Stay Peachy

Chapter One - Welcome To Paris

"Eden," I hear Audrey's voice chime from the doorway, "I know it's tough, but you need to get your ass up for this interview. Now." her voice had quickly morphed from caring, to authoritative.

I groan as I sit upright. "I'm not ready."

"Of course you are," she says softly and shuts the door behind her as she moves to sit on my bed with me - the mattress dipping under our weight. "What's done is done, you're not gonna see Julia again and we both know it." She said sternly and I laughed dryly, before sniffling. A result from the hours I spent crying. I know she's right, but I don't want her to be. My throat was coarse and my eyes were swollen.

"She's going to hate me," I mumble as Audrey helped pull me out of bed. "She'll never forgive me."

"Eden... it's time to just move on."

After a minute or two of silence, I let my head fall back and an exhausted whisper leaves my throat, "Sure, yeah okay." Audrey watched, pressing her lips into a line while I got up from my bed.

"That's my girl!" she hides her worry as she cheered. I wipe away the tears that had escaped from my eyes. "Now go shower and I'll walk with you to your interview." She smiled at me and I nodded before rifling through my dresser.

After a hot shower, I grew to feel half decent. This whole thing has been a lot on me (from no fault other than my own) and I had only stayed in my new room for the past few weeks I've lived in Paris. Audrey taking care of me.

I really enjoyed my work as a P.A, so I thought why not continue it when I got here? As I walked into the room for my interview an older man stood proudly. He was incredibly put together.

"Mr Blanchett," I smiled politely, taking his hand in mine and shaking it. "It's an honour to have this opportunity." He moved back over to his desk before sitting down, unbuttoning his blazer swiftly as he did so. His smile was charming. During, the interview, he asked me various questions about my capabilities and my previous job.

By the end of the day, I had got the job. He told me I was exactly who he was looking for and that I started on Monday.

Now that I was up and outside, I felt hope settle upon me. The dread of being in an unfamiliar place slowly slipped away as I made my way to my parent's new house.

"How was it?" My dad looked up at me from the couch. "This isn't another Julia or anything?"

"It went really well," smile through the pain Eden, "and no, Mr Blanchett has a wife and kids."

"The wife part didn't stop you the last time," my brother laughed at his own joke while staring at his phone.

My dad immediately started again, "well, either way, I'm proud of you." he groaned in pain as he got up from his seat and made his way over to wrap me in a hug. He was covered in bruises from the amount of needles he'd been prodded with. I smile, burying my face into his shoulder, taking in a deep breath and remembering what he smelled like. Clean, with a musky hint. It was a smell that could always comfort me.

My mom came up behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Do you want to stay the night? We made sure to get a spare room for you."

"Ah, no I'm okay thank you. I'll see about it next week, mom." she nods and pulls me into a hug before I could escape.

"He has a check-up appointment tomorrow and then we'll be able to get this treatment they've shipped us here for, just a couple months now until it's ready."

"Are we sure though?" I ask with my eyebrows furrowed, "what if it kills him? He would've been better off without it. He's just a guinea pig they'll experiment on."

"Without it, he will die a lot sooner than with it. The treatment will let him live his life without pain," she smiled softly at me, "your dad's military days are over - he won't get this sick again."

"If it works," I furrowed my eyebrows.

My father was exposed to something while he was on tour. At first, it started with a cough, just a cough. Until it became fatigue, numbness in the body, coughing up blood, constant pain and even possible necrosis in the limbs. Many people he worked with had been exposed as well, so a few of them had joined the trial as well.

"It will work," my mother comforted me. "Stay for dinner?" I nodded and she squeezed my arm one more time before letting go.

"What are we having?"

"Lasagna."

•

When I got home it was pitch black, the dark paths illuminated by the streetlights. Music pulsed from somewhere near me. Boys hooting and hollering as nightlife roared to life. I pushed into my apartment, "Audrey?" I call out to see if my friend went back to her own place or not. I shouted again with no answer.

I wanted to go out. I wanted to experience the nightlife. So I did. I followed the music and I was met by a garage like building. I smiled at the bouncer as he gave me back my ID and I looked around, taking in everything as I had walked through the doors.

I could hear muffled French over the music. I'm in way over my head.

Moving over to the bar, I ordered the only drink I could recognize on the chalkboard behind. It had a rustic cafe type look but instead of food and coffees, it was alcoholic drinks and bar snacks.

As the colourful drink is given to me I thank the bartender before sipping at it and looking around. A girl stood on the other end of the room, a twinkle in her eye as she met my stare. She pushed off the wall and made her way towards me. I smiled up at her as she brought her lips to my ear.

"You stick out like a sore thumb, American."

"What gave it away?" I give her my best flirty smile, looking up at her with a tilted head.

Her hand reaches my shoulder, pushing hair behind it and tracing a pattern on the skin with a thumb. "What about we get out of here?" She pulled back with a smirk. I've been here for forty minutes, but why not?

With a nod she led me away from the pounding music. The cold air outside hit my face. My hearing was muffled as she led me down skinny streets that could only be legal in Europe. Everything was as if I was in a daze until she let go of my hand to unlock her front door.

I wasn't unhappy with where this was going, but it felt like I was cheating. I shouldn't care. Just get it over and done with - let myself live a little. I need to realise that Julia and I are over. An ex is an ex and there's nothing that will change about that now.

And so, as unfamiliar hands raked along my body, I let go of the anxiety always clouding my head.

Julia's got a fiancée anyways.

——————————————————————
Welcome, everyone! Hope everyone is doing well!

To clear up any confusion, this starts after Eden has left Julia, we go through the four years in Paris and then what comes after the ending of the first book.

Eden's outfit.