Page 155 of Pretty Thing

There is no relief in this escape. Tears slide down my cheeks as I give the address to the driver.

Felix makes me feel safe and loved, and…mine.

My fingers wrap around the glass shard. I hold it up and can’t bring myself to rip it off. Instead, I clutch it in my fist and close my eyes.

I love him.

Fuck my life, I love him so much.

forty-three

​. . .​

Felix

Smiling, I carry my newest gift up the stairs. I love that the store wrapped it in turquoise and black paper for me. It’s heavier than I expected it to be, but I think the memory box with all the items I took from her house before starting the fire is just the thing to help make this place feel like home for Eden.

I open the door.

“Eden, come see what I have for you.”

The apartment is quiet. I set the large package up on the kitchen table so she’ll see it when she comes in.

“Eden?”

She must be sleeping. I head down the hallway to the open bedroom door. My smile fades when I see her phone and credit cards on the bed, but she’s not there.

“Eden,” I yell a little louder.

Anxiety snakes along my spine as the silence settles over me. She’s not here. It’s too still. It’s like it was before Eden moved in and made my life whole.

Even knowing she’s gone, I step into the room and grab her phone off the bed. My breathing stops when I turn and see the closet.

“No.”

Sure enough, the door is open, and the lock is broken. I step inside and find my crowbar on the ground. The computer screen glows with a video of Eden in the shower. It’s paused, but I know every clip like the back of my hand.

I know what she saw.

I should’ve known when she was asking me all those questions earlier that something was off. Eden has never been like that with me, unless she’s been around Kris.

“Fuck!”

My chest feels like it’s caving in with the pain of her absence.

Doesn’t she understand that I love her? Everything I’ve ever done is because she is my whole-fucking-world.

My lungs aren’t working right, as if she’s taken all the oxygen with her.

No, no, no.

I dart out of the room, looking for anything that will give me a clue to where she’s gone.

We are a single organism. You can’t just remove the heart and expect the body to live. Eden knows I need her. She knows I’ll drown without her.

Some drawers are open, and I find them half empty.

My hands are shaking so hard. Breathe. I need to breathe.