The following morning, there’s some tension between us all in the apartment. I sensed it from the moment I woke up a couple hours ago. No one has been talking much, all four of us silently pivoting around one another. I think Snake is still trying to come to terms with the truth about Tyler and me, because every time I come within a two-foot radius of Tyler I notice Snake studying us intensely from afar. Tyler is quieter than usual today. I understand, because I am too. It’s hard to be bubbly when I feel so lost and upset over everything that has happened. Tyler and I don’t want to talk about what went down last night. We don’t want to talk about Dean. Dean, who I haven’t heard from since he turned his back on me last night. I’m not surprised. I doubt I’ll ever hear from him again, let alone the very next morning. I haven’t heard anything from Tiffani either. No texts flaunting her glee at being able to tell Dean the truth. No more sadistic taunts. Just silence. Rachael is the only one who’s messaged me, and it was for the sole purpose of demanding an explanation as to what’s going on, so I’m meeting her for coffee soon. I’m dreading it.
Exiting the laundry room after miserably shoving mounds of clothes into the dryer for a half-hour, I make my way through to the kitchen and steal a glance at the clock on the wall. It’s nearing 11:30. I shift my gaze over to the living room, where Tyler and Snake are musing about the results of some football game. The room seems a little bare without the coffee table. It took us forever to clean up last night, and now we’re no longer allowed to walk into the living room barefoot, just in case there are still some pieces of glass hidden in the carpet.
“I’m gonna get going,” I say. I’ve been ready for a while now, but I’ve kept myself busy while I wait for the right time to leave. I don’t want to be there too early, but I don’t want to be late, either.
Tyler immediately gets to his feet, his forehead creasing with concern. His entire upper right arm is still wrapped in gauze. The glass cut him up pretty bad. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”
“I think it’s just better if I explain it to her on my own,” I say, offering him a smile of appreciation at the offer. Of course I’d love for Tyler to be by my side, but I know it’s really only me who Rachael wants to talk to. I have to face her alone. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Eden,” Snake says, snapping his fingers once in the air to grab my attention. When I look to him, he grins. “Tell Rachael I’ll come by her hotel tonight at eight to pick her up.”
I fold my arms across my chest and frown at him, suspicious of his motives. “You are aware that she leaves tomorrow, right?”
“Eden,” he says again, his tone stern as he shakes his head at me. He straightens up, looking back at me from the couch and pressing both hands to his heart. “Don’t you believe in true love? It has no boundaries. Distance ain’t nothin’ but a number.” He tries to keep a straight face, attempting to look sincere, but he can’t hold it for long: The words have only just left his lips when he snickers and drops his hands from his chest.
“Give me a break.” Rolling my eyes, I laugh and reach for my keys on the worktop before heading for the door. Of course, I do throw a glance over my shoulder to Tyler before I leave. He’s still frowning at me. He looks helpless, like he wants to come with me so that I don’t have to explain our situation all on my own. I can only shrug and force myself to smile reassuringly back at him, despite how nervous I’m beginning to feel. Without hesitating, I leave the apartment.
I take the stairs rather than the elevator, and as I make my way down all twelve flights of them I fire Rachael a text to let her know that I’m on my way. I’m meeting her at Joe Coffee, just around the block. I’ve only been there once, with Tyler, but it’s the first place I thought of and I remember their coffee being great. Rachael and I figured meeting at the Lowell would be a bad idea, given that Dean never wants to see me again for the rest of his life. So we’re staying clear of the hotel.