ARCANE

024

            Hope does not wake up.

~~~

There is a knock at the door, and Eden bursts off the couch. His feet shuffle over the ground to the doorway. Trembling hands reach up to adjust his hair so that it hopefully isn't sticking up every which way.

He takes a second to breathe and opens the door. His chest deflates.

It's only Lee.

"Are you going to let me in, or..." Lee trails off, trying to keep her cool. She finds herself wringing her hands over and over, a gesture that is otherwise unfamiliar to her. It takes a second for Eden to step aside.

Lee doesn't enter further than inside than the doorway. This place looks like a frat house. There is a collection of empty liquor bottles on top of the cabinets, which threaten to tip off and shatter against the cheap carpet at any moment.

Though he wants nothing more than to leave, because he had hoped after his confrontation with Liam that he would never have to see anyone else like him again, Eden doesn't move. Unfortunately, Lee still exists, and she is still rattling his universe.

"Percy wasn't answering the door," Lee tells him, purposefully. There is no way that she is going to let him think that she came here because he matters to her. "Sorry, I wasn't exactly keen to go back to my place after... that."

"Were you shot?" Eden asks, making his way over to the couch. He raises an eyebrow at her.

Lee crosses her arms over her chest. "You've got no tact, Eden Connor. None at all. I'm fine, thanks for asking. And no I wasn't shot, I got fucking lucky. I've got Hope to thank for that, I imagine. Also, who's blood is all over the back table? They think that somebody dragged out a body."

"Just Wes's," Eden reflects, shaking his head back and forth.

Lee begins to kick off her shoes. Slowly, she shrugs off her leather jacket, her hands shaking as she pulls the sleeves away from her pale arms. Eden tries his best not to stare at her, but he's never seen her like this. No wonder his fingers were uncertain earlier.

"You dumbasses should've cleaned it up," Lee says. "The police are going to test the blood and find out that it's Wes's, you know? They'll have his DNA on file because of juvie. Maybe they'll be able to link him back to the park. Or worse, find out how he is alive when he lost three litres of blood. Whatever. I'm done worrying about the police. Someone tried to murder me."

As Lee sits on the couch beside him, Eden reflects that it is probably not his best call to mention that he is in fact, extremely panicked about the police. Nor does he mention that it wouldn't matter if someone tried to kill her. Probably. Suddenly, Eden realizes that Lee is holding her breath. He waits, counts to ten, and then he hears her heavy exhale and a sharp intake of breath. Repeat.

Eden struggles, trying to figure out where to put his hand. He ends up deciding to rest it on the couch behind Lee's head, letting her decide to lean back.

She doesn't. Lee can hear the sound of the gun, firing to the beat of the music. Over and over, on repeat. For once, Lee wishes she wasn't such an auditory person. The sound thrilled her until the bullet narrowly missed her skull.

"Do you want a tea?" Eden asks. He doesn't wait for her answer to get up. Across the room, he pulls out his only mug and the kettle. Lee watches as he heats the water in silence. He dips the bag in and brings it over.