by Kant, Komal
I was totally working on the jumping thing with Halo—he was not allowed to jump, but Eddie didn’t seem to mind at all. He was grinning and talking to the dogs as they loved on him, something that made my heart melt a little.
“Would you like bacon and eggs, Eddie dear?” Mom asked as she breezed around the kitchen, completely in her comfort zone.
Eddie straightened up, nodding. “Sure, that sounds great, Mrs. Swinton.”
“Take a seat, Eddie,” Dad said, gesturing to the chair beside him. “We can do pancakes, too.”
“Oh, good idea, Peter,” Mom said, humming a little as she headed for the pantry. I could’ve sworn there was a bounce in her step as she walked.
What in the holy fuck? My parents were insane. I had just let a boy spend the night in my room and they were offering to make him pancakes? If this was Three, Dad would’ve run him out of the house with a broom.
“Oh, please don’t go to any trouble, Mrs. Swinton,” Eddie said, as he took the seat beside Dad. “Bacon and eggs are totally fine.”
“Really, Eddie?” she asked with a frown, pausing to study him. “Because it really is no trouble.”
“Really, Mrs. Swinton,” Eddie assured her.
“If you’re sure, dear,” Mom said, hurrying to fill up a plate of food for Eddie.
I noticed that she hadn’t bothered to ask me if I wanted pancakes. Deep down that fact made me light and happy that she liked Eddie so much.
“How was your night, Eddie?” Dad asked, his expression quite serious. “I mean, without going into any raunchy details, how was your night?”
Eddie chuckled as I took a seat beside him, absolutely mortified by my father. Could this get any worse?
“It was fine, Mr. Swinton,” Eddie said, just as Mom placed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon down in front of him. “The support group was great as usual, and then afterwards Hadie and I hung out.”
“Interesting. I used to hang out quite a lot back in my day,” Dad said, looking at Eddie over his glasses. “And it’s Peter, Eddie. No need to get so formal.”
Peter? Peter? I was at a complete loss for words as I stared between Dad and Eddie. Dad’s face was practically glowing as he spoke to Eddie, as though Christmas had come early. I was pretty sure my parents were never that excited to see me.
“Can I get you something to drink, Eddie?” Mom asked, hovering over the table with bright eyes.
“Orange juice, if you have it, please.”
“Of course, dear,” she said sweetly.
“Uh, mom,” I said as she walked away to tend to Eddie’s needs. “Can I have bacon and eggs, too?”
“Oh, right, sure!” she said absently, pouring Eddie a glass of juice. “So, Eddie, how is your mother?”
“She’s good,” he said, and for a split second something passed over his face. He quickly pushed it away. “She’s busy working crazy, long shifts at the hospital.”
“I can imagine that must be hard for you,” Mom said, walking over with the juice and a plate of bacon and eggs for me. “You have a little sister, don’t you?”
Even though I was pretty sure my mom knew the answers to these questions, I think she was making conversation to show Eddie that she was interested in his life. In Statlen, everyone pretty much knew about everyone else’s business, and my mom wasn’t an exception, even though she wasn’t a gossip queen like some of the other women in this town.
“Yeah, Hailie,” he answered, pausing to chew on a piece of bacon. “It’s hard managing our time, but we’re making it work.”
“And your father is deployed, right?” Mom asked.
Eddie’s face darkened, and I immediately butted into the conversation. “Mom, I think you left the stove on.”
“Did I?” she asked, turning back to the stove to double check. “No, it’s off.”
Eddie shot me a grateful look and continued to eat his eggs. As Mom swiftly returned, I gave her a pointed look, and she winked at me before glancing over at Dad. “Peter, remember that thing we have to do?”
“Huh?” Dad asked, looking confused. “What thing?”
Mom widened her eyes and motioned her head in our direction. “You know, that thing for the clients?”
Dad’s gaze shot to Eddie and me. “Oh! That thing! Yes, uh, excuse us, we have some important business to take care of.”
Biggest face palm moment. My parents didn’t understand the meaning of subtlety. At least they were trying to give Eddie and me some alone time, so I couldn’t be too annoyed at them for their obviousness.
“Thank you so much for breakfast. I really appreciate it,” Eddie said, as my parents headed out of the kitchen.
“No problem, Eddie,” Dad said. “We hope to see you around more, okay?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Swinton,” Eddie said with a nod.
“Peter!” Dad corrected as he disappeared down the hall.
I shook my head in disbelief. “Well, I think it’s safe to say that my parents worship the ground you walk on.”
Eddie laughed as he turned his head back to look at me. My stomach did a giant backflip as I studied him. “I think they’re just being nice.”
“Trust me, they’re not nice like this to everyone,” I said, chewing on my eggs, thinking back on how unimpressed they were with Three. “They freaking love you. Even my dogs love you.”
I wasn’t sure what it was about Eddie, but I was pretty sure even my parents wanted me to be with him. If their over-the-top kindness wasn’t a clear sign then I wasn’t sure what was.
“And what about you?” he teased, studying me in a way which made me blush.
“Uh, um,” I spluttered. Feeling self-conscious, I stared down at my plate, awkwardly changing the subject. “I, um, what did you say to Kance in the office? I know you had something to do with her changing her mind about getting me into trouble.”
Eddie shrugged, pushing the food around on his plate. “I had dirt on her. I used it.”
Dirt? What kind of dirt could Eddie possibly have on the queen bee of the school? The more I learned about him, the more intriguing he became.
“Like what?”
He pursed his lips, looking unsure. I could tell he was debating on whether or not to tell me. “I saw her getting it on with Coach West in his SUV one afternoon. I’ve kinda been holding onto that knowledge for a while.”
My mouth dropped open. “No way!” I knew Kance was a manipulative, nasty piece of work, but I’d never thought for a second she would have an affair with the coach. It was ironic how she judged everyone, yet she was doing something so low.
“Yeah,” he said, “she’s something else.”
“So you used that information as leverage to save me?” I asked. “Why?”
It was hard to believe that even though I’d been a complete biznatch to Eddie, he’d still saved me from getting into trouble. He was a much better person than I was and I owed him a lot. I owed him for sticking by me and not giving up on me.
“If it wasn’t obvious from the song I wrote you, or the way I showed you last night,” Eddie began, making my entire body flame up. “I kind of really like with you, Hadie Swinton; a lot, and I have for a while.”
My body warmed at his words, and I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, feeling self-conscious once again. It was obvious, and I was stupid to even ask him a question like that. What wasn’t obvious to him was how I felt about him, and he deserved to know.
“I kind of really like you, too,” I said softly, glancing up to meet his gentle, hazel-green eyes. “And I realized it’s about time I owned up to that fact.”
As I said these words to Eddie, my chest grew a hundred times lighter, as though a heavy weight had been lifted from me. Fighting and denying my feelings for so long had put unneeded stress on me.
It was time for me to become the girl I was always meant to be. It was time for me to believe in love again. It was time for me to give Eddie a chance—the first chance he had been waiting so long for.
“You don’t know how happy that makes me,” Eddie said, his eyes full of light as he reached across to take my hand in his.
As we sat there, basking in each other’s presence, and my heart grew full and weightless at the same, something exploded in my chest, like caged doves breaking free and soaring into the sky where they belonged.
With Eddie’s fingers entangled in mine, I was where I belonged.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eddie
“What if she says no?” It was hard to keep the anxiety from my tone as I spoke into the phone.
I had gone to so much trouble to put this surprise together for Hadie, and now the possibility that she would think it was stupid was eating me up inside.
“Then I will ground her until she is 104,” Mr. Swinton said, his tone deadly serious.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his words, but the uneasiness stirring in the pit of my stomach refused to fade.
“What if she says yes, but doesn’t like the surprise?” I asked, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
Yep, every worst case scenario was filling my head as we spoke. I really wanted to impress Hadie and make her smile, and there was no room for error. I’d never planned on having sex with her before our first date, so this was my grand romantic gesture.
“Then I’ll know my wife cheated on me,” Mr. Swinton responded smoothly, “because no child of mine could possibly hate what you’ve planned.”
“Peter!” I heard Mrs. Swinton’s cry of outrage in the background.
“It’s a figure of speech, Honey,” he said, consoling her. “But seriously, Eddie, if I was a seventeen-year-old girl and walked into that room, I would swoon and beg you to take me on the floor.”
“YOLO!” Mrs. Swinton cheered into the phone.
My chuckle turned into laughter at their attitudes. God, I loved the Swintons. If only my own family was as functional and hilarious as they were. If only Hailie could experience a life like this.
“You know, you guys are pretty cool,” I said, adjusting the purple tie around my neck.
Yes, a purple tie. You know, to match Hadie’s hair.
“Oh, I know, Eddie,” Mr. Swinton said in a serious tone. “Hashtag coolest parents ever.”
I almost choked on my laughter. “Wow, I have no words.”
After exchanging ‘byes’, I hung up the phone and slid it into the back pocket of my jeans. I was really lucky the Swintons were willing to help me out with this, because even though Hadie had admitted she liked me, I knew I still had to tread lightly around her.
It was obvious guilt ate her up whenever she tried to be happy and move on. That was why she hung out with Three—because logically there was no way a guy like him could give her what she wanted.
I wanted to be that guy. I had always wanted to be that guy. Not because Lincoln Bracks wanted me to be—it was because it was who I knew I wanted to be. You didn’t choose who you fell in love with; it just happened that way, and I happened to be in love with Hadie. There was nothing in this world that was going to change that.
Frowning at myself in the mirror, I decided that the tie made me look pretentious. I was already wearing a light blue, long-sleeved button up shirt, which was about as formal as I went. The tie was unnecessary.
As I pulled off the tie, the message tone on my phone went off. I reached for it, seeing it was Riley.
Be there in 5 with everyone
My friends, as well as Estella and Maria, were all helping me put this surprise date for Hadie. Luca’s mom had even offered to watch Hailey tonight while my mom was at work. Everyone wanted to help me surprise Hadie, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull it off without everyone’s help.
It was Mrs. Swinton’s job to take Hadie to the location, under the guise of getting groceries. Hadie would never see this coming. That was what I wanted—to completely take her by surprise.
Deciding I looked about as decent as I could get, I sent Mrs. Swinton a quick text.
Leaving home in 5 mins
She immediately responded.
The worm is unaware. Leaving in 20
Grinning at her codename for Hadie, I headed out of the house and down the front steps to wait for my friends to pick me up. I was too antsy to stay inside; I wanted to get the plan in motion.
“Hey,” someone called out from the street.
Completely lost in my thoughts, I glanced around and found Three standing on the sidewalk by his bike. There were two other guys with him. One was a really big guy with a beard, and the other guy was lean and muscular with tattooed hands.
Fuck. What was Three doing here?
A bad feeling sunk into me. This didn’t look good.
“Yeah?” I asked, staring him down as he approached me with slow, deliberate steps.
The other two guys hung back on the sidewalk by their bikes, their demeanor casual as though they were simply out enjoying the chilly evening. I knew that it was just an act and that they would jump to Three’s defense if he needed it.
“So a little birdie told me,” Three began, glancing around my front yard nonchalantly, “that you have some date planned for Hadie tonight.”
My stomach dropped, but I tried not to let it show on my face. I didn’t want him to know he had unnerved me, even though I couldn’t believe someone had betrayed me like that and passed on that information to the enemy. Only my closest friends, and Estella and Mariah knew about the surprise for Hadie, but I didn’t have time to consider how he’d found out.
Instead, I was attempting to act like him knowing about the date was no big deal.
“So did you cry into your pillow at night?” I knew it was a complete dick thing for me to say, but this guy had shown up outside my house with his thugs; it wasn’t like he was here to chit-chat. Obviously, things were going to go well for me, and there was no way I was going to be a nice guy in this situation.
“Very funny, you little shit,” Three said, taking two steps closer to me as his eyes narrowed into slits. “I’m not an idiot. I don’t know what bullshit you’ve been filling her head with, but there’s a reason why she hasn’t hung out with me in a while.”
I shrugged, as though I couldn’t care less about what he was saying. “What do Hadie and I have to do with you?”
Three cracked his knuckles, and I wondered if it was some sort of scare tactic thugs used when they were trying to mess with someone’s head. His intimidation wasn’t going to work on me, but I wasn’t in denial about how this was going to play out.
“It has to do with me because Hadie was my girl,” he said, and I could feel the anger emanating from his body, “and you wormed your way in and stole her. Now, I hear about you planning some lame date for her; do you really think I’m gonna stand by and let that happen?”
An uneasy feeling passed over me. I wasn’t sure how Three knew I’d been planning a date for Hadie, but now it made sense why he was here at this time. He was trying to stop me from getting to Hadie.
I stood my ground. “I can’t steal something you never had. She never had feelings for you the way she did for Lincoln, or the way she does for me.”
“Wrong answer,” he said, swinging his fist at me.
I managed to duck just in time, and he missed me by a few inches. Three let out a low growl and motioned to his buddies. They both ambled over and circled me like bloodthirsty sharks, leering at me.
There was nothing I could do as both guys grabbed my arms, holding me in place as Three swung his fist at me again. His fists landed multiple blows to my stomach, making me drop to my knees.
“Really? You’re already done?” Three asked with a cruel laugh.
If I was going down, there was no way I was going down like a little bitch. I staggered to my feet, facing him once again.
“You’re gonna have to try harder than that,” I spat, breathing heavily as pain shot through my gut.
As Three got ready to swing at me again, a shrill cry tore through the air.
“T
HREE!”
Three immediately spun around, and the two guys released me as they stared towards the street. Pain shot through my stomach as I doubled over, trying to catch my breath.
Lifting my head a little, I saw Estella—her honey brown hair was flying out behind her as she ran across my lawn, right at us. When she reached Three, she shoved him hard, but I could see tears were falling down her face.
“Three, what the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind? How could you do something like this to Eddie?” she cried, sobbing as she pushed him in the chest.
My other friends had run up behind Estella—Ashton and Elly helped me to my feet, while Luca and Riley stood in front of me, staring down Three’s friends. Mariah was by Estella’s side, trying to calm her down.
Stacey guided me to my front steps so I could sit down, asking me if I needed anything, but my attention was on Estella, who was screaming at Three and the other two guys.
“Jase! Conor! Have you lost your minds?” she demanded, absolutely livid. “How could you? Eddie is my friend!”
“Stelle,” Three began, but she pushed him again.
“I don’t want to hear it! I can’t believe you would do this to such a good person!” she yelled, tears still streaming down her face. “We’re going to see Vincent. Right now.”
It was incredible how quickly their faces turned ashen white.
“Estella, Vincent doesn’t have to know about this,” the guy with the beard said, his eyes darting left to right. “It won’t happen again.”
“Oh, yes, he does, Jase.” Estella spun on him, looking like a beautiful nightmare. She was the sweetest girl I had ever met, and I had never seen this terrifying side of her before. “Get on your damn bikes and follow me there.”
The three guys nodded in unison and headed down to where they had parked their bikes. Estella took a deep breath and walked over to me, wiping away her tears.
Rising to my feet to meet her, I was glad to notice that it wasn’t as painful to move anymore. Not that I could say the same for tomorrow, but for now I was alright.
“I’m really sorry about all this, Eddie,” she was saying, her face pale. “This is all my fault. I told Vincent we were going to help you with Hadie’s surprise tonight and he must’ve mentioned it to Three in passing.”