Page 41 of Barron's Second Chance
She walked slowly towards him, watching as his eyes bore into hers in despair and guilt.
"You thought you wouldn't get caught."
"You succumbed to peer pressure."
She inched forward another step as she spat out years of hurt and pain, wishing she could stop and curl up into a ball to forget, but instead, she pushed through it.
"You didn't think we would last past high school."
She shoved at his chest as he remained quiet, only the wetness of his eyes betraying how much her rant was affecting him.
"Come on, Barron! This is some good stuff I'm giving you. Pick one!"
He bowed his head as wet drops fell from his face before he dashed them aside.
Defeated, she took a step back, pausing before saying the one thing she knew would hurt her the most if confirmed.
"You didn't love me anymore."
Barron lifted his head immediately, eyes flashing in response to that. He surged the rest of the way forward until he grasped her shoulders.
"I was stupid. I was an asshole. I was dumb. I was naive." He tightened his hold on her shoulders.
Eden swallowed as her eyes drank in his tortured expression, knowing her own mirrored his.
"All the fucking above, baby. But the one excuse I can't use is the last one you said. I never stopped loving you. Not once. Not ever," he ground out.
With a distressed cry, she shoved at his chest again.
"Then why? Why did you cheat on me? If you loved me so much!"
She shook her head as she wiped furiously at her face. "What did I do?” Years of stored-up anger and pain poured out of her as she tried but failed to hold back the streams of tears.
"Baby," Barron's voice cracked as he cupped her cheeks and lifted her face to his.
His eyes were red-rimmed and shimmering in emotion. "Nothing. You did nothing."
He lowered his head and touched his forehead to hers as she bit back a sob.
"I wish I had a good reason. But I don't."
Her stomach tightened at his response, their breaths mingling together as she tried to get a grip on her emotions.
"All I can say is that I was young and a fucking idiot. I let people get into my head about our relationship, and I made a stupid fucking mistake."
He lifted his head and brushed the wetness from her face. "Losing you was the worst thing to ever happen to me."
Her breath huffed out in disbelief, and she took a step back from him, hugging her body in protection.
"You should try being cheated on by someone you thought was the love of your life. It didn't feel too great, either."
Barron wiped at his face and nodded in silent, grim acknowledgment. "You're right, baby."
Her tummy flipped-flopped at the endearment he started to use again, but for the life of her, she couldn't tell him to stop.
"The thought of you ever doing that," pain crossed his features. "That would be the worst thing to ever happen to me."
They regarded each other quietly, exhausted after their emotional breakdown. Slowly, Barron tentatively reached down to take her hands in his. She could feel the electricity of his touch pulse through her.
