Stay

Brian turned away from the door that Zack and Eden had just ran out of, offering a harsh glare towards Matt, "You had no right," He stated.

"No right to what? Come get a drink at my favorite bar?" Matt questioned back, fury still burning in his eyes from the sting of Eden's harsh words. Even through the dark and smokey haze of the bar, Brian could see the fire burning in his friend's eyes.

"You weren't invited," Brian stated simply, pushing his empty glass aside.

"I wasn't aware I needed an invitation to drink with my best friends," Matt shrugged nonchalantly, causing Brian to slam his fist on the table loudly.

"Dammit, Matt, will you stop being as immature as your fucking ex-girlfriend for five minutes!?" Brian yelled.

Matt glared, roughly grabbing Brian by the shirt to pull him out of the booth, yanking the collar until it met the dirty ground of the bar. Brian stumbled, loosing his balance with a combination of Matt's force and the alcohol already in his system.

Matt leaned down, "What have I told you about saying things about her?" He asked darkly.

Brian rolled his eyes, "Oh c'mon, Matt. You honestly think she's the same girl you fucked four years ago?" Brian asked, ignoring Matt's tightening grip on his collar, "She's different. She's a bitch, just like all the other girls you tried to fuck to forget about her. She's heartless and cold. You honestly think she left for four years to come back as the spunky little kid you trained all those years ago? You must be in denial," He scoffed.

Matt stared down at his friend, a sickening feeling in his stomach. A part of him saw what Eden was. He saw the emptiness in her brown eyes. The warmth of her soul was gone. The caring and compassionate girl wasn't any where to be seen. But another part of him wanted to believe it was still there, hiding beneath all of the ice she had built up to block it from ever coming out. He wanted Eden back. He wanted his Eden back.

"You're wrong," Matt sighed and let go of Brian's collar, "You're wrong if you think she's not in there somewhere."

Brian rolled his eyes, "Stop fooling yourself, Matt. You wasted four years trying to make up your wrongs with rights that didn't even matter to her," He glared and Matt looked away shamefully, "You think she cares that you saved her Mom? Or helped Grace get a job?"

"I did it-"

"No you didn't," Brian spat, "You didn't do it from the kindness of your heart. Deep down you've always had a resentment for her mom and Grace. You know it, Matt. You only helped them out thinking Eden would come back to you once she heard what you did. You're just as selfish as her."

"Oh, and Grace isn't?" Matt spat back, causing Brian's eyes to widen, "You think none of them are selfish? You don't think her father is selfish? Or her mother, for letting her walk out that door?" He asked, causing Brian to cast his eyes away from his friend, "Or what about Grace, Brian? You don't think it's selfish of her to always call on us for help because she doesn't know how to do anything herself?"

Before Brian could retaliate, he felt himself being picked up by Johnny, while Jimmy pulled Matt back, "You two just make every situation worse," Jimmy snapped, "Their mother just died and you two are stuck here arguing over them."

"He started it," Brian scoffed.

"Oh, and I'm immature," Matt rolled his eyes.

"Regardless!" Jimmy cut in, "Matt, you just need to back up for a while. Give her some space while she plans the funeral. After that, you can try to talk to her as a real adult. Brian," Jimmy turned to his other friend, "Give Matt time. He lost someone he cared about and all he wants is a little redemption. Can you blame him?"

The two were silent, still glaring at each other as the rest of the bar continued with their drinks and laughter, "What ever. I'm going home," Matt muttered, shrugging Jimmy off of him as he turned on his heels.

Brian shook his head, "You can't get her back, Matt," He called, "She'll be gone before you can even try," He warned.

Matt knew the risks. He had a few days before the funeral and he knew Eden would eventually fly back to San Francisco. It was no secret that she'd take the first flight as soon as possible.

That wasn't going to stop him, though. Eden couldn't be gone. He knew she was in there somewhere. He just had to find her.

-

I was numb as Zack's tattooed arms slipped underneath my legs, pulling me out of the leather seat of his BMW. He was such a gentleman, placing his arms behind my knees instead of my backside. With one foot he kicked the car door shut and made his way up the cemented pathway before stopping at the door.

He surprisingly managed to keep me up, balance on one foot, and fish for his keys in his pocket. He pulled a keyring out before slipping a key into the door, letting us back into my mother's house for the night.

It was completely dark, but Zack seemed to know where he was going. He took me to the couch, probably too tired to carry me all the way to the guest bedroom. Instead he tucked me into the side of the loveseat, grabbing a throw blanket that was tossed over one of the recliners in the corner.

"Zack?" I asked.

"Hm?" He mumbled as he got to work on taking off my shoes. He sat on the couch, placing my legs over his lap as he fumbled with the buckles on the ankle straps.

"Did he ever love me?" I asked, the alcohol obviously playing with my head.

"You're damn right he did," He replied strongly, "And he still does, too."

"Do you think anyone will ever love me like he did?" I pouted, wide eyes staring over to him. He bit his lip, his green eyes trailing back up to me.

"I don't know, Kid. He really loved you a lot. He's going to be a tough guy to beat."

I sighed and curled up into a ball once he removed the second shoe, freeing my toes from the confined leather heels that hurt so badly, "I missed him so much. I just wanted everything to go away," I muttered.

He shrugged, "It's alright. You know, getting drunk over a guy isn't bad," He smiled softly, somehow trying to make me feel less guilty about being so wasted.

"I hardly got drunk at home," I confessed, "I realized it didn't help. The only thing that would make me forget for a while was other men," I replied.

Zack turned to me, his face full of wonder and curiosity, "Other men?"

"Tons," I shrugged, "I slept with them. Tried to make the pain go away. I tried to forget what his hands felt like," I choked out as tears started to form in my eyes, "You can never really forget a person's hands can you?" I asked, "His fingerprints will always be on me. I'll never get rid of them."

He sighed, "We all deal with things differently, Eden."

"My mom wouldn't be proud," I whispered.

Zack walked forward, bringing the blanket closer up to my shoulders before leaning down. He brushed some hair out of my eyes before smiling softly at me. He leaned in, placing a kiss on my forehead before sighing, "Go to sleep, Eden."

"Zack?" I asked, sitting back up as he started to wander somewhere else in the darkening halls of the house, "Will you still be my friend tomorrow?" I asked, my drunken haze causing me to say the silliest things.

He chuckled, not even hiding the fact that he was amused. His laugh echoed through the living room walls before he smiled over at me, "Yes, Eden. I promise I'll still be your friend tomorrow. Now get some sleep. You have some tough stuff to do tomorrow."

I nodded, curling back up in my ball on the couch covered by several blankets. I sighed, looking up out the window towards the bright moon in the sky. I could distantly remember laying in Matt's bed, curled up in his side with the curtains drawn back so the sky could leak into his bedroom. I remembered the way his arms wrapped around me so I could curl into his side. I remembered his steady heartbeat, beating against the palm of my warm hand.

I couldn't forget him anymore. He was too close now for me to forget, and I knew I wasn't going to be okay.