I was out of place, with nowhere to belong. Eternity felt much longer than forever, thinking about it like that. I sighed, exhausted from a future that hadn't even happened yet.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and help us clean up. Avalon scolded me telepathically from across the room.
I thought he was in deep conversation with Roxie but when I looked up at him, he rolled his eyes. I couldn't tell if it was for me or for Roxie, but I didn't feel like getting to the bottom of it right then.
I grabbed a few plates of leftover food on my way into the kitchen to find Lilly and Aunt Syl. They were talking and laughing over the dishes while Jericho was tasked with putting the food away. I dropped my plates off with Lilly before grabbing the broom and making my way around the kitchen floor.
"So where is everyone going to sleep?" Jericho asked when there was a break in conversation.
"Lilly can move in with me," I said excitedly before Roxie got any ideas, "and I suppose Avalon will have to move down with you so Roxie can have her own room."
At the mention of their names, Roxie and Avalon entered the kitchen carrying the last of the littered trash from the living room.
"Avalon doesn't need to move downstairs; we can share a room," Roxie offered, sounding more casual than I believed her.
She's just being nice, knock it off. Avalon interjected my thought train.
Nice is not the right word.... Ho-bag. That's the right word. I replied sarcastically, narrowing my eyes suspiciously at the tiny Latina I was deathly afraid of.
"Eden's right," Avalon blurted out, embarrassed by my remarks and forgetting we were having a conversation no one else could hear. When everyone turned to look at him with confused expressions he fumbled for a better response, "I mean, what she said before; I mean, about me moving down with Jericho," his cheeks were bright red and Roxie was giving him a coy look that I did not like.
"My house has never felt so small!" exclaimed Aunt Syl, turning around from the sink and drying her hands on a dish towel. She looked extra tan in comparison to the porcelain Lilly, standing next to her. "This is what's going to happen, Eden is going to move in with me and Lilly and Roxie can share her room. Avalon, you can stay where you're at and Jericho, I'm sorry, you can still stay where you're at," Aunt Syl gave Jericho an apologetic look, having felt bad for him for having to stay in the living room since the beginning.
"No!" I shrieked, "Aunt Syl, you have given up enough of your life for me already, there is no way I am going to make you give up your bedroom too!"
"Eden, don't be ridiculous," Aunt Syl said quietly. "I want to help in any way that I can."
"No. I'm serious Aunt Syl, I have totally taken over your life. You can't give up your sanctuary too," I said firmly, reminding Aunt Syl that her bedroom was the only place she had to get away; even before the whole Immortal and Resistance thing, Aunt Syl had always treasured the peacefulness of the master suite.
"Oh Eden, stop it!" Aunt Syl turned her eyes intensely on me in a look I knew all too well. She was serious and it was time to pay attention. "When Amory brought you to me, when you were a baby, I knew full well what I was getting into. I knew just exactly what I was giving up and believe me; I knew what would happen to my life. Eden, it's worth it. And if all that's being asked of me right now is to give up my bedroom, I will gladly do it. Besides, I'm never here to sleep in it anyway." She paused for a moment, waiting for me to respond, but I was too choked up to fight back. She was right and knowing so, she continued, "So, it's settled. Eden will move in with me, Lilly and Roxie can have Eden's room and Avalon and Jericho can stay where they are at."
"Wow, Sylvia, taking charge! That is so hot." Avalon declared.
"Gross, Avalon!" I turned around and hit him in the leg with the broom I was still holding.
"What?" he threw his hands up in self-defense, laughing at all of the girls standing around him appalled.
"And on that note, I think it's time for bed," Aunt Syl turned the intensity of her look on Avalon and sent him retreating up the stairs and into his room.
I led the way up the stairs after him, with Lilly and Roxie following behind. They carried suitcases of their belongings and I grabbed an empty laundry basket to haul the most important of my things into the master suite.
More than taking Aunt Syl's bedroom away from her, I was disappointed at not getting to share the room with Lilly. I had been looking forward to catching up with her and having time to ourselves. And besides that, I felt bad leaving her alone with Roxie.
"Thanks girls, for staying here," I said while grabbing clothes and underwear and my favorite pillow. I was more thanking Roxie than Lilly, I had been planning on making Lilly move in with us for a long time now.
"Of course," Lilly said in her bubbly way.
"Sure," Roxie mumbled. "Hey Eden, listen." I turned around to face her. She had taken her silky black hair out of her usual pony tail holder and it overwhelmed her tiny frame, hanging down to her waist. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, I can be.... I know I can be a little difficult," she sounded sincere and half smiled at me.
"No, it's not you," I apologized in return, understanding that it wasn't all her. "I get that I don't make a whole lot of sense to most people," I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "So let’s just start over, yeah?"
"Yeah," Roxie smiled wider and forcefully reached out her hand in a businesslike fashion.
I shook it, still confused trying to figure out exactly who Roxie Powers was, but thankful we were starting over.
I finished gathering my things quickly so the other girls could settle in and get to bed. Lilly looked exhausted and I still wasn't completely comfortable around Roxie.
I dropped my things off on Aunt Syl's giant king-sized bed, and sat on the plush ottoman sitting in the corner for a minute. The huge flat screen TV was playing the news on mute and Aunt Syl was in her closet on a phone call with the hospital. I snuck out in search of another relationship that needed fixing.
I walked slowly down the hallway, trying to think of the right thing to say, or how to even approach Jericho. But I was nervous. I didn't even know if he would sit down with me, but I had to try. I wanted to fix our broken relationship and get all of the weirdness out of the way.
"Pssst," I turned to see Avalon calling me from his doorway. I walked back up the three stairs to listen to what he had to say in a very conspiratorial way. "Hey, you need to be nice to him."
"What?" I whispered loudly, very offended. "I am always nice to him."
"No. You're not," Avalon said with finality and continued before I could protest, "Just, listen, he is probably the best guy I know and you need to not be so, you know, you around him."
"What does that even mean?" I crossed my arms, and softly stamped my foot.
"It means," he paused to roll his eyes dramatically, "that if he doesn't want to be friends with you, just let him go. He should get to find someone else. And you shouldn't drag him along."
My mouth dropped open in surprise and I didn't know how to respond to those accusations. I wanted to believe that Avalon was just being over-dramatic like usual. But suddenly I felt unexplainably guilty, like Jericho's feelings for me were my fault.
"I'm serious Eden," Avalon continued, "Be gentle with him. He's a good guy."
"I know he's a good guy," I whispered, frustrated with Avalon for making me even more nervous. "Hey, what's the deal with you and Roxie?" I deflected and waggled my eyebrows.
"Shhh...." he hushed me loudly, looking around the hallway nervously. “I just.... we're just.... she's just a friend," he stumbled through an explanation while pumping his hands to tell me to lower my voice.
"Right...." I laughed before walking down the stairs. I heard Avalon's door close and wished that was all it took to keep him out of the impending conversation.
I found Jericho on the couch. His bed was made but he was still awake messing around with his cell phone. He was in gym shorts but that was it. His tanned, muscular chest was just sitting there, without a shirt, in the dark, just there.
"Hey," I said carefully, before making it all the way down the stairs. I cleared my throat nervously when he glanced up at me. His angular face glowed in the light of his cell phone and I didn't know what to make of his expression.
"Hey," he replied, just as carefully.
"Listen, can we talk for a second?" I tried with more courage.
"Sure," he sat up straighter and put his cell phone down, turning on a lamp with his magic.
"Ok, great," I breathed a sigh of relief and walked the distance to him, sitting on the love seat across from his couch. "So, did you want to put a shirt on?" I asked, finding his toplessness distracting.
"I'm fine...." he half smiled at me and my stomach jumped without my permission. “Right," I cleared my throat again and continued, willing myself to focus. "So, here's the thing. I just hate how weird it is between you and me. I hate that we fought and yelled at each other and I hate that...." I stopped realizing my apology was about to get away from me.
"You hate that I ever tried to kiss you," he finished for me and I couldn't deny that he was right. "I hate that too. Believe me," he looked down at the floor and then back up into my eyes like he was determined to keep eye contact. His hazel eyes burned in the soft lamp light and I realized, probably for the first time, how easy it would have been to fall for Jericho had I never met Kiran.
"I just want us to go back to being friends. We were pretty good at that," I smiled, hoping it would be that simple.
"We were good at being friends. I don't think we were reaching our full potential though. But we were good at friends...." he glanced back down at his phone and smiled smugly. I didn't know how to continue at that point, so I just sat there stunned.
After a few moments of my prolonged silence Jericho looked up at me from underneath his thick eye lashes and gazed at me intently. I couldn't bring myself to look away so I just sat there staring back at him, half wondering if he was right.
"Ok. Let's go back to being friends," Jericho said slowly, never taking his eyes off of me. "I mean you were right, I'm never going to argue my way in to a relationship with you. Right?" His eyes never lost their intensity or their focus and suddenly I was squirming.
"Right," I cleared my throat, "I mean, you're right. You can't," I half smiled, lost in his eyes and doing my best to convince myself and him that I was serious.
"So then, friends again," he smiled back, and reached out his hand as if to shake mine.
"Oh, is this what friends do?" I laughed, extending my own to his.
"Yes, it is," he said slowly, our fingers touching and then our palms. The magic between us ignited in a violent spark, shocking us both, but still Jericho connected his hand with mine and shook it back and forth as if what was transpiring between us was completely casual and not a poorly masked strong physical attraction.
My cheeks burned with heat, not only from embarrassment, but from shame too. I shouldn't be this attracted to Jericho. I shouldn't be second guessing my relationship with Kiran. I was in love with Kiran. He was my soul mate. There shouldn't be thoughts of other guys swimming around in my fuzzy head.
