Loathe at First Sight

Chapter 14 ~ Bump in the night

Love me pleaaaasee haha sorry for taking a decade to upload this

We trudged silently into the house and I desperately wanted to rip off the chiffon dress that suddenly felt like it weighed a ton, or maybe that was my conscience. All I knew for certain is that curling up in baggy clothes seemed like heaven right now. I stalked up the stairs without looking at the two mammoth men behind me. I just needed a second to myself to sort my head out; the night had been intense to say the least. I was craving trivial activities

Black genie pants and an off-the-shoulder sloppy Joe finally replacing the suffocating dress and I felt more sociable. I pulled my hair into a messy bun and quickly took off my makeup. I wanted to slink into my bed and not come out for a week but guilt flooded through me just at the thought. I knew Sonny was downstairs feeling glum and Charlie – bless his naïve heart – couldn’t really give him the comfort that he needed. Now I’m not saying warm emotions were my forte, in fact for the last 10 years I did quite a job at avoiding them. But this was harmless, lovable Sonny; he seemed to bring out an almost maternal side of me. Which is crazy…but not as crazy as me liking it.

I looked at myself in the mirror, holding the stubborn brown eyes I saw. I looked like me but there was something, something I couldn’t put my finger on that was different. I couldn’t care less about what it was for the first time in a very long time, I could look at my reflection and be happy with what I saw instead of ashamed. I shook my head and saw my reflection smirking at me resignedly. This wasn’t Eden Marelli, all this self-reflection and change. I was kind of scared to be honest, this was uncharted territory to me but I also felt a thrill of excitement rush through me. Before Charlie and Sonny were in the picture, I had wanted to change hadn’t I?

The change wasn’t directly from them that would be weird and slightly pathetic. It was just coincidence that they happened to be in my life when I started to change. I paused at the bottom of the stairs and heard Charlie and Sonny whispering in the lounge room to my left. My hands started to sweat and I chose to turn right into the kitchen instead. I was stalling to get my head in an emotionally sympathetic headspace but I realised belatedly that the kitchen probably wasn’t the best idea as it was Charlie’s unspoken domain.

I opened a few draws and cupboards lazily looking for something that resembled food. I found a few bags of what appeared to be chocolate – extremely cheap looking chocolate but chocolate nonetheless, stashed away in a dark corner. Realising my options were limited and flying to Belgium to get some chocolate was a little extreme, I quickly grabbed the bags and stormed into the lounge. I was Eden Marelli for heaven’s sake, I’m not scared of anyone or anything and that includes comforting a sulking, love-sick giant.

I faltered when I saw Sonny’s large frame draped over the couch obviously moping. Charlie was sorting through my DVD collection trying to keep a normal conversation going with Sonny who was having none of it. Charlie’s intentions might be pure but he was going with a classic male comforting technique: avoid talking about it. I rolled my eyes and dumped myself beside Sonny in an unusually graceless manner. Tonight had really taken its toll and I didn’t have it in me to remain graceful and regal.

Sonny looked at me curiously and I passed him a bag which he gratefully tore into. “Do you…” I paused feeling nervous. “Do you wanna talk about it?” I asked trying to hide my grimace. I really didn’t want to hear him talk about how much he adored Eliza.

I looked up cautiously as the room remained silent. Charlie and Sonny looked at me incredulously before dissolving into laughter. I huffed angrily and drew myself up in my seat to defend against their mockery. Sonny noticed my hurt and sobered up a little

“That means a lot coming from you Eden but I think I’m good” Sonny said a little more soberly but still chuckling. He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side comfortably. I readjusted a little but decided to stay where I was, despite the nerves bubbling in my stomach.