Hard Habit to Break

Chapter 8

 Eddie choked down some lo mein, the meal both uncomfortable and unpleasant as everyone sat on the floor of the practically barren living room. Robin had quietly told him that Linda's hospital bed had been set up in here. Hence, the complete lack of furniture besides the couch he remembered, blue with large swirls of black and silver, shoved up against the wall. It felt like sitting in a tomb, only making the entire situation that much more uncomfortable.

Tori hadn't spoken a word to anyone since her and Lacy had emerged from the kitchen, silently setting down plates in front of everyone. Now she sat in the corner, next to her sister, picking at her food and pushing it around her plate more than she was actually taking bites of anything. Probably hoping no one would notice she wasn't eating, but he noticed. He noticed everything about her regardless of how hard he tried not to.

Her eyes stayed focused on her plate and he ached for her to look at him with a palpable longing. She was pissed. He knew she was. She didn't want him here. It didn't matter what she said. She could say whatever she wanted but he knew her. That flash of anger, full of accusation about his lack of being around, the accusatory look in those blue eyes, had told him everything he needed to know.

She hated him. She probably wished she'd never met him, thought of him as the worst thing that had ever happened to her. And why wouldn't she? He'd only caused her more heartache, more pain, when she was already dealing with so much. It seemed to be the only thing he was capable of when it came to her anymore. His girl, the one who used to light up when he walked into a room, was a thundercloud, sitting in the corner, threatening to unleash the storm building within her at any moment. And he was the cause of it.

"Does Henderson know you're here?"

Tori reached across her sister for a napkin, the sleeve of her shirt riding up over her bicep and he caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her inner arm in the exact same place he had one. Two halves that when they put them together made a whole, just like they used to be. And just like that, he was lost in the haze of memories all over again.

Tori gripped his hand tightly, her fingers lacing through his as she grinned up at him, her face a mixture of excitement and trepidation as she sat in the chair of the tattoo shop. They'd been talking about doing this for months. She'd been so certain she wanted one. This was his eighteenth birthday gift to her because it's all she'd talked about for six months. But now that they were here, he could see just the slightest hesitation in her eyes.

"You sure about this, Funshine?" he asked, brushing his thumb over the tender skin of her inner wrist. He didn't want her doing something she would regret later. He didn't want her to go through with it just for him. "You don't have to do this just because I already got mine. It's fine. We can get up and walk out right now."

His girl bit down on her lip, swallowing hard, and then her shoulders rolled back, her face set. She was resolved in doing this. He could see it written all over her body. She would not back down. His tough girl, concealing any signs of weakness before anyone could notice them. But he noticed. He always noticed because he noticed every single thing about her. There was nothing she could conceal from him. He studied her more than he studied for school because she was his favorite subject.

"No," she stated firmly. "I am doing this. I've wanted this for so long and you already got yours." She gestured to the fresh ink on his inner arm, wrapped up in plastic. "It would look ridiculous if I didn't get mine to match. How would you explain that to people?"

Eddie shrugged, "I only got half a compass because I'm a lost cause who's going nowhere."

Tori giggled, shaking her head, her hand leaving his to grip his chin, forcing him to look at her. "You are not a lost cause."