His lips parted in shock, but he just kept on talking. “Anyway, I really was a mean child. I tooklet’s talk about itliterally. So, when my siblings—alright, mostly Brooke because she was older and I stopped at some point—did something bad, I always told on them. When I was eight, I saw Brooke and Reece kiss, and I thought that it was illegal to kiss when you’re not an adult. So, the first thing I did was run inside and tell our parents. I told mymom it really disgusted me to see how irresponsible my sister was behaving. Also, I kind of broke the news of my sister’s new relationship to my parents because, at that point, they didn’t yet know she was in a relationship. I mean, it had barely been an hour since they were dating, but still. To be honest, I think I did her a favor.”
I exaggerated a sigh, shaking my head at Eden. “That’s not talking about your feelings, baby. That’s called snitching.”
“Oh, fuck.” His head fell back, a slim smile appearing on his lips. “Say that again.”
My eyebrows drew together. “It’s called?—”
“No, the last word before that.”
“Uhm…” What did I even say? Something about feelings, and then I called him—Oh. My eyes widened at the realization. “Sorry, I don’t think I remember what I said.”
There was no way I’d call himbabyagain. It was meant as a lighthearted, funny joke, but now I realized that it sounded a little too real.
The line between what was real and what was fake was already blurring with each passing day. I couldn’t possibly risk erasing it altogether.
I was going to get hurt that way.
For most of my life, I’d accepted getting hurt to please others. But Eden was different. I feared he was able to hurt me in a way nobody had ever dared come near before. He’d taken my heart, attacking it from far too close. It was like he was holding my heart right in his hands just so he had easy access in case he needed to stab a knife right through it.
When I thought my crush on Austin was extreme, Eden was on a whole new level.
Austin had been a fleeting obsession, something to fill the empty spaces in my lonely world. He was good to look at, good to dream about. In theory, I knew Austin and I would’ve neverworked. Not because I didn’t think he’d ever like someone like me—though it was still a reason—Austin was simply… different. He was untouchable, but in a bad way. The stories about him were so ridiculous that nobody wanted to believe they were true.
Each time a new “rumor” about him started to make its rounds, everyone would laugh them off, saying stuff like: “There’s no way anyone would bethisawful.” Oh, but Austin Bennett would be this awful.
While Eden didn’t have the best reputation when it came to partners, he’d never hooked up with someone who was in a relationship. Not that I knew anyway, and I’d never heard a rumor like that before either.
Austin used a woman for pleasure. He didn’t bother getting to know her at all. Not even when he was dating her. So the rumors said.
Eden cared.
And somehow, Eden… He was everything I feared and everything I wanted, wrapped up in a mess of contradictions that I couldn’t untangle even if my life depended on it.
When he looked at me, it was like he saw every inch of who I was—every weakness, every scar. And he didn’t even flinch. He wasn’t repulsed byme.
It was terrifying and addictive all at once.
I hated him for it.
I loved him for it.
Eden’s smile faltered slightly, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his features before he masked it with a chuckle.
He almost had me. I almost would’ve caved and said it again.
Eden leaned in just a fraction closer, his breath warm against my skin. “You’re holding back, Ally-Bear.”
“What?” I thought about turning back around in hopes of finding anything to distract me with, but Eden wouldn’t let me. He held me so tightly against his body, I didn’t dare move.
“Why do you keep pulling away when you don’t have to?” His tone softened, and the playful edge he usually carried was gone, replaced by something raw, almost vulnerable.
“I’m not pulling away,” I muttered, though the words felt like a lie even when I said them. “You’re just reading too much into things.”
I mean, sure, I did call himbaby, but Eden had called me some nickname from almost the first day we’d met. And it was all jokes anyway… kind of. Honestly, I didn’t even realize I said it until he made me aware of it.
Which was probably worse.
I saw him tilting his head, probably studying me like he didn’t believe a word I said. And honestly, I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. Somehow, this guy had a talent for seeing through every defense I tried to build.