Liar

Chapter 15

POV: Eden

I immediately stand to my feet when I hear the lock turn. I wipe the sleep off my face and watch the door creak open. Alyssa enters. Her hair is tangled in knots and she's wearing another guy's clothes. What the fuck? Did she sleep with some guy? I try to remind myself that it's none of my business but the pit of my stomach twists. I have zero right to care. I even told her that I don't give a shit about what she does. Then why did I stay up all night waiting for her to get home?

Her pale eyes lock with mine. Her eyes are swollen from sleep or tears. She rolls her eyes and cocks her head to the side. "Oh, how sweet are you?" She asks. "Staying up for me?" She asks, batting her eyelashes.

My feet carry me toward her. My mind completely shuts off. She backs herself against the door and my hands cage her in. "You have to stop doing this," she says, narrowing her eyes at me.

My fist slaps the wall behind her. "Where were you?" I ask.

"None of your business," she says.

My face lowers to meet hers. "Who were you with?" I ask, getting angry. "You slept with him, huh?" I growl. Her eyes wander my face and she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.

Her hands run up my chest. My knees buckle and I press my lower half against her for support. Her touch feels so good. Her palms run up my shoulders and then suddenly she grabs my chin and roughly pulls my face towards her. Her expression turns dark. "I thought you don't care what I do?" She smirks and pushes me away from her. I watch her back turn towards me as she struts to her room. "Liar," she mutters under her breath.

I straighten up as her door clicks shut. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I ask myself.

After Alyssa left the dance so did I. I told Ella-Mae that Edith was waiting for me back at the dorms and took off. She seemed okay with it. She said she was just going to dance a little with her friends. When I got home Alyssa was nowhere to be seen. I checked her room and it was barren. Edith said nobody came in except me. I stayed up all night, worried that something went wrong.

But she comes home in another man's clothes, holding her dress and heels. I could smell him on her. It disgusted me. I wanted to tear those clothes off of her and make her waddle through the halls naked to return them.

The door behind me clicks open. "Eden, I have to go home. I have school tomorrow." Edith is dressed in her daywear with her backpack strung around her shoulders. I wish I could keep her here with me and take her away from that place. I've been saving money for a while now so I can have Edith with me.

"Sure," I say, jaw clenching. I want to tell her no, but I can't protect her like I used to. I need to save up some money and get an apartment. There is so much I need to do before I can take her away from that mess.

I carry her bags to the car and twist the key into the ignition. The whole ride back my knuckles are white. I think about what happened the night I came to get Edith.

"You're going to have to pay for that, boy." His dark eyes couldn't be so opposite of mine. I shake my hand out as my knuckle screams out in pain. The adrenaline helps me block out everything.

He lunges at me. His fist connects with my left cheek. Edith cries out as I stumble back. That doesn't stop him from landing another one in my mouth. I wipe my lip and see the blood on my sleeve. A sight I've seen many times.

He throws another punch but I grab his wrist and swing with my free hand. It lands on his nose and crunches. I throw another punch, another one, and another one. My mind goes blank as my body works on its own. Liam covers his head as he lies on the ground. Freya screams at me to stop but I can't. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you," I repeat over and over again. "I hate you! Son of a bitch!" My throat becomes so hoarse that it feels like I'm swallowing sandpaper.

"Eden get off of him!" Freya yells, attempting to tear me off of him. Her nails dig into my neck.

"Eden, I want to go!" Edith calls. Her voice is the only one that snaps me out of my murderous haze.

I crouch down and pull him up by his shirt. His face is unrecognized. His wounds gush blood and his eyes are swollen. "Touch her again and I'll fucking kill you." I release him and he falls against the ground. "See you later, Dad." I spit the last word laced with venom.

My eyes flicker to my mom, Freya. Her blue eyes which are so similar to mine, hold hatred. She slaps me across the face. "Get out of here! I should've given you up," she says, reaching to slap me again.

She reaches to slap me again, but I catch it before she can make contact with my sore face. "Maybe you should have," I seeth, gripping both of her wrists. "Wake the hell up! You guys won't change! You'll keep getting high, he won't stop sleeping with other women, and you'll keep running out of money!" Her face twists in anger and I push her off me.

"Let's go, Edith." I grab her hand and pull her out of the house. My body shakes from the adrenaline. My heartbeat echoes in my eardrums.

I'm nervous about taking her home. The only comfort I have is knowing that Aunt Myra is finally home and can watch over Edith. I look at her sleeping in the passenger seat. She's grown up so much, but still clings to me for comfort. At the end of the day, she's still my baby sister.

I peel into the driveway and switch off the car. "Edith, we're here," I say gently nudging her to wake up. Her eyes flutter open. I take a look around the car before unlocking the doors and hopping out to collect her things. She walks next to me, half asleep.

I unlock the door with the key Aunt Myra gave me. The house smells like it always has. Cinnamon and coffee. I hear the T.V. on and my Aunt's laughter. I spot her and her boyfriend on the couch. They must have heard us because their heads snap toward us.

A smile graces her lips. Her brown eyes curve up. "There's my babies!" Aunt Myra says shooting up from the couch. She almost runs us over as she pulls us into her embrace. She squeezes us and then releases us for air. "Go ahead and put your stuff up in your room, sweetheart," she says, kissing Edith on the cheek.

"Okay!" She chirps and takes her bag from my hands and runs up the stairs.

Aunt Myra turns her attention to me. "I missed you so much, Eden. How is school going?" She asks, pulling me further into the house. Her boyfriend, Ben, gives me a handshake and I sit on the couch.

"So far so good." I scratch my head and think about the complete shitshow the dance was.

"Do you like your classes? Did you make it on the committee?" She fires off her questions.

I sigh. "My classes are good. I made it on the committee. Everything has been good." I wish I could tell her about how amazing everything is. How nothing could be more perfect. But I can't. I don't dare say anything about Alyssa because I won't hear the end of it. I don't know why Alyssa is the first thing that comes to mind. I couldn't care less about her. At least I think so.

For the rest of the night, Aunt Myra talks my ear off. It was a nice break from the madness back on campus. She talks about Ben's family and how she loved the hot air. I could tell she wants to move there, but she knows I need her here. I need her here for Edith. I need her here so I can save more than we'll be out of her hair. She won't have to watch us like we're her own kids.