Page 45 of Barron's Second Chance
Her body had to be in peak physical condition to avoid running the risk of burnout or passing out - something she had witnessed many times over the years.
After reviewing a few more items with Linda, they ended the call. Well, Linda disconnected the feed with barely a goodbye, more like it.
Thisis what she needed to focus on - her career - not digging up some long-buried emotion or memories with a former boyfriend.
After her confrontation with Barron at The Homestead, and once Eden calmed down, the only emotion left that she felt was embarrassment.
Thinking back to how she lashed out at Barron and lost control of her tightly vaulted emotions regarding their breakup made her cringe.
She did feel better getting it off her chest, but given a choice now on how she should have handled things, she wished she had just told Barron to kick rocks and ignored Lissa's lunacy.
Did she believe Barron when he frantically insisted that nothing happened between them in his office?
Yes, she begrudgingly thought.
After Eden had dramatically rushed off for privacy, Simon told Sofia and Ryan that he witnessed Lissa launching herself drunkenly into Barron's arms - an act that Simon assured was not reciprocated.
If Eden had stopped and observed Lissa instead of letting her feed into past insecurities, she would have noticed the drunken wildness in her glare and the calculating glint in her eye. She was trying to wind her up, and like a naive fool, Eden had let her sensitive temperament get the better of her and fell for it.
Did that negate that Barron had betrayed their relationship with her in the past? No, that was still the elephant in the room. Although that elephant, which had previously been sitting heavily on her chest, crushing her windpipe with each encounter Barron forced them to make, had now elevated a little after their talk.
Barron, unfortunately, couldn't let sleeping dogs lie and attempted to phone her several times since the incident. She declined each call.
Not that he allowed that to deter him.
The text messages started, first apologizing for what went down in his office between them before again assuring her that nothing had happened between himself and Lissa that night.
That night.
That key phrase stabbed her in the chest, reminding her that there had been previous nights where something most definitelydidhappen.
He also approached the subject again of resuming their conversation at some point; when she was ready.
She had yet to reply.
Truthfully, she just didn't know what more she could say to him or even if she had the emotional bandwidth to make herself vulnerable again in his presence.
The talk she had with her Mom helped her to work out a few kinks in her head about the whole sordid affair, but her question on whether Eden was open to the idea of resuming their chat had left her conflicted.
She still felt a connection to him, an attraction that had intensified in the small room. Their meeting felt intimate, further fueled by the heavy topic of their past history.
But at this stage, she didn't even know if she was ready to be friends with him again, let alone explore the attraction she still felt for him.
She had been hurt and enraged for so many years. To let go of that anger felt alien to her.
His betrayal cut her deep, and the ramifications of his actions, the aftermath to her mental and physical health, and her self-esteem and self-worth was something she had worked hard to overcome.
Those long months where she had to drag herself up amongst the depths of her depression had been taxing.
Eden sighed. That was enough heavy thinking for today.
What she needed to do was to get out of the house. She had been holed up for almost two weeks and was starting to get cabin fever. She decided to stroll into town and grab some lunch at Salty Diner.
First, she called her Dad and chatted with him a bit while he got ready for work. He chastised her for buying her siblings, Max and Charlie, Nintendo Switches and while Eden feigned remorse, she didn't regret spoiling them.
She missed them something fierce, always finding that their FaceTime calls were not enough to tide her over until she could see them again.
They solidified their Christmas plans, tactfully evading his question about what she planned to top their summer gifts with. She promised to call again later when her siblings were home before ringing off so he could finish his morning routine.
