Finally Free

eight

"You know him?" Nova says slowly. I nod, swallowing hard. "How?" She asks warily.

"I didn't think I'd see him ever again." I say. My voice wavers and I can feel tears building up. Both out of fear and happiness that he isn't dead. "I thought he was dead." Nova's eyes widen and Darcy's slack-jawed.

"What do you mean?" Nova asks. And then he sees us. He sees me. His eyes widen and he slowly walks up to us.

"Eden, how are you?" He asks. I laugh. I actually laugh.

"That's all you have to say? I thought you were dead, Carter. How are you alive?" I ask. I feel a single tear run down my face. I'm scared. He helped get me to my father. He worked with my father. "Why did you work with my father?" His features soften and he glances at Nova.

"Can we maybe go somewhere private to talk about this?" He asks. He brings his thumb up to my cheek and swipes the tear away. I look at Darcy and Nova and they're looking at me like they have no idea who I am, and honestly, they don't. Nova also looks heartbroken.

"I'll meet up with you two later?" I say hopeful. I know that going somewhere alone with Carter isn't a good idea. Especially after everything that's happened. But I need answers now more than ever.

"I'm so sorry." Carter says looking at Nova. "Come on." He takes my hand and slowly brings his hand around my back to rest on the small of my back as he leads me away. I look back at Nova and Darcy one more time before giving them a sad smile. I was looking forward to hanging out with them tonight.

"Where are we going to go?" I ask him. He shrugs as we exit the club and walk back out onto the street. I look back at the dark abandoned looking building. It's crazy how alive it is in there.

"Where do you want to go?" He asks. I think for a while. Then I realize that in this situation, it's better that I'm in a place that I'm familiar with.

"My apartment?" I ask. He nods.

"Sure." He says. His hand is still on my back. I walk a little faster and he removes his hand. "Do you have a car?"

"No, Nova drove us." I say. He nods and starts walking towards what I assume is where his car is parked. He takes out a set of keys, presses the unlock button and a sleek black Lamborghini lights up. "Woah. You and your cars." I say lightly. He smiles and laughs.

"Well, I had to replace the car you took down to North Carolina." He says glancing at me.

"Right." I say. He smiles and opens the passenger side door for me. I gratefully get in and he closes the door and gets in on his side.

"So, what's the address?" He asks. I give him the address and he pulls away from his parking spot on the side of the packed street. "When did you move down here?" I shrug.

"I don't know. Beginning of the year?" I say unsure. He nods and taps his fingers on the steering wheel.

"I moved down here a few months ago. Remember when we used to talk about moving down here?" He asks resurrecting a part of my childhood. I smile in memory.

"I do. Is that why you came here?" I ask. He nods, a small smile playing on his lips.

"What about you?" He asks glancing at me before looking back at the road.

"Actually, it is why I moved down here. I remember always wanting to move here when I was younger and I figured, let's get away from my past. So, I moved down here. I'm even going to college." I say.

"It's nice to catch up with you." He says. "How's um, how's Sage?" I swallow the lump in my throat. I knew this would come up.

"We're not together anymore." I look out the window at all the lights flickering by us. He's silent for a while.