Stay

It was only five minutes into our drive did I realize that we were not heading back towards my mother's house. Instead, we were heading towards a different part of Huntington.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Brian's. He's having a little get-together. He feels bad after what happened at the bar," He confessed and I shrugged, sinking into the seat as he pulled into the driveway.

I wanted to go home. I was agitated, moody, and emotionally unstable. I didn't really want to see anyone, but Zack was driving and he was making the decisions. I would have loved to argue with him. Maybe push his buttons until he snapped, but I found myself too exhausted to do so.

We walked into Brian's house to the scent of hickory and the sound of Pantera. I smiled a little as I followed Zack inside, hearing the loud voices off in a distance part of the house.

"Okay, okay, okay. So this one is Metallica? But who's Led Zeppelin?" Amy's unmistakable voice asked, followed by a fit of groans and disappointed sighs.

"C'mon. Don't you know anything about good music!?" Jimmy exclaimed and I let out a laugh, causing the entire room to look over at me.

"I see you've met Amy," I nodded towards her as she sat delicately in a black dress and cardigan with shoes to match.

"I went over to look for you and found her there instead. I told her she needed a break from the fashion life to come hang out and eat with us," Michelle smiled.

That didn't surprise me at all. I knew Michelle and Amy would get along. They were alike in a lot of ways, more alike than Amy and myself. It was no wonder they seemed attached at the hip already. I was sure Michelle was probably bombarding her with questions about her job, and Amy was probably more than excited to reply.

"I'm glad you've had a warm welcoming," I smiled before Jimmy handed me a red cup. I took it graciously.

"So, what were you guys up to today?" Michelle asked me. I looked over to Zack, locking eyes with him before he turned to everyone else.

"We went to the funeral home today," He stated as I tried to ignore the several sympathetic looks I got. He reached over and placed his large hand on my shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze.

It was Brian who spoke first. His velvet voice reaching me from across the room, "We all loved her, Eden," He stated, "And we love you too. We want to make sure you're okay."

I looked up at Brian, eyes wide at his words. Brian was the most confusing soul I had ever met. One day he hated me, the next he cared. But the true emotion I saw in his brown eyes was caring. I smiled softly at him, "I love you guys too," I smiled, "All of you," I looked around at the small crowd.

"So, how did Grace handle it?" Michelle asked. My smile fell and I looked over to Zack, hoping he would explain. I knew if I opened my mouth about Grace, I'd only make myself mad. But before he could say anything, the front door opened and closed. Footsteps echoed the hallway before Grace appeared, but she wasn't alone.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here," Brian stated, looking over at Matt who was trailing Grace.

"Oh, so that's where you were today?" I asked lowly, scoffing as I looked over at Grace. She glared at me, but pushed it aside to put on a fake smile instead.

"How was your day? I heard your assistant came down," She smiled over at me.

"It was great until I had to go plan my mother's funeral," I stated simply and I could see the clarity in everyone's eyes. It clicked in their heads that I was forced to plan Mom's funeral alone, without Grace's help.

I didn't understand. Was Grace with Matt all day? Was that the person she had plans with? Wasn't there some sort of girl-code that you don't hang out with your sister's ex-boyfriend without permission? I was sure there was some sort of fine print in there about missing your mother's funeral plans, as well.

"That's right," She nodded sadly, "Sorry I couldn't go. I had two classes this morning and I had already made previous plans with someone."

"With Matt?" I asked, nodding to him.

"Why? Jealous?" She asked and Zack's hand immedietly went ot my own, gripping it tightly in fear of me lunging after her.

"You can have him. Don't say I didn't warn you, though," I shrugged.

"I'm right here, you know. You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Matt snapped, "And no," He turned and sent a daring glare at Eden, "I wasn't with her today. I followed you to the funeral home before she called me, asking me for a ride here," He explained.

I said nothing. I had almost forgotten that Matt was perched on a hill, watching me like the guardian angel I used to know him as. I looked away, holding Zack's hand tighter for some sort of comfort.

"So what did you end up choosing?" She asked, ignoring our awkward silence completely. I frowned and turned to Zack. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew I didn't want to be bothered by her. I was irritated and he knew it.

"We went with the best package. The spot is under a big tree and it's really relaxing. We chose roses for the flowers and a pale yellow for a color," He stated.

She turned to me, crossing her arms over her chest, "Her favorite color was lavender and she hates roses. Why did you choose that?" She asked, "I should have just waited to go with you. I knew this would happen," She muttered.

I glared and I already felt Zack's arm on my hand again, ready to pull me back, "Excuse me? I did the best I could," I stated.

"Yeah, but you forget that you didn't even know her. I asked for your help, not to make it worse. I even left instructions in your room," She defended.

"We didn't see instructions, Grace. I only got the text you left me telling me where to go. That's it," Zack cut in and she turned to him.

"Stay out of this, Zacky. She's our mother, not yours," She hissed. This time I ripped out my hand from Zack's, taking a menacing step forward.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Matt take a step towards me. It was like instinct. When he saw me upset, he ran to me. I wanted so badly for him to just swoop me up, drag me outside (even if I was kicking and screaming) and take me somewhere far away.

"You ungrateful bitch!" I screamed, shoving Zack off of me, "Do you ever stop to think about anyone but yourself!?" I exclaimed, "You pulled me from my home to plan a funeral for a woman who I barely knew! You left me to plan her funeral by myself while you go off because you had plans! I don't give a fuck what you think, Grace, because I did all the work. If you're unhappy with it then you can fucking deal with it!" I yelled.

"You never understand anything, Eden!" She yelled back, "God, I asked for your help because unlike you, I was actually close with our mother. Forgive me for not wanting to plan a funeral for the woman I cared the most about," She snapped.

"Oh, go ahead. Play the victim card again. You know even when you were little you did this. You made everyone believe you were a poor innocent victim that never did anything wrong. News flash, Grace, that doesn't work in the real world!"

"Let's talk about you for a second, Eden. You've always been a bitch. To everyone in the fucking room! At one point you hated all of them. But now you come crying and expect everyone to fall at your feet! Look in the fucking mirror!"

"Fuck you!" I pointed a finger at her, "Fuck you and your sore loser victim complex. Just because you miss daddy doesn't give you the right to act like this," I snapped.

She gasped, "Well maybe if you weren't a bitch all the time, our parents would have actually loved you!" She screamed.

I froze, my eyes going wide. I watched as shock took over her face, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as if she could take her words back. My mind suddenly rushed with thoughts of growing up beside Grace. I remembered the shadow I walked behind, the pain I felt of always being left behind. She was right, of course. I spent so long trying to convince myself otherwise.

I may have been hurt. I may have been torn open into a fresh wound, and Grace might have poured alcohol all over me... but she wasn't going to know that. Neither of them were going to know..

"Right," I laughed, "Then here you go," I stated as I pulled out all the papers from the funeral home out of my purse, "Change everything to how you want to. Go ahead. I forgot you're not used to not getting what you want."

"Eden..." She started but I swiftly put a hand up to her face, stopping her completely.

"I hope you like your new friends, Grace. Because the moment this funeral is over I'm going back home where I belong and I plan to never speak to you ever again," I stated firmly. My true colors were showing. The sign of true power in my voice. Grace stood before me, shaking like all the previous interns and assistants I've had.

"Wait, Eden," She choked out, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You're not my sister, Grace. I never want to see you again," I stated before walking out of the house completely. Amy had followed suit, as the loyal servant she was. She knew when I was heated it was best to follow my lead and nothing else.

"Eden, wait!" Matt's voice rang through my ears.

I spun around, "What do you want, Matthew?" I asked.

"Will you stop calling me that?" He growled, taking a step forward and completely ignoring Amy standing like a deer in headlights beside us. This was the first time she had ever seen Matt. She probably wasn't expecting the tattoos and long hair. I never took the time to completely describe him to her.

"Don't come any closer," I demanded as tears formed in my eyes, "I just want to make it through the week and then I'm going home. We won't ever have to see each other again," I stated.

"No!" He exclaimed, "Can't you see that I want you to be here?"

"Oh you do, do you?" I asked, "And where's your wife?"

"Ex wife," He corrected.

"You sure about that?" I scoffed and he growled.

"God dammit, I finalized the divorce the moment I woke up from that knockout you gave me!" He exclaimed, "Val took off to Hollywood to start her acting career and we never saw much of each other."

"Oh, so is history repeating itself? You lost Val so now you're back to me again?" I asked.

"Eden," He breathed heavily and looked away from me, "If I had known where you were I would have come after you. I just wanted to bring you home."

"So you can break my heart again!?" I screamed, causing him to jump, "There was a reason I told Brian not to tell you where I was, Matt! Are you that fucking stupid?!" I yelled.

He snapped his head to me, his hazel eyes suddenly turning dark as he took a slow step forward, "Did you just say you told Brian not to tell me where you were?" He asked, surprisingly calmly for the look he was giving me.

"Yeah," I scoffed, "I didn't want him running his mouth to you."

"Why did Brian know where you were? How did he find out?" He asked.

I shook my head, "How else was I going to get to the fucking airport, Matt. Jesus, did I hit you hard enough to lose half your brain cells?" I asked.

He didn't give me an answer, though, because before I knew it he was running back into the house at full speed. I didn't even have time to comprehend what I had just said until Zack rushed out, "What's going on?" I asked, making my way back to the door.

"You shouldn't go back in there," He stated softly before I heard loud yelling.

"What the hell, Zack?" I asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back.

"Trust me on this one, Eden. Let's just get back home. We've dealt with enough shit today."

He nodded to Amy, pointing towards his sleek black car in the driveway. She just complied, getting in the backseat as I took the front. The confused look on her face was evident. Amy hardly ever looked confused. That was a trait I liked about her. Zack chose to remain silent the entire time, backing out of the driveway before speeding off down the street.

Once we were a good distance away from Brian's house, I quickly turned to Zack, "What the fuck is going on?" I asked.

He sighed, "It's complicated, Eden."

"If you don't tell me right now I'm going to get on a plane and go back to San Francisco right now. I can't handle all of your secrets, Zack! This group has caused enough heartache in my life!" I screamed. It was obvious I had been tipped over the edge. Even Amy hadn't seen me so flustered in the time I've known her.

"Matt's upset. He ran in the house and started beating the shit out of Brian. I got you out of there because I knew you'd either attack Matt for hitting Brian, or attack Brian for hitting Matt. I'm not entirely sure where your state of mind is at the moment," He confessed. I suppose he had a point.

I so wished I had the strength to hit Matt. Given the opportunity on a silver platter, I still wouldn't have taken it. I was more upset with the thought of Brian hitting Matt. I didn't like anyone hitting Matt, let alone Brian.

"That doesn't tell me why," I stated and he sighed. He shook his head, running a hand over his face before taking a deep breath.

"Matt didn't know Brian took you to the airport. We never told him."