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As soon as Sterling had changed, he rolled his clothes up and stepped out into the room again. He set his things by the bathroom door, then made his way over to the bed.
“Are you actually going to try to sleep tonight?” he asked softly, placing a gentle hand on Eden’s arm before moving around to lay beside her.
Eden scooted over to make room for him, burying herself in his side when he was beside her. She rested her head on his chest, tangling legs around his and pulling the blanket over him as well.
“I don’t want to,” she admitted quietly. “But I’m exhausted. I’m so drained, Sterling, that even the fear of nightmares won’t push it back.”
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“I hope you can sleep well, with no nightmares tonight,” Sterling murmured back. He wrapped his arms around her and ran his hand through her hair gently. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
“That’s a nice wish,” Eden chuckled before melting in his embrace, leaning into his touch. “Thank you, Sterling… for coming here as soon as school ended…”
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“I was worried about you… You didn’t text me when you got home, so I thought something might have happened to you,” Sterling sighed, his arms tightening around her slightly. “So, yeah. I came right over here. I will always come when I’m worried.”
“I was going to text you,” Eden gripped his shirt tightly. “But… I ran into him on my way home, and… I couldn’t think straight. All I knew was that I wanted to throw up and wash myself clean, and nothing else came to me.”
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Sterling sighed, the sound near a growl, though he held back the full sound of that. “I swear, if he tries to hurt you again… I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Sorry. I really hate him for doing that to you. So much.”
Eden nearly flinched at the sound he made, but relaxed immediately. She reached up to press their lips together softly, before pulling away and nestling back against his chest.
“I can’t bring myself to hate him,” she said quietly. “Because… the first year I’d known him, he wasn’t a monster. He was genuine…”
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“I don’t understand that, but… I won’t try to convince you otherwise. You’re too stubborn for it to be of any use,” Sterling half-joked, leaning in to kiss her softly again. “My favorite girl… My beautiful queen… My Eden Rose McArthur.”
“I love being your girl,” Eden mumbled sleepily, shifting and turning around so her back was pressed to his chest, his arms around her waist. “Your queen. Your Eden Rose McArthur… just like I love you being mine… My favorite, my only man. My handsome king. My beloved Sterling Ryder Ainsley…”
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Sterling sighed, smiling as he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. “I love being yours, too. I love being your only. I love getting to be there for you. I love watching g you get all excited about the books you’re reading. You’re adorable, no matter how much you think otherwise.”
Eden smiled softly at his words and at the kisses he kept giving her. “And when I’m mean to you?” she pulled the blanket higher around herself, curling up against him slightly. “Am I adorable still?”
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“Incredibly. Well…” Sterling paused, chuckling softly. “Maybe not adorable. But definitely hot. Ridiculously so.”
A chuckle escaped her lips at his words. “You are such a charmer, Ainsley…” her voice slurred at the end, his presence soothing her to the core. Maybe she really wouldn’t sleep a restless sleep.
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Sterling nuzzled the back of her head gently. “Yeah? Well, only for you, gorgeous. Now, go to sleep. You need it.”
“Hold me tighter,” she requested, already half-asleep. “Don’t let go…”
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“I’ll never let go,” Sterling promised in a whisper as his arms tightened around her. Another kiss to the back of her neck. Another nuzzle to her head. “Never.”
Eden sucked in a deep breath, shivers running through her due to his kisses. And in his arms, she finally fell asleep.
Lucas was worried. Actually, worried was an understatement. He was anxious, beyond furious at himself for not getting the news sooner. Adrien. He came back. And Eden… his little sister was nowhere to be seen. He’d called, sent her texts the second school ended, but she never answered.
So he rushed home, hoping she was there. He didn’t bother knocking on her door, just opened it, breathless.
“Ed—“ then he paused, frozen, staring at the sleeping form of his sister in the arms of her boyfriend.
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Sterling, already half-asleep at this point, sighed and looked up at Lucas, raising a brow. He shifted around Eden, resting a hand on her arm.
“I hope you can see that she is finally asleep and sleeping peacefully, at that,” he started quietly. “She had a long day, and she does not need her sleep interrupted, so I would suggest taking any conversation you might want to have out to the hall.”
Lucas gritted his teeth before exhaling slowly. His grip on the door tightened.
“She wasn’t answering any of my texts or calls,” he said quietly. “I thought the worst. I’m… glad she’s sleeping. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
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Sterling nodded slowly, glancing down at his girlfriend softly. He sighed and ran his hand through her hair before looking back up at Lucas.
“I think we should talk. Civilly,” he said quietly as he pulled away from Eden, making sure she wasn’t waking while he slid out of the bed.
“I think so, too,” Lucas stepped away from the door, eyes on his sleeping sister before landing on Sterling. Wearing his clothes. It wasn’t that he particularly cared. He really didn’t, but couldn’t he bring his own next time?
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Sterling nodded and kissed Eden’s head before slipping out of the room. He closed the door behind himself, looking to Lucas.
“Living room?” he suggested with a raised brow.
Lucas nodded, walking into the living room where he leaned against the back of the couch. He sighed, face in one hand.
“Did she tell you?” he finally asked quietly, tentative.
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“Yeah. She did. And I have to say that I would like to punch the guy’s lights out. Multiple times,” Sterling sighed as he sat down. He rubbed at his face, staring down at his legs. He blinked she he remembered what he was wearing, then looked up at Lucas. “I came here straight from school, so I didn’t have anything with me. She asked me to lay with her, then gave me these to sleep in something more comfortable.”
“I agree with you on that one. I’d like to skin him alive for what he did,” Lucas agreed before looking back at Sterling, eyes trailing his form. “I don’t really care if you borrow my clothes, save for the underwear. That, unfortunately for you, is out of the question.”
He fell silent again before sighing. “I should have seen the signs before,” he ran a hand through his hair. “But I didn’t. I failed her. And I’m not looking for sympathy. She told me that straight to my face and I agree with her wholeheartedly.”
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Sterling nodded slowly, leaning back into the couch. “Yeah. I could hear it in the way she talked about it. And she said she hated you for finding her that day, but I’m not gonna lie, I am very thankful that you did. So thank you for that,” he said, nodding once at Lucas.
“She hadn’t been answering her phone that night,” Lucas started gently, though his voice shook with rage. He loved his sister so fiercely, yet he had failed her. Horribly. “So I called him. He told me she said she’d be with her friends, with him, and that she’d be staying the night. I didn’t even question the bastard. That wasn’t the first time she’d forgotten to tell us her whereabouts. I’d woken up in the middle of the night because of a chill, and… I heard the sloshing of water. I knew something was wrong. I’d been late before but I was relieved they at least, in that moment, I wasn’t.”
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Sterling let out a deep sigh and tore a hand through his hair. “Man… I have no idea how she managed to hold herself together as well as she did. She’s so strong… it’s amazing. But she doesn’t see it. It’s like she refuses to.”
Lucas turned his gaze to her door, an unknown emotion in his eyes. “I love her to shreds,” he said quietly, never removing his eyes from her door. “Despite there being a rift between us, I’ve never loved her less. And I always wanted to be that person she came to for her worries, but that’s something I would never be able to do again. For so long, she managed to keep herself upright. But now she has you. And as much as it hurts my pride to admit it… she’s better with you.
So please, take care of her. Don’t hurt her.”
