Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Lucas swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair in distress. She had been frightened—she had been crying. He only saw her doing that when she was having a nightmare, or when it was thundering. But she had been in pain from whatever that had happened—emotional pain—and that was why she hurt herself.

“She won’t let me help, either,” Lucas sighed. “Ash and I saw you both last weekend. You had her in your lap. She looked peaceful. I have never seen my sister look so peaceful before. And knowing her, she’s going to push you away because you make her feel at peace. That’s Eden for you, but Ash and I hope you remain persistent. There’s only so much we can do for her.”

He likes her. Sterling admitted to liking his sister. If he hadn’t seen them together that night, Lucas wouldn’t have believed him.

“I’m glad you think that, Sterling,” he said slowly. “But I swear to you, if my sister gets worse and you’re the cause for it, I won’t let it slide.”

“I don’t need your permission to do that,” Lucas responded with a shrug. “But it’s nice to know you care about her. Anyway, I’ll let you know how she’s feeling when I see her at home. You should get to class. You’ll be late.”

Lucas shot him an amused look before it melted into a serious expression.

“Yeah, I’ll let her know,” he replied, fixing his glasses on his nose. “But you should tell her that yourself, too, when you see her.”

“She’ll be back by tomorrow, though not for a reason we’d like,” Lucas winced. “But if she’s not, then you should see her.”

“You’re welcome,” Lucas nodded with a polite smile. “And I will. See you later, Sterling.”

With another nod, Lucas turned around and walked away, already practically dying to share this information with his girlfriend. Sterling Ainsley had admitted to liking his sister and her best friend. How would Ashley react to that?

TIME SKIP: THE NEXT DAY]

Eden sighed, looking at herself in the girl’s bathroom mirror. She’d skipped first block, but that wasn’t a surprise. She shared that with Sterling. She didn’t think she could see him at that moment. He said he hated seeing her hurt.

And that’s exactly what she had done to herself. She’d hurt herself. There was a bandaid on her cheek, the bruise throbbing painfully, but it felt good. It gave a release. Her hand was wrapped in a bandage from when she had punched the wall in anger. She looked miserable. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom. The hallway was rather empty, so that was a plus. Chances of running into Sterling were low, too.

And just as she thought that, she bumped into someone’s back and breathed in a very familiar scent.

Eden froze, her eyes cast down. She was trying to avoid him and it lead to her running straight into him. Finally, she lifted her eyes, making sure they were blank. She looked at him, taking him in and realized she wanted to see him. Badly.

But she didn’t feel like talking to him, not right now. Not ever. Not when she could crack. So she turned her head away and began to move past him, hoping he’d let her go.

When he grabbed her arm, the spot burned. Eden knew it wasn’t because of what touches did to her. She inhaled deeply at his words. He missed her. He was worried about her. That warmed her heart, but it didn’t warm her expression.

“Well, you’ve seen me now,” she murmured. “Is that enough?”

“Why?” Eden’s own eyes narrowed as she stared him down. Why did he care so much? He had absolutely no reason to do so, so why? “Why can’t I? What reason do I have to not lock you out?”

Eden bared her teeth, stepping back.

“You care about me,” she said as if it was a joke. “You’re wasting your time and effort on someone who doesn’t need it. I don’t care for you. I don’t care if you do. I don’t want your help. I don’t want any goddamn person’s help. Why can’t you get that through your head?”

Eden’s eyes widened at both his words and the way he leaned forward. Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Why couldn’t he realize she didn’t want this? She was fine.

“Everything was so much better when you weren’t here,” she breathed, the lie escaping her tongue smoothly. “It was so much easier. I could be whoever I wanted to be and nobody stopped me. But then you came along—“ she stepped closer, eyes burning with anger. “—and you ruined everything! Everything that haunts me comes flooding back each time we interact. And I don’t like it. I really don’t like it, Ainsley.”

“And what do you want to do, play the hero?” Eden snarled, eyes burning with fury. Her trauma was hers to handle. She could do whatever she wanted with it, she could deal with it however she wanted. Nobody could tell her how she should be doing it. Nobody had the right. “You know what’s so freaking ironic? People watch others break right in front of them and they don’t do anything to stop it. They look on and do absolutely nothing, but once the damage is done, they come swarming over to you, expecting you to welcome them with open arms? When people are suffering, you choose to turn a blind eye to them and only step up when there’s nothing left but an empty shell? Well, guess freaking what—it’s unwanted. It’s unnecessary. It’s complete bullshit. I’m perfectly fine on my own. I’m handling things at my own pace. I don’t want anyone’s, quote and unquote, help. I’m long past that. So stop thinking you can just waltz into my life thinking you can fix things that are far too broken!”

Eden stopped, cutting herself off with a gasp. She breathed heavily, body shaking with the anger radiating off of her. Then she froze. In the middle of her speech, she had pressed Sterling to a wall, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly, his head pulled down so low that their faces were inches apart. His breath fanned her face, her wide eyes staring into his.

And Eden made the mistake of looking at his mouth.

Eden felt so stupid at times, and this time was no different. She should have walked away. She should have taken even the smallest chance and turned away from him. Instead, she burst forward and released a little of the tension inside of her. In that burst of anger, she had him pressed to the wall, faces inches apart, her eyes on his mouth.

Those inviting lips—the way they had pressed against her face gently every time he comforted her. The lips she’d come to want. She felt disgusted with herself at that moment. Then with great self-restraint and control, she managed to remove her eyes from his mouth and back to his eyes and froze at the hunger present in them. And then he was speaking, his raspy voice sending shivers down her spine, warmth spreading through her, heat exploding in her core.

Her breaking point was when he cupped her cheek, his gentle touch making her lean into his hand unconsciously. His thumb pressed against her lips and she shuddered, parting her lips slightly, eyes dazed. Then she swallowed thickly, her grip on his shirt loosening.

She didn’t find it within her to reply.

Eden’s chest rose and fell with heavy breath she took. This atmosphere surrounding them was so thick—suffocating and hot, complete with desire and want and God, did Eden want him at that moment.

He swept his thumb over her lower lip and took it between his fingers, pressing on it gently before he let go. The action caused a whimper to escape her lips, and once Eden realized, her cheeks burst into flames, more so when he spoke again. His voice sent tremors coursing through her, boiling her blood. And his question… it caused explosions inside of her stomach. It caused her heart to squeeze, skip a beat and quicken all at once. How long had it been since she wanted someone this desperately?

Her eyes slowly began to shut, her lips still parted as she leaned further towards him, hyperaware of how close he was getting. And then a small ‘yes’ slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

When their lips met, fireworks exploded in Eden’s stomach. As cliché as it sounded, sparks flew, heat coursed through her and her heart hammered wildly in her chest. Her hot blood roared in her ears and Eden became unaware of everything else. It was just her and Sterling and his mouth on hers.

She was quick to kiss him back. Standing on her toes, she pressed herself harder against him, eyes falling shut, her injured hand resting against his neck while the other wove its way into his hair. The fire gnawing in her stomach for the taste of him only grew in intensity.