the brave ones // h.s.

out of the blue

Eden spends the entire day with her parents, fitting herself into the space she left behind until their house feels like a home again. A fond smile stays on her lips as she drives back to the house she shares with Amenkha, her mind's eye replaying with the image of her father's face as he walked in the front door and saw her standing there.

Her father wasn't a stoic man, but it was rare to see him cry. And yet, as she went to hug him, she could see his eyes watering and turning red. Eden had cried more upon seeing that.

Needless to say, expelling so much pent-up emotion in one night had been both extremely exhausting yet overwhelmingly therapeutic. Eden is tired as she arrives home, but her heart feels clear.

That is, until her phone pings twice with two new email alerts. She pulls her phone out, expecting to see spam mail; a lump forms in her throat upon seeing the name on her screen.

from: hstyles@gmail.com
subject line: please read

Only one person could plausibly be sending her something with the subject line "please read", as only one person in her life is in desperate need of apologizing. Both emails are clearly from Harry, and both bear the same subject line. She doesn't bother to open the notification as she clears both emails from her lock screen and traipses up to bed.

At least I finally know his last name.

So much for a good night's sleep. She tosses and turns in bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling while wondering what the hell Harry's just sent her. How did he even get her email address?

Part of her is relieved to finally have some form of contact from him after days of silence, but the majority of her is irritated that he's chosen email of all platforms to reach out on. It's so outdated - what if she didn't see those email notifications for days? Weeks? Whatever he's sent her can't be that important, if he took the risk of her not seeing.

She chews on her lower lip, wondering where he is. Maybe he's still in New York, or maybe he's already gone home to England by now. Is he feeling the same dull ache in his chest? Does he regret what he's done as much as she does? Does he even know he's done anything wrong to her?

He must, if he's emailing her. Still, she's bothered that he hadn't tried sooner to reach out and apologize.

Seems to be a pattern here; the important people in my life never bother to reach out first until it's too late.

She rolls onto her side in the bed and pulls the covers snugly up to her chin. Just when one problem gets solved, another comes landing in her lap. Her tired eyes flutter shut and she fights back exhausted tears.

Will there ever be peace?

***

Eden doesn't tell anyone about the emails, at least for a few days.

She tries to pretend things are back to normal. Wakes up early, showers, eats breakfast, tries to find a new job, calls her mom every couple of days, and always bears a wide smile.

Sit, Eden. Good girl. Want a treat?

It's a hard adjustment, falling back into a mundane routine after the excitement of being on the road for so long. Not necessarily an adjustment she wants to make either, but after being burned once she's learned her lesson. No more making waves, no more spontaneity. Amenkha's got enough of that in her blood to compensate for both herself and Eden.

Eventually though, Amenkha picks up on Eden's exhaustively happy facade and grills her about it relentlessly. Eden gives in and tells her about the emails, rather reluctantly, with specific emphasis on how she's not read them yet nor has any plans to.

"Why not?" Amenkha whines.

"Because," Eden counters. "They aren't important. I'm moving on with my life and he should too."

"What if he's apologizing to you?"

"He isn't," Eden replies surely, not entirely believing herself.

"You don't know that!" Amenkha argues, throwing her hands and head about in a rather theatrical display.

Eden doesn't bother to reply, knowing that Amenkha won't want to listen to her anyhow. She simply leaves the house and goes to look for a job again, replacing the smiling mask she's been wearing since she returned to Moore Haven.

~~~

short part, i know. don't hate me pls. we're getting close to the end of this book :c

also yay for a double update :D