Eden and Harry continue on the road but stop again shortly in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for supper. Again, it seems another tourist town; the downtown roads are lined with shops and restaurants but nothing jumps out at Eden.
"Should we just go to another diner?" she suggests glumly as they drive without real direction or purpose down the main roads. "None of these look good."
Harry side-eyes her. "Trying to replace me already? Maybe you'll go with an Irish bloke this time?"
"I do quite like the accent," Eden says lightly, pretending not to notice Harry's playful jab. "Top of tha mornin' to ya," she says, offering him her best Irish accent.
"It's evening," he mutters dryly. He points to a small diner hiding in between two larger chain restaurants. "Look, there's one that looks alright."
"Good enough for me," Eden shrugs. She parks and they enter, surprised to find dinner in full swing. Despite the understated exterior, nearly every table inside is full and the lively atmosphere is bustling with cheer. Harry and Eden are seated in an intimate two-person table at the rear of the room. They order and strike up a casual conversation while waiting.
"Tell me more about Florida," Harry beams.
Eden bites her lip and clears her throat. "There's not too much to tell. My city has like a thousand people and I'd spent my whole life there. I'm somewhat ashamed to say I'd never even left before this trip," she admits sheepishly.
"No shame in that," Harry murmurs sympathetically. "Your city sounds charming."
Eden snorts. "It's actually the opposite, but maybe that's because I spent my whole life there. People don't seem to have too many options in a place that small. For most cases they either end up on drugs, in jail, or pregnant in their teens. Or they leave, like I did, but that's a feat of rare occurrence."
"Why do you say that?"
She shrugs absently. "People feel obligated to their families and traditions, so they stay where their roots are. It's not necessarily a bad thing but then they never experience life and I wasn't content with living like that anymore. I mean, I'm twenty-three, I should be out doing stuff."
Harry chews this over in great concentration before asking something that momentarily stuns Eden.
"How is your relationship with your family?" His shrewd eyes watch her carefully, as though he's anticipating a certain answer.
Based on things she's just told him, Eden already knows what he's thinking - that she's not particularly close with them. Which would be a fair assessment, seeing as she hasn't spoken to her parents in almost two years.
"Strained," she finally answers. He nods solemnly, eyes slanted in sympathy; he appears morose that his conjecture was right.
"Can I ask what happened?" he prods gently.
Honesty is vulnerability; vulnerability is brave, Eden reminds herself.
"Nothing dramatic," she answers truthfully. Her eyes flutter up to meet his careful gaze. "I'd always butted heads with my parents as a kid, like most people do, but it seemed we never grew out of that phase of our lives. I moved out at eighteen and it kind of helped but every time I went back I was reminded of how I felt growing up, feeling trapped and unwelcomed, and I did my best to distance myself from that environment."
"I'm sorry," Harry murmurs. "I know our familial relationships are often the most complex ones to manage."
"Amen to that," Eden mutters.
YOU ARE READING
the brave ones // h.s.
Fanfiction"the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
