Eleanor's Demise ✔️

Chapter 28: A Master Manipulator

He wouldn't stay there all night, would he?

***

Lavela was probably the most welcoming person at Clearwater. It was funny actually- those who were the saddest actually put on the happiest smiles. Even after losing her son, her flame was never diminished- maybe dimmed for about a few weeks before realizing he was in a better place and her sparkle was back. But, just because Lavela's mood was lifted, did not mean the town of Clearwater was suddenly rainbows and unicorns all over again. Quite the opposite.

The town fell back into its original routine and Adam and Eleanor became a part of it. They had rented the apartment that Josiah used to stay at, reserving his room by keeping the door shut at all times. Instead, they slept in Eleanor's room from when she had lived with him, while Adam slept on the couch that extended to create a bed.

It brought tears to her eyes, she had liked Josiah so-very-much. He was her sunshine on cloudy days. He helped her forget her pain of leaving Adam, he was a doctor after all.

Nevertheless, he was gone and she needed to get her life going, even after all she had been through, she couldn't deal with a simple death of someone she cared about. But this was different- the person she'd killed was someone she had no attachment to- someone she hated. Herself and Mr. Carnegie were the victims of her crimes, except she didn't actually die, and Hank Carnegie hadn't actually lived.

She still didn't understand why Adam had stuck around so long- or how he even knew Josiah. But she didn't question him. In spite of everything they had been through, it took one event to shed all trust for each other. Now Adam was skeptical of her every move, unsure if she was doing it for her selfish needs or if she genuinely meant what she did. She couldn't hide the fact that this might've actually been worse than her relationship with Christian Anderson. Christian was all fun and games, Adam was serious and it scared the hell out of her to know that she had so easily manipulated and destroyed the beauty of being with Adam. And then again, he deserved better- he deserved someone better than both her and Magdalene.

"Adam!" Eleanor awoke with a shock as he walked into her room wearing nothing but a towel that hung dangerously low on his hips. In his hand was a toothbrush. His hair was dripping with water at the tips and a strong masculine scent enveloped the whole room.

"Eleanor." He replied, staring at her staring at him. She wanted to do nasty things him, he had definitely increased a bit in muscle mass and Eleanor was impressed staring at him now. But they weren't in a state to even consider any of that.

"Why are you here?" She cleared her dirty thoughts and pursed her lips as she looked at him. She sat up now, light flowing through the blinds filling whole room, so bright. She felt like she was sitting on the sun as it was getting hotter and hotter in the room as time went by.

"I pay the rent so I technically own this place, real question is- what are you doing here?" He smirked, a playboy move that he had never used before.

"Why the hell are you being like this Adam!" Eleanor finally said, her bottled thoughts leaving. She could hardly think when that towel was so close to coming off.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." His smirk seemed glued to his face as he put his toothbrush aside and walked over to her. Her eyes traced his body as she kept trying to remind herself that she was supposed to be angry at him.

Two can play at that game. Eleanor thought, sitting herself up and leaning toward him. Sometimes, she wanted to blame Christian for her perverted ways. But how could she when he only influenced her and she remained the same way he had basically trained her to be.

"Why not take off the towel?" She whispered, her fingers tracing the towel. She saw his muscles stiffen before the smirk was wiped off of his face.

"You were literally mad at me two seconds ago- now everything's fine?" Adam asked seriously. Eleanor's shoulders fell. Her eyes searched his for answers, yet all she got was the blank brown gaze. She looked away, wanting to just go back to sleep and never deal with her problems- especially when she had caused them.

"Look Adam- I don't know what you want from me."

A long silence filled the room as they both continued to look anywhere but each other's eyes.

"Do you still love me Eleanor?" He asked earnestly, a contorted painful expression filling his face. He looked so hurt. Her mind was jumbled with a million thoughts, she wondered why he suddenly burst into her room half naked, seduced her (unintentionally), and then decided to ask her the most relevant question on earth.

Do you still love me Eleanor. Her mouth hung open in shock as she continued to stare at him with wide eyes. He was in doubt- and why wouldn't he be, she had hurt him so badly.

They had too much to talk about, his father, her lies, her manipulation of the whole world- believing Allison Cooper was some new person. And then there was Zac, the detective that somehow befriended Adam and also knew their secrets. It was messy, but it could've been worse.

"What do you mean? Adam! Of course I do" She quickly hopped out of the bed, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him,  "we might get into fights, but we will make up eventually, won't we?" Her eyes began running with tears as she held onto him tightly, "Adam, you're too good for me- too damn good and sometimes I can't comprehend why someone like you would ever want someone like me." She cried as he stiffened at her words.

He stood silently, letting her cry on his freshly bathed chest. She wanted to blame the world for making her who she was, but victimizing herself wasn't an option, especially not when she had done so much evil and expected forgiveness.

Her touch burned, he was in a shallow pit of destruction and he felt like he had been swallowed whole. The nerves built inside him made him feel like a schoolboy with a crush.

He cleared his throat. "Eleanor, I think we need to talk." He could barely say, his voice cracking as she continued to cry and say her apologies.

She nodded. Too many cuts and wounds and bruises had been made and one bandaid couldn't fix everything.

But it was a start.