Eden

 

The bonfire was blazing by the time Marshall drove us out to the field behind Jared’s barn. Cars were parked haphazardly. Several tents were set up here and there. More than a hundred people mingled. Red plastic cups were passed around. Couples made out. Groups of kids laughed. Several danced to the music blaring out of someone’s truck.

Pulling me by my hand, Marshall headed straight to the keg resting on Jared’s tailgate.

“Dude, good game,” Jared congratulated Marshall as he handed us cups of beer.

“Thanks, man,” Marshall said before chugging back the whole cup and holding it out for more.

Jared laughed as he re-filled the cup. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Eden. Eden, Jared. It’s Eden’s birthday.” Marshall accepted the cup and took another long draw but didn’t drain it.

“Welcome to my party, Eden. Happy birthday.” Jared glanced between Marshall and me. “Have fun, kids.”

“Plan on it.” Taking my hand again, Marshall headed toward a group of football players. We mingled. Marshall never let go of my hand and I felt like I finally made it. I was at an exclusive party with all the popular kids and a hot guy holding my hand. Across the field, I caught sight of Connor and Brittany. As usual, she was plastered to his side, a plastic cup in her hand. I wasn’t all that surprised to see Connor with a bottle of water clutched tight in his hand rather than a cup of beer. I don’t think he noticed me.

As the night progressed, Marshall filled his cup several more times. I didn’t care for the taste of beer and didn’t want to get drunk. The more Marshall had to drink, the more handsy he got until he had me backed against a tree away from all the others.

“I think I like those sandals as much as the boots,” he told me between kisses, his hands everywhere.

“Thanks.” I didn’t know what else to say. I felt dizzy and excited. It was late. There were still a lot of kids around, but most of them had paired off. Some made use of the tents, others were in cars. A large group still sat around the fire, laughing and talking. The music had mellowed. Connor and Brittany left hours ago.

I wondered how much longer it would be before Marshall took me home.

I told my parents I was going to Allie’s after the game. They hadn’t checked up on me the times before, so I wasn’t worried about that. I hadn’t even called Allie to ask her to cover for me. I knew they would just go to bed and I’d slip in the house after the party.

As Marshall became more aggressive, I started thinking about the things those girls had said earlier. But they weren’t right. I knew they weren’t. Marshall liked me. I was his girlfriend now, right?

I wanted to ask him. I wanted him to slow down. I wanted him to never stop kissing me. I wondered if I should tell him to stop. I wondered if he would if I did.

 

Dylan

 

The sound of my phone vibrating under my pillow woke me up. My gaze darted to the red numbers on my alarm clock beside my bed.

2:25 AM.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I scrambled for my phone in the dark. Who would be calling me after two in the morning?

Shit.

“Eden? What’s wrong? Where are you?” She didn’t answer fast enough. I reached for the jeans laying in a wadded-up heap on my floor and began pulling them on. “Eden.”

I paused, my hands on my pants button, my phone wedged between my cheek and my shoulder and just listened.

She sniffled.

My heart stopped. My mind went into overdrive going down every horrible scenario and trying to decide who I was going to have to kill.

Eden sobbed through the phone.

I finished buttoning my pants and threw a rumpled t-shirt over my head. Not wasting time with shoes, I shoved my feet into pair of leather sandals instead, pausing just long enough to grab my keys and wallet off my dresser before heading out of my room.

“I’m coming, Ed. Where are you,” I asked softly.

“Jared’s,” her voice was barely above a whisper and I strained my ears to hear her.

Jared’s?

What the f-?

“Jared’s? Eden please tell me you didn’t go to a party at Jared Carter’s.” I was going to bust Marshall Simpkins up!

“Please, Dill.” Her broken voice gutted me.

“I’ll be right there.” After quietly closing the side door, I skirted around the trash bins to my truck. I started the engine and backed out of my drive. Jared’s house was outside of town. It’d take me ten minutes to get there if I broke every speeding law along the way.

Eden cried into the phone the entire time. I kept my eyes open for cops. Friday nights were prime for handing out tickets and catching underage drinkers. I’ve managed to keep my record clean and didn’t want to ruin that now, but I had to get to Eden. I kept up a steady stream of nonsense the whole way, not even knowing what I said just so she would know I was still there.

“Okay, where are you? I’m almost to his house.” I searched the trees surrounding the property.

“By the road,” she whispered.

I spotted her bare legs first, the headlights on my truck lighting them up like glow sticks. Slamming on the brakes, I launched from my seat and ran to her. I’ll never forget the way she looked as I approached, her beautiful hair tangled around her bare shoulders and her arms crossed protectively around her middle.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. As soon as my arms were around her, the floodgates opened, and she sobbed against my chest.

A war raged within me. As much as I never wanted to let this precious girl go, I longed to find Marshall and kill him with my bare hands.

Eden trembled in my arms and the knowledge that she was freezing penetrated my fury induced haze. There was a blanket and a hoodie in my truck. Without even thinking, I hiked her up on my hips like I would my little sister. She wrapped her legs around my waist and buried her face in my neck.

I carried Eden to my truck and opened the driver’s side door. Flipping the seat forward, I reached into the small cargo space behind and grabbed my sweatshirt and a blanket. I threw them across the console into the passenger seat and then adjusted the driver’s seat until it was as far back as it would go. Eden held onto me as I lifted us both into the truck and positioned her across my lap.

As much as I wanted to grill her about what happened, I knew I wouldn’t. But I had to know one thing.

I cleared my throat. “Do I need to call the cops? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

She lifted her head off my chest. Her eyes filled again sending new rivulets of tears down her cheeks. Fresh sobs ripped from her throat, but she shook her head.

It wasn’t enough. “Eden, if he hurt you, we have to go-”

“No!” she barked through her cries. She unwrapped her arms from my waist and swiped at the dampness on her cheeks, struggling to get ahold of herself.

“No,” she shook her head. “It wasn’t like that.”

I didn’t believe her. Pain sluiced through my body as the reality of the situation settled deep into my soul. Eden. My best friend’s baby sister. The girl I lo-

No. I couldn’t go there. If I did, I’d leave her and go find Marshall Simpkins.

“Are you sure, because-”

“Dylan, it wasn’t like that. He pressured me, but he didn’t force me.” Her face crumpled as she said the words.

“Oh, Ed,” I sighed, pulling her head back down to my shoulder and wrapping her as close as I could without crushing her.

I didn’t know what to do. Should I make her go to the hospital and call the cops? I knew Marshall and I could just bet he’d pressured her. I should never have let her be with him. I should have told Josh. He would have talked to her parents and they would have made sure she stayed away from Marshall. She would have hated me. It would have ruined the fragile friendship we’ve been building over the last few weeks. But it would have been worth it. I would have given up anything to protect her from this heartache.

She cried in my arms for what felt like forever, until I had to get us out of there. The longer we stayed, the more tempted I was to beat Marshall and not just for Eden but for all the girls he’d treated the same way. The desire to call Josh and tell him to get the next flight home so we could show that jerk what happened when you messed with our girl about crippled me.

Instead, I lifted Eden off my lap, pulled my sweatshirt over her head, and then tucked the blanket around her legs before buckling her in. I drove home slowly. The last thing I needed now was to get pulled over. What to do with Eden, though? Should I take her to her house?

“What did you tell your mom and dad?”

“Allie.”

Of course, her mom and dad would never suspect anything if Eden was supposed to be at Allie’s. I wished with all my heart Eden had gone there like she’d told them. She probably wished the same thing.

“Okay.” I thought for a moment. I could take her home, but I worried about her being alone and I knew she wouldn’t want her parents to see her like this. I could take her to Allie’s, but Eden probably wouldn’t want to drag Allie into this, especially if it meant getting Allie’s mom involved and I didn’t know how to avoid that. Sighing, I scrubbed my hands over my face. “You can come stay with me, Ed. Or I can take you home.”

Eden curled into a ball against the door and closed her eyes. We weren’t far from our street, now. She was going to have to decided.

“Ed?”

She was silent for another long moment before answering softly. “Can I stay with you, Dylan? Please?”