Love In Twenty And Five

DAY NINETEEN AND TWENTY

Slowly, she rose to her feet, wanting nothing but to cover the distance between them, and throw her arms around him. She wanted to kiss his face and ease the pain she saw in his hazel eyes. She wanted to help heal his bruised body, and broken heart.

For some reason, she could hardly breathe as they came to a halt before her.

“You are free to go, Mike. I can't promise you'll have it this easy next time, buddy.” Henry took off his handcuff.

“Thank you,” Eden whispered. Henry nodded, and walked away. Turning her attention from Henry, she stared at Mike. “I will take you home.”

He nodded, and without a word, turned toward the exit.

Eden clung to the wheels, silence building a wall between them as she drove him home. She parked her car by the apartment building. When she turned to him, he was already stepping out of the car.

Shocked, she pushed her doo open as well, and hurried after him.

“You are not even going to thank me?!”

He paused by the door, and turned to her, his eyes hard. “Thank you,” he bit out.

Confused, she shook her head. “I'm sorry Mike, but I don't see my offense here. I came all this way to get you out of jail, and to drive you home. The least you could do is-”

“What, doc?! The only reason I was in jail in the first place is because your stupid Fiancé attacked me in the bar. And guess who had to spend hours in jail? Me! I'm the one who went to jail, while the rich dude got the VIP treatment. So, I'm sorry for showing so little gratitude, but this would not have happened if you didn't come meddling into my life! If you would just leave me alone, Eden! If you would not show up on my doorstep! If you would not try to be my 'friend'! If you would not show up to get me bailed out! I'm not your responsibility, Eden!” He let out a mirthless laugh, motioning to himself. “See this? You can't fix this. You can't fix me, doc, so you might as well stop trying. Might as well return to your perfect life and your perfect boyfriend cause like hell, I'm not worth the trouble!”

His words felt like stones being pelted at her, even as tears filled her eyes. Nodding slowly, she watched him reach for the door.

“Maybe not, Mike,” she slowly whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. His hand froze on the door handle. “Maybe you're not worth the trouble. Maybe I'm a fool for thinking you are.” She released a soft breath and nodded. “I am a fool for coming here. I'm a fool for trying to be your friend. Definitely a fool for coming to get you out of jail. But none of that hurts as much as knowing I'm a fool for falling in love with you.”

Her legs felt like steel but she managed to force them forward until she was settling in her car. And in spite of the fact that her tears blurred her vision, making driving nearly impossible, Eden didn't stop the car. She couldn't stop the car, because it was the only thing that could take her far away from Mike Stacks.

~*~

Eden tried to pay attention to the woman she had hired to get the lobby to look like the north pole, but her heart stubbornly stayed glued to Mike, making it almost impossible to hear her words.

“Miss Parker?”

Gasping, she turned sharply to the ginger head. “Yeah?”

“I was asking about the list? All that's left is the list for Christmas. I was told it's with the guy who dressed up as Santa? We need to list for the presents.”

Mike. She felt a dull pain in her chest as she nodded. “I will text you an address or a phone number if I can get it.”

“Okay. What do you think about the design?”

Eden glanced around; it was perfect. It was more than everything she imagined, and it always grabbed the attention of every adult and child who walked into the hospital through the front. There was fake snow all around, lights everywhere, four trees, a slide that led directly to a bath of some more fake snow, a playhouse with two snowmen guarding the entrance, Santa's sleigh, four Angels hanging from the rooftop, and a grand piano.

“It is perfect.” She smiled, genuinely happy for the kids. She could only imagine the look on their faces when they are wheeled down here on Christmas Eve to open their presents.

“I am glad you like it, I'll just leave you alone to feast your eyes, and I'll get back to work.”

Eden nodded, wondering if Mike would show up for the event on Christmas eve —it had been set for the eve of Christmas because at the time, she imagined she would be getting married on Christmas day, and didn't want to miss the event. It was Mike's idea, and while he most likely didn't want to see her, she could only imagine he would want to see how his idea put smiles on the faces of sick kids.

“Hey.” Something touched her arm; Judie.

Sighing, she smiled. “Hey.”

“Are you okay? Henry told me what happened yesterday.”

“He did, huh?” Eden wished he hadn't.

“Yes, and you've been distant lately.”

“Do you have Mike's cellphone number? Joyce, the designer, wanted the wishlist for the presents. I was wondering if you could maybe ask him for it, or go over there and get it.”

“And why won't you ask him for it yourself, or go over there yourself?” Judie raised a brow.

“Cause I can't.” Not bothering to wait for a response, Eden turned from Judie and made her way to the elevator.

Tending to the children kept her mind off of Mike and her impending wedding that wasn't going to take place anymore. She knew she owed it to her loved ones to tell them the truth, and as she made her way home from the hospital that evening, she decided she was going to begin with her grandmother.

She was exhausted —physically and emotionally— when she drove into her driveway and made her way to the front door. She unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

“Eden.”

Freezing by the door, she turned sharply toward the living room, her mouth falling wide open and her eyelids widening in shock.

“Hey.” He took a step forward.

“Hey,” she managed. “What are you doing here?”

“I am here to make this right,” he took another step to her, “to make us right. To ask you to give us another chance, Eden. I'm here to say I'm sorry, and to ask you not to walk away from me.”

“I—” She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

Slowly, he made his way to her, his eyes holding hers. Coming to a halt before her, he placed a hand on her cheek.

“I want us. I want you,” he whispered, trailing a finger down her cheek.

She didn't know what to say. Her lungs constricted, and her lips didn't feel capable of forming the right words. Releasing a breath, she closed her eyes and nodded. His finger stopped trailing her face, and settled on her cheek. She felt him lean forward, her body stiffening as he captured her lips. His arms curled around her waist, drawing her further against himself.

She stood kissing Philip that evening, trying and failing to get her mind off of Mike. She would marry Philip, but Mike would always have her heart... Even if he had rejected it.

Copyright © 2018 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

A/N

This is such a huge deal to me, that I made it this far! I didn't think I'd be this committed but here we are! Five more days to go and it'll be over, and it'll be Christmas!

Let's raise our glass to that, shall we?