Sterling sighed, smiling as he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. “I love being yours, too. I love being your only. I love getting to be there for you. I love watching g you get all excited about the books you’re reading. You’re adorable, no matter how much you think otherwise.”
Eden smiled softly at his words and at the kisses he kept giving her. “And when I’m mean to you?” she pulled the blanket higher around herself, curling up against him slightly. “Am I adorable still?”
“Incredibly. Well…” Sterling paused, chuckling softly. “Maybe not adorable. But definitely hot. Ridiculously so.”
A chuckle escaped her lips at his words. “You are such a charmer, Ainsley…” her voice slurred at the end, his presence soothing her to the core. Maybe she really wouldn’t sleep a restless sleep.
Sterling nuzzled the back of her head gently. “Yeah? Well, only for you, gorgeous. Now, go to sleep. You need it.”
“Hold me tighter,” she requested, already half-asleep. “Don’t let go…”
“I’ll never let go,” Sterling promised in a whisper as his arms tightened around her. Another kiss to the back of her neck. Another nuzzle to her head. “Never.”
Eden sucked in a deep breath, shivers running through her due to his kisses. And in his arms, she finally fell asleep.
Lucas was worried. Actually, worried was an understatement. He was anxious, beyond furious at himself for not getting the news sooner. Adrien. He came back. And Eden… his little sister was nowhere to be seen. He’d called, sent her texts the second school ended, but she never answered.
So he rushed home, hoping she was there. He didn’t bother knocking on her door, just opened it, breathless.
“Ed—“ then he paused, frozen, staring at the sleeping form of his sister in the arms of her boyfriend.
Sterling, already half-asleep at this point, sighed and looked up at Lucas, raising a brow. He shifted around Eden, resting a hand on her arm.
“I hope you can see that she is finally asleep and sleeping peacefully, at that,” he started quietly. “She had a long day, and she does not need her sleep interrupted, so I would suggest taking any conversation you might want to have out to the hall.”
Lucas gritted his teeth before exhaling slowly. His grip on the door tightened.
“She wasn’t answering any of my texts or calls,” he said quietly. “I thought the worst. I’m… glad she’s sleeping. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
Sterling nodded slowly, glancing down at his girlfriend softly. He sighed and ran his hand through her hair before looking back up at Lucas.
“I think we should talk. Civilly,” he said quietly as he pulled away from Eden, making sure she wasn’t waking while he slid out of the bed.
“I think so, too,” Lucas stepped away from the door, eyes on his sleeping sister before landing on Sterling. Wearing his clothes. It wasn’t that he particularly cared. He really didn’t, but couldn’t he bring his own next time?
Sterling nodded and kissed Eden’s head before slipping out of the room. He closed the door behind himself, looking to Lucas.
“Living room?” he suggested with a raised brow.
Lucas nodded, walking into the living room where he leaned against the back of the couch. He sighed, face in one hand.
“Did she tell you?” he finally asked quietly, tentative.
“Yeah. She did. And I have to say that I would like to punch the guy’s lights out. Multiple times,” Sterling sighed as he sat down. He rubbed at his face, staring down at his legs. He blinked she he remembered what he was wearing, then looked up at Lucas. “I came here straight from school, so I didn’t have anything with me. She asked me to lay with her, then gave me these to sleep in something more comfortable.”
“I agree with you on that one. I’d like to skin him alive for what he did,” Lucas agreed before looking back at Sterling, eyes trailing his form. “I don’t really care if you borrow my clothes, save for the underwear. That, unfortunately for you, is out of the question.”
He fell silent again before sighing. “I should have seen the signs before,” he ran a hand through his hair. “But I didn’t. I failed her. And I’m not looking for sympathy. She told me that straight to my face and I agree with her wholeheartedly.”
Sterling nodded slowly, leaning back into the couch. “Yeah. I could hear it in the way she talked about it. And she said she hated you for finding her that day, but I’m not gonna lie, I am very thankful that you did. So thank you for that,” he said, nodding once at Lucas.
“She hadn’t been answering her phone that night,” Lucas started gently, though his voice shook with rage. He loved his sister so fiercely, yet he had failed her. Horribly. “So I called him. He told me she said she’d be with her friends, with him, and that she’d be staying the night. I didn’t even question the bastard. That wasn’t the first time she’d forgotten to tell us her whereabouts. I’d woken up in the middle of the night because of a chill, and… I heard the sloshing of water. I knew something was wrong. I’d been late before but I was relieved they at least, in that moment, I wasn’t.”
Sterling let out a deep sigh and tore a hand through his hair. “Man… I have no idea how she managed to hold herself together as well as she did. She’s so strong… it’s amazing. But she doesn’t see it. It’s like she refuses to.”
Lucas turned his gaze to her door, an unknown emotion in his eyes. “I love her to shreds,” he said quietly, never removing his eyes from her door. “Despite there being a rift between us, I’ve never loved her less. And I always wanted to be that person she came to for her worries, but that’s something I would never be able to do again. For so long, she managed to keep herself upright. But now she has you. And as much as it hurts my pride to admit it… she’s better with you.
So please, take care of her. Don’t hurt her.”
Sterling watched as Lucas spoke, nodding slowly. “Thank you. That means a lot to me, actually. You’re her twin, I’m sure it means a lot to her that you’re accepting me,” he murmured. “Now, though… I think I should get back to her, before she wakes up alone again.”
“I don’t like who you were before you came here, I’ll be honest. But you’re changing, we all can see that much. And I’m not going to be a prick about it and judge you on that. E’s happiness means the world to me, and you’re one of the reasons why she’s happy. So I’m going to accept you, because my sister is happy,” he told him gently before nodding. “You should go, yeah. I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
“Well, thank you, Lucas,” Sterling said as he stood, sticking his hand out to the other man when he was up. “I look forward to getting to know you, then.”
Lucas stared at the offered hand before taking it. “Same goes for you,” he looked at Sterling in the eyes. “Now go. She’ll most likely feel your absence.”
Sterling shook his hand before letting go and walking away. He made his way back to the room, closed the door behind himself, and then laid back down beside Eden. Shifting beneath the covers, he wrapped his arms around her and tangled their legs before burying his face in her hair.