“Things are great,” I assured him, then turned to look at Eden. “Hey, you never did tell me what time your flight leaves tomorrow?”
She almost looked as if she was unsure if she wanted to answer my question, but quickly stated, “My flight leaves at ten, but I know my parents are taking me out for breakfast in the morning. You should come with us,” she said flatly. “Um, if you would please excuse me, I need to find Maisie and see what she wants me to do.”
Dean and I both watched as she walked away, “You are in trouble, dude,” Dean expressed his concern to me and I couldn’t argue.
“You’re telling me. What am I going to do when she leaves?” I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck and then spotted Dean’s beer again and pointed to it, “I really need one of those.” If my heart ached when she left before, now it’d be like it was damn near incinerated. I didn’t know exactly how I could recover a second time.
Chapter 14
Eden
As I walked away from Dean and Baylor I couldn’t help the sadness that overcame me. It was my last official night in Cottage Grove and soon they would all be a memory once again. It was much harder leaving my hometown the second time since so much had changed. But really, was it all that much? I still had my home, job and friends in Nashville. But in Cottage Grove, I had Baylor, and that was a pretty big weight to compare to.
My bracelet dangled against my wrist as I walked along looking for Marcie. I lifted it up to take another close look and couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. I wasn’t ready to go back to reality just yet. But it seemed like reality was ready for me, and with a giant slap to my face, I might add. Turning the corner, I almost ran into Kristina and I gasped in shock.
“Eden, so surprised to see you,” she raised her hand to her chest and bit out with every ounce of venom she possessed. There upon the ring finer of her left hand was a very large diamond. The gaudy piece almost drew me away from her face, but in order for that it’d need to be just a tad bit bigger. I seriously wished that I could say that time had been on her side, but I’d be lying through my teeth.
“Kristina, it’s you…I think,” I replied with a bit of uncertainty. I had wanted to be ready with my plan of action if and when I finally was confronted by her, but she completely blindsided me, causing me to be off of my game.
“Well, I have had a bit of work done,” she gloated, messing with her platinum blonde hair. “My husband Austin is a plastic surgeon.”
Wow, was all I could think. She really should’ve rethought the extra collagen in her lips, because if she took up my habit of biting them I would be afraid that they would bust. And I felt my anger growing the longer she stuck around so I couldn’t contain the words that were about to pour from my mouth. Lord, forgive me in advance. “So you spend your free time getting lip implants and bad dye jobs instead of being a mother to your daughter?”
“Why, of all the nerve,” she squealed through her shock.
“I have the nerve? What about you, and I’m not just talking about now. Fifteen years ago on Baylor’s front porch after graduation when you outright lied to me about being pregnant with Baylor’s child?” My voice was rising and I kept stepping forward, getting closer to her. “I’m not the same quiet girl that I was in high school; now I’m not afraid to call you out on your bullshit.” A small crowd had gathered around us and I was expecting Baylor to come break us up at any time. Her husband stood behind her with a goofy look on his face; judging by the sleaziness that seemed to be surging from him, he was probably getting off on this confrontation.
I moved a step closer, thinking she would back down but she still remained standing tall…for the moment. “You are a poor excuse for a mother,” I began pointing in the air at her, “You have a daughter, who despite having a pathetic bitch for a mother, is absolutely amazing. And guess who gets all the credit? It certainly isn’t you.”
She looked back at her husband and turned back to me with a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms over her no doubt fake chest, “You’re just jealous because I bagged Baylor first. And really that was the only thing he was good at. My new husband gives me whatever I want whenever I want. He loves to travel the world and isn’t blinded by the small town community. Perhaps things would’ve turned out differently for us if he had become the architect he wanted to be, but sadly he’s only a plumber.”
“You money hungry bitch,” I spat in her face and started to lunge for her until a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and Baylor’s mouth appeared at my ear.
“It isn’t worth it, sweetheart,” he whispered to me. I instantly felt myself calm down but it still didn’t change the way I felt for both Baylor and Norah for being subjected to this vile, worthless woman.
I wrangled free from his clutch and said the last thing I would ever say to Kristina McFake, “I’m glad you dropped him, otherwise I wouldn’t have ever had the opportunity to make sweet love to him for hours. You really must be the dumbest bitch in the world, leaving behind two amazing people like Baylor and Norah. But you know what they say,” I shrugged my shoulders, “Your loss is my gain.” I saw her purse her thick lips before I turned and walked away from Kristina and from every other single bystander including Baylor and went back to the open area behind the stage to find out what Marcie needed from me. I had a feeling Baylor may need some cooling down after what took place and truthfully I did too, but I couldn’t help feeling proud of myself because I finally stood up to the number one bully to enter my life. It was almost like I could breathe a bit better and finally relax. I didn’t have to ever worry about her lurking around the corner again just waiting for her next verbal blow to come. Jules would be completely proud of me.
I took my cell phone out of my clutch and typed a quick text to Julia and hit send.
Me: Hey Jules… Eden=1; Kristina McFake=0…BOOM!
I shoved my phone back in place and walked over to Marcie, who was conversing with a tall, slender man with the most beautiful hair. I swear he used more product in it than Julia did at her shop during any given day.
Marcie looked at me, “Eden, this is Toby Morgan, the lead singer of The Nation’s Capital. He said that he would actually like to introduce each individual member of the band. So if you would just like to go out and say a few words to get things started for the evening and then hand it over to Toby that would be great.”
I nodded in response to Toby’s request and extended a hand in his direction, “Eden Richardt, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He grasped my open hand and firmly shook before releasing, “Toby Morgan, likewise.” He took a minute to scope out my outfit and stopped abruptly at my new gold metallic pumps. He brought his hands to his face as he released a gasp, “Those heels are to die for! I absolutely adore them.”
“Uh, thanks.” I took a moment to show off the different angles of the shoe. “I got them in Nashville, where I live, right before I flew here. My bestie actually coerced me into buying them, I wasn’t sold at first.”
“Well your bff definitely deserves a pat on the back, they are exquisite.”