Page 18 of Barron's Second Chance
His face remained passive, but his hands clenched in tight fists at the sound of her name.
"Hmm," he made a noncommittal sound.
"She's such a huge role model for girls; they admire her so much."Jesus, Mom, why don't you start a fan club, he sulked.
Not that she needed another fan club. According to his search on Instagram, there were two set up in her honor. Eden Jamison Fans and Fans of Eden Jamison. The pages were pretty much the same - photos of Eden strutting the catwalk, modeling in ads, or candid shots they had lifted from her personal Instagram page.
"Susan told me that she usually goes on vacation to Europe during summer."
Mykonos twice, Croatia and the French Riviera the other two summers.
He focused again on his Mom, impatience at having to listen to Eden's exploits invading his good mood.
"Sorry, what does this have to do with me?" He interrupted.
His Mom gave him a long, hard look. "Eden called her Mom and said she might come home for Summer. Susan ran the idea past Eden about the summer program, and she jumped at the chance to help. She called me an hour ago to confirm her availability."
"Eden called you?" His heart jumped at the thought of missing Eden by an hour, even if it was via phone. And only talking to his Mom. "I didn't know you had her number."
Her Mom shrugged, "She asked Susan to pass it on to her so she could get in touch with me directly. We're still ironing out what classes she'll do and what she'll speak about, but I'm going to give her free range on that. I'll need to advertise and prepare for the onslaught of sign-ups. I just know she's going to sell out."
"Yeah, no doubt," he murmured, eyes downcast as he picked at an invisible spot on the table.
"I know you two haven't talked since your break up, but I'm just letting you know that you're probably going to see Eden around next Summer. I'll be talking to her a lot, meeting up with her, et cetera. I want to give you a fair warning, so you're not surprised. I already spoke with Eden, and she's cool with seeing you around."
He just bet she was.
He hadn't spoken to Eden since they parted ways after graduation, but she had returned to New Haven throughout the years. She was mainly home for holidays, but he crossed paths with her around town a few times.
She didn't seem bothered by his appearance, choosing to treat him with cool indifference. He used to nod at her when he thought she had glanced his way but since stopped. It embarrassed him how much she pretended she didn't see or know him.
"Son?" His Dad asked when he went quiet for a few moments.
Snapping out of his reprieve, he rubbed his heated neck. "Thanks for letting me know, Mom. I didn't need the warning," he lied, "but I appreciate it. The town's big enough for the both of us. Hey, maybe we'll end up being friends again," he joked weakly.
The look on his parent's faces let him know that they, too, thought pigs would fly before Eden would befriend him again.
"That's the spirit," his Mom weakly encouraged.
Awkward tension started seeping into the air, so he cleared his throat before standing. "I gotta head back to the bar.”
"Didn't you just come from there?" His Dad asked.
"Uh, yeah, but Ian's sick, so gonna," he made a jerking motion with his thumb over his shoulder. "Ya know," he finished lamely.
His Mom smiled softly. "Alright, son. Drive safe. See you tomorrow for dinner."
"Yep!" He brightly exclaimed, already halfway to the hall.
He climbed back into his car and let out a long breath. He rested his head on the steering wheel before realizing that his parents could probably see him.
Once he got home, he immediately took his laptop out of its case and quickly booted it up. The compulsion that had been a dull ache in his soul had reared in full force since he left his parent's house.
Underneath Barron's charming facade was a darkness that hung around his neck. A tightness in his sternum. A specific hunger that had started at seventeen and stayed with him.
He felt like he was missing a limb. Like he was never alone but always lonely. Like he was running a marathon but staying in one place. If he wallowed in his thoughts for too long, he would start twitching, and then the need would overtake him. It had taken a long time for him to push that compulsion away.
Almost a year since he purposely looked up anything related to Eden.
