Shameless, Reckless Love (GirlxGirl)

Part 2: Chapter 14

Between schoolwork, working more shifts at the Kesh and Grab, and attending more ROTC classes for West Point, Eden secretly began making time to return to the nightclub Mel brought her to that day.

Eden couldn't lie. Though her first experience at the club was an embarrassing one, she enjoyed the place time after time. There were groups of homosexuals she could shamelessly talk to now; people who were out of the closet and proud, and others who were not yet free to announce themselves to the public. It helped Eden as much as Mel told her it would, and she was grateful for being introduced to this place.

Tuesday night, Eden gets the same excitement she'd been having every time she thought of that club. But though she sometimes went alone, she loved remembering when Mel was right there beside her.

Fabian, Leona, and Cora sit at the table, eating dinner as they normally do, except for Eden since she can't stop her excited fidgeting. No one seems to pay attention to it though. Declan suddenly mopes down the stairs with a plate of chicken and rice in one hand, and a glass of water in the other.

"Dad still won't get out of that room." Declan mumbles, and places the food on the table and sits beside Eden.

"Declan, I told you not to go up there." Fabian tells him, while cleaning up Leona's face. "Just leave him alone please." Declan moans out of annoyance.

"But how is he gonna eat?" Declan whines to Fabian.

"He'll figure it out when he gets hungry." Fabian snaps back.

"You think he's sick or something? He's been doing that for days now." Cora adds in, mushing her green beans around her plate. Eden then pays more attention.

"Wait, has it really been "days"?" Eden asks everyone. She had been so caught up in her new busy lifestyle that she hadn't realized that Mel's behavior at the end of the day had changed.

"Yeah, basically!" Declan then answers. "It's weird. He got all excited one night, and woke me and Cora up to watch movies and eat our old Halloween candy on a school night one time, and now look: Every day he's sulking on that bed." Declan explains. "What's the matter with him?"

Everyone is silent for a little while.

"I don't know." Fabian soon answers, but he thinks a lot behind it.

"How can we help him?" Declan goes on.

"We can't do anything." Fabian states. "We just have to wait it out."

"For how long?" Declan exclaims anxiously. Eden shushes him down.

"For as long as it takes." Fabian answers. "He'll bounce back to his old self. He always did." Fabian says, sipping his juice slowly.

"He's done this before?" Declan quickly asks, catching on. Everyone's eyes are on Fabian. He sighs heavily.

"Yeah. I mean, way before any of you would remember. I remember when I was 7, he'd get all thrilled some nights, but then by the next hour, he'd crash on the couch and never utter a word." Fabian explains, thinking deep into the past. "Lib would remember." Fabian adds.

"Well I wish Lib was here right now." Declan complains. But everyone understands how he feels. It wasn't hard to see that Declan loved the fact that Mel was back. It was like the family was whole once again. But without Lib, there was a lacking feeling among the house. Like a branch was missing from their tree. "Lib should be here. She always knows what to do." Declan continues. "We should call her."