The Garden of Eden || Canis Canem Edit / Bully [ #WATTYS2018 ]

Chapter Forty-Eight: Remembering

With every heavy laboured pant that escaped his lips, Gary's chest heaved up and down violently. The air seemed to stutter in his lungs, as though it were its own entity and were contemplating whether the vessel it thrived in, deserved air. Agitation was evident in his face, narrow honey eyes darting around the classroom without any rhyme or reason. He was alert and more awake than ever, eyes lingering on the shadows cast in the corners of the classroom as if something was just waiting for his back to turn so they could attack.

The pale complexion of his cheeks was flushed a rosy red. If anyone had come across him, they'd assume he'd just run a marathon. His knee bounced up and down anxiously, fingernails tapping rapidly on the desk he sat on.

"Stupid..."

Gone was the anger from his standoff with Johnny. Instead, regret gripped him like a vice.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." The word spluttered from Gary in a low tone, strands of mocha locks hiding his eyes like a sheepdog. "Why did I stay that?"

He felt empty, yet fulfilled. He felt angry, yet content. He had finally confessed his true feelings to Eden. It was a moment he had been waiting for, for a very long time. The emotions, the 'love' he felt for the beautiful teenager were unfamiliar. The unfamiliar was a notion that excited him but scared him beyond belief.

Gary Smith was a sociopath. Everyone knew it. It was a title that his therapist Dr Bambillo 'oh-so' thoughtfully granted him with. It was a label he would always carry with him. The shame he too would carry, a heavy weight on his shoulders constantly. Gary was there during his diagnosis, sitting right next to his glassy-eyed mum.

She was shocked, barely believing what her ears were hearing, letting out little choked out sobs.

He was stoic, barely listening to the therapist.

Dr Bambillo went on to explain a list of traits Gary probably had. One stood out, however. The incapacity to love. He didn't even know what love was. What he felt for his mum, he chalked up to just being dependency. He never wanted to fall in love. Love was hard, it was complicated, it was weakness.

But yet here Gary Smith was, standing alone in an empty classroom, cursing himself to the high heavens for falling head over heels with Eden Milenko.

"I can't love her, no. I just, I can't..." Manic murmurs sliced through the dense air, irritational thinking ebbing away at his mind. "She's mine, I'm grateful to have her no matter how mad she makes me, or annoying she can be at times. I want to keep her, I can't lose her. If Johnny took her.. no, he can't. If she fell for... she won't. I love her. But I shouldn't, I'm no good! I can't even protect her!"

Gary's knuckles were as white as snow, blinding rage smiting his senses. "Bif, that degenerative prick, he broke her. He beat her down into a pulp and I didn't do a damn thing..."

'The snow fell soundlessly from the skies above, covering the ground in a glittering blanket of white. Under a dove grey sky, those who live below it, are content. The gentle glow of the sunshine through cotton ball clouds filtered through the frozen-over window pane, illuminating the bedroom with a soft warmth. It was a calm, undisturbed Saturday morning. Gary sat perched on the wooden chair in the dorm room, watching the girl who slept soundly on the bed. His gaze was unwavering, dark honey eyes remaining fastened to her peaceful face.

To say that Gary was mad, was an understatement. He was infuriated. Burning rage hissed violently within his body like a deadly poison, screeching in his ears like a banshee. He wanted to hurt Bif. He wanted to break him. He wanted Bif to feel the pain that he caused Eden, his Eden. His sweet, sweet Eden. His knuckles were white from how hard he was clenching them, fury engulfing his common sense. 

Gary loved her to pieces and here she was, in pieces. Her shoulder was covered in bandages, face scrunching up every so often in pain, as she slept the day away. A whimper left her lips as she tried to move, inciting a chuckle from Gary. He couldn't help but laugh. Every P.E lesson he despised and grumbled about finally came to good use. His legs still ached from how fast he sprung up and hid in the closet, as the nurses brought her in.

Eden's chest shook with every breath that fluttered into her lungs. She was safe here, with him. No one could hurt her now. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open without warning, wide open like two beams of light. The velvet duvet rustled quietly beneath her, the fabric crinkling as she struggled to pull herself upright. Her eyes flickered over to her arm, then to Gary, then back to her arm.

"Good morning." Gary greeted feebly, giving her a small smile.

She locked eyes with him, mouth gaping like a fish as she struggled to find the right words to speak. Her emerald eyes were frozen over like the surface of a winter puddle, robbing them of their usual warmth and happiness. Eden looked like she was in another realm, as though she escaped there to hide from the pain that haunted her body. 

His fingers twitched. Gary wanted nothing more than to grab her shoulders and shake her. Shake her until she came back down to Earth until she came back to him. He wanted to rekindle that flame within her core. The flame that would throw playful insults at him, even if they didn't make sense. The flame that would ignite her anger whenever he went too far. That flame that would spark in her eyes that short, little moment before they fluttered shut when his lips met hers.

Gary couldn't see it, it was gone. The cage surrounding her heart was dripping wet with unshed tears she refused to let stream down her cheeks.

"Hi." Eden's hoarse voice croaked out, followed by a hiss of pain as she tried to move her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, pulling the chair closer to her bed.

"Terrible." She answered with a watery smile. "I feel like I was hit by a train."

Gary let out a deep chuckle at her words, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Dipping his head, he pressed a sweet, loving kiss on her knuckles. She shivered at the feeling, trembling in his hold.

"You're safe now..." He murmured, meeting eyes with her.

Eden sat before him like a deflated balloon that lots its helium. Silent sobs wracked her broken frame, shoulders quivering with every breath she took. She made no attempt to hide her tears as they dripped down her cheeks, like rain down a windowpane.

Gary didn't speak. He just wrapped his arms around her, holding her shivering body against his. Her fingers grasped desperately at his shirt, sobs growing louder and her body shaking more. Eden needed to be saved. She wanted him to save her, to take away all the pain. She wanted to be loved, to be safe. She wanted him to love her...'

"Eden loves me, I know she does, and I love her. We can figure this out, we'll be fine," Gary whispered, reassuring himself as her bright smile flashed before his eyes. "I shouldn't be focusing on the past. I just need to figure out where I'm taking her tonight."

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