RUNNING
FOR MILES
I've been home for at least two hours. Miles or well Hale I should say had dropped me off but not before taking me over to Melrose's quickly to get a breakfast wrap and an iced coffee even though it was still freezing outside, I really needed a caffeine fix.
Once Hale had actually driven into the driveway and I exited his car I noticed that Sam's car wasn't the only one parked in the drive. My father's police car. Anxiety caused through me as I knew all too well that he was going to be livid at the fact that I had skipped school with my friends.
So, I snuck into the house with my ice coffee and breakfast in my hand, I crept upstairs and quietly entered my room. Hopefully, the world is on my side today and my father won't have a single clue that I'm here until later when I go to Lila's house.
I had received a text from Sammy saying that dad isn't impressed and that he's going to talk with me when I leave my room. So, until then I decided to have an hour-long shower instead of my normal thirty-minute shower.
After that, I sat on my bed for a while in my black Calvin Klein sports bra, undies and some black spotty pajama shorts. I scrolled through Facebook and Instagram for what felt like hours before Lakyn's contact number came up onto my screen.
Deciding that it was probably Lila I clicked on the green button to answer the incoming call.
"Hello?" I said nervously as it could have also been Lakyn calling me for some odd reason but Lila made more sense to me, so I was just hoping for the best.
"Eden hi, it is Lila." I paused as I heard shuffling in the background, "What time would you like me to come over and get you as well as my car?" I questioned her.
I looked up at the time on my phone it was ten o'clock on the dot which meant I had only left Miles house at around eight.
"Anytime from now." I said happily as I didn't want to say a set time in case, she had other things to do or didn't want to come straight away.
There was a slight pause before she started talking again, "I'll come now, I can not stand Lakyn any longer."
"Okay, I'll see you soon." I smiled even though I knew she couldn't see me.
"Sounds great!" Lila said, sounding relieved, "See you soon, sweetie." she exclaimed before the call went dead.
Well, that now means I have five or ten minutes to figure out what the hell I am going to wear to Lila's house. Walking into my wardrobe I looked around again trying to sift through the mounds and mounds of clothes.
After what felt like a while, I picked out a skin-tight black long sleeve shirt, grey Nike track pants, a black and white Nike windbreaker and to finish the look I put on my old school vans.
Deciding that Lila was probably going to turn up any minute now I opened my door quietly and crept down the stairs, when I was less than halfway down I stopped and flung my hair down over my face and tied it up into a messy bun, I also pushed up my glasses as they had pretty much almost fallen off of my face.
"I was informed by the academy that Eden skipped school yesterday." My father's voice echoed through the house, "Is that true?"
Who was he talking to?
"Yes." a very familiar voice answered my father, "I was with her."
Lila Hayes.
I could just imagine the shocked expression on my father's face at Lila's answer, "You too?" he gasped.
"I was feeling unwell and did not want to go to school, besides we thought that considering the weather conditions, the school would close down." Lila half lied to him as if it was nothing easily, "I take complete responsibility for both your daughter and my own actions."
What the hell was she doing? Lila is definitely the type of person to throw you under the bus and or not show any form of sympathy but she was sticking up for me, she was quite literally saving my ass from getting beaten.
Since she has done this, I'm going to save hers because I know that if her father has any idea that she skipped school and that she has probably ruined her exceptionally perfect attendance then I know that he would probably murder her or something close to it.
"Don't worry about it, I did stuff like that at your age." Dad began and that's when I had to step in and save Lila from a very yawn-worthy story, "Back in my day—"
"Lila. I'm ready!" I shouted from the bottom of the stairs, running into the living room where My father and Lila stood.
I tried not to pull a shocked face as I came face to face with Lila. Lila did not look like Lila Hayes at all, not one little bit. Normally this girl is the definition of perfect her hair is straight and down but with no loose hairs anywhere, her face is normally bright and never tired looking, Lila is always dressed as if she was going to a fancy restaurant or something.
But no, the girl standing in front of me was not Lila. Her hair was a mess it was down but it was kind of crazy but you could tell she tried to fix it, her face looked drained and tired and she was wearing an obnoxiously big black hoodie that had managed to go down to her thighs and no shoes.
Lila stood up instantly, "Oh," she tried to sound disappointed, "how unfortunate." She said, sounding awfully sarcastic.
I tried not to laugh at Lila as I looked over to my father, "Dad, I'm going over to Lila's for a while, I'll be back later."
Awaiting his testimony and telling me that I'm not going anywhere he just simply nodded, "Have fun, girls."
Without another thought we both nodded, bidding him goodbye, before exiting my house via the front door and as we neared Lilas car, I tossed her the keys, allowing Lila to unlock her G-wagon swiftly.
Before leaving or even starting her car Lila grabbed her phone and opened it as it dinged with all the messages or notifications that came through. I somewhat watched her as she read the messages but her face seemed to turn into a big smile.
"Everything okay?" I asked with a laugh.
Lila nodded, before switching her phone back off, "Swell."
Within seconds Lila started the car and began driving towards her house, the drive is extremely short due to the fact that I only live two or three houses down from her and we live on the same side of the lake.
"If my father asks, I was with anyone but Lakyn." Lila informed me as she parked in her driveway, "And these clothes are yours, okay?"
I simply nodded at Lila and sent her a weird stare but I looked away and decided to get out of her car and walk towards her massive yet insanely stunning house that had to have been in one of those fancy house magazines.
Lila opened the door allowing me to walk in first and then her, as Lila closed the door behind us it made a loud echo noise to run through the house, it seemed so quiet and empty as if no one was home. I get that it's just Lila and her father that pretty much only live here but it feels as though no one
"I see you have lost the ability to answer your phone." Foster Hayes growled as he made his way into the entrance room, his hands interlinked as a snobby scowl appeared on his mature face. "And the ability to be conservative, look at you!" he said as he examined his daughter.
My heartstrings seemed to be tugged and almost broken as the words and harsh tone had left his voice, as he sent it towards his own daughter. Sometimes I wonder if he even sees her as his daughter or just some doll that he has to keep pristine and pure.
I probably sound horrible for saying that because what father wouldn't love their child but at the same time what father would ever say that to his child? I know for a fact mine would never.
Deciding that I need to protect Lila and repay her for saving me from my father, I cleared my throat as I'm pretty sure Foster hadn't even realized I was standing next to Lila who I am sure is dying to run up and hide in the somewhat safety of her room.
His eyes widened as his body language seemed to change within a blink of an eye, "Eden!" he clapped his hands together in surprise, "Good to see you!"
I wish I could say the same.
I nodded, stepping forward as my shoes scuffed against the tile, making Lila's father cringe, "Likewise." I responded rather bitterly.
"We must have you and your father around for dinner sometime soon," he suggested, "please do tell your father to give me a call when he is free."
I nodded once again as I didn't want to utter a word to him, I was honestly both bored and somewhat uncomfortable with the whole situation. I came here to see Lila, not talk to Mr. Hayes who is way to snobby and rude for my liking.
"Will do." I piped, rocking back and forth on my heels anxiously.
Foster removed his gaze from me and redirected it onto Lila but it was filled with anger and disgust, "You will not be excused for your poor behavior choice either, Lilac." he growled, his broad back to us, "We will speak about this later on and you will deal with the consequences."
Oh shit, I really thought he didn't know for a minute.
Lila let out a sigh of defeat but unlike her, I will stand up for her, even if it is her own father.
Taking a step forward, I waved at Mr. Hayes him to a stop, "Oh, Mr. Hayes!" I called and when he turned around, he seemed to shoot knives right towards Lila, "About yesterday—"
Foster shook his head, which had stopped me from finishing what I had to say, "Eden, do not feel the need to cover-up my daughter's irresponsible actions."
I couldn't help but feel like it was Hale, Lakyn and somewhat my fault that led to Lila skipping and going to the beach or as her father would say make 'irresponsible actions'. As I am the only one of us that was here and the one that is the most caring, I felt the need to do or say whatever it took to get him to know that it was, in fact, my fault and that he can't be mad at Li.
"I'm not." I said becoming flustered as I was trying to ignore all of the anxiety that was being pumped through me, "I um. . ."
That wasn't good enough so I continued but tried to think of something better this time, "I bled through my pants before school and Lila took me back home to... you know." I paused as Foster's cheeks reddened from embarrassment, "By the time that I had finished my business the gates were closed and—"
Mr. Hayes was as white as a ghost, "That is enough." he cleared his throat, straightening his tie as he stood there stiffly, "I will excuse you this time, Lilac. But next time you decide to mess up, do not get your friends to make up pathetic lies for you."
Pathetic Lie? That lie would have had to be one of my better ones and if someone had said that to me, I would have believed them, no questions asked.
As soon as Mr. Hayes was out of sight Lila had pretty much catapulted herself up the three flights of stairs, I sighed as I tried to quickly catch up to her but cardio just isn't for me.
I've tried it and it sucked I just end up gasping for within the first few seconds, so I'm just majorly thankful that I'm one of those lucky people that have a very fast metabolism so I don't really need to exercise to keep the fat off of my body. Even if I didn't have a fast metabolism, I think I still wouldn't do cardio even if I did get fat.
"You should really invest in an elevator for this place," I huffed barely able to breathe, using the back of my palm to wipe the sweat off of my forehead, "I am sure that you can afford it."
"Father says that elevators are for lazy people."
I couldn't help but laugh at her, "Exactly."
Lila chuckled as she opened her bedroom door, all I can say about Lila's room is that it is very plain and white. Her walls were a crisp white, her bed was on the far left wall, her bed frame was white and so was her bedding which consisted of an obnoxious amount of pillows and cushions, on the wall opposite the door—where we are currently standing—were two French doors that led out onto her balcony, giving you a clear view of the lake.
On the right of the double doors, was a vanity which was one of those typical ones with the lights surrounding the perimeter of the mirror and it had a few drawers beneath it along with a white faux leather stool, but the surface of the vanity was white and black marble.
Lastly, to the right of the door—the opposite wall from her bed—was two doors, which I guess one led to a closet and the other to a bathroom.
On the opposite side of the double doors, there's a plain desk, with a laptop and a stack of textbooks on it, as well as a swirly computer chair and a corkboard with a few pictures on it. Other than that, her walls are pretty much bare, except for a few windows which were covered by sheer white curtains.
Lila walked directly over to one of the doors which were to the right of the room, "Do you mind if I just get changed quickly?" Lila shouted out.
I decided to simply hum in response as I decided to walk over to her desk, sit down and wait for her to come back. After a while and by a while I mean probably not even a minute, I grew bored so I started to swirl around on her swirly chair. Six spins to many and I had almost landed on Lila's floor so I tried to stop myself by grabbing onto the desk which helped but I couldn't quite see due to the great amount of dizziness, I was also close to vomiting but if I did Lila would most likely kill me.
Once my dizziness was gone and I wasn't going to vomit my eyes landed on something sticking out of one of her textbooks. Curiosity got the best of me even though I was taught to never go through other people's stuff.
Grasping the corner of the paper in my fingers I slowly and carefully pulled it out and as soon as I could see all of it, I had noticed that it was a sketch of a dress. The dress was pretty much white, the sleeves sheer and the skirt was short, there were three-dimensional flowers placed around the waist of the dress which was more of a belt and the colors sprawled across it went from light to dark.
I was mesmerized by how well the sketch was drawn, it was like some famous fashion designer from Paris or something had drawn it and placed it on Lila's desk and in one of her textbooks. But as I was looking at it, it was being snatched out of my grasp and away from my eyes.
"What're you doing?" I shrieked, turning to face Lila with narrowed eyes, "I was looking at that, thank you very much." I retorted, snatching the sketch back off of Lila.
She glared back at me, "It is not for you to look at." She seethed.
"You drew this?" I asked surprised, "Lila, this is amazing."
Lila rolled her eyes, watching me as I un-scrunched the piece of paper, "It is just a hobby and if my father sees that, he will kill me, so please throw it away."
I raised one of my arched brows, "Just a hobby? You should pursue this, dude."
"Not an option, now before I ask you oh so nicely, please—"
I cut Lila off by waving my hand, "Okay, okay!" I exclaimed defensively, "But rather than throwing it away, I am going to keep it." I said as I folded it and stuffed it into my jacket pocket.
"Before I change my mind about hanging out with you, where do you want to go?" Lila questioned me, "There is nothing to do here."
I raised an eyebrow, tapping my chin as I thought about what we should do, "Won't most of the roads be closed?"
She nodded, "Probably, so pick wisely."
"Slushies?"
My brain is a weird place so when those words left my mouth, I wanted to smack myself on the head for saying the first thing that was on my mind and god only knows why 'slushies' of all things had come to mind.
Like why, why Eden, why do you have to be like this? You know it's freezing outside and probably in the negatives yet you decide to choose to get a drink that is fifty percent sugar and fifty percent water that is then mixed just enough to not allow it to freeze like ice over going to get a hot chocolate or something.
Lila screwed her face up, "Slushies?" she clarified, disgust tainting her voice, as she sent me a pointed look, which I decided to just simply nodded my head, which caused Lila to blink not once but twice before replying, "On a day like this?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Lila rolled her eyes, "As you wish," she said giving in as she thought about something before adding, "and do not call me ma'am... sir."
"Oh my god!" I pretty much cried at her words, clapping her hands, "You do have a sense of humor."
Lila nodded with a sarcastic close-lipped smile, "Yes, new girl, I do." she clarified, "And eye-sight, four eyes."
I gasped, pushing my glasses further up the bridge of my nose, "Excuse me!" I squealed probably sounding like a pig when being picked up, "Considering I'm blind, I cannot see my purse anywhere, so guess who's paying?" I giggled mischievously.
Once Lila had gotten her purse and keys we headed back to her expensive white G-Wagon and got in as we drove to probably the only gas station in Dayton Lakes, within the few minute drive we realized that it was going to be near impossible to get too due to the heavy snow that Lila shouldn't be driving in but it had calmed down a lot since yesterday.
You would think that we would have turned around and gone back to Lila's palace but instead, we stayed positive, we then decided to take the trip over to Arlington Heights, where my cousins Isla and Isaac live.
I do miss them both dearly. They were pretty much my brother and sister as we used to see each other all the time but due to my junkie mother cheating and running away from her family we had sadly cut ties with all of her side, which meant Sam and I had stopped seeing them.
But I still kept in contact with Isla. I couldn't bare not talking to her but it was hard to communicate with her when I was in Pennsylvania as I had Boston breathing down my neck whenever I was on my phone.
So, thanks to him I stopped talking to her but I do want to reconnect with them and apologize for not talking to them at the game a month or so ago. It would have been so different if I wasn't on drugs, I would have run-up to both of them and engulfed them in a bone-crushing hug and then talk Islas ear off while we watched the game.
But I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to see them again soon as Sammy told me that he hasn't stopped being in contact with Isaac. He said that they really miss us and want to catch up so you best believe I am going to make that happen no matter what.
"That gas station looks open." I shouted, pointing out of the window over to where a rather small blue gas station was next to an empty lot of land where trains seemed to run through.
Lila took a sharp right turn before pulling into one of the parking spaces next to the station, hopping out of the car in unison with Lila.
We walked side by side through the automatic sliding doors, I looked around at all the tempting snacks and other foods that were around us. I wanted to grab a bag of hot Cheetos, a packet of sour patch kids and a Krispy Kreme donut but I knew all too well that Lila would judge me and there is no way she would spend her money on all that junk food just for me.
As I contemplated asking her for a large number of unhealthy snacks, I had noticed that for once Lila was kind of dressed like me. Her clothes weren't fitted or fancy like they normally were but instead, her outfit consisted of sweat pants which I had never thought that Lila would have in her closet and a very baggy jumper.
Now when I say very baggy, I mean massive, not even I the queen of baggy jumpers and other baggy clothes has anything remotely close to how big it was. Plus, I couldn't imagine Lila walking into a shop, picking it up and thinking to herself that he would buy it.
I hypothesized that it was not in fact hers and it was a certain bleach blonde-haired boy with the name starting with L.
"Nice hoodie." I murmured as we headed over to the slushy machines, "Lakyn's?"
It has to be his, I mean she did stay at his house last night since Hale couldn't come and get her from Lakyn's as we were on a date and because of the heavy snow from the snowstorm. So, it would make perfect sense that it was his because he most likely offered it to her as she had no clothing all thanks to him pushing her into the ocean.
Lila hates Lakyn and Lakyn hates Lila. Simple as that but Lila was at home so why didn't she get changed out of her supposed enemy's hoodie?
Lila's cheeks heated up, turning a rosy red color and it wasn't because of how cold it was but the mention of a certain boy, "Correct." she nodded.
After that, we grabbed a cup each, Lila hose the medium-sized cup whilst I selected the extra-large one. Half of the flavors were out of order, but there were still a few alright options to choose from. I instantly got overwhelmed and couldn't decide on just one flavor so I chose all of them and made sure to fill it up as much as I could, it was pretty much exploding out the top of the lid where the straw came out of.
I waited passionately as I watched Lila fill her cup up with Raspberry, I kind of thought Lila was more of a lemon and lime type of girl due to her bitter nature.
Once Lila was finished, we both walked up to the counter, I felt like a little kid as I stood next to Lila who pulled out her purse and paid the cashier. As we exited the gas station something caught my eye, over to the right of the right of the gas station where the empty field was.
A loud groan was audible behind me as I heard the crunching of snow behind me which I guessed was Lila following behind me. We reached the open field and there stood a lonesome swing set, which was kind of creepy to me as there is normally a whole heap of other things for children to play on but nope it was just a poor swing set, nothing else but some long grass that was due for a cut.
I couldn't control my legs as they sprinted in the direction and plonking myself down on one of the two swings.
When I was a child, I was always that one kid that had hogged the swing as it was my favorite thing at the park. I never played on the monkey bars and I never went down the slide, well maybe once but Sam had forced me to and I'm pretty sure I cried the whole way down.
It was kind of relaxing as you just swung back and forth and looked up at the clouds that were racing each other in the sky. I always tried to go as high as I could, I wanted to touch the clouds with my toes but it never happened even though I tried multiple times, Sam would laugh at me if I ever told him that, he always thought it was because I was trying to jump off furtherer than he did.
"When was the last time you went on one of these things?" I asked out of pure curiosity.
I hadn't been on a swing in years myself so I was kind of ecstatic that I could swing around on one today even though the seat was pretty cold and the metal chains seemed to freeze my hands onto it but I just tried to ignore it as I slurped on my slushie.
Lila seemed to be somewhere else as she searched her mind for the last time she was on a swing, "It was the last day of elementary school and Hale was pushing me but he got sidetracked and wandered off, but I did not notice until I was being shoved off the swing by Lakyn."
I gasped at the end part, but could not help but laugh, "No wonder you hate that boy." I chuckled to myself, "Have you ever wondered why he is and was so mean to you?"
"We have never talked about it." Lila murmured as she took a sip of her drink.
I snorted, "Yeah, because you two don't talk." I pointed out, "You argue."
"Valid point." Lila admitted, "Enough about Lakyn. Tell me. . ." She paused as she seemed to think, "tell me more about love."
Love? Was Lila really asking me about Love?
To be honest, I ironically have a love-hate relationship with the word 'love' and what supposedly comes with it.
I've had my heart broken twice. Yup two times and two different occasions.
The first heartbreak I've ever experienced was due to my own mother. My mother was the person that had given me and showed me what love was when I was a child, I saw it through the way she loved my father and both Sammy and me.
A divorce then came, Sammy and I didn't really know much about it but dad had filed one as he had found out my mom was injecting her precious skin with drugs that would one day have the potential to kill her and he didn't want to be married to a junkie. Months passed as they tried to work it out, there were many fights and huge arguments that resulted in broken glass and crying. Sammy would always come and make me sleep in his room with him, he would cover my ears and try and calm me down but all I did was cry myself to sleep.
But it all changed when she found a new love in drugs and some new man that she had cheated on my father with. It changed when she had dragged me away from the only two people that still loved me. It changed when she made us move into a disgusting two-bedroom apartment in an unsafe neighborhood on the wrong side of town. It changed when she spent all her money on drugs and would leave me at home with no food or entertainment.
I still loved her, even though she had put me through all of those horrific events. But I stopped loving her on a certain day, a day I'll never forget as it will haunt me for as long as I live. It was the day when I had been dating Boston for a few weeks and I was just really happy to come home as Boston had given me a big dish of macaroni and cheese for dinner as I had gone hungry the last few days and it hurt him to know that so he gave it to me to take home for my mother and her boyfriend.
But once I had got home, she was nowhere to be found, our tv, furniture and kitchen stuff was all gone. Nothing but an empty house. I waited on the steps that had led to the parking lot for what felt like hours, my fingers were frozen as it had been snowing. I remember waking up and realizing that she wasn't coming back, I realized that she had left me behind as if I was rubbish.
That's the day my heart had broken, for the very first time. As experiencing my parents' divorce was hard enough, but being abandoned by the person that given me life is just incomparable. No one that supposedly loves you should ever put you through that.
But I have faith in love even though it has had the power to break me down into tiny pieces. I still have faith or hope in love because I know that it will always heal me. When my mother left and broke me, I felt as though all the love inside me had disappeared into thin air kind of like a ghost but when I met Boston all the love that had once been in my heart had reappeared as if it had never vanished in the first place.
Boston Kain was the cause of my second heartbreak.
Boston's love healed me from what my mother had done to me and I will be forever thankful for that but I'll always hate him for 'loving' me at the same time. I loved him because his love was so perfect and peaceful, he was my family and the only person that had shown me any form of love in months. Boston Made sure I had my own key to his apartment, he made sure my belly was always full and that I was never cold.
It was love.
But then it changed, he would come home drunk and abuse me. I still remember the first time he had abused me, he had stumbled in late one night and he threw a glass cup at me because I didn't make him something to eat when he hadn't asked, he threw another at me which had managed to cut me, but it was as if a switch had been flicked straight away in his brain when he saw the blood he had stumbled over to me crying and saying how sorry he was and that he loved me.
Little did I know that that was only just the beginning of years of torment and abuse.
So, still, after years and years of childhood trauma and an extra few more years of abuse, I believe that love will heal me again just like it had healed me before it was going to heal the abuse I had endured from Boston; I just have to be patient.
I stopped swinging, my shoes scuffing against the ground as I came to a holt, "Love?" I asked Lila with furrowed eyebrows as she nodded her head, "What do you want to know about it?"
"Anything." Lila shrugged, "You loved Boston—and I am sorry to bring him up—but he destroyed you, why would you love someone like that?"
I shrugged as her words had struck me like lightning to a tree, I rubbed my cold hands together, "I fell in love with Boston because at that time I had no one else, I was all on my own and I was desperate for this sense of security and affection that I was not receiving from anyone else." she rambled and I instantly knew how she felt, "I guess I fell in love with him for the wrong reasons, but to answer your question, I loved him because even though he abused me, he was always there, and I know that sounds terrible."
"No, I get it."
Her words once again struck me hard, how in the world would she know anything about what I was saying? How would she know what it was like to be contentiously abused and mistreated?
I turned to face Lila with a shocked expression, "You do?"
Lila nodded, "Someone you loved left you without notice, so you stayed with someone who hurt you because you did not know any better."
She was pretty much spot on that it scared me, it was like she had read my mind word for word or if she herself had seen me go through all of that childhood trauma.
I sighed which let a big cloud, "For someone who doesn't believe in love, you sure do know a lot about it." I said, "Are you okay, Lila?" I asked her which seemed to make her stop for a second.
"No." She responded truthfully, "Are you?"
I couldn't help but respect Lila for telling the truth. Most of the time when you ask someone if they are okay, they normally just say "Yeah I'm fine." or "Yeah why?", never "No" as I guess it's a form of not wanting to show weakness or worry someone with their problems.
Offering Lila, a small smile I shrugging my shoulders, "I am more okay than usual." I declared, "But I wouldn't say that I'm good, necessarily."
"Did something happen between you and Hale?"
My cheeks heated up instantly as the words had come out of Lila's mouth. I knew for a fact that they were red as I thought about how I had kissed Hale.
I wanted to talk about it and tell her everything and how I was feeling but can I actually trust her not to go tell everything that I was to say to her to Blaire or even Lakyn who I know would go straight to Hale.
"Sort of." I said after a while deciding to trust her and only reveal what was necessary, "I had a nightmare last night... about Boston and when I woke up, Hale was there and he... well, looked after me."
"Strange." She murmured more so to herself, "I had a nightmare last night too. . and Lakyn, he helped me."
Did I hear her correctly? Lakyn... Helped... Lila?
My eyes practically bulged out of my head, "Lakyn Westbrook helped you?" Lila nodded, "Willingly?"
Lila nodded yet again, snorting, "Yes." She clarified, "He held me for a long time. He touched me like I belonged to him, he made me feel... better."
My heart swelled at the thought of those two actually getting along and being there for each other, like friends are supposed to do. It made me happy that Lila was happy about the situation.
"I never thought the two meanest people I know would implicate those feelings towards each other." I snorted as I took a long sip of my slushie.
Lila glared at me, "If by feelings you mean hatred, then sure."
I rolled my eyes, "You two are too stubborn for your own good."
"Back to the Hale thing." Lila said as she steered the conversation back onto me.
I watched little snowflakes start to land on my glasses, I placed my drink onto the ground as I attempted to get all of the cute flakes off of the glass and wiping them onto my clothes. Once I was happy with it, I placed them back on my face.
Throwing my head back as I let out an ungodly groan and picked up my drink from the floor before saying, "We may or may not have kissed?"
"You what now?" Lila chocked out.
I grinned sheepishly as I squealed like a little girl which resulted in Lila rolling her eyes, "It so good."
"First of all, disgusting." she scrunched her nose up in disgust, "And secondly, as your friend, it is my place to inform you that Hale has an obsession with taking your virginity, so be careful, okay?"
My eyes widened as my jaw fell open, "Lila, I'm not... you know."
"Your body and what you do with it is your own privacy, but I think you should make it clear to Hale that you are not looking for sex." She said, "Unless that is what you want, of course."
I mean have you seen that body? That boy is practically flawless and a part of me would jump his bones any time of day but then at the same time the thought repulses me as I know for a fact that boy has probably fucked a whole heap of other girls.
What if he has STDs? Tempting but no thank you.
I shrugged, "I mean it wouldn't be so bad."
Lila tapped her nails against the metal chains attached to the swing, "Hale is a good guy, Eden." she began, "But he is also equally bad as he is good. He gets off on—mind my French—fucking girls and leaving them."
"I get that Lila; I know he isn't good but I can tell that he's different. I can tell that he isn't all that bad" I paused, "I think he just needs a chance, like all of us do."
She nodded, "Of course, if you are willing to see the beauty within the only boy that has ever loved me—in a brotherly way of course—then please do." She said kindly, "I am just saying that girls are like trophies to him and Lakyn as well, he takes pride in knowing that he was able to ruin someone. Please do not let him ruin you, you are strong and after being ruined before, you deserve something genuine."
"As do you." I replied with a soft smile, "I know your parents have both hurt you in different ways, but not everyone is your mom or dad." I spoke with sincerity. "Lakyn is the same as Hale, yet he was the one keeping you afloat when you were seconds from drowning. Maybe neither of them are as monstrous as people think."
Lila paused for a while as she seemed to think, "How can you allow yourself to fall for someone else when the last time you did, they did not catch you?" She murmured as she started to swing herself.
Like I was saying before, love broke me but love had also healed me. Love is such a beautiful thing that feels so good but yet can hurt so bad and I guess I'm willing to take the risk of getting hurt again if it means it will also heal me again.
I cleared my throat, placing my now empty cup back down on the ground, "Because everyone is different." I answered simply, "Boston didn't catch me, but I still got back up and when I am ready, I will fall again. I might not fall for Hale, but he is worth getting to know at least."
Lila swung higher and higher on her swing, "It's sad."
I followed Lila as I began to swing along with her, "What is?"
"I mean, you ask someone about love." She huffed, "And they tell you about heartbreak." she told me, "That is exactly why I will never love. Love results in heartbreak whether the love is true or toxic."
After a few seconds, I had managed to swing higher than Lila, "I've never met someone like you, Lila."
She turned to face me, the wind blowing through her hair as mine was flung back into my face, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means the way we think is completely opposite, but every word you say intrigues me." I explained, "You make this place seem normal because you feel. Sometimes I feel like everyone that resides here is immune to being an actual human."
"As nosey and annoying as you are, I admire you." she complimented me in a bitter-sweet way, "You fit into our group perfectly because you are plagued by trauma and honestly, being with you makes me feel okay."
My heart swelled as I had to agree with her, she makes me feel okay as well like I've finally found a friend that will be by my side for a long time and dare I say it but I think I can actually trust her to not judge me.
But whoever thought that our friendship could have ever come this far? A few months ago, I classed Lila Hayes as my very own personal bully and now I'm drinking a slushie with her and pouring out all of my thoughts and feelings to her just like you would to your best friend.
I guess you could say Lila is my best friend and I don't think I've ever had one before.
Turning to Lila with a silly grin, "You are okay, Lila." I reassured her, "You just needed someone to help you realize that."
"What?" I asked Lila as we had both stopped swinging while I pulled my glasses off of my face and cleared the fog off of it for what felt like the millionth time.
She chuckled as I turned to face her with squinted eyes, "I love you."
I mirrored her exact expression as I placed my glasses back over my green eyes, "I love you too."
➳
Hey Hi Hello
I hope you guys liked the chapter.
Okay but this chapter has got to be my all-time favorite that I've written. I love how you can literally see how far Lila and Eden's friendship has come and let me tell you not many books have done this.
The thing that makes this book and sharanahespinosa's is that this book is not only about a girl falling in love with a boy and what not but its also about friendship and how important it is.
Please let me know what you think of the chapter.
Please don't forget to vote, leave a comment and go read 'Loving Lakyn' by @sharnahespinosa
GemmaGrace ♡