"Hey. Are you okay? Should you be here?" Eden started to bombard me with questions the second he opened his door and I held my hand up to pause him.
"Look, I can't cope at home anymore. My mum is literally suffocating me. She's ripping every bit of privacy from me. I'll go even more crazy stuck there." I chuckled. "Can I stay with you?"
Eden seemed slightly bewildered by my question but quickly nodded. "Of course."
We started walking through his wooden hallway when Kath and Charlie came walking out of the breakfast room.
"Hello, Cova. How are you?" Kath's voice was comforting and it was obvious that she'd been filled in about the recent incidents by the way she spoke to me.
"I'm okay." I smiled.
"Uh... Cova is going to be staying here for a little bit. Is that okay?" Eden asked.
Kath and Charlie seemed to exchange a worried glance for a moment before both smiling.
"That's fine." Charlie said.
"Yeah, of course. I'll phone your mum now and let her know that you'll be staying here." Kath said before rushing off to the phone.
"Eden will look after you." Charlie added. I looked at Eden and smiled.
We walked up the stairs onto the brightly lit landing when an unfamiliar face emerged from a bedroom.
"Hey, hey, hey. Who's this? Is this the famous Cova?" The boy winked.
He was taller than Eden and had a completely different demeanour. He had a confident personality and an arrogant tone.
"Yes, yes. Cova, this is my brother, Cameron." Eden half rolled his eyes.
He'd told me previously that him and Cameron didn't get on much and he was completely different to himself and I was seeing that with my own eyes now.
"Usually I only see girls as gorgeous as you in this house because they're here for me, not for him." Cameron pointed at Eden in a rude way.
I stayed silent, but Cameron didn't seem to want to.
"I mean, you can be here for me though, if you want?" He smirked and edged closer to me and I could sense Eden tensing beside me, uncomfortable and insecure in the situation.
"Actually, I came to see Eden. So, thanks, but definitely a 'no thanks' from me." I shrugged.
Cameron scoffed. "What? So you'd rather stay here with this little inexperienced geek than me?"
"I'd one-hundred-percent rather stay here with this inexperienced geek than with a cocky, egotistical, probably riddled cunt." I sarcastically smiled.
I grinned at Eden who was already smiling and he led me off up another flight of stairs to his bedroom.
"Shall we watch Dirty Dancing?" Eden suggested, pointing the control at his large television.
"Sure." I smiled. "Why would you suggest that? It doesn't seem like your thing."
Eden chuckled. "You told me once that you liked it and that's how I knew you were softer than you come across. You like the romantic genre."
I playfully shoved him and he laughed. "Anyway, what does seem like my preferred genre?"
I shrugged. "Sci-fi shit."
About half an hour into the movie, I rested my head on Eden's shoulder.
I felt so at ease and so safe with Eden. He was such a massive comfort to me and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else when life felt so messy.
Eden broke the peaceful silence. "Cova?"
I kept my head on his shoulder. "Yes?"
"Why did you stick up for me with Cameron?"
I raised my head and frowned at him. "What? Why wouldn't I?"
"Most girls just usually fall at his feet. He'll be completely taken aback by a gorgeous girl being here for me and not falling for him."
I giggled. "Well, he needed knocked down a peg or two. Do you not agree?"
Eden quickly nodded. "No, I definitely agree. It was just... nice."
"Well, you deserve nice. Your brother seems like a dick."
Eden smiled at my comment. "Cova, why did you come to me today?"
I took a deep breath. "Because you look after me and you care about me. And because I trust you. And that means everything to me."
I felt so vulnerable in that moment but Eden must have saw something else.
He slowly leant in and kissed me, entwining his fingers in my hand as he did.
The kissing escalated and I felt every part of him tense up.
"Are you okay with this?" I asked him as I had hold of the material at the bottom of his t-shirt, ready to pull it off.
"More than." He managed to make out.
I felt his hands shake as he grabbed my waist again and the kissing resumed.
Eden handled me so gently, I was sure I'd never been handled this gently before.
I felt completely secure.