When I arrive to my house I see that the front door is ajar, perfect. They're home. As I open the door, they're not waiting for me, hm? I walk around for a second and see them at the kitchen table. "Eden! Where have you been?" My dad shouts, but he doesn't sound angry? He sounds..Worried.
"I- I-" I stutter out.
"We were worried about you! We didn't know where you were! The school told us you left!?" My mom shouts.
"Well I did but I didn't do anything wrong, you gotta believe me mom." I say, tears starting to fall down my face.
"Why are you crying?" She asked, her face having a look of concern.
"I don't want you to hit me." I cry out.
"Eden. It's clear you've been hit enough . We're not trying to kill you." He shakes his head.
"What?" I sniffle.
"So instead." My mom starts as she gets up from the chair and opens the basement door.
"What are you doing mom?" I cry.
"You're gonna sit down there until you've learned your lesson." She said grabbing my arm and leading me down the stairs.
"Wait no please! I have a field trip next week! It's mandatory! Please mom don't do this." I cry.
"I don't care, you should have thought about that." My dad says shaking his head.
"Please." I cry.
"No." They both said as they shut the basement door.
The basement is a cold dark room. Nothing down here other than laundry and a metal chair. There used to be windows but they've been painted black with spray paint. I'm not down here a lot unless it's a punishment. I decided to pass some time by walking laps.
After some time I felt my phone vibrate. I pull it out and see that it was Billie calling. "Hello?" I answer.
"Eden, are you okay? You never answered my texts." Billie said, panic evident in her voice.
"Yes I'm sorry, I didn't feel my phone go off." I whisper.
"You're echoing, are you in your basement again?" Billie asked.
"Yeah." I sigh.
"Did they hurt you? Are you okay?"
"Billie I'm fine. No they didn't hurt me they just threw me down here."
"Eden..."
"Don't start. There's nothing you can do Billie."
"But I-"
She starts but I cut her off. "I gotta go." I say as I hang up on her.
I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize. I'm hurting her. There's nothing she can do, I know that but..She doesn't, it's not fair, her constant worry isn't healthy for either of us.
Days have gone by...I think. I don't know I can't tell. I have my phone but there's no point in checking it. At some point I powered it off because she was calling so much. She will probably never understand or forgive me for this but I have to ice her out of my life. I don't want to, not even a little, I want her here. when I'm in her arms I feel this warmth I've never felt before, when I'm in her arms I feel as though not a single soul could hurt me. I feel safety, I feel loved, and important, I feel seen and included. In her arms is where I feel safest.
No one's POV
*Knock knock knock*
"Yes?" Eden's parents answered the door.
"Hi are you the parents of Eden Florence?" The police ask.
"We are." They answered.
"Okay well she never returned to school after her suspension. Since the school never received a call or a note from you guys, they sent us out to do a wellness check. Where is she right now?" The officer asked.
"Oh! Eden. She never-" Quinn starts but freezes as she realizes she doesn't have a reason.
"She never returned after school that day." Justin quickly fills in the silence.
"So..She's missing?" The officer asked.
"Well no, she uh-" He stutters trying to find an answer.
"She does this a lot." Quinn rolls her eyes as she shakes her head. "Sometimes she just...Runs off to be with friends. No say where she is but she'll be back I'm sure." Quinn finishes.
"Have you ever reported her as a runaway before?" The officer asked.
"Well..No." Justin answered.
"Do you mind if we take a quick look around the house, just to make sure we aren't missing anything?" The officer asked.
"Well I mean unless you have a warrant, no." Justin declined.
"Oh, okay well..You two have a good day." The officer shrugs.
"We will." They both say in sync as they shut the door.
Eden's pov
"Here eat this." Mom says shaking me awake.
"Oh thanks." I say, barely opening my eyes.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." She shakes her head as she goes back upstairs.
As I eat the plain white rice and drink the warm tap water I think about Billie and how much I miss her. But this is for the best. As I think of Billie I'm reminded back to when she gave me those earphones. I check my front pocket and sure as shit it's still there. I plug the earphones into my phone and go onto an app called Spotify? I click on a random playlist and just listen.
The song that plays-
The night we met- Lord huron
A/N
Ah! Eden has found the life that is music! Beautiful.
YOU ARE READING
ᴵⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵃʳᵐˢ. ⁽ᴮ.ᴱ⁾
Fanfiction"And that's when I realized, it was in your arms that I felt safest." This book feels like a walk in the rain. This book feels like a warm hug. This book feels like a autumn night.
