1-24: Slipped Away: Part Two

-------------

The beeping of the machines, the bustle of the hospital rooms, were so loud. Eden couldn't focus enough to think things through. They were standing in the hallway for the emergency rooms, feeling completely out of place. 

 She was waiting as patiently as she could, for someone to come and tell them anything. Atticus had taken care of Jett because it was like Eden was paralyzed, frozen.

"Which one of you is Atticus?"

The officer's voice cut through the rest of the noise in an instant. The three Simon children got to their feet and Atticus stepped forward, raising his hand slowly. Eden recognized this officer. She had seen him in the precinct buildings when she was a kid, she even thought maybe her dad had called him by name.

Not that she could think of it right now.

"I was told to give you this information, because you're the oldest one. Correct?"

Atticus nodded, but Eden's voice rang out, shaking with her words.

"I'm seven minutes younger than him, that's bullshit."

The officer looked at her, but didn't say a word. He seemed to weigh his options in his mind, his eyes falling on the baby who was sleeping again in his car seat. When he finally began speaking, it was like he was talking to him. Not to the actual adults who would be able to comprehend what was being said.

"It looks like your father lost control of his vehicle on a stretch of ice, causing him to veer into the oncoming lane. The other driver was speeding, and, we think, she didn't see the car come into her lane. They collided, and your father's car flipped. 

He's fine. He has a minor concussion and is resting down the hall.

However, the two passengers in his car, and the driver of the other vehicle were not as lucky. The driver of the truck that hit them, was airlifted here, but she didn't make it."

Eden's stomach dropped and she met eyes with her younger brother, her mouth going dry. The officer didn't stop speaking, spinning more words into their ears, no audible hesitation behind what he had to say.

"Your mother is in the ICU upstairs, in critical condition from a lacerated kidney, and there was some damage to her heart. But, she was wearing her seat belt, and we're pretty sure that's what saved her life."

He stalled for a moment, and something was in his eyes that Eden couldn't read. His voice, it was composed. His posture was straight, and he didn't twist his hands, or shift his weight, his voice didn't crack with emotion. He didn't give any kind of indication as to what he was going to say next.

"Lyric, however, was ejected from the car on impact. The paramedics said she died on the scene, just a few minutes after the initial crash. 

I'm so... I'm so sorry."

Finally, the officer's face fell. He quickly turned away, disappearing down the hall. Most officers are supposed to stick around, to offer condolences. But that was the last thing any of them wanted.

The quiet that followed his disappearance was as if nothing else in the world was happening. Like time stood still. The three of them were grouped together in complete silence.

Eden looked up at her big brother, and she saw the world collapse behind his eyes. 


She couldn't think, or feel, anything at all. The realization hung in the air, but it didn't quite touch her. This couldn't be real. There was no way. She had just seen Lyric a few hours ago. They must have it wrong. 

She couldn't be gone.

Not Lyric. 

She'd just had a baby, her life was going well, she was happy.

Whatever God that was up there couldn't do that, could he?

She turned to Cassius and she didn't even register the fact that her brother's fist had connected with his face until after it had happened. Every pair of eyes in the hallway turned towards them as Cassius moaned in pain, blood dripping down his face. 

Eden couldn't take it in. She couldn't get her brain to cooperate.

All she could think was 

This can't be right.

She turned for the exit, and as she did, Jett awoke, his soft cries following her all the way down the hall.

------------

Eden tipped the bottle back, the wetness on her face, on her shirt, completely foreign to her. She couldn't be crying, because nothing was wrong. She was fine. She slammed the bottle onto the floor next to her and kicked her iPod with her foot, changing the song that permeated the smoke thickened air of her room.

Her door opened, and closed, and she didn't even look to see who it was.

"You're still right there?"

Kiara knelt next to her, her face forlorn. She reached out, placing her hand on Eden's knee. Eden's face remained blank, she didn't react, didn't say a word. She just took another drink straight out of the bottle of rum. Kiara exhaled heavily, moving and sliding down the wall to the ground next to Eden.

She ran a hand through the bottom of Eden's messy hair and touched her shoulder softly. 

"You've been sitting in the same spot for five days.

Drinking yourself into a coma won't bring her back, Eden."

Something twitched in her chest at Kiara's words, but she didn't know what it was.

"I just want to be alone, Kiara. Please leave."

Her words were slurred, but completely monotone.

"Do you really think this is what she would have wanted? You and your twin brother do nothing but drink. Constantly. You don't leave your room, you haven't showered, or eaten, since you found out.

I'm the only one taking care of that baby. And it might not matter to you, but if you ask me, that's fucked up. If you should give a fuck about anything, it should be your sister's little boy."

Eden brought her eyes to Kiara's face, but her expression didn't change. She looked empty, robotic.

"Eden... Please?"

Kiara reached for the bottle in Eden's grip, but she shoved her hand away.

"Don't fucking touch me. Just fucking leave, Kiara. Go away."

Kiara got to her feet, a sigh leaving her lips and lingering in the air.

"You need to wake up. It's been a week. You need to deal with this, Eden. You need to feel.

Her funeral is tomorrow, are you just going to skip that to get drunk too?"

She kicked an empty alcohol bottle aside, shutting the door as softly as she could behind her. But it was like Kiara's words hadn't penetrated Eden's skull at all. They vanished in the room like smoke.

She took one final drink out of the bottle, the contents completely gone. She took one look at it and threw it across the room. It collided with her mirror and the sound of it shattering seemed to echo in her head.

"I am feeling. All I'm fucking doing is feeling."

The words carried no weight. They were so far from the truth. 

She hadn't cracked yet. It was like, logically, she knew that Lyric was gone, but her heart hadn't quite caught up with the tiny shred of logic in the back of her mind.

"What was that noise?"

Carter's face was lost when the door opened. His question seemed to not have any real direction, just spoken into nothing. Eden didn't really respond, just nodded her head towards the mirror. Carter took the sight in, shaking his head slowly.

He crossed the room and dropped next to Eden the way Kiara had. What he pulled out of his pocket when he hit the floor was the last thing she expected. He shook the tiny bottle at Eden until she took it from him. Was he really giving her alcohol? 

She raised an eyebrow at him, twisting the top off of it, bringing it to her lips. He held his hand out when she swallowed and she placed it in his palm. He took a drink, wincing at the taste.

"I've never understood how you and your mom can drink this shit straight."

Eden glanced up at him, tilting her head.

"I don't really taste it anymore."

Carter nodded, his eyes still looking into space. Still staring at nothing.

"I love you, Eden. You know that right?"

She blinked in surprise, his words hitting her somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach.

"I don't think I do, no. But thanks."

He handed the bottle back to her and she took a drink, not knowing what the hell was going on, exactly.

"I do. I love you. You've always been the most like me. I used to think you'd turn out to be me. It scared me when you were growing up, because I know how vulnerable I was as a child. But you surprised me. You're far tougher than I ever was."

Eden snorted, watching him take a drink. She watched his eyes never actually see anything. The way his hand shook as he drank, and the way his words seemed to collide with one another.

"I'm sorry."

Carter finally made eye contact with her, and the tears that fell down his face made that spot he had hit in her stomach ache a little more evidently.

"I'm sorry that I've not been around, and I'm sorry that I let your mom get out of control.

I'm sorry that when you were growing up, I never gave you the father figure you needed."

He took one final drink, twirling the bottle in his fingers.

"I'm sorry I took her that night, and I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

Eden was speechless. She felt his words twist in her head. They fell into her veins and rushed right to her heart. He blamed himself? How could he do that? He had nothing to do with this.

He didn't have the power to save her. No one did.


And all at once, the tears slipped down her face, her world crumbled around her, and she broke. 

The feeling in her chest escalated so fast, she lost her breath. She shook with the pain of it, dropping her face into her hands. Carter leaned over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, and she turned her face to cry into his chest. His fingers ran through her hair, and she could feel his tears on her skin.

His words were soft, like they used to be when she was little and he was comforting her because her toy had broken. If only it had been that simple this time.

"If I could bring her back, I would. But I can't, and nothing can ever change that. 

But I can't lose you too.

You're my little girl, and I can't watch you sit here and die."

He pulled away, wiping the tears off of her cheeks with his fingers.

"You're gonna be okay. I promise you, Eden. You'll be okay."

------------

The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same

1-23: Slipped Away: Part One

-------------

The knock on the door jarred Eden out of her sleep. She pulled herself to a sitting position on the couch, quickly looking over at the bassinet. Jett was fast asleep, his little hand curled around the bear she and Lyric had bought for him a few days ago.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the hallway that led to the front door, were the flashing lights. The red, white and blue bounced off of the walls and into her brain, alarms ringing. Her stomach was tight and her thoughts went straight to Kiara. 

What if by not calling her, she had wrecked? What if something horrible had happened to her? Eden pulled the door open, and the snow fell in sheets, covering the top of the officer's coat in front of her, and sliding into the doorway. The ice hit her face and she shivered.

It wasn't an officer she recognized, and that was weird in and of itself. She knew almost everyone her dad worked with. 

"Can I help you?"

She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing over his shoulder at the police car parked lopsided in her driveway.

"Eden, right? Carter's daughter?"

That struck her as weird, the informal way he asked. The sound of his voice. 

"Yeah? What's going on?"

He looked down at the ground, and back up at her face.

"There's been an accident, you need to come with me."

-------------

"Just get in the car, Aria. Keep complaining and I am going to leave you here."

Aria threw a dirty look at her husband, shivering in the wind. It was freezing and the last thing that she wanted to do, was sit in a car for thirty minutes while they drove back home. The snow was falling so thickly, she could barely even see out of the window. She trusted Carter's ability to drive in messes like this, but it didn't stop her from being pouty about it. She pouted about a lot, and always had.

"Don't worry, momma. It's not that far until we're home.

And hey, I won. Think about that. Maybe it'll make you happy."

Lyric's soft voice cut through Aria's inner monologue and she gave her youngest daughter a tight smile. She took her hand and helped her into the backseat, closing the door after she was safely inside.

Carter paused on his way to the driver's side. He walked over to Aria, touching her reddened cheek softly.

"I love you, I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted to do with your night, and I know you hate driving in this stuff. But it's going to be fine."

He knelt down, pressing his lips to hers, and opening the door for her to climb inside, just as Aria had done for Lyric. He shut it quickly, rushing to the other side. He slipped a little on the ice, and just before he opened the door, he said a prayer quietly in his head.

He never prayed, but right now seemed like a good time.

-----------

Atticus entered the waiting room doors, finding Eden in the throng of people. He rushed over to her, wrapping her in a hug. She was crying, mascara all over her face, baby Jett sleeping soundly in his car seat. 

"What happened, where is everyone? All I know is that there was an accident."

Eden shook her head, stroking her fingers over the bear tucked into the side of Jett's car seat.

"They haven't told me anything yet, I know less than you do.  He didn't tell me much when he dropped me off, because he got another call. He said the doctors would explain, but they haven't explained any fucking thing at all."

Atticus ran his hand through his hair, looking at the baby.

"Is Kiara with you?"

Eden shook her head again, guilt dropping into her chest.

"No, dad told me to text her, and I never did. I don't know where she is."

Atticus brought his eyes slowly from Jett and onto Eden's face.

"You what?"

"I don't know where she is."

---------------

"Why are the roads so empty tonight?"

Lyric pressed a hand to the window, the cold seeping into her skin. Carter made some type of disgruntled noise, and Aria leaned over, turning the radio off quickly, like somehow, that would help him concentrate.

"Because most people know to stay home in this weather, but this was important to you, sweetheart. So we went. We'll be home soon."

Carter made a turn, the ice contrasting heavily with the wheels. Even with the chains, and the snow plows clearing what they could, black ice was dangerous. It was worse at night, and with each time the car slid, Lyric grew more guilty. This was her fault that she had demanded to go anyway. 

She should have just said she'd skip it. Even if she won, it didn't seem like it was a very fair deal. This was scarier than she had bargained for.

Lyric brought her eyes from the side window, squinting in the bright lights that she could make out coming down the other side of the road.

"I thought you were supposed to turn your brights off when other cars are approaching?"

Aria said it with irritation, and Lyric sank down farther into her seat, pulling her phone out. Eden hadn't texted her about Jett at all. It made her wonder if maybe they had fallen asleep. Even in the brief hours she spent playing piano, she missed him. He had completely changed her life.

She turned on the music on her phone, turning the volume up enough so that the music filled the car. 

"You are. I don't know what this person's deal is. I can barely see the road as it is."

Carter cleared his throat, the speedometer dropping.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I should have just stayed home."

Carter didn't respond, just slowed the car down the closer he got to the oncoming one.

Aria turned around, placing a hand on Lyric's knee.

"It's just some ice, Lyric. It scares me too, but it's not a big deal. I promise."

The thing about black ice, is it is virtually invisible. Hard to avoid, nearly impossible to clear off of roads. It hides on the sides of roads, on sidewalks. It blends in with asphalt, and even if a street appears clear, sometimes it isn't.

You can lose traction in an instant.

And just one second... is all it takes.

-------------

Atticus and Eden looked up in surprise when Cassius stumbled through the open glass door. He looked like a mess, but not for the same reasons they were. He looked intoxicated. On a few different levels. He walked over to them, his eyes going from the baby, to Eden, to Atticus and back again.

"You guys have no idea what happened... Do you?"

They both looked at him, and Eden tilted her head.

"Why does it sound like you do...."

It was more of a statement than a question, and Eden instantly got to her feet, her face inches from her little brother's.

"What do you know? What happened?"

Cassius took a step back, but not before Eden smelled the alcohol on his breath. It was like he'd dumped a bottle over his head.

"I might have an idea, and I have no fucking clue what to do."

Eden and Atticus exchanged a look. Atticus instantly joined Eden in standing and locked eyes with Cassius.

"What the hell are you talking about, Cassius?"

He looked back at the baby sleeping in the car seat, sleeping through the talking, the bustle, the loud cacophony of noise that rang through the hospital. His eyes glazed over for a moment, and he almost looked like he could actually cry.

"Mackenzie was with me tonight."

Atticus stiffened, one of his hands curling at his side. Cassius finally brought his eyes to his brother's, and Eden had absolutely no idea what was going on. She looked at Atticus, who mumbled something out of the side of his mouth, before giving his attention back to Cassius.

"She saw you kiss Kiara, or heard it, so she came looking for me to do something about it. She was already drunk when she got there, but I let her keep drinking. 

I slept with her and let her drive home drunk."

It was a lot of information for Eden at once. She looked at the rage in her twins eyes and the guilt in her baby brother's. Atticus didn't look as upset as he could, he still looked like he was trying to figure everything out. He didn't seem phased by the fact that she had cheated on him, and Eden's guess was just that he was still worrying about Kiara.

"So what are you actually saying?"

Atticus' voice was cold, cutting.

"She was supposed to call me when she made it to her place, and she never did. I think maybe she had something to do with this, and my guess is it has something to do with our parents too. They should have been home hours ago."

The pieces fell into place in Eden's head and she reached out, shoving Cassius so hard, his butt hit the floor.

"Not just our parents, you fucking loser! Lyric was in that car too!"

It took everything in her not to punch him in the face. But people were already staring, and when Eden had shouted, Jett had stirred a little in his peaceful sleep. She rocked the car seat softly and turned back to face Cassius, who had found his feet again.

Her voice was low, venomous. It cracked, betraying the pain in her chest.

"If something happened to my sister, I'll fucking kill you."

--------------

When the car slid, Carter tried to correct. To fix the wheels. The patch of ice was so long, he couldn't find enough traction, in enough time, to right them. It slid the SUV into the oncoming lane. The dark red F105 slammed into the side of the Hummer, going around 80 MPH, smashing the passenger side of the car into an unrecognizable shape.

The force of the impact, combined with the thin layer of ice on the street, caused the SUV to flip twice, coming to rest on the side of the road. It looked like a little toy car that a child had beaten with a hammer and cast aside.

Glass, gasoline and ice glittered from one side of the highway to the other. Smoke billowed out from underneath the hood of the truck, which aside from the smashed front end, had no damage at all.

The screaming had stopped, the crying too. There were no fires, no explosions. Nothing to indicate to anyone who hadn't heard the crash that anything had happened at all. There were no answering sirens, no voices.

The snow continued to fall, and the world continued to turn.

No one knew their entire lives were about to change, and no one would know anything at all, for hours after it had happened.

The music on Lyric's phone played until the battery gave out.

The resulting silence, was deafening.

---------

I didn't get around to kiss you
Goodbye on the hand
I wish that I could see you again
I know that I can't

1-22: Best Mistake

I lost myself in her again but I don't care
Even when I'm all alone she's standing there
So I lie awake and I waste away
To disappear for a moment

--------------

"Jett Cass Simon."

Lyric pointed to a baby inside an incubator, behind glass doors. Behind glass walls. Because when a baby is born at 35 weeks, you don't get to take them home right away. You don't even get to spend every moment with them.

Lyric's labor and birth had been fairly easy, besides baby Jett being born 5 weeks early.

Cassius squinted his eyes, pressing onto his toes. He gave up after a moment, dropping his eyes to Lyric's tiny form. She didn't even look like she'd just given birth.

"I can't even see his face. Does he look like you?"

Lyric shrugged.

"Well, he looks like a tiny martian human at the moment with dark hair. It could go either way."

Eden snorted and wrapped an arm around Lyric's shoulders. 

"You did well, baby sister. I can't wait until he can come home and I can let him know that his aunt Eden loves him more than the rest of his aunts and uncles."

Lyric grinned in response as Eden let her go, Emma coming up to the group of them. She quickly pressed a kiss to Lyric's forehead, and Cassius' eyes widened. Apparently he wasn't aware the two of them were dating now. 

Eden issued a tiny wave in Emma's direction, walking back down the hallway towards the waiting rooms. She needed a cigarette. And a shower. She hadn't slept since Lyric had been in the hospital. She was more concerned with being there for her. 

Man, things really change. 

It felt so weird to know that her baby sister had a child. That there was a new Simon generation. She hadn't thought that that would happen to any of them, anytime soon.

She approached the glass waiting room doors, catching a flash of two people inside. The voices leaking into the hallway were two she knew very, very well. She pressed herself against the wall next to the door, listening, but not visible.

"She'll be back any minute. It's not like she can avoid you forever."

Eden rolled her eyes at Atticus' voice, she had no idea what they were talking about at first, but it was clear that it was about her now. She waited for Xavier's response, tapping her foot quietly.

"She's confusing. It's not like I don't care about her, but I don't love her."

Eden sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. She didn't love him either. That was not what she had meant when she had said what she did that night.

"Are you sure about that?"

Atticus' voice was disbelieving and if Eden had been in the room, she would have smacked him. He was searching, digging. It made her uncomfortable, and it also pissed her off.

"It's hard to love a girl who doesn't even know what the word means."

"Maybe, but it's not impossible."

"I don't want to be her next mistake."

Why do people even think for fifteen seconds that I even want to be in love? Or for anyone to love me. This is getting fucking ridiculous.

Eden made a big deal of shoving the door open, and both of the boys looked like children caught doing something horrible. She pulled a fake smile onto her lips and grabbed her bag off of the chair she had put it on.

"You two okay? You look like you just saw a ghost. Pretty sure no one has died."

She didn't wait for a response, and when the door closed behind her, she didn't wait around to listen to anything else those two had to say.

"Eden. Hey."

Xavier caught up to her so quickly, it was absurd. She turned to face him, her face composed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should probably keep walking. I don't speak to my mistakes anymore."

She pulled her bag up farther on her shoulder, continuing down the hallway. Xav didn't let her get far before he was right back at her side. 

"You heard that?"

He looked nervous when she stopped to look at him again. She nodded, once, rolling her eyes.

"....What else did you hear?"

She shook her head, exasperated. 

"Enough. But it's not a big deal, Xavier. I don't need your affection, or anything else for that matter.

You might not be my mistake, but I'm clearly yours."

He took the bag off of her shoulder, dropping it onto the floor next to her. Placing his hands on either side of her face, he brought his lips to hers, kissing her with an intensity she didn't remember ever being there before. She put her hands on his chest, anticipating the part where he pulled away in those first few seconds. But it didn't happen.

He backed her up against the wall and dropped his hands from her face to her hips. She couldn't think sharp enough to stop him, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to. When he finally broke away, his breath was still on her skin as he spoke.

"I think you're the best mistake I could make, Eden Simon."

His words sent electricity down her spine and she ran her teeth over her bottom lip, his taste still lingering there. Shouldn't that offend her? In some way? 

It seemed to do the opposite. But that feeling wasn't reflected in the words she spoke.

"You have to stop kissing me."

His face went impassive as he straightened up, dropping his hands from her sides. But she didn't move hers.

"Give me a reason why."

She spoke without thinking, the words nowhere near the front of her brain the way they left her tongue.

"Because you're lying to yourself. And to me.

You're in love with me, so you can't keep kissing me."

His face was skeptical, pushing her hands off his chest and putting distance between them.

"I don't know what kind of messed up Eden logic that is, but you don't even know what that word means, let alone how I feel."

She crossed her arms over her chest, putting more of her weight into the wall behind her.

"Don't treat me like a fucking child. I'm not stupid. You may be unaware of it, but I can tell by the way you touch me. It's in your eyes, and in your smile. 

You can think I am as ignorant as you want to, but I know what I see.

So you can't keep touching me, and showing up everywhere I am and trying to make me love you too. Because I can't."

He picked her bag up off of the ground, and handed it to her, his face back to the way it always was. A statue.

"You'd have to have vision to see."

It echoed in her head for a few seconds, and she wasn't sure how to respond. So she dropped her eyes to the ground and said nothing, letting the silence stretch out.

"But you know what? I'm not going to kiss you anymore. Not because I love you, but because I don't. 

Thanks for reaffirming that for me."

His words echoed in the hallway long after he was gone, and Eden didn't move. Just put them on replay in her head until her legs shook from standing in the same spot for too long. Or maybe from something else. 

But eventually, she made her way to her car, to her house, into her bed.

When sleep overtook her, the last thing that she heard was a door slamming somewhere downstairs, in time with the sound of her heart in her chest.

---------------

In the weeks that followed, it was like Xavier disappeared off of the face of the Earth. He didn't call her, he didn't text her, he didn't come by to see the baby or contact her in any way. She was confused, but she was also thankful. It made it easier. Or so she liked to think.

Lyric was able to bring Jett home two weeks after he was born. It would have been a shorter amount of time, but he had developed jaundice and a fever, so they had kept him longer than they would have. Kiara and Eden took turns taking care of Jett while Lyric slept, ate, and continued to go to her piano lessons. That was the one thing she refused to give up, even though she dropped out of high school to acquire her GED.

Jett was twelve weeks old now, and the city was quickly growing colder as fall made its appearance. November had shown up so fast, Eden felt like September and October had just never happened at all. She was about to be 20, and even that was inconceivable. She wasn't quite sure she was ready to let go of being a teenager just yet.

"Someday, I think I want one of these."

Kiara said the words so longingly, Eden looked over at her in surprise.
"You... want a baby?"

Kiara nodded, popping Jett's pacifier back in his mouth. 

"Obviously not right now, but someday."

Relief rolled through Eden and she laughed. Kiara would be a good mom. She had a feeling she'd be a strict one, maybe, and her children would have anger issues the size of Texas, but that she would deal with them well. She couldn't imagine herself as a mom though. She didn't know if she would want to pass this horrid family legacy she held onto someone else. 

Who would even be able to carry all of this successfully? 

Maybe Atticus, or even Lyric, would choose one of their own kids. Because Eden wasn't sure she ever wanted one.

"Kiara, can I talk to you?"

Both girls looked up, their eyes landing on Atticus. He was leaning into the nursery door frame, his eyes far away. Kiara hesitated for a second, glancing down at the baby in her arms. She walked over to the crib and placed him inside, looking at Eden.

Go.

Eden mouthed. Kiara rolled her eyes, shutting the nursery door behind her as she followed Atticus down the hall to his own room. The words that left Atticus' mouth as his door snapped shut, made Kiara turn around in shock.

"I love you."

She pulled her hair out of her face and placed her hands on her hips, her face angry.

"Don't lie to me. Don't you think it's a little too late for those words now? You not only have a girlfriend, but I've moved on from you."

She was lying, horribly, and his face looked like he had no idea that she was.

"Have you?"

Kiara nodded, slowly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I have. I don't want you anymore. And it's clear that you want someone else."

Atticus shook his head, taking a couple of steps towards her.

"No. You're wrong. I don't.

I don't love Mackenzie. I don't even really like Mackenzie. 

I miss you. I want you. I love you."

Kiara retreated as he approached, shaking her head in much the same way that he had.

"Would you stop fucking saying that? 

You have a girlfriend. Have you told her this stuff?"

Atticus' eyes were empty and he shook his head again, sighing.

"Not yet. But I'm going to."

Kiara bit down on her lip so hard, she tasted blood.

"I'm not your back-up plan, Atticus."

He finally reached her, but only because she couldn't back up anymore.

"No, you're right. You're not my back-up plan. You're my only plan. Because everything else has been a glitch."

Kiara rolled her eyes, but she didn't attempt to move him, didn't attempt to deter his advances.

"You're reminding me of someone right now. I think his name is Carter?"

"That might be because he's my dad, and his blood runs through my veins, no matter how much I wish it didn't.

Eden got his personality. I guess I had to get something from him.

I guess that's being in love with my best friend since I was a kid."

He stooped to kiss her, and she let it happen, just for a few seconds. Her mind was caught up in the words he was saying, and the way he spoke, and it took her a minute to push him back. To end the kiss.

"Why don't you try this again when you don't have a girlfriend?

I'm not Aria. I'm not as forgiving, or as easy."

She pushed him back a little farther, reaching for the handle to his door.

"I used to love you, but I don't know if I do anymore."

She shut the door behind her, leaving Atticus to soak in her words.

She couldn't believe he said it. More than that, she couldn't believe the way he chose to say it. Out of nowhere, when he had a girlfriend. What was she supposed to do with this information?

She couldn't wait for him forever, immortality or not.

Could she?

-------------

"I hate the snow."

Eden grumbled, taking Jett from Lyric's arms as she pulled her shoes on. 

"So do I, but I can't miss this. This is a very important recital, I have to go. I have a chance of actually getting some kind of deal, Eden."

Eden bounced Jett on her hip, smiling at her little sister.

"I know, I know. I don't mind watching him. I hope you have fun, Lyr. You deserve it."

November had rolled straight into December, and Jett was so big now. He was advanced for a premature baby from what the doctor had said. Lyric was so happy, all the time, and it seemed like her little boy had developed his mommy's sunshine trait. 

He was always smiling, always sweet.

Lyric leaned down, pressing a kiss to Jett's forehead. She whispered something in his ear and then stood up straight, wrapping her arms around Eden.

"I love you, thank you so much. I'll make it up to you, okay."

Carter appeared from around the corner, Aria in tow. The two of them looked excited, and Eden wished, partially, that she could be a part of this too. But watching Jett was why she had come back to Bridgeport in the first place.

"We'll be home in a few hours, Eden. If Kiara is coming over to help with the baby, tell her to be careful, because the roads are really slick."

Eden nodded at her dad, ignoring her mom's presence completely. 

"I know, I know. This isn't our first snowstorm, you know? It may not snow here often, but it does." 

"Yeah, I know, smartass. It's just particularly bad this time."

Eden sighed.

"Yes, Officer Simon, I'll call Kiara right away and report the weather to her." 

Carter rolled his eyes, saluting her as he shut the door. Eden slid the lock into place, and the house seemed so quiet with the three of them gone. Atticus wasn't home either. She was pretty sure he had said something about breaking up with Kenzie tonight.

Which, she had no idea why he would do that, because Kiara hadn't said anything about them getting back together.

Jett made a small noise and Eden looked down at him, smiling. 

"Let's go watch some Netflix, baby."

She bounced him one more time and made her way to the couch, completely forgetting to text Kiara at all.

-------------
She's consuming constantly
And I forget everything I need
She's my best mistake
And I like paying for it