Page 25 of Eternal

My heartbeat stutters for a moment. Is she going to open up to me? I pull up the cameras I installed in her apartment while she was away, and find her in her room with the lights off. She’s laying on her side, staring back at her phone, the light illuminating her beauty. But there’s so much pain and sadness written on her face.

I respond to her, not wanting to keep her any longer. She’s waiting for my response. But I falter, not sure what to respond with. It takes me several times to type something out then delete it, and repeat until I land on it finally.

I have dreams like that too. Are you okay?

Mine probably aren’t as bad as hers, but I still dream of the abuse I lived through as a child. How cold and lonely I was.

I will be. It’s only been a year since everything. I just hope they go away someday.

I falter, wanting to ask the most personal question. I know I shouldn’t, but I do anyway.

What happened to you?

Freya in the camera rolls onto her back, and she lets out a deep breath, throwing her phone off to the side. I overstepped. I should probably find an excuse to call her. She really deserves to know about the security we are putting on Abe, minus the camera part. I’ll use that as an excuse to call her.

Can I call you?

She looks at her phone as my text goes through.

My phone rings with an incoming call.

“Hey.”

“Soren? I’m sorry. I just can’t-” She starts and sounds guilty.

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn’t have overstepped like that. We don’t have to talk about that.” I rush to cut her off.

A small smile graces her face, from what I can see in the cameras.

“It’s okay. I’m just fucked in the head, it’s a personal problem, but I make it everyone else’s problem.” She lets out a breathy laugh, trying to make light of the situation.

“You’re probably not as bad as I am, Freya. I’m pretty fucked in the head too, you know.”

“Yeah, but you probably don’t imagine hurting people who have wronged you, or hurt your family.”

I fucking called it. I knew she had a darkness in her. I knew she was made for me. I fucking knew it. From the sounds of it, she doesn’t know what I do, or what my company is even, where I make my money from.

“You think I’m fucking crazy now, don’t you? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“You really shouldn’t apologize so much. You shouldn’t apologize for being you.” I lightly scolded her. “And no I don’t think you are. I-- I have the same thoughts too. I could give two fucks about my family, but I have a very small list of people I would do anything for.”

“Anything? Meaning?” She wants me to elaborate, but she sounds more comfortable knowing that she and I are cut from the same cloth. We are two pieces meant to be sewn together.

“Meaning, if someone hurt you, or your family, I’ll kill them.” I deadpan and let it out before I give myself a chance to take it back.

“Why my family?” She asks, and in the cameras, she’s sitting upright in bed.

“Freya, I care about you. More than I thought I would honestly. Therefore, if they’re important to you, then they’re important to me. Which brings me to giving you an update.” The sound of her breath hitching, causes me to pause. “I ordered more security for Abe and Serena at their apartment here in Miami. There is security at every entrance, and throughout the building. I don’t want them to know, but I have people watching them. And Luca. I told you I would keep them safe. This is my way of doing it.”

“Soren.” My name falls from her mouth like a hymn.

“I don’t need any thanks, or scolding, or whatever. I just wanted you to know I kept my promise.” I finish, my voice almost in a whisper.

There’s a small part of me that hopes I’ve made her happy. Hopes that I’ve proven to her that she can trust me. Her approval matters more to me than anything else.

“Thank you, Soren. I know you said you don’t want any thanks, but I never listen. Thank you.” She sounds like she’s crying. She is, as she wipes away her tears, “I’ve been so terrified something will happen to them while I’m gone. That Luca would hurt them. I just don’t know what I’d do without Abe. He is Serena’s lifeline. Serena is mine. You’ve-- you’ve given me some peace of mind I haven’t had in a while. Thank you.” She sniffles on the other end.

I watch her through the cameras, quiet for a moment. “Freya, I would do anything for you,” I whisper, and the next words slip out before I can stop them, “I wish I was there with you still. Thank you for confiding in me, your secrets are my secrets. Try to sleep again, try to get some rest. I will talk to you tomorrow.”

---