In the Beat of a Wing {boyxboy}

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"What are you really afraid of, Eden?" Lex had dropped his voice, sounding more sympathetic than concerned, kneeling down in front of Eden to force their eyes to meet. He was only trying to help after all.

"I..." Eden searched for the correct words, battling with himself internally, fighting against the urge to build those walls back up and block Lex out entirely, "if he sees what this is doing to me, he'll do something stupid. He cares too much and he doesn't think of the bigger picture when he's worried about me. It's better to let him go on with all this and just hope that Archie's case will be over soon," Eden couldn't manage a smile even when Lex clasped his hands tightly, rubbing the backs of his knuckles.

"You can't do this to yourself, Eden, this isn't what he would want-"

"Which is why he can't find out, Lex," Eden interjected swiftly, "he can't find out, alright? I'll be fine, it's not like I'm hurting myself or having suicidal ideation. I'm just a little... a little depressed."

"Loneliness has the effect of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, Eden, did you know that?" Eden didn't bother to respond, making it known that the answer was obviously no, "let me make a compromise with you, alright? You come with Wyatt and me to Leon's today, you sit with your sister, you just get some fresh air and try not to wallow in your own self-loathing for too long, OK? I won't tell Mal about what you're doing to yourself, he and Rei aren't supposed to be there today," Eden looked into Lex's eyes, he really was a caring guy, "deal?" Lex tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, a lopsided smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. Eden tried to mirror it and, judging by the flicker of pride in Lex's eyes, he had a feeling he at least got a good attempt at it.

"Deal."

"If you're gonna pass out, Eden, it's a good thing I brought Wyatt with me, isn't it?" Eden couldn't manage to laugh at Lex's playful comment on his pallor, so just continued to stare down at his feet whilst they waited for someone to answer the knock on Leon's door.

"Well, this brings back memories," Eden heard Slate's deep voice mutter sarcastically, hopefully he was only joking, "am I not gonna get a smile, angel?" Slate's expensive leather shoes stepped into Eden's view and the boy's head was tipped back, forcing him to meet those intense golden eyes.

"I'm not in a smiley mood, sorry," Eden murmured feebly, causing Slate's expression to darken. Great, he was going to pity him too.

"Y'know, if you were mine," Slate leant down much closer, his hot breath tickling Eden's ear, "I'd spank your ass redraw for what you're doing to yourself," Slate didn't sound as menacing as Eden had expected, but he was well aware that his threats weren't empty ones, "clearly you must think we're all blind, angel, we're not. You might think Mal is blissfully unaware but he knows, he keeps more tabs on you than you think. So..." Slate's tone changed ever so slightly when he chuckled lowly and draped an arm over Eden's shoulders, still close enough to whisper in the boy's ear, "since I can't use your mouth the way I would if my property was feeling the way you are, put on that pretty smile and try to enjoy yourself, yeah?" Eden wasn't sure why everyone feared Reivon the most, Slate was definitely the more sadistic of the two. Maybe it was because he was quiet. Quietly confident.

"Edee!" Audrey spotted Eden entering the front door on the heel of Wyatt and Lex, who parted to allow the girl to launch herself at her brother and engulf him in a near bone-crushing hug.

"Hey, Aud," Eden pressed a weak kiss to the top of his sister's head, only then realising how much his bad choices were affecting him physically as well as mentally. He was exhausted, and he had only walked a few paces from the apartment to the car, then from the car to the hallway of Leon's house. Malcolm would kill him if he knew how little he was caring about his health.