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

Chapter Sixty-One: Familiar Face

A bone-chilling breeze smashed into Eden's form, urging goosebumps to erupt like hives all over her sun-kissed skin. She felt sick to her stomach, to the point of wanting to throw up right then and there on the sidewalk. The second she had laid her dim eyes on Bif, she wanted or rather needed, to escape. She could barely stand the sheer thought of attending the same school as him, nonetheless being stuck in a room with the aggressor. Eden could still feel his piercing gaze boring into her body, scanning her figure with his cold as steel shamrock eyes.

She knew he couldn't see her as he was still upstairs with Derby whilst she was standing outside the Glass Jaw Boxing Gym entirely. Even so, that did not halt in the slightest the woozy waves cascading over her body. The calming scent of rain filled her nose, the clear and fresh air flowing into her lungs and making her feel at ease. Despite the tranquil environment, she was surrounded by, turmoil was ever evident inside of her mind.

Jimmy's carob stare was entirely focused on the silent girl beside him, who hadn't uttered a single word since the pair had left the recreational room. His eyebrows were furrowed deeply, a look he constantly adopted whilst he was deep in thought. His thoughts were circulating around Eden Milenko, the infamous daughter of the 'poker face' Milenko family. She had it all and he knew that fully well.

Money, power, a future – it was all laid out for Eden the moment she had breathed her first breath. But yet, a constant question lingered in his mind. 'Why does she look sad?' She was empty, a hollow shell merely presenting to the world the broken form of Eden Milenko. Her emerald eyes always glimmered, never failing to light up a room with their warmth and the cooling sense they brought about. Now, however, they were dim and had been this way for a week.

Unbeknownst to Jimmy, and many other Bullworth Academy students, this was the result of Gary Smith leaving her and taking her heart with him. Eden's emerald eyes merely reflected what was in front of her, such as the nonstop pouring rain that was falling before them.

"You okay?" Jimmy finally spoke up, his eyes flickering from her to the heavy rain.

She remained silent and nodded, wrapping her arms around her trembling figure. Eden wanted so badly to scream out that she wasn't okay. She wanted to pour her heart out to Jimmy, wail and cry and let out all of her pent up emotions.

She wanted to let out all the anger, the sadness, the anguish, the happiness, all of it. She was sick of pretending everything was okay and living her life as a lie. 'No, this was the way that I was raised, with a blank face, hollow eyes and empty smiles. That is the way that my parents brought me up to be.'

"Do you wanna help look for their trophies?"

"I'm sorry Jimmy, I just feel really exhausted," She feebly muttered out a lie, her eyes focused straight ahead.

He reached over and patted her back reassuringly, a simple comforting gesture dispersing warmth all over her stone-cold body. "Alright well, I'll catch up with you later on,"

Eden nodded once again, not bothering to spare her companion a second glance as he intercepted her line of view, sprinting over to grab his beaten-up bicycle. She watched with vacant eyes as Jimmy hopped on his bike and pedalled away into the distance until his short and stocky form became nothing more than a mere memory.

Her eyes trailed up to the steel clouds overhead that were weeping violently like a sobbing infant, her mind just as cloudy and torrential. She took a step out from under the protective cover of the entryway and was immediately soaked. Droplets rained down on her, dripping from her head all the way down to her sneakers.

Eden began her walk back to the girl's dorm, where an unfilled bed was waiting for her to fill it. Her sneakers made squelching noises with every step that she took, her body and heart becoming heavier and heavier as she drew closer to the bridge overlooking the vast ocean and beach. A single navy blue car came speeding past, its ivory headlights smudged in her hazy vision with muffled music emitting from the notably blown-out speakers.