. Eden actually had been avoiding us a lot. “It’s a bit upsetting. Do you think it’s because she thinks she’s a third wheel?”
Ashley’s POV:
“Oh… I hope not. We don’t mean to make her the third wheel, do we? We just… are trying to make up for lost time,” I said, blushing a bit at my words.
Yes, we were catching up in talking, but there were times when we definitely were not talking… It was hard to speak when your lips were attached to someone else’s…
“I hope she hasn’t really felt like the third wheel,” I sighed, trying to fight off my blush.
Lucas's POV:
I hummed, resting my chin on my hand. I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I hope so, too," I murmured. "But seriously, who is that guy to make my little sister blush like that?"
Ashely’s POV:
“I don’t know, babe. You saw him, right? What did he look like? Maybe I’ll know him,” I wondered, leaning against Lucas and kissing his head lightly.
