Guardian of Eden Read online

  “Do you need me to do anything?”

  “No, I’m gonna go home.” Maddie grabbed both my hands and swung them side to side.

  I should have kissed her right then and there. It was the perfect opportunity. We were alone, holding hands, and staring into each other’s eyes. But, she had just called me her ‘friend.’ Maybe she only saw me as a friend. I didn’t want to embarrass myself so, instead of kissing her, I said, “Do you want me to take you?”

  “No, my dad’s sending the driver.” I thought I noted disappointment in her eyes. Did she want to kiss me as well?

  “I guess we’ll have to reschedule the interview.” I smiled down at her.

  “Definitely.” She smiled back.

  ***

  “Are you okay, Gary?” Eden asked while we ate lunch.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “ ‘ cause you look rather despondent,” she said proudly. I couldn’t help but smile at her correct usage of the word of the day.

  “I’m not despondent, Bug. I’m fine.”

  Eden wrinkled her nose. “Is it about that girl, Marty, Marjorie…”

  “Maddie,” I offered. Eden shrugged and took a bite of her hamburger. “I guess I am a little despondent over her,” I added after thinking for a moment. She seemed really sick. I wondered what was wrong with her and why she thought I would treat her like a leper. I hoped it wasn’t anything life-threatening.

  “Why?” Eden asked as she wiped her mouth on a napkin. “Does she not like you or something?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If she doesn’t like you, she’s insane. You’re the sweetest, cutest, smartest boy I know. And you’re the best big brother in the world.” My heart smiled. “Do you want me to talk to her?” she added.

  “Thanks for the offer, Eden, but I think I can handle it.” I tousled her hair and stole a french fry.

  ***

  That night, Maddie called me. We spoke for hours about nothing at all and it was wonderful. I didn’t worry about secrets, lies, and murders. We talked about movies, books, magazines. We even debated over which is the better side item, onion rings or french fries. In Maddie’s opinion, circular food of any kind wins hands down. Maddie was the first person ever to make me laugh, besides Eden of course.

  “Gary, I need help with my homework,” Eden called as she entered my room. I covered the phone with my hand and said,

  “Can we do it later, Bug? I’m on the phone.”

  “You said that two hours ago.”

  “Just ten…twenty more minutes okay? I promise.” Eden left my room in a huff.

  “Who was that?” Maddie asked.

  “That’s just my baby sister. She needs help with her homework.”

  “Oh, well, do you need to go?”

  “No…no, I want to talk to you.”

  An hour later, I went to Eden’s room.

  “Okay, are you ready to get started?” I asked, hopping on her bed.

  “Don’t worry about it, Gary. Corbin helped me.” Eden had already changed into her pajamas and was tying her long hair into a ponytail.

  “He did?”

  “Yeah, I had to write this paper about some stupid lizard and Corbin helped me write it and even found some pictures for me to add.”

  “Oh, okay. So, you’re all done then?”

  “Yep.” Eden crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

  “What about math? Did you do your math homework?”

  “Yep.” Eden rolled onto her side, turning her back towards me.

  “Eden.” She didn’t respond. “Eden, are you mad at me?” She continued to ignore me. “I asked you a question, little girl,” I said, as I started tickling her. She laughed and kicked and squealed and begged me to stop. “Not until you forgive me.”

  “I forgive you, I forgive you,” she panted.

  “Good. I love you. See you in the morning.” I kissed her forehead then stood up to leave.

  “Gary,” she called before I reached the door. “Do you love her too?” I knew she meant Maddie.

  “I think so.”

  “Well, then I’ll love her, too, okay?” I smiled and clicked off her light.

  Chapter 8: Beautiful

  “I’m cold,” Eden said for the fifth time. “I think it’s gonna snow.”

  “It’s not going to snow,” I said, feeling she was being a little dramatic.

  “I hope it does snow. Maybe they’ll send us home or cancel school tomorrow. Why are we standing outside, anyway? Who are you looking for?” She whined.

  “Don’t end sentences with prepositions.” I stated as I stared at the cars pulling into the parking lot of Barton Arms. I knew Maddie would be arriving any minute.

  “Fine. Who are you looking for, Gary?”

  “Very funny. Go to class. We can meet for lunch today, okay?” I kissed the side of her head and tousled her hair. Eden re-adjusted the purple beret Corbin brought her from Paris last week, lifted her chin in the air and strutted off as if she was mad at me.

  “I’ll see you for lunch.” I called, ignoring her façade.

  “I love you!” She replied brightly as she blew me a kiss and ran away. She couldn’t even pretend to be angry with me for more than a few seconds.

  I leaned against the railing and tried to assume a relaxed position so Maddie wouldn’t think I was waiting for her. Seconds later, she appeared.

  “Hey,” I said when she was about to walk past me.

  “Hello.” Maddie hugged her books tightly, adjusted her backpack and avoided making eye contact.

  “Can I carry those for you?”

  “Why don’t you go carry her books?” she said looking in the direction Eden had just walked.

  “She’s in middle school. She barely has any books.”

  “Middle school? You’re dating a middle schooler? That’s sick, Garrett!” She started up the steps, but I grabbed her arm and turned her around.

  “Wait, Maddie. She’s my sister. That’s Eden.” I could see the wave of confusion wash over her face. “I thought I told you she was white.”

  “That’s your sister?” I nodded. “My God, I’m such an idiot. I…I saw you eating lunch with her yesterday and then I saw you holding her hand and I just assumed. Oh, my God, I am a complete moron.”

  “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” We hadn’t spoken since our three hour phone conversation Monday night. I’d wave to her in the hall and she’d turn away or slip into a classroom. She was killing me, literally killing me. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. All I wanted to do was see her or talk to her or just touch her hand again.

  “She doesn’t look twelve or almost twelve,” Maddie said after licking her lips. “She’s…she’s stunning. I mean, really, how tall is she? 5’7”, 5’8”? No wonder your stepfather wants her to model. When I saw you with her I thought, why would he want me when he could have her? But she’s your sister.” Maddie chuckled a little. “But you can see why I was jealous. She…she’s gorgeous. I should have known. I mean, look at you. You’re beautiful so of course your sister would be beautiful.”

  She thought I was beautiful? Of course, I’d heard girls refer to me as ‘sexy’ or ‘cute’ or whatever, but something about the way she called me ‘beautiful’ touched me. I suddenly felt flushed and nervous. I hid my anxiety by smiling confidently and saying, “You think I’m beautiful?” Maddie turned red and dropped all of her books. Then she swallowed hard and licked her lips again. She did that a lot. I think it was a nervous habit. She didn’t realize it, but that habit drove me insane with desire. I loved her lips. Maddie started applying some cherry lip gloss that she’d retrieved from her coat pocket while I picked up her books. I saw an opportunity.

  “Can I try some?”

  “Lip gloss?” she asked completely confused.

  “Yeah, just a little.” Maddie shrugged and held the tube out to me. But instead of taking it, I leaned down and caressed her lips with mine. They were even softer than I’d imagine
d. Her touch sent electric warmth careening through my body. She kissed me back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed me closer to her. “Can I take you somewhere? Today after school…can we go somewhere…together?”

  “Anywhere,” she breathed.

  ***

  During lunch I tried to find her. I thought maybe we could grab a bite together. I ended up in front of the newspaper office.

  “Is it true you kissed that genius black kid?” I heard a girl ask before I entered. I knew she had to be talking to Maddie. I stood outside the door and listened for her response.

  “His name is Garrett,” she said.

  “Oh my God, so it is true?” The girl squealed. “What was it like?”

  “It was…it was perfect. I mean I’ve kissed before, but nothing like this. I seriously almost fell over.” I relished in the fact that Maddie had enjoyed the encounter as well. My lips involuntarily curved into a smile of satisfaction.

  “So, are you guys like together now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You know your father’s gonna flip, right?”

  “My father doesn’t have to know.”

  “Ha! How long do you think you can hide it from him? The senator has eyes everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if he already knows.”

  So, Maddie’s father was a senator that apparently wouldn’t approve of me. I decided to use my lunch period for some investigation into this matter. But on my way to the computer lab, I ran into Eden.

  “There you are, Gary. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Eden jumped on my back and kissed me on the cheek.

  “You have? Why?”

  She jumped down, tilted her head to the side and stared at me. She looked rather confused as she said, “You said we were having lunch today.”

  “I did? That’s right. I’m sorry, Bug. I forgot.”

  “You forgot about me?” Eden’s voice quivered a little.

  “No, of course not. Look, we have twenty minutes left. Let’s go get a sandwich or something, okay?”

  “Okay.” Eden wound her fingers in mine as we walked to the cafeteria.

  ***

  “Hi,” I smiled when Maddie walked up to my locker after school.

  “Hi,” she responded. All day I’d rehearsed what I would to say to her, but now that she stood in front of me, all words and reasonable thought eluded me. I leaned down awkwardly and kissed her on the cheek. Maddie blushed and tucked a blond curl behind her ear. Then we just stared into each other’s eyes until Eden came and squealed, “Garieeeee!” as she tackled me with a hug.

  I hugged her back briefly then said, “Eden, this is Maddie.”

  “Hi, Maddie,” Eden said as she let go of me and hugged Maddie as well. “So this is the girl with the eyes you want to drown in,” she said to me. Eden placed the back of her hand on her forehead and faked a swoon. Maddie turned red and stared at her shoes.

  “Don’t end sentences with prepositions. How many times do I have to tell you that?” I tickled her until she promised to never do it again. “Eden, Maddie and I are going to go grab a cup of coffee. Why don’t you call Corbin and ask him to pick you up? He’s at the studio right now so he’s not that far away.” Eden stopped laughing and stared at me.

  “What?” she asked sharply.

  “I said, I’m taking Maddie for coffee.”

  “But, it’s Wednesday,” she said with hurt in her eyes. “Wednesday is library day. You have to pick out my book for the week.”

  “I know I usually take you to the library on Wednesdays, but I thought, just this once, that I could go out with Maddie for a little while.”

  “Garrett, if you want to take your sister to the library, I’ll understand,” Maddie offered. I looked from Maddie to Eden and back to Maddie. I felt like I had to choose between them. I wanted to make them both happy. I wanted to spend time with each of them. I thought about that warm soft kiss I’d shared with Maddie that morning and my body involuntarily chose her over Eden. I didn’t know the devastating effects that choice would make in all our lives.

  ***

  Maddie and I sat on the same side of the booth letting our coffee get cold as we kissed each other.

  “I’m so sorry I thought you were dating your sister,” she said for the hundredth time once I let her up for air. “You must think I’m a complete idiot.”

  “I don’t do this to idiots,” I said as I nuzzled her neck. She smelled so good. Like a combination of soap and cherries.

  “And what exactly are you doing?”

  “I’m checking your pulse.” Maddie flung her head back and erupted into adorable giggles. I kissed up the side of her neck to her earlobe then found her lips again.

  I could feel people in the coffee shop staring at us, but I didn’t care. I needed this. I needed her. I couldn’t remember a time when I felt so happy, so free, so complete. I wasn’t going to let anything ruin it, especially a cell phone.

  Maddie jolted when it rang. She pulled away from me and searched for her purse. When she couldn’t find it, she dumped the contents out on the table.

  “Damn it, where is it?” she mumbled as she rummaged through her scattered belongings. The phone continued to ring as Maddie grew more and more frantic. Why was she in such a panic?

  I reached behind her, picked up her coat, and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket. As soon as she saw it, she snatched it out of my hand, opened it and said, “Hi Daddy.” She mouthed ‘thank you’ then scooted away from me. “That’s because I’m not at school…I went to Java Joe’s with a friend…I know what caffeine can do to me…I know…I got decaf…you are? Okay…okay…I love you too.” She hung up and looked at her watch.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked. Something about the way Maddie talked with her father made me nervous. He seemed a bit controlling.

  “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Um, I need to go,” she said as she waited for me to slide out of the booth.

  “Maddie, I’m worried about you. What’s going on? Are you afraid of your father? Is he hurting you?”

  “No, Garrett, it’s nothing like that. You’ve got the wrong idea. He’s just really…protective when it comes to me. I swear I’ll explain everything soon, just not now. He’ll be here any second.” Maddie glanced at the door nervously. I wasn’t convinced. I knew something wasn’t right. This guy was going to have to go through me to get to Maddie again.

  I rooted myself in the seat blocking her exit and crossed my arms. “I think I want to meet this guy.”

  “Please, Garrett, not today.” Maddie took my chin in her hands and turned my face toward her. She paralyzed me with her deep blue eyes as she said, “If you care for me at all, you’ll trust me.” What could I do? I did care for her. I’d only known her for a few days and I cared for her more than I could ever imagine. I slid out of the seat and let her out. She gathered her belongings then ran towards the door. After a few steps, she stopped, turned and ran back to me. She stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply. Then she dashed out of the coffee shop and into a waiting town car.

  An uneasy feeling developed in the pit of my stomach. Maddie needed help. She needed me. I wanted to protect her and take away the pain that had obviously enveloped her life. My problems didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was Maddie.

  Chapter 9: Silent Devotion

  As I made the 30 minute walk from Barton Arms to Corbin’s studio, thoughts of Maddie overflowed my mind.

  Was she all right?

  Did she think of me?

  When would I next see her

  So I could again be free?

  Corbin’s studio was located about two blocks north of DuPont Circle in Washington DC. He often did photo shoots on location, but this week he was working on a special layout for Gap and I knew he would be in his studio.

  Corbin wasn’t terribly famous, but his excellent rapport with models had helped to boost his career into a more elite realm. Three years ago, he only did
work for catalog companies like Wal-Mart, JC Penney, and Sears. But about a year ago, he started receiving calls from Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, and Abercrombie and Fitch.