Page 181 of Nobody's Girl

“Stop messing with me, Eden.” I bat at his arms, which I find have been placed on either side of me, his face too close to mine.

A sigh from him gives me enough information to know he wants to kiss me. I can’t let that happen. In slow motion, he pulls himself out of my personal space.

“Do you have to accuse me of messing with you? I’m merely stating a fact. Your beauty is beyond compare. You should know that.”

“Ha! What a line, Eden. Tell me do all the girls fall into your bed with that one?”

The pained expression on his face makes me regret my words. “No one has ever fallen into my bed, Alyssa. I am made for one person and one person only.”

No way! I’m not buying that. “Please lover-boy! Tell me more of your lines. They are priceless. And just who is this one person you’re made for? Do tell.”

In haste, he moves off my bed. The bottle of pain pills sits on my nightstand. He opens it taking out one of them.

Holding out the pill and a bottle of water, he looks at me with what appears like hurt in his eyes and says, “Your mother told me to make sure you take this. So please do that for her.”

His face is blank, making me feel like an ass. I take what he’s offered and swallow the pill down. I’ve never talked to someone so meanly.

Why did I just do that?

“Eden, I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I never talk to people like that. You get so close to me sometimes that I think you’re about to kiss me. Some things I can’t allow. I am taken. You need to remember that,” I say and find he’s placed his hand over his stomach.

He seems as if he’s in physical pain. Why would that be?

His expression softens as he takes a seat in a chair which has been placed next to my bed. A chair which has never been there before.

“I remember, Alyssa. You belong to that boy. The one who plays with his band tonight instead of sitting with you and making sure you have everything you want. The one who is probably singing to some other girl while you lay in this bed with an aching head and body, because he left town with no mention of it to you.”

Taking the remote to the television from the side of my bed, he presses a button on it, choosing a movie. The Notebook springs up on the screen.

Incensed, I sit up and say, “How dare you, Eden! You don’t know him at all! He’s the best guy in this whole world. He has waited for me since we were ten years old. No one else has turned his head, not once in almost eight years. How it hasn’t happened, since I’ve been kept under lock and key with a plethora of over-the-top rules and regulations is a mystery to me. But he hasn’t, and he’s had every opportunity to find someone else. I will not let you or anyone else speak negatively about him.”

Rising, he places his hands on my shoulders easing me back again. “Sorry, I upset you. That was not my intention. I shall keep my thoughts to myself. If it helps you to know, I was not trying to kiss you. I would never do that to you. Just rest, Let the pill do its job and watch this movie with me. It’s one of my favorites.”

Tucking me in tightly before he takes a seat in the chair again, his eyes fall on the television screen. I feel shut out. My rant has made him tire of me.

We’ll never be friends if I keep jumping to conclusions. For some reason, I would hate it if we couldn’t become friends.

It’s a mystery to me why that is, but I want him in my life. Even though we’ve just met, I would miss him.

The silence surrounds us for an hour as we watch the movie. It comes to my attention most men don’t care for romantic tear jerkers, like the movie we’re watching.

As a matter of fact, most men wouldn’t be so attentive to a girl they’ve just met. He dresses like a fashion model and his hair is always immaculate.

My parents trust him to spend time alone with me. Hell, he even told me he would never kiss me. That’s it! He’s gay!

The click of the television breaks my train of thought. Eden rises, coming to my side, making sure I’m comfortable.

“What a sweet way to pass on to the next world. Don’t you think?”

Oh, the movie. He wants to talk about the movie. Yeah, straight guys never want to talk about a sappy love story.

“I suppose it would be the best way to go,” I say. “If you were all in love like they were.”

Turning off the lamp next to my bed, Eden kisses his fingers, then places them on my cheek. I find it a sweet thing to do.

“One day, may that kind of love find you, princess.” He retreats to the bedroom door.

“Goodnight, Eden,” I say as he closes the door behind him.