Chapter Twenty-Two

Eden could hardly wait for next Monday and not because she wanted to go back to school. It was definitely not that. If Eden didn't have to go to school, she wouldn't. As it was, if she didn't go, her parents would ground her for life. They were strict when it came to her education, especially her dad. Even if her parents knew how she was treated by the kids at her school, Eden doubted they would let her stay home so she didn't even bother trying to tell them.

No, the reason she counted down the seconds until Monday was because she needed to talk to Gus. Something Oliver had told her didn't sit well with Eden. What did he mean "a little birdie told me?" Why did Oliver apologize without putting up so much as a fight? The only reason Eden could think of was that Gus had talked to Oliver before they came to find her. That had to be it. She hadn't shared those details of her life with anyone else. She only told Gus about her struggles with Oliver because Gus had found out through a lucky guess. If it weren't for that, he would still be in the dark about everything.

Eden sighed. It would be a long two days.

*****

Eden woke up early on Monday morning. She was raring to leave by 7 A.M. School didn't start until 8:30 A.M. Eden grudgingly sat through the breakfast her mom was making her eat, finishing it in record time.

It didn't escape her mother's notice.

"What's up with you?" Mrs. Richard asked, sitting across from Eden.

Eden looked up from the glass of orange juice she was chugging. She set it back on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What do you mean?" Eden asked.

"You're never up this early," Mrs. Richard said, casually poking a napkin in her direction. "Wipe your mouth with this, not your hand."

Eden picked up the napkin and wiped her face with it, just to appease her mom. "Maybe I just felt like getting up early today."

"Yeah, right," Mrs. Richard scoffed. "And maybe I didn't want to sleep in this morning." She fixed Eden with a hard stare. "What's going on? You've been restless all weekend and now you can't wait to get to school. You NEVER want to go to school early."

Eden stared back at her mom for a while before reclaiming her glass of orange juice and gulping down the rest. She stood up, wiping her mouth the back of her hand, and brought her cup to the sink. Then she turned around and grabbed her bag from next to her chair.

"Sorry, Mom," he said, walking towards the front door. "I'm meeting Gus and Oliver before school. Don't want to be late!"

"Sit down," Mrs. Richard said.

Eden froze. She'd tried to avoid this confrontation. It wasn't because she was trying to hide anything from her mom. It was just more convenient if she didn't know.

Eden bit her bottom lip and backtracked to the chair she had vacated seconds before. She avoided looking at her mom. She could be scary when she wanted to be.

Now was one of those times.

"Eden Olivia Richard."

Eden cringed at the use of her middle name. For one thing, it meant she was in trouble. For another, it reminded her of why she wanted to leave so badly.

Oliver had been born only a few months before Eden. When Eden's mom learned the name of her pastor's new baby, she took a liking to it. So much so that when her own daughter was born, she named her after him. She changed "Oliver" to its feminine counterpart, "Olivia," and called it a day. If Eden ever thought that she and Oliver didn't have fate on their side, she just remembered how similar their names were.

Eden blushed a little at that last thought. Yes. She and Oliver DID have fate on their side. No matter what they went through they would always have each other. Their names guaranteed it. Even if Oliver didn't like Eden back, which she was now sure he didn't, Eden would be content with knowing that they would always be together, in spirit if not physically.

"Eden, listen to me carefully," Mrs. Richard said. "You have two options. One, you can tell me what's going on right now. Two, you don't tell me and I will find out on my own. This first option is better for you. Do you understand?"

Eden kept her eyes on her hands, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel her mother's harsh gaze on her. She decided to play it safe and not move.

"I understand," Eden answered quietly.

Her mother's eyes bore holes into the top of her head. Eden didn't budge. Not when her mother threatened her again, not when her mother got up from the table with an exasperated sigh, not even when Eden heard the doorbell ring.

Mrs. Richard opened the door with a backwards look at Eden, who was barely visible from the other room.

"Hi, Mrs. Richard," came the familiar voice of Eden's savior.

"I'm sorry, Oliver," Eden heard her mother say, not unkindly. "Eden's a little busy right now. You can talk to her at school."

Eden looked up just in time to see her mother attempt to close the door on Oliver. Eden lowered her head back to the table in defeat. That's when she heard a THUNK!

"I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Richard," came Oliver's voice again. "But it's pretty important. In fact, maybe you want to hear what I have to say, too?"

There was no reply. Eden took that as a sign that her mother was interested. Apparently Oliver did too, as he opened the door wider and walked inside the house.

"She's in the kitchen," Mrs. Richard told Oliver. A second later he was at the kitchen doorway, grinning at Eden.

Before Eden could ask what he was doing here, Oliver sauntered over to where Eden sat and whispered in her ear:

"Your savior has arrived."