EXILE,
five
SILENCE. Every single person in the apartment was silent. A long, uncomfortable silence had greeted the friend group.
Eden didn't want to believe anything. She just wanted her life to be normal. This didn't have anything to do with Woodsboro. Woodsboro was in the past. Ghostface was just apart of her past. She was begging for this to stop.
The Miller girl shifted uncomfortably, digging her nails into her palms. Crescent moons were engraved in Eden's skin when her nails pierced into her palm deeper. Her face had paled, losing all of it's usual color. Then, her eyes went dead.
"Holy shit, that's that chode from our Film Studies class!" Mindy spoke up, sitting up. She still didn't retract her arm from Anika's shoulder, though. "The one obsessed with Argento."
Ethan Landry sent her a confused look, his nose slightly scrunching up. Then, the boy caught a secret look at Eden. With a small smile, he reached for Eden's shaking hand.
Eden retracted her hand from Ethan's.
"...Also found at the scene were various Ghostface costumes, a character popularized by the Stab movie franchise."
Both Cale and Eden shared a look. "That can't be possible—" Cale tried, looking down at his legs. His legs were currently bouncing up and down, a way to help with his stress.
If Eden was worried, Cale must be having a heart attack.
"Pack a bag. We leave in ten." Sam announced, wandering into the kitchen abruptly.
"Sam! Wait, Sam!" Tara tried, following after her sister.
"We're getting out of the city."
The cute boy that Sam brought in looked at the group, a puzzled look plastered along his face. "What?" He gaped at Chad.
"Thank you very much, suspicious new guy, but I think we've got it from here." Chad ushered the man out of the house, swatting him away. "Have a good night. Get home safe. Go, go, go!" Chad rambled, shutting the door on the man.
Eden looked back at Tara and Sam.
"Sam!" Tara gasped, watching as her sister went through the knives. "Sam, I— Hold on." Tara stammered, widening her eyes.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Come on."
"No, wait, let's talk about this for a second." Tara tried, urgently trailing behind Sam. "'Cause this might not have anything to do with us."
"Are you serious?" Sam gaped.
"It's a big city! It's Halloween. Everybody's wearing masks!" Tara explained, looking up at her sister. "You don't know."
"Tara, this isn't a coincidence. You knew him!"
"Barely," Tara replied.
"Chad, Mindy, back me up." Sam snapped at the twins, trying to bring them into the conversation.
"I mean, it is a little bit—" Chad began, waiting for his sister to finish his sentence
"Close to home." Mindy finished, awkwardly looking at both of the Carpenter sisters.
"See?"
Tara seemed to pause for a moment. Clearly, she was thinking about what to say to Sam. "Quinn, your dad's a cop, right? Can you call him and find out what's going on?" Tara asked, sending Quinn a pleading look. "Before you make the unilateral decision to abandon my college education and flee the fucking state!"
Eden ran her hands over her face, before letting out an aggravated sigh. "My god," She muttered under her breath.
"I'm calling him now." Quinn spoke up.
"Thank you." Tara kindly replied, before looking back at Sam.
Suddenly, the group was silenced by the ringing of Sam's phone. Eden's lips parted, a faint shudder escaping her painted lips. She felt uneasy as Sam neared the cellphone, slowly checking who was dialing her number.
A sigh of relief. Then, Sam declined the phone call.
"Why did everyone just freak out when her phone rang?" Ethan deadpanned, blinking in Eden's direction. He furrowed his dark eyebrows, sending everybody confused looks.
Eden let out an exhausted sigh, raking a hand through her frizzy hair. "Seriously?" She rested her head against the couch, lifting her chin up.
"You got to keep up, my dude." Anika replied, waving her arms around.
Quinn abruptly stood up, walking towards Sam with her phone pressed to her ear. "Sam," Quinn grasped Sam's attention. "My dad wants to talk to you."
"Mr. Bailey, hi." Sam sighed, placing Quinn's cellphone between her shoulder blade and ear.
Politely, the group went quiet, allowing Sam to converse with the man on the other line. The woman asked multiple questions in Mr. Bailey's direction, trying to understand the concept of what was happening.
With a gasp, Sam ended the call. She slowly turned to the group, revealing the look of distress staining her features. "I have to go down to the station." She announced, eyes going cold.
"Wha—" Tara rushed, watching as Sam rushed out of the apartment. "Eden, I have to go with her." Tara faced Eden.
Eden frowned softly. "I know, T. I know." She quietly said. "Be safe, okay?" Eden told Tara. "Please."
"I will, don't worry." Tara assured Eden.
Then, the Carpenter sister quickly followed after her sister.
The Miller girl nodded, trying her hardest to stay calm. Eden always tried her hardest to be strong. For Cale. Because if she wasn't strong, neither was he. If Eden cried, Cale did. So, this would lead to Eden bottling her feelings up inside, and never letting them out. Basically, Eden didn't want to stress other people out.
Nobody had time for Eden Miller's issues. Not one single person wanted to listen to her sob about the fact that her girlfriend was a murderer. Zero people cared about how Eden felt. Even if somebody did care, Eden would never tell them.
That's just how she is. And that's how she'll always be. She may act strong, but Eden Miller is nothing but a coward. A nineteen year-old who pretends to be mature, but is actually a fearful kid.
"Fuck," Eden cursed, angrily raking a hand through her hair. She grabbed her phone, before facing the group. "I need some air."
Ethan sat still, blinking like an idiot. "Is she—"
Cale blinked. "It's a classic Eden breakdown." The boy announced, the Meeks-Martin twins nodding.
With a clueless look, Ethan tilted his head. "Well, is she going to be okay?" The boy dumbfounded, trying not to worry about Eden. Maybe sometimes it was difficult. "Because she looked really—"
"If you cared, you wouldn't go after her." Mindy replied. "Eden gets a little.. psychotic, when she's angry."
Well, that clearly checks out.
The Landry boy abruptly stood up, standing still while the group furrowed their eyebrows in his direction. "I just want to make sure she's okay."
Chad widened his eyes. "Personally, I wouldn't—"
"Bye, guys! Sleep well!" Ethan said, rushing out of the apartment. "If I was Eden Miller, where would I go—"
Ethan rushed out of the apartment complex, looking up at the tall building. Absolutely nothing. No sign of Eden. No brunette girl wandering the streets. No crying college student.
Then, Ethan looked up, trying to spot if Eden was just on the roof. Nothing. Not even a shadow rushing off of the roof.
"What the fuck," Ethan cursed, connecting his hands with his tousled hair. Then, the boy rushed back inside, running up the stairs quickly.
He stumbled over his feet, letting out a grunt while he continued to rush upstairs. The boy's chest heaved up and down as he opened the door to the fire escape, noticing a brunette girl leaning forward.
Bingo.
"Phew,"
Eden Miller let out a gasp, grasping her chest as she stared at Ethan. "Ethan? Why the fuck are you—" Eden paused, looking at Ethan. "so out of breath."
"Well, I wanted to ask if you're okay. You just seem so—"
"Excuse me?" The Miller girl shot back, raising her eyebrows. "Don't even finish that." Eden added, looking down at the many floors of stairs.
With a nod, Ethan looked towards Eden. "So, are you okay?" The Landry boy asked, looking at Eden with a sincere look.
Eden let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Eden lied, looking down at her shoes.
"But you kind of—"
"Ethan, if you came here to remind me that a murderer is coming for my friend group again, then I'll push you down these stairs." Eden seethed, teeth gritting.
Ethan immediately nodded his head. "Oh, yeah— Uh, right! Sorry, so sorry." He stammered, avoiding Eden's gaze. "Still, I know something's wrong."
Eden let out an exhausted sigh. "You know, you don't really know anything about me." Eden told Ethan, refusing to meet his burning gaze.
"I know," Ethan replied, leaning forward. "Sometimes, I wish I did know more about you." Ethan breathed out.
"You really don't." Eden whispered. "Because if you did, you'd look at me the same way the rest of them do." Eden explained. "And I don't want you to ever see me like that."
Ethan looked down at Eden with interest. "Like what?" He asked, inching his hand closer to Eden's. One move and he would be able to hold his hand. One more inch. Then, he would be able to feel that rush again.
"A monster," Eden let out, looking up at Ethan with bloodshot eyes. "I don't want you to think of me like that." Eden told Ethan. "It's just—"
Then, she remembered who she was talking to. Ethan Landry. A boy she didn't know anything about. Somebody who didn't know anything about Eden and her history.
So, she felt vulnerable around him. Almost like she felt alive when she was with him. He made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. Nobody else had to matter when Ethan was around her.
"I'm scared." Eden admitted. "I'm so fucking scared, Ethan." She quietly said, a quiet whisper. Voice like a ghost.
Ethan wrapped his arms around Eden's waist, pulling her to his chest. He cradled the back of her head with one hand, the same hand brushing through Eden's hair. His other hand was wrapped tightly around her lower waist, sending chills down her spine. The touch alone sent vibrations throughout Eden's body.
The Landry boy pressed a kiss to Eden's forehead. "I promise, it'll be okay." He told her.
"I just feel like I'm giving up. I gave my entire life up. Spent months in therapy. Why is it back? Who? I've given up my life, just so I can save Cale's. This isn't fair. I've done enough."
Ethan frowned. "Eden, you can't—"
"I'm done. If this fuckhead wants to fucking kill me, so be it. I'll let them kill me with his own hands." Eden seethed. "Just before I kill them." Eden whispered, a quiet laugh. She laughed.
Okay, maybe Eden Miller is a little insane.
And maybe Ethan Landry likes crazy girls.
notes. this chapter lowkey sucks but i wanna get chapters out for my books today! ethan and eden are so precious. also, just so you guys know, eden is gonna be like insane. like crazy.
don't worry, the angst is coming.. 🤫
also! do u guys think eden's lana del rey coded?