𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

FORTY-NINE| eden bexley; relationship guru of the obx

A good half hour or so later, Eden finally stepped her converse onto the familiar grass of the Chateau. 

The trudge back to the Cut had been long but Eden hadn't complained. It felt nice to have a moment to herself after having to take care of her friends for the past few days—and if she did have time to herself, it was spent trying to help her friends or crying over something. For thirty minutes, Eden had nothing to do except admire the calm blue of the sky and the light breeze blowing against her hair. 

Walking towards the front porch so she could enter the run down house, Eden slightly smiled at the Twinkie parked in the driveway—John B. was probably home. While she hasn't had much time to do so since the boy returned, she feels like she hasn't really gotten to idly chat with the Routledge. She'd cried with him, and he'd stitched her up but she hasn't gotten to simply talk; she misses the days where she did just that for hours on end without worry. 

However, her smile slightly falters when she notices Sarah's bike lying on the ground near the porch—if Sarah was going through with what she said to Eden earlier, she was more than likely calling it quits with John B.

And, of course, Eden had to return home when it happened.

Not only did Eden not want to intrude in the moment—she'd walked in, as well as seen, too many moments between her friends over the past month—but more so, Eden didn't want to see how hurt John B. would be after Sarah left.

No matter how often Eden would make fun of the way he said 'love just walked in', the Bexley knew that, ironically, love did just walk into John B.'s heart in the form of Sarah Elizabeth Cameron; he hadn't expected to fall for the Kook princess from Figure Eight, he just did. 

And Eden also knew that John B. hadn't loved a girl as genuinely as he loved Sarah. She'd been there to see all of his flings and girlfriends; seen him get over girl after girl; see him get rejected and had even had to reject him herself—she'd been there for all of it and never had she seen him smile; seen his eyes light up; seen him simply melt; the way he did when Sarah smiled, or laughed, or simply stood there.

It was cheesy to Eden, but it was also true.

Being the best friends—the siblings—that Eden and John B. were, neither liked to see the other get hurt; mentally or physically. The Bexley would show the Routledge tough love, sure, but she never wanted to see him hurt.

Which is why she had tried to reason with Sarah—the girl wasn't in the right mind space, John B. hadn't meant to seem so cold in those raw moments after Ward's explosion, Sarah could blame him.

But, there was also a part of Eden who knew that Sarah needed this. Their relationship had been under strain since they got back from the Bahamas, and the whole Topper situation only worsened that. The Cameron was currently in a state of grief, and while John B. could comfort her, he also would stand as a reminder to why her father was dead—she would only see his face of no remorse when she tried to let him tell her it would be okay.

Sarah wanted this and while Eden didn't want to see John B. hurt, she wasn't going to stop the girl.

So, Eden walked through the porch and into the house expecting to see the couple conversing somewhere. 

As Eden entered the house, her gaze was drawn to the window overlooking the dock, where John B. and Sarah stood facing each other. The wind tousled their hair, creating an almost dramatic scene. 

Looking out on the couple, her eyes caught something that made her heart sink—a strand of bandanna dangling from Sarah's outstretched hand; what John B. had given her to promise his love to her.