Page 121 of There's No Us Without You
Eden is on the kitchen floor, a tub of chocolate ice cream between her legs, cheeks streaked with black tears as she shoves a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth.
But that’s not all.
There are baked goods spread out all around her—on the floor, the bench. Even in the sink. It literally looks like a flour bomb went off in here.
Her beautiful green eyes meet mine, the spoon between her lips. But when she lets out another pain-filled sob, my heart constricts in my chest. If those tears are because of me...
Fuck.
Everything I felt moments ago falls into the ether, my feelings for this woman extinguishing any anger I was harbouring.
Dropping my bag at the door, I race into the kitchen and get on my knees in front of her—ignoring the twinge in my left one—before taking her face in my hands. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I search her body, looking for any sign that she’s hurt physically.
Shaking her head, she snatches a cookie from the floor and shoves half of it into her mouth before the other half drops into her lap. Crumbs fall from her lips as she tries to speak through her tears.
“You don’t have to pretend to care, Em. I know I’ve fucked everything up, and I swear I’m not trying to convince you I’m worth your time. I’m going to leave as soon as I can.”
I plant my arse on the cold tiles in front of her. “Fucking leave? Is that what this is about? The bet?”
Eden licks the tears from her top lip and shakes her head. “That’s part of it,” she says, sniffing and wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
She doesn’t say anything further, so I prompt her. “Go on.”
Sucking in a shaky breath, her eyes find mine. “My mum... she...” The words catch in her throat, and she bites down on her bottom lip.
I wrap my hands around her upper arms. “What? What did she do?” The words are practically growled out as I search her face, trying to find any sign as to what that bitch has done now to put Eden in a state of panic on our kitchen floor.
Eden attempts to calm herself with deep, shaky breaths. However, it’s me that needs to breathe, because the way she’s looking at me has me wanting to rain down hell on the person responsible for her tears.
If it was socially acceptable—and legal—to murder someone, her mother would be six feet deep by now, Kent not far behind.
“She came to my work today,” Eden says, wiping her eyes with her fingertips. “She’s been sleeping with Tony.” Another sob escapes her before she grabs the other half of the cookie on her lap and shoves it into her mouth.
I’m not even sure she’s chewing at this point, just attempting to numb the pain with sugar.
I can all but feel my teeth cracking. Her mother is definitely one of Satan’s spawn.
“I’m sorry, baby.” I rub the back of my neck. “Jesus, I don’t even know what to say right now. That’s just... fucked up.”
Eden shrugs. “She’s only doing it to continue to control my life. It’s her way of getting Tony to do her dirty work.”
Taking her hand, I give it a squeeze. “Does... your mother have anything to do with why you made”—I clear my throat—“the bet?”
All I get from her is a small nod.
Bloody hell. Why am I not surprised?
Scooting closer, I hook a finger under her chin and lift her face. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to know exactly what happened.”
With her bottom lip sucked between her teeth, Eden nods, then goes on to tell me about the promise she made with her dad to get his restaurant back, and how Tony is trying to sell it to someone else.
I stay silent, nodding to show her I understand what she’s saying.
Now it makes total sense why she did what she did. I just wish she had told me what was going on—we could have worked something out.
The way her eyes glass over, and a small smile plays on her lips when she talks about her dad, tells me how important he was to her.
When Eden finishes, silence falls between us. I’m trying to take in everything she just told me, while scrambling to piece together everything I’m feeling for her now that I know the truth.
