A Walk to Eden

17

Pulling up to the Kiszka household, i take a moment and look around. I forgot how pretty and peaceful their property was. Full of green trees and wild flowers. I park and get out of the car. Walking up I hear music coming from the garage. Curiosity killed the cat and I'm a tabby one. I walk to the garage and peek in through the crack of the door. Jake and Danny are playing music laughing. I push the door open a stick my head through. They both look at me and wave me in.

"It's been a hot minute! How ya been?" Jake asks.

"It's been good. Keeping busy with Eden and the store. But Sam is a real big help." I say. They both laugh.

"Yeah. Sam has always had a knack for kids. Maybe it's because he is one." Danny wheezes. We all laugh and start catching up.

"Speaking of Sam, where is he?" I ask. The both shrug.

"I know Josh went to get liquor, and I think Sam went to get some stuff for s'mores." Jakes says. I nod and quickly walk inside looking around for Eden. I hear Karen talking and a little giggle fallow. I look into the kitchen and see Eden cutting cookies out with Karen. I walk in and Karen is the first to look at me.

"Well look how's here!" She smiles. Eden looks up and waves.

"Hi mama! Me and Grammy are making cookies!" She giggles and goes back to concentrating on the shapes. I look at Karen confused.

"I told her she can call me that." Karen smiles. I nod and walk closer to them. I'm watching them laugh and roll cookie dough when I hear the back door open. Two pairs of feet shuffle through and I see Sam and Josh walk in. I smile at Sam first, and then look over to Josh. He softly smiles at me and walks to the garage. Sam steps next to me.

"I gotta go change into something cooler. Be right back." I look at him and nod. He walks away and I look down at my feet.

"What's wrong dear?" Karen asks. I look at her and shake my head. She lifts her brow and I feel the need to spill.

"I think I ruined everything between me and Josh. But I can't help but feel torn about it." I say.

"Explain." She says.

"I feel bad. I really like Josh. But at the same time," I sigh. "I feel like I'm starting to like someone else too." I say looking down again. She wipes her hands and walks over to me. Gently placing her hand on my back, she begins to rub circles.

"It's okay. Josh is stubborn, but he's not mad at you. And you can't help how you feel. Just know that rushing into things doesn't help, so you should take time. Figure out how you feel before you make decisions." She says. I look up at her and she smiles at me. I nod and smile back. I hear foot steps down the hall and she walks back next to Eden. It's Sam and he's carrying a small box.

"What you got there Sammy?" Eden asks.

"Nothing you can have Eden." He sticks his tongue out at her and she does the same. I giggle at both of them. Sam taps me on the shoulder and nods his head for me to follow him. I look at Karen and she winks. I leave Eden with her and follow Sam.

He leads us down stairs and opens a door to a room. I walk inside and look around. The room is covered with posters, and old records. There's a small bed and a desk in the corner. And on the other corner there's a record player and a small closet. The room is full of color and it smells like a candle store. "Is this your room?" I ask. Sam nods and walks over to the record player.

"Sure is. Not as cool as your place, but it's my sanctuary." He looks at me and smiles.

"I like it. It seems like you." I say. He nods as music starts playing. He sits on the bed and pats the spot next to him. I walk over and sit. He opens the box and pulls out a book.

"Photo album time!" He chuckles. He scoots closer to me and our arms are touching. I feel heat rush to my cheeks. Just barely touching him and I feel all giddy. He starts flipping through and I notice the back ground in all the pictures.

"Wait! That's my high school!" I say. He nods.

"I was a grade lower than you." He says. I look at him and he's already looking at me. I feel myself start to blush again and quickly look down. I grab the book and start flipping through it. I giggle and point out funny things from the pictures. He was always handsome. And seeing him and Danny young made me smile.

"Danny is your best friend huh." I said.

"Mhm. We became really close when we learned we were into the same things. And then even closer when he started practicing with us." I look over to him and smile. We both jump when we hear knocking on the door. Jake pokes his head in.

"Dinner is ready." He says. We both jump up and race to the kitchen.

*Danny POV*

I see Sam and Eden's mom running towards the kitchen. Before Sam could get out of reach I tap his arm. He stops and looks at me confused.

"What's going on between you two?" I whisper.

"Nothing." He blushes. I slowly nod my head not believing it for a moment. He smiles at me and wraps with arm around my neck like he used too as kids. We walked into the dining room together laughing. Karen and Kelly sat at the ends of the table, Josh, Eden, and Sam sit on one side. While Jake, Eden's mom, and i sit on the opposite. I'm glad I can see both sam and Eden's moms faces. Now I can see what they are really hiding. They both are talking to Eden and Kelly speaks up.

"So, how's that ole music store?" Kelly asks. Eden's mom nods her head.

"It's going. Not many people, but still enough to keep it running." She says. Sam looks over at her and just stares. He's watching her speak and only smiles when she does. Oh Sammy. You've got it bad. He looks between Eden and her mom constantly. I peek over at Josh and realize he's not even paying attention to her. Josh, what are you doing man?

*Josh POV*

I feel bad. Like really bad. I do really like her, but I don't have time for dating. I thought I did. But when she told me to focus on music, I didn't realize it then, but I felt relief. She was beautiful. And she was smart, funny, and kind. And even though I told Eden she could call me dad, I wasn't ready. I thought I was, and i wished I was. But watching Sam with her made me realize that I was wrong. I needed to get over her. But I needed to talk to her about how I was feeling. Later.

*Jakes POV*

This dinner is absolutely delicious.

*Karen POV*

Watching Sam watch Eden's mom made me smile. I knew Josh liked her, and as much as he was willing to commit, he just wasn't ready. Josh has been in love with this girl for years. So has Sam.

Josh came to talk to me about it yesterday. He said he really did like her, but he was worried he was going to hurt her by not having a lot of time. And as that made me hurt for Josh, I told him that Sam was going to be after her. And after seeing the difference between Josh and Sam with her, I could tell which one was ready.

*Sam POV*

She's breath taking. How she throws her head back and laughs, how her nose scrunches when something witty is said, how she smiles as she looks at Eden. Absolutely breath taking. Every word she spoke I felt I was hanging onto. I had no idea why Josh wasn't going for her anymore. Why wouldn't anyone?

I'm knocked out of my thoughts when I heard Jake sigh. "Well. Dinner was great. But you know what would be even better?" He grins and looks over to Eden. I watch as she gets this evil smile on her face.

"FIRE!" She yells throwing her arms up attempting at an evil chuckle. Everyone laughs and gets up to head outside.