the river | e. roundtree

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BECAUSE I LOVE YOU
—

Kathryn woke up the next morning with an ache in her heart. She didn't even attempt to go after Eddie once he had left the party, instead she went back inside and drank herself stupid.

She felt it the next morning, the guilt, the pain. Kathryn looked at herself in the mirror, her makeup from the night before smudged under her eyes, her hair a mess.

"Get a grip, Kathryn," she muttered to her reflection.

Kathryn jumped in the shower, rinsed off everything she had done the night before, except for what she had done to Eddie. That lingered and the more she thought about it the more it stung. Kathryn had hurt him and she knew it too.

Kathryn found herself knocking on Karen's door, barging in the second the blonde girl opened it.

"I made a huge mistake," Kathryn said.

—
Kathryn Summers: Karen was the one who convinced me to tell Eddie the truth.
—
Interviewer: How did you convince Kathryn to confess her true feelings to Eddie?

Karen: I told her the truth.
—

"The guy is so in love with you it makes me sick. And yet here you are, still too scared to tell him the truth," Karen shook her head.

"How can you be so sure of that Karen?" Kathryn asked.

"He laughs harder with you. Eddie trusts you, not just with his secrets, but with the real him. The side that nobody else gets to see," Karen smiled. "When something goes wrong or right, if he needs help or just wants to talk to someone you, Kat, are the first person he goes too."

"I just don't want to get hurt again," Kathryn sighed. "I mean, I didn't even love Tom and look at what he did to me. Imagine how much Eddie could ruin me."

Karen sighed, shaking her head. "The guy looks at you like you're the only girl in the world, Kat," Karen said. "If he was going to hurt you he would of already done it by now."

Kathryn pursed her lips, nodding her head. Finally swallowing her pride. Kathryn stood up. "I have to tell him, now," Kathryn said. Karen nodded and Kathryn scurried out of her room and over to Eddie's.

Eddie opened the door, his eyes squinted, sleep stuck to his eyelashes, he had clearly just woken up.

"Can I come in?" She asked, feeling small. Feeling so vulnerable and guilty. Eddie stepped aside and she walked in, taking a seat on the couch. "Sit," she said, patting the seat next to her.

Eddie didn't say a word as he sat down beside her, his eyes glued to the carpet.

"I'm scared," Kathryn whispered.

"Scared of what?" He mumbled.

"Scared that you'll lose interest in me, in us," Kathryn began. "Scared that you'll replace me with someone better. Someone who's easier to be with but I..." He cut her off.

Eddie scoffed. "It's you, Kathryn," he said. "It's fucking you, don't you get that? I can't describe it any better, it's you!" He exclaimed, finally looking over at her. "It will always be you. If I had to choose between you and everything i've ever wanted, I would choose you every single fucking time."