Page 8 of Barron's Second Chance
It was only when she saw Barron try to shake Lissa's hand off that she dared to glance up at him. He was staring straight at her, his lips mouthing her name. His face looked flushed. With guilt? With embarrassment? She didn’t care enough to analyze.
He stepped towards her before Lissa's claw-like hands wrapped around his wrist like a vice, stopping him from leaving her side.
Eden surged ahead, her pace quickening as her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Her nose was getting pink and tickled from the effort it was taking not to burst into tears. It wasn't until she had made it out into the bright sun and practically ran across the field and out of sight that she felt safe enough to release her tears.
That was how Sofia had found her. The small, curvy girl gathered Eden into her arms as she sobbed. That was her Sofia. She was her ride-or-die and readily took up the role of protector and soundboard whenever Eden needed to vent.
"I'm sorry. I've done so well to avoid seeing them, but today...seeing them holding hands." Eden wiped at her wet face, and she shook her head in frustration. "I wish I could just get over him as easily as he's gotten over me."
"I don't know about that," Sofia said.
"What do you mean?"
Sofia shrugged as she stared back at the school building they had just come out of. "Whenever I see him, he looks pretty miserable, E."
Eden frowned in confusion. "What do you mean miserable?"
Sofia shrugged. "I dunno. Just when I see him sitting with those douches, he keeps glancing toward us; like he's looking for you. And then sometimes he stares at you. I mean, they're all joking and laughing around him, but he seems...I dunno...almost bored."
Eden rolled her eyes. "He’s told us so many times how shallow and vapid they all are. What, he suddenly thinks he has things in common with them now?"
"Well, who knows? I never thought Barron would cheat on you. And with Lissa, of all people, but here we are. People change."
Eden picked at a blade of grass in front of her. "But how could he change that much?"
Sofia sighed, pulling Eden's slim frame closer to cuddle her. "Who knows what he's thinking in that big, dumb head of his? All I know one hundred percent for sure is that he's going to regret letting you go."
"Yeah, well, it'll be too late if he ever does regret cheating on me. There's no way I would ever take him back. I don't even want to be friends with him again. Which makes it awkward given our Moms are so close."
"Has he tried to reach out to you?"
Eden shook her head. "Well," she amended, "he did send me a text two days after I caught him with Lissa, asking to talk."
Sofia pulled back to stare at her. "You didn't tell me that."
Eden shrugged. "I didn't reply and blocked his number. I then blocked him from all my social media." She gave a bitter laugh. "I regretted it as soon as I did it. Cos' I was still deeply in love, ya know? And I did it as a jerk reaction. I just saw his stupid name pop up, and I flipped."
"So, you're going to unblock him again?"
"Hell no," she firmly stated. "My Mom told me it was good that I blocked him so quickly. I would've probably spent a lot of time reading through our texts and looking at his social media. This way, out of sight and out of mind, I can get on with getting over him. She was right. It's gotten easier."
"Until you saw him holding hands with bitch face."
Eden nodded sadly.
"Hey," Sofia bumped her shoulder with hers. "Let's blow off the rest of school and get shakes at Hammer Shake Shack."
Eden grinned. "As long as we get a basket of curly fries to go with it."
"Duh," Sofia smacked her shoulder and laughed.
As the school year dragged on, things got a little easier. She still missed and loved Barron as much as she hated him. It was hard to let go of the sweet, loving, and loyal boy she remembered to what he had become over summer.
Barron’s Mom came over to their house regularly now. They used to meet at Kelly's due to her sizable deck and pool, but her Mom was staunchly supportive of her daughter and refused to be anything but the slightest bit civil to Barron. Her Mom was a protective Mama Bear through and through.
At first, things were awkward between Kelly and herself. The conversation was stilted, and she used to make herself scarce, so she didn't accidentally overhear any information about Barron and Lissa. Not that Kelly would ever talk about her son in front of her.
However, one day, she did overhear something that briefly piqued her curiosity and sent her on another downward spiral.
