More Than Sorry

24: He Sees the Bruises

ZACH

Something is wrong.

Eden is like a skittish cat, clinging to me, bouncing from demanding cuddles to staring at me with big, wide eyes. She never lets me out of her sight. I hoped her nerves would calm when we finally huddled together on her squeaky old bed, but an anxious void still swirls around her.

And nothing I say seems to help.

The metal coils of the mattress ping. Eden rolls to her tummy and stuffs her hand under the pillow to dig out her phone. I squint my eyes shut just in time. Harsh light stabs through the darkness. Only for a second. Eden's checking the time. She's been doing that ever since we went to bed—or was it even earlier? 

The bed squeaks again. Eden rolls over to face me, hand under her cheek, hair scrunched up on the pillow, big eyes not blinking.

"Eden," I whisper, even though there's no reason to be quiet. "Is everything okay?"

"You know I love you," she whispers back, "don't you?"

"Love you more."

Eden bites down on her lower lip.

"Want me to make you some warm milk?" I offer. "I can play some white noise or music on my phone or something?"

"Will you hold me?"

Hell yeah, I will.

I roll over on my back, and my smile must be a mile wide when Eden crawls up beside me to find her sweet spot with her head on my chest, and her arm slung over my waist.

I drag her pink floral duvet back over us and nuzzle my chin into her hair. Her fingernails dig into my side like she's anchoring herself to me for dear life. I love it, but at the same time, it makes me feel uneasy. She's always been cuddly and affectionate, but this feels... wrong.

"Eden?"

"I really do love you."

Uneasiness swirls in my gut, growing blacker by the hour, and a thousand thoughts race through my mind. I'm terrified I fucked up again, but every path of memories my mind wanders down leads nowhere. Am I that clueless? Why can't I remember what I did? Maybe she's just overwhelmed. So much happened between us this weekend.

Sleep never wins over me. I am awake, lost in my thoughts, until the birds start chirping their morning greeting outside.

The room is still dark when I untangle myself from the sheets and try slipping away from Eden's cuddle death grip. Smoothing her hair and pecking a soft kiss goodbye on her forehead, I fool myself into believing she's still asleep. Her eyes snap open, and she launches for me. Her arms grab like a vice around my waist.

"I'm sorry, beautiful girl." I brushed the strands of her ruffled bed hair behind her ear. "I have to head back to my apartment to get ready for work."

"No," she pouts.

"Eden..." I try to use my best angry dad voice, but it's a lost cause. I chuckle as I pry her arms from my waist. "I don't have any clothes here. I need to go home and change. I'll make it up to you. Promise."

Her eyes track me around the room as I stumble around all her clutter to find my discarded clothes. After I tug on my trousers, I sit on the edge of her bed. With a shaky smile, I touch a quick hand to rub her thigh reassuringly.

"Eden, is something wrong?"

She bites down on her lip again. That's a yes, but she doesn't say anything. My worried eyes stay fixed on her as I shrug on my shirt and pop on all the buttons.