Page 48 of Pretty Thing

Eden: Maybe. I just can’t accept that my parents had to die for us to meet.

Felix: No, of course not. I just mean maybe I was supposed to find you there that day. Wandering among the cars, I heard you yelling. Maybe fate has nothing to do with it, but I do feel we are better together. At least I’m stronger with your support.

I nod even though he can’t see me and wipe away a stray tear.

Felix: Rest, Pretty Thing, you need to heal. Message anytime, I’m always here for you.

Eden: I will before bed. Promise.

Pretty Thing?

A warmth spreads through my body as I read and re-read the last message. Is it stupid to love that he gave me a nickname? I’ve never had one before and never cared, but there’s something special about it coming from him. I’m not sure where he came up with Pretty Thing, but it’s different.

Taking a deep breath, I lean the cane against my nightstand and curl up on the bed, too worn out and sore to be bothered changing. My eyes feel heavy, and as I’m pulled into sleep, I think about Felix. My mind conjures the feel of his arm wrapping around my body, and I smile.

thirteen

​. . .​

Eden

I’m staring into the mirror. The black dress I thought I’d one day wear on a date is now forever tarnished as the dress I wore to my parents’ funeral. And no matter how hard I try…I can’t stop crying.

Yesterday was a series of useless bickering with my aunt. Not even inviting Kris and Kyle over helped. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another, and then she had the nerve to ask me if I knew if Mum left her and Fred the RV.

Are you kidding me?

That was when Fred stepped in and got her out of the house before I learned if I really could commit murder.

A commotion downstairs pulls my eyes away from the mirror and my reflection.

“I’m not letting you upstairs. I don’t even know you,” Doreen says, and I know exactly who it is.

“I’m Eden’s boyfriend, and I’m going up whether you like it or not.” Felix’s voice is low and so dangerous that it sends a shiver down my spine.

It’s so very wrong to love that he calls me his girlfriend, and yet…I do.

“If you’re her boyfriend, why hasn’t she ever mentioned you?”

“Probably because she didn’t want to get the third degree from you. Have you even considered how difficult this day is for her? You’ve done nothing but upset her since you arrived.”

Doreen audibly gasps.

Oh shit.

Grabbing my cane, I limp toward the stairs.

“How dare you…”

“How dare I what? Tell the truth? Move your arm before I move you,” he growls.

“Hey, don’t talk to my wife like that,” Fred says, now getting involved.

“Then maybe you should keep her on a tighter leash.”

“Enough!” I call down the stairs before an actual fight breaks out. “Felix is welcome here. He is who he says he is.”

Everything goes silent for a moment, and I manage to get down two stairs before Felix is jogging up them toward me in a black suit.