Sterling saw the look in his own eyes reflected in hers, and his lips twitched up in the tiniest of smirks. Then she turned away, and he went back to observing her silently. Even after the teacher entered he didn’t pay as much attention as he should have.
Throughout the whole class, Eden could barely pay attention. Not that she ever tried, anyway. Her thoughts were completely overtaken by her fears and the man sitting beside her. She kept feeling his eyes on her, observing her. Why, she didn’t know. Eden didn’t think she wanted to know, either.
She had exposed a part of herself she always kept locked up. Thankfully, he hadn’t commented on it too much. He hadn’t realized anything. Her trauma and her past were still out of his reach and Eden would keep it that way. If there was anything she didn’t want, it was to look at the disgust in his eyes when he’d realize how dirty she truly was.
Sterling didn’t know what secrets this girl was hiding, but whatever it was must have been pretty bad to make her act the way she did. He wished he could help her, but he didn’t think they’d gotten close enough yet that she would trust him enough to tell him. And that was okay. He just hoped that they would make it there some day.
When class ended, Eden breathed a sigh of relief. Halfway through the lecture, the wound she had on her left side had begun to throb painfully. It had taken every ounce of her strength to keep herself from flinching every time she moved. On the bright side, the pain kept her sane.
She pulled herself to her feet, threw her bag over her shoulders and then looked at Sterling. She never thought there would be a day where she’d be waiting for a male, but here it was.
Sterling watched Eden quickly leave the room, and he waited only a moment before getting up and following her. Once he was out in the hall, he glanced around for her, then made his way over when he spotted her.
“Shall we go?” he murmured in question, tilting his head toward the entrance to the school.
Eden had been leaning against the wall, twirling a strand of her hair when Sterling approached her. She looked at him and nodded once.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “Where are we going, actually?”
“Well… We could go out for lunch first,” Sterling suggested with a shrug. “And then we could either go to my place or yours. Whichever you prefer.”
"We don't have that much time to do both," Eden said. "Thirty minutes of lunch is what we get. We could pack it up and take it to my place."
She knew she trusted Sterling, as stupid that was, but it was an unfamiliar place she was staying away from. In her own home, she felt a sense of security. Besides, it would give her a better opportunity to empty her stomach if she felt like throwing up."
“Sounds good. We could just get food here if you want. It would probably save time,” Sterling said with a shrug.
"I'm not really hungry," Eden muttered. "So you can get whatever you want."
Sterling raised his eyebrows at her. “Are you sure? You should probably eat something, even if it’s not a lot.”
Eden merely offered a shrug.
“I’ll see if there’s anything I could eat at my place,” she said, though it was only to get him to not worry. She didn’t want to throw up. She hated the feeling. “But you can get something. I’ll wait here.”
Sterling gave her a small smile and flicked her forehead playfully, winking as he stepped toward the cafeteria. “Well, then, I’ll be right back. Don’t leave without me,” he joked.
Eden shot a glare at him when he flicked her forehead, contemplating grabbing his arm and paying him back. She managed to hold off her revenge. She rolled her eyes.
“Do take your time, Ainsley,” she drawled. “Death has some preparations to do to receive your soul.”
“Well, let him prepare. I’m sure he can wait a few years,” Sterling chuckled, shooting her a grin over his shoulder before disappearing through the doors. He shook his head and stepped into line, grabbing something he could eat quickly.
The second he left, Eden breathed out. Whether it was of relief or not, Eden couldn’t tell. Her chest felt constricted. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her mouth, leaning back against the wall. She’ll need to properly look at her bruises when she got home. She’d gotten so caught up in the fights and getting hurt that she barely noticed just how badly she was getting herself hurt.
She was getting worse, she realized. And she didn’t know why.
Just a few minutes later, Sterling stepped back out into the hall. He smirked over at Eden and made his way over. “All right, lets go. Thanks for waiting, E.”
E. She loved the sound of her nickname, or her full name, coming from his mouth. It didn’t fail to send a shiver down her spine. She slowly opened her eyes, brown eyes flickering on him as she pushed herself off the wall, careful not to stumble.
“At one point, I was thinking of leaving you behind,” Eden said, though she hadn’t meant it. She turned around, already walking, knowing Sterling would catch up to her quickly. His height and long legs gave him that advantage.
Sterling took a few steps to catch up with her, nudging her with his arm. “Well, you didn’t, so that’s something. And I’m rather glad you didn’t.”
"Are you?" Eden's lips twisted up into an almost imperceptive smile. "Ah, just so you know, I walk to school. I don't bring my car."
“Then we can take mine, if that’s okay,” Sterling suggested, raising an eyebrow at her in question.
"Yes, that's okay," Eden breathed, keeping her eyes to the front. If that's okay. If that's okay. He was actually asking for her opinion. He wasn't giving her just one choice. He wasn't expecting her to go along with his choice. He was giving her free will to refuse. "I prefer a car right now, actually."
Sterling nodded and pulled his keys from his back pocket. “Great. It’ll be much faster that way, anyway. More time to cuddle,” he teased, winking as he stepped past her toward his car.
Eden looked at his back, trying to fight off a chuckle. She succeeded, though the corners of her mouth twitched upwards occasionally. That man… he was really something, wasn't he? Her mind drifted off to the desire she'd caught in his eyes twice, both times during a rather heated moment. She didn't know what to think of it.
"You and your love for cuddling," Eden muttered under her breath, though she couldn't deny she wanted his arms around her again.
“What can I say? I like having you in my arms. You seem to fit rather nicely,” Sterling mused as he unlocked the car. He moved around to the passenger side and opened the door for her, gesturing dramatically for her to sit.
I like having you in my arms. You seem to fit rather nicely.
Eden's heart jumped at his words, eyes widened. This was bad. This was terrible. His words were already starting to get to her. She snapped out of her stupor when he opened the door for her, catching her composure by lifting her nose in the air, eyes cold like a bratty royal.
"Try to hurry next time, Ainsley," she pretended to scowl. "My feet were tired from standing."
“My apologies, your majesty,” Sterling chuckled. “I’ll be swifter on my feet next time.”
Eden rolled her eyes and took her seat, crossing her leg over the other as she waited for Sterling to sit on his own seat.
She wondered briefly what his reaction would be if she were to lean on him during the entire ride to her place. Would he like it, or would he hate it? Would he scowl at her and tell her to back off? Would he push her away?
Then she shook her head. Sterling was different. She wanted to believe he was different. He wouldn’t hurt her.
Sterling closed the door, smiling at her as he did so. He walked around to the other side of the car and wondered how they had gotten to this place. If he was being honest, he really like the way things were heading. He liked how she practically melted in his presence, even when she was trying to be cold toward him.
“All right. To cuddletown we go,” he exclaimed with a playful grin at Eden as he sat down in his seat and started the car.
“You are such a kid,” Eden snorted, shaking her head, running her fingers through her unbound hair. “Cuddletown…”
Eden waited for a few minutes, just until Sterling drove out of the school’s parking lot on to the main road before she closed her eyes, leaned to the side until her head was on his shoulder. What she was doing, Eden had no idea. She had no idea why she was acting like this.
Or maybe she did. Everyone else looked at her as if she was a prize to be unwrapped. Sterling didn’t. He didn’t force her into anything, even though she knew he wanted to know. She knew he wanted to know why she was so closed off, why she picked fights and let herself get hurt. Why she craved it, and why she was so afraid of thunder. And she’d been so cut off from this feeling, this feeling of being wanted not for amusement, that she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.