Shadows Of Eden

Embrace

Would That I- Hozier

Rain pattered on the windshield, making the glass hard to see through. Windshield wipers clearing her vision, Eve tried her best to stay on the road. Her mind was so clouded.. her and Freya both sat in silence the entire drive to Eve's house.

Hozier's velvety voice filled the car, offering a small sliver of peace in the girls. Both were almost stone, processing the events of the night before and day of as much as they could. The only reason the two girls left their house was to get some space for a few hours and to hang out with Percy for a bit. She'd been gone for a night, and while he could occupy himself, she didn't ever want him to get lonely.

He chirped as Eve put her key in the lock, both girls trying to shield themselves from the rain. She opened the door and Percy ran to greet them, rubbing against both their legs. His orange tail twirled as he puttered.

"Hi, baby!"

Seeing Percy lifted Eve's spirits immediately. She scooped him up and held him in a hug, putting her head on his and bouncing lightly. He purred loudly.

A new question popped in her mind, even though Eve didn't want to think about the subject anymore. Question being.. would Percy be safe around Aron, or the rest of the boys? They said they drank animal blood at times, but also said they could resist.

She put Percy back down and went to feed him. She tended to him for a few minutes, making sure he was taken care of and he nudged her hands in a form of thanks.

Freya and Eve both sat on the couches. Eve hadn't even bothered to turn the living room light on yet. The only light came from the kitchen, trickling into the room. Not nearly enough to illuminate the entire room.

Freya sighed loudly.

"Yeah..... I don't know."

"I just. I'm so.. confused, Eve."

"Me too."

They sat for another minute.

"But, at least it's not just one of us finding out. At least we have each other, I guess," Eve said.

"Yeah. I understand why he wouldn't have told me.. I just can't seem to accept it for some reason. I feel like he lied to me. How do you keep that from your own family..?"

"I think he had to. You saw the look on his face earlier.. he looked so guilty and ashamed."

"I know.."

The two tried to take their minds off things by agreeing to both turn their phones off for the rest of the night. They decided to just hang out as if everything was normal. They watched TV, swearing off anything Horror or Romantic. The Office was decided on, and they ordered take out again.

Eve watched TV while also doing a load of laundry. She needed this normalcy to bring her back down to Earth. Aron's light eyes flashed in her mind as she folded a shirt.

Eventually, the girls winded down. They went to Eve's room, crawling onto their already-established side of the bed.  Both Freya and Eve were insanely exhausted on all levels, but mentally topped them. The girls drifted off to sleep quickly as Percy curled in a warm, orange ball between the two.

____________

The next morning, both girls felt better. Eve figured her mind maybe just needed some time to process things and the shock to leave her nervous system. Upon turning her phone back on, Eve had quite a few messages. She'd only felt the need to pay attention to one contact.

A: Please take all the time you need. xx

Freya wanted to go home, so she took off. Eve debated on going back to the house or not. She was tempted to invite Aron over, to pick his brain and ask more questions. But she was worried about Percy.