He saw her head drop, her eyes trained on the floor. “You didn’t do anything,” she replied quietly. “It’s me. I’m just… going through a rough time. And Ryan doesn’t really want us hanging out anymore.”
Noah wasn’t sure he believed that or not. He was kind of under the impression Ryan would like Noah to push Eden over the edge with her need, with her hunger for him. Then again if Ryan had grown suspicious of him he would ban Eden from seeing him. Noah didn’t like that possibility one iota. If Ryan knew who he was, they’d have to move fast.
He took a moment, his arms crossing over his chest, brushing Eden’s skin. A frisson of tingles and heady heat was quickly ignored.
Nah, if Ryan knew there was an Ankh in town he’d have the whole Winslow family on the move.
“I thought you didn’t give a crap what your dad thinks?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”
Oh no. Oh no no no no no. Noah shook his head. No way was he losing her. He grabbed a hold of her arms, jerking her closer so her head shot up. In the dim light he could make out those pale eyes staring up into his. “Eden, we’re friends. OK. We survive whatever crap is thrown at us here because we have each other. Whatever you’re going through, don’t shut me out. Life would kind of suck without…” He shrugged, trying to appear like a bumbling embarrassed teenage boy. “Well without you. So… I dunno… if you don’t want to hang out, you gotta tell me,” he snorted, like he knew he was making an ass of himself.
It worked.
He felt Eden’s hand wrap around his wrist, felt the tension in her body. “It’s not that. You’re my friend, Noah. You and Stellan. You’re my only friends.”
Noah winced at the mention of Stellan, the other huge complication in this. If he had it his way, Eden would hate all of her family and would happily choose Noah and Cyrus. But the situation was not that straightforward. There was Stellan, Eden’s big brother. Eden loved him completely. And from what Eden had told Noah, Stellan adored Eden. That was a problem. That was a huge problem.
He shrugged it off. He could only deal with one thing at a time.
“So, can we start hanging out again, or am I going to have to drum up weird and wonderful ways to make you stop avoiding me?”
Eden took measured breaths like Celine had shown her last night. After nearly taking out Lucy in the library, Ryan had ordered Eden to sit with Celine an hour or two every night to learn some mental and breathing exercises that would help her fight off the hunger until the Awakening Ceremony. Stuck in such close proximity to Noah was torture but the exercises helped a little. As did his charmingly awkward attempt to tell her, her friendship meant a lot to him. Eden had felt this awful pang in her chest at the words, mentally berating herself for being so callous with his feelings. Noah always come off so cool, like nothing could touch him. She’d thought he might be bothered by her avoiding him but that he would eventually get over it. Even though she knew that it would have been so much easier on them all if he had just given up, Eden couldn’t help but feel a little psyched that he’d gone to so much effort just to get her to talk to him.
She bit her lip, thinking it over. Her heart fluttered as his scent flooded her insides, making the hunger yawn and bat at it, like a kitten at a mouse. She closed her eyes, pushing his scent back out of her. After a moment the trembling in her hands ceased. Still, she felt the familiar heat of his presence, could make out his expectant wicked smile. God, she missed him. She missed how easy it was to be with him, how sitting in total silence with Noah was the only time she didn’t feel alone.
Maybe I can keep seeing him. I just have to be strong for the next few weeks. After the ceremony I’ll be able to be around him no problem. And it’s not like he knows what I am. It’s not like he can condemn me for my nature.
No. She would do enough of that for the both of them.
“OK,” she breathed, feeling the sadness drain out of her with the words. “But for now, we can only hang out at school.”
Eden saw the outline of his smile. “Sounds good to me.”
Chapter Eight
Unquiet Misdeeds
Despite everything, Eden couldn’t help but feel relieved over her decision to remain friends with Noah. They’d hung out in the cafeteria again and he’d given her a playlist of all the new bands he’d been listening to. Like old times they joked and kidded around, and Eden felt that weirdness again… other people called it contentment.
It was a good idea to keep it secret for now.
Eden had headed home after class, singing along to the radio and her secret music crush Lady Antebellum. Eden had been OK with hanging out alone in her room but Stellan had cornered her and pulled her back downstairs to play the Wii. Feeling nostalgic, they were playing tennis.
“You really suck at this, Eden,” Stellan laughed.
She huffed, shaking her wrist out. “You chose tennis because you know you can beat me. This would be a different story if we were boxing.”
“We can switch.” He puffed up his chest at the accusation. “I’m willing to prove you wrong. I’m just vastly superior at this game.”
Sighing, Eden flopped down on the sofa. “Change it. I forgot how much it blows.”
Stellan chuckled and put in a disc. Mario Kart flashed on the screen. A wide grin replaced Eden’s scowl. Her brother winked at her and Eden nodded gratefully. She rocked at Mario Kart.
For a while, as she always did when she and Stellan hung out like this, Eden forgot about her troubles. They were just a brother and sister, hanging out, teasing one another, having fun. Their parents hadn’t bothered them all evening which was always a bonus. Eden glanced at the clock. She frowned.
“Stel, it’s a Friday night. Why aren’t you out with your friends?”