"Did she tell you this?"
"She didn't have to. I'm a woman. I know how we operate." She winked at me and stood with a smile. "Everything will work out, Dane. You were right when you said she has abandonment issues, and those fears don't go away overnight. Trust her, and in turn, she'll trust you."
Her words rolled through my head on repeat long after Janette left my office. She hadn't told me anything I didn't already know, but just hearing someone else say them changed everything. She was right … I couldn't expect Eden to trust me if I didn't show her the same respect. I started to feel more secure in the prospect of eventually having Eden by my side.
Until I checked my email.
Preparing to shut down my computer for the weekend, I happened to see I had an email from the HR department. As soon as I opened it, my stomach flipped. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I'd never felt the weight of defeat like this before. It was completely debilitating.
Displayed on the screen in front of me was notice of resignation for Eden Clare.
Effective immediately.
25
I must've dialed Eden's number a hundred times, but she never answered. In fact, it never even rang. It went straight to voicemail as if she'd blocked my calls. I sent her a dozen messages. Rather than the standard "delivered" or "read" message beneath the text, it was blank.
Eden had officially cut me out of her life.
I didn't want to go home and be surrounded by the reminders of my failures. So I decided to head straight to the bar from work. I found myself at the same table I sat at the night I met Eden, for the same reasons as before-not wanting to go home. Only this time, I wasn't in need of an escape from the person at home waiting for me. It was because the one person I truly wanted to be there never would. And that was something I wasn't ready to accept yet.
It was funny how everything seemed to come full circle.
Except I was the one on the outside.
While sitting at the sports bar, I continued to try to get ahold of Eden. Nothing worked, and eventually, I propped my elbows on the table and dropped my head into my hands. I knew there had to have been a solution, but I couldn't find one.
"Mind if I join you?" Someone sat down on the stool on the other side of the table.
I glanced up and just stared. She had long red hair, but it wasn't the same. Her eyes were dark, but even under the dim lighting, I could tell they were brown, nothing special about them. Her lips were colored pink, not red. And they didn't have the same fullness as the set I couldn't get out of my head. Nothing about this woman was right. She was all wrong. Because she wasn't Eden.
"Actually, I do mind."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you expecting someone?" She seemed genuinely apologetic, but it didn't matter.
"No. I just want to be alone."
Her dull, brown eyes narrowed and she tilted her head slightly. "Having a bad day? Wanna talk about it? I'm a nail tech, so I'm used to listening to people's problems. I've been told I'm a good listener."
I couldn't help but feel like the universe was playing some kind of cruel joke on me.
"Hi, I'm Amanda," she said as she extended her hand across the table. In the process of invading my privacy, she knocked over my pitcher of beer, spilling the contents all over the table, into my lap, while soaking my phone in the process. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry. Here, let me help you clean that up."
"No need. I was about done anyway." I wanted to yell at her, curse her for being so careless, but I just didn't have it in me. It was obviously a mistake, and I could tell she felt horrible about it. Not to mention, I was sure this was God's way of forcing me to leave Eden alone … at least until my phone dried up. I took it as a sign, wished her a good evening, and drove home.
I'd spent all week looking forward to the first day I got to pull into the garage of my new home, but now that I had, I couldn't find any joy in it. I dragged myself inside and immediately headed for the shower, needing to get rid of the stench of beer. I wanted to stay under the hot spray longer, waste time before I could crawl under the covers and give up on the day, but I knew it'd do no good.
No matter how much water I wasted, I'd still get out to an empty house.
With only a pair of gym shorts on, I grabbed a beer and headed down to the dock. It was the only place I felt connected to Eden, which was humorous considering she'd never even seen it, but I was hoping it'd offer a little bit of clarity. The moon wasn't out, making it hard to see in the dark, so I watched my steps as I made it down the wooden pathway. As soon as I got to the dock, I glanced up, hoping there would be enough light to at least see the water. But instead of a dark lake, I found someone standing in front of me, facing me, hands twisted in front of her.