come back, be here, EDDIE ROUNDTREE.

TRACK 15 / TIS THE DAMN SEASON.

But Daisy's return wasn't the relief that everyone had assumed it would be and Eddie had lost track with the number of times he had returned home tired and just wanting the entire thing to be over and done with. Yet there was the silver lining underneath it all, something he held onto whenever Odette ran her fingers through his hair as his head rested in her lap, listening to her talk about anything and everything as a means of distracting him from whatever occurred during the day. His heart growing warm at the smile that painted her face when she finally got him to laugh at something she had said, the words "there he is" being said before she'd kiss him.

He didn't think he'd have that.

Their breakup had almost shattered his heart into pieces. Had him scrambling to pick up the pieces as he wondered what went wrong. There had been a time in which he was constantly blaming himself for what had happened regardless of how many times Romeo had assured him that Odette was blinded by grief that she finally broke, and Eddie had been directly in the line of fire. Yet it was only when Odette had taken his hand and said all that she could to reassure him that he did nothing wrong.

The guilt had slowly become silent within his mind, to only be replaced by a constant ache in his heart of having her be there but still out of reach; that no matter how much he loved her, she might never be his once more. Eddie understood that she still needed time, but there were still moments in which Eddie had to remind himself that he couldn't reach for her hand or wrap himself around her as he kissed her. But he took comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one, hearing Warren once said "you two are the worst friends I've ever seen" before going on about the number of times he had seen the both of them had done something that was anything but just friendly. Yet despite the flicker of hope that instilled within his heart, he began to consider the promise she had asked of him.

Only Eddie had learned very quickly that it wasn't going to be easy. Not when he was constantly comparing the women he went out with to Odette. It wasn't until she was fast asleep in his bed, legs entangled with his own and hands resting on the plains of his back that he realised he could never get over Odette Summers no matter how hard he would try. But he was willing to have her in any way that he could because Eddie didn't think he could live without her, remembering how much he hated being on tour and not seeing her, something that became worse when she had gone to New York, that despite not being hers, he missed talking to her.

But then she had looked him in the eye and said all the words he never thought he'd hear her say, and the love he had for her since Billy and Camila's wedding had awoken and hit him full force. He felt like his heart was whole once more.

He almost didn't want to leave. Eddie knew that it was fucking stupid, especially when Odette would showcase her excitement where the tour was concerned, grabbing him by the collar and begin joking about the fact that her boyfriend was going to be breaking girl's hearts across the country, and it was never once said with jealousy, but more in a way that implied he was someone they could look at, but not touch. But it didn't mean that he wasn't going to miss her, and he knew she felt the same, she hadn't said it, but he saw the way that her eyes looked sad whenever it was brought up.

Odette finally did admit the fact as they stood in front of the buses, arms wrapped around each other that Eddie didn't want to let go.

"You know, maybe we should've just stayed in bed," she said, fingers fiddling with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Eddie laughed. "Might I remind you that you were the one to force me out."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, now I regret it. Is it too late to go back and just keep you?"

"You could always come with me."

It had been something he had voiced the closer that the tour approached. Eddie knew that no one would mind─ maybe Billy would but his opinion wouldn't matter in this situation─ and considering Daisy's husband was tagging along, Odette wouldn't have been an issue. Yet he also wasn't surprised when she had said no, said that she wasn't designed for living on the road for however long, but also that she was planning on working on a collection in Eddie's absence. Something that she had been extremely tight lipped about but said that he would be the first to see it once he came home.