Page 14 of Barron's Second Chance
He clicked on the first square, which showed a picture of Eden in Times Square, posing with Sofia. Their arms were around each other, and they smiled widely at the camera. Behind her was a huge jumbo screen with the same advert he had just seen on Lissa’s phone.
There it was.
His beautiful ex-girlfriend posing topless with some Brad Pitt lookalike. Except this time, the picture was blown to one hundred. For the whole of New York City to see.
OMG crying right now (and cringing a little to see my face so big). My first major ad. Thank you so much @lingerdenim and @angmodelagency
After that was a string of tags towards what looked like a makeup artist, a hairstylist, and, he noted moodily, a tag towards the model in the pic.
Thank you @granthtuckermodel for making a gal feel comfortable ;)
He saw a snippet of a comment by fucking Grant:
@edenrjamison I had so much fun! Catch up when you're in the city again <3
The rest of the comment thanked her Mom and her bestie, Sofia, for supporting her during a rough year.
Yeah, that dig hurt.
But that explained all the frequent trips to NYC and why she had missed school the past few weeks. Too busy posing topless with Grant H fucking Tucker - "Model."
He stared sullenly at the photo in his hand, a darkness overtaking his thoughts. One emotion punched him again and again.
Regret.
5
A New Haven Summer
Now
Edenwriggledherbodyon the soft mattress, attempting to get into a comfortable position. Her eyes were closed, her body was lax, and her arms were loosely at her side. She took a deeply calming and cleansing breath.
Relaxed.
Birds chirped outside her balcony, likely taking advantage of the small bird feeder she kept there.
Should she get takeout from her favorite vegan restaurant down the road or get her grocery shop for the week out of the way? Eden mentally ran through all the items she was missing from her fridge and pantry until the muted noise of New York City traffic started seeping into her thoughts.
Eden took another deep breath before slowly exhaling. She was bone tired after coming off a long-haul flight from London.
Fashion Week was her favorite event, even though it was filled with fittings, meetings, rehearsals, and barely enough time to sleep. She still got to see, touch, and wear beautiful garments that were yet to be released. She also took advantage of the industry parties to network and mingle with other models.
A lot of people dismissed modeling as a frivolous profession. Eden remembered an aunt of hers snidely proclaiming that there was nothing hard about walking down a runway and attending parties. She assumed that models were insipid, shallow creatures who abused drugs and starved themselves to stay skinny.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Eden wouldn’t be able to headline runway shows or pull major beauty contracts and adverts if she wasn’t fueling her body with the right foods and exercise. To be a top model like her meant having to be at the peak of your mental and physical health. She worked tirelessly, made some tough sacrifices, and networked like crazy to be at the level where she and a select few of her peers were at.
Eden took time to be grateful for her good fortune. She knew how lucky she was and refused to take opportunities for granted. The events that transpired on that fateful trip to New York City were serendipitous. Who knew that the desperation of a Mom attempting to get her daughter over a heartbreak would set Eden on a life-changing course?
To be scouted as a novice when she literally stepped off the plane at LaGuardia as a heartbroken eighteen-year-old was nothing short of a walking dream - one she often pinched herself for. The idea of modeling never once entered her head, something she sometimes felt guilty for. After all, many girls started modeling young, hoping to hit the big time. And here she was - not even looking, and the most amazing opportunity found her.
After taking another deep and restorative breath, Eden opened her eyes and stared at her ceiling for a few minutes before slowly sitting up. The first image that greeted her tired eyes were her two pieces of luggage. She grimaced. She forgot she needed to unpack.
She was sorely tempted to slink back down on her bed and ignore her chores, but years of discipline refused to let her succumb. She sluggishly moved to her kitchen and opened her cupboard door, pulling down a metal tin.
What she needed was a nice cup of peppermint tea. She lifted her green kettle, deftly filling it with water before putting it on her stove top to boil.
While the kettle quietly whistled away, Eden grabbed her handbag from the countertop, rifling inside until she found her small black journal and pen. She opened it to the to-do list she had hastily scribbled while on the plane home.
