Sterling sighed and shook his head. “No, it’s not too much… You should know, anyway,” he murmured. “Um. Well, in tenth grade, closer to the end of the year, my girlfriend at the time and I decided to take it a step further in our relationship. So, you know, we had sex a few times before I found out she was cheating on me. With one of my old best friends. So I dumped her, obviously. To get back at her, I… started sleeping with other girls. Throughout my eleventh grade, I did that. I slept with girl after girl. Sometimes, it was one night. Others, it lasted a week. And then I moved here, and no one knew my reputation. I didn’t have to make her jealous anymore, but I still wanted to do it. I will admit, I slept with two or three before I started to like you. Which is one reason they now know who I am and what I would do. But I stopped. I stopped doing that weeks ago, after… the storm.”
Eden fell silent, taking in his words. She bit her lip, trying to decide how to answer. She wasn’t angry. She wasn’t disgusted. At all. Just—why would anyone even think of cheating on Sterling? He was amazing. He was perfect. Why would anyone do that? And she didn’t care if he had slept around before they got together. It didn’t matter at all. He was—he was hers now. He said so.
“Can I be selfish, Sterling?” Eden paused to look at him, her grip on his arm loosening.
Sterling hummed and looked down at her. “Depends on what you’re being selfish about. But sure. Go ahead,” he said.
“I’m glad she cheated on you,” she started softly. “Not that it didn’t hurt, of course. It must have. But I’m glad because if she hadn’t, then you both would have continued dating. Maybe. And we probably wouldn’t have gotten together. I wouldn’t be dating you. And… honestly, I wouldn’t mind reliving my a—“ Eden abruptly cut herself off before she swallowed, continuing differently. “I wouldn’t mind going through what I did if it meant to lead me to you.”
“Yeah? Well, in that case, I’m glad she did, too,” Sterling said softly, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close into a tight embrace. He noticed her pause, how she changed what she was about to say, but he didn’t comment on it. If she didn’t want to talk about it yet, he wouldn’t make her. “I’m glad we’re together, Eden.”
“So am I…” Eden murmured and realized with a sick feeling that she really wouldn’t mind. If it meant being together with him, she would gladly suffer again. And since he shared a piece of his past with her, she figured she’d do the same. Just a little. Nothing about her abuse. She couldn’t talk about that yet. Just about her… experiences. “I… um, I’ve never had… sex before.”
Sterling raised and eyebrow at her. “I hope you don’t think that’s a bad thing. It definitely isn’t. You saved yourself for it, unlike I did. I think that’s great, E.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’ve never done it before, Sterling, but…” she trailed off, swallowing thickly, digging her nails in her wrist. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Been… touched before. And that’s why—that’s why I react badly to physical contact.”
Even admitting that had been hard for her. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, but she still took deep breaths.
Sterling let out a long sigh, resting his forehead against hers with closed eyes. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Eden. Whoever did that to you…” He cleared his throat to cover a growl. “If I ever see him, he will get what’s coming to him.”
“I hope you don’t ever see him,” her voice cracked. Eden forced the fear to stay back. “I hope he never comes back. If he ever does…” she trailed off, completing the thought in her head. If he ever does, he won’t stop until he has me in his hold again. His loyal pet.
“Then I’ll keep you safe,” Sterling whispered as his arms tightened around her. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you.”
“Promise?” Eden murmured into his chest, breathing him in. “Stay with me. Don’t ever leave.”
“I promise. Upon my life, I promise, Sterling murmured against her hair.
“Thank you,” Eden whispered. “Thank you, Sterling…”
“Any time, beautiful,” Sterling whispered.
[Time Skip: Tuesday — lunch]
It had been two days since their trip to the bookstore, two days since they’d both revealed more about their pasts to each other… And Eden was avoiding Sterling. He would pass her in the halls, and she wouldn’t even look his way. He sat next to her in class and she didn’t even spare him a glance. He tried to catch her attention from across the hall, and she pretended like she didn’t even see him.
What was going on with her? Why was she doing this?
Eden was being a complete, utter idiot. It had been unbearably hard to avoid Sterling, but she needed to do it. In the midst of confessions and making out, Eden had forgotten who she really was. Crystal. She had enemies at school, students who wouldn't think twice about doing anything and everything to get back at her for humiliating them. And if they found out she was dating Sterling… they'd use him against her. Eden could not have him get caught in the middle of something she started. So she avoided him as best as she could, only spending time with them after school.
Now it was lunch and she was trying to walk out as quickly as possible before Sterling decided he had enough. Which, Eden was sure he was.
Sterling was grabbing his lunch from his locker when he noticed Eden trying to slip out of the school. He quickly grabbed what he needed, then hurried to follow her. Once she was out, he caught up and grabbed her arm gently.
“Eden. Hey. You’ve been avoiding me for two days,” he started quietly, his gaze piercing as he looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”
Eden nearly jumped when someone grabbed her arm, ready to throw them off her shoulder when she realized it was Sterling. She breathed in relief, a hand over her racing heart. Then she registered his question in her head and nearly winced.
"Ah… I'm sorry about that," she murmured, avoiding his intense gaze. "It's… it might be a stupid reason to you."
“Sorry for staring you. And I guess we wouldn’t know if it is unless you tell me, would we?” Sterling questioned with a raised eyebrow. “But Eden, really… I highly doubt it will be.”
Eden rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I… don't want anyone bothering you," she said quietly. "If they find out I'm dating you, they'll bother you just to spite me, and I don't want them doing that."
Sterling snorted and pulled her into his arms. “Eden, I don’t care what anyone tries to do to me. I can handle myself, you know.”
Eden sighed, rested her head against his shoulder. "I know, but I care. I don't want anyone hurting you. Or even trying to do it."
“They won’t get very far, Eden,” Sterling murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Plus, I’m sure you’d repay the favor if they did.”
"I'll ruin them if they do," Eden muttered, eyes darkening slightly, fingers gripping his shirt. "No one can hurt you and get away with it."
