Eden

Chapter 23

I stood frozen on the driveway, ironically picking myself off the floor at the same time.

Some of the dead fish that slept on the lawn began waking up at the sound of Cade's engine. I pulled the jacket closer, wrapping myself tighter in it as the tears kept pouring without my consent.

After a minute of staring at the road like a kicked dog and equally being stared at by people that were just coming to, I headed back inside, wiping my tears while at it. I couldn't see my friend's cars anywhere, meaning they must have left last night. I don't think they even knew I was here seeing as they were all getting involved in some form of high last night.

The first person I saw when I entered was a shirtless Sam, picking up empty cups and bottles. He was wearing low hanging sweatpants with tousled blonde hair. All I can say is he was doing quite well for himself. Actually, upon closer inspection he was really—

No. Don't, Vincent.

He caught sight of me, a smile taking over his face. I hated the fact that he always acted like he knew me for some reason. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't feeling very "wazzup bro" this morning. And I guessed he could tell because of how tear streaked my face was.

"Hey, man, you good?" he asked carefully, his face corrugated with confusion. I nodded my head like a bitch, only moving it an inch before I started sobbing again. I couldn't get the look on his face out of my head without feeling like the epitome of disgust.

He dropped his small bag of trash and rushed to me, placing his hands gently on my shoulders, almost like he wasn't sure if that was okay with me, almost the same way a big brother would put their hands on their little brother.

"What's wrong, man? Anything happen with you and Cade again? I saw the both of you talking in the hallway and thought it was all good..." my blood froze. I sniffled before asking, "You only saw us talking? Nothing else?" I asked, silently praying that he left before the show began.

He looked confused for a second, his brows crossing, "Well, yeah. I did leave the moment I saw both of you talking... What, did you guys fight or something in that space of time?" he asked..

I laughed a bit, shaking my head, silently wishing we'd fought instead. "Was just another misunderstanding, is all," I lied—well for the most part, seeing that I misunderstood him to an extent—through my teeth.

"Well, shit, man, you had me worried for a sec there. A pretty boy like ye'rself shouldn't be out here cryin' " his western drawl slipped out, revealing his origins for a bit. I laughed at his statement and he smiled,

"Well, whatever the case, I'm sure it'll be okay. In the short time I've known him, I know he can be a prick. I'll make sure to talk some sense into him the next time we meet." My eyes widened.

"NO- I mean no, please don't. I think this is something that he needs to work out on his own." I begged; he could anger Cade more by simply saying anything that could allude to the fact that w- that we... yeah.

"Oh... Alright, then, I'll leave him to sort his shit out by himself, but I might not take it nicely if he makes you upset enough to cry next time. I mean, he told us you were important to him, so I see no reason why he should be letting his tongue loose like that." He absentmindedly squeezed my shoulder in thoughtful anger, his footballer grip hurting my swimmer shoulders. I hissed.

He jumped back a little, apologizing already. "I'm sorry," a chuckle, "I tend to forget you swimmers can be soft," a playful jab. I'm calm enough to recognize it now, because if he had said that a few minutes ago, I would have been swinging blind.

"Fuck you," "Likewise. Now, here's my room key, go take a shower in there," he handed me a set of keys from his sweat-pant pocket and I took them confusedly. He seemed to pick up on the confusion,