《Love In Twenty And Five》DAY ONE

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"You seem pale." Eden frowned, examining Frankie.

"I'm always pale." Frankie shrugged. "Even with all that rouge."

Eden barely found humor in Frankie's words -in anything lately- but perhaps Frankie was right, perhaps there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about her pale skin for she had just carried out an exam and found nothing. Maybe it was Eden's own troubled heart and life that made her think there was something wrong.

She forced a smile, reaching out to touch Frankie's head in case she had missed something. Warm.

"I'm fine, Eden!" Frankie sounded impatient.

"Okay, sweetie." She withdrew her hand and clutched the file to her chest. "I guess you are."

Frankie nodded with a frown on her cute face. "And you're not?" She raised a brow.

"What?" Eden averted her gaze to the window. "I'm great."

"There's nothing out there. I tell you, I have the worst view in this hospital."

She laughed then, tearing her eyes off of the road outside. She turned back to Frankie who was still seated there, staring at Eden with inquisitive eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?" She patted the space beside her.

Eden tightened her hold on the file. She did want to talk about it. She wanted to rant about it, and maybe let out a few tears about it. But she didn't want to put the burden on her grandmother, or her best friend or anyone else.

And Frankie? Would the inquisitive six year old even understand half of it, if she did tell her?

Slowly, she nodded, and made her way to Frankie's bedside, before settling on the bed; maybe Frankie wouldn't understand, but she needed to talk to someone. She let out a breath she knew very well she had been holding since the morning she told Mike she loved him, and he rejected her.

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She glanced at her hands. "Sometimes, we love people, and they don't love us in return," she sighed. "And it hurts."

Silence followed her words, and she was partly thankful for it. She imagined Frankie had fallen asleep, didn't understand, or simply wasn't interested in what she was saying. Either ways, she was thankful she didn't have to elaborate on her words. She was thankful she didn't have to confess to being in love with Mike yet again. She was thankful she could at least let out some of her pains.

She sat staring at her hands, until her eyes caught sight of some moving beside her; Frankie.

She turned to the side, just in time to see Frankie shift toward her, and settle her hand on hers.

She stared up at her, a strained smile on her face. "How could anyone not love you, Eden? You're the best person I know..." Her smile faltered -at least that was what Eden thought. "Right next to my mum and dad, there's you, then my beanies." She let out a shaky breath; one Eden was certain she didn't imagine.

Springing to her feet, she said, "Frankie..." The words faded on her lips as she watched Frankie's eyeballs roll back in her head.

For a second, time stopped, and all Eden could do was stand there. Her breathing ceased, her heart stopped, and her legs remained frozen on their position.

Then, time suddenly started moving again, and Eden was racing to beat death.

~*~

"I'm a fool for falling in love with you."

Mike Stacks stood frozen on the spot, his hand clinging to the door handle until his body trembled from the chilly weather... Or was it fear? Anxiety? Dread? Joy? Confusion?

He wasn't certain what to feel as Eden's words echoed nonstop in his ears, depriving him of sleep.

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At first it was disbelief; how could Eden love him? Was she certain she loved him? Was he certain he heard correctly?

Then he sat, coming up with many reasons why it didn't matter; he was unworthy of her. He was a mess. He was jobless. He was a criminal. He was an alcoholic. He didn't deserve her, he could never deserve her in a million years. She was going to get married to a man who could at least care for her. Philip was good for her.

Still, he knew he loved Eden, and nothing could change that. It didn't matter how many excuses he had not to love her, it didn't matter at all.

He was doing the right thing by staying away from her. It was for her own good that he stayed away, for if she was in love with him, then it would hurt her when he killed himself.

Mike sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Death, in the last few days had done nothing but become less attractive. The very thought of it left him hesitant.

He rose to his feet and shook his head. He couldn't be hesitating, not now, not when he was so close to ending it all, not when he was so close to being with his daughter again.

"Life is worth living," Lynette's words drifted back to him, "and when you've got the right people by your side, it'll be even better."

But he already lost the right people, he already lost the love of his life, and his daughter. What about Eden? He loved her but to what end? Did he love her enough to want to live?

Mike knew the answer to that question even before it drifted into his mind; he knew how he felt about her, but his feelings still didn't make him right for her.

Unless...

Turning to face the door, Mike made his way out of his apartment. He hadn't bothered with a coat -something he regretted as he hurried down the dark, snowy streets. He walked for what seemed to him like an hour, his lungs burning as he stepped into the building of his destination. He pushed the door wide open, and made his way to the back.

"Hello," Mike was barely seated when the man in the middle turned to him, "mind introducing yourself to us?"

Sighing, he straightened and nodded. He ran his gaze briefly over the unfamiliar faces. "My name is Mike Stacks," he let out a puff of air, his eyelids snapping shut as he uttered his next words, "I'm an alcoholic..." Tears sprang to his eyes and when he tore his eyelids apart, they slipped down his cheeks. "And I'm here to fix my life."

The man in the middle smiled. "Welcome, Mike, to the first day of the rest of your life."

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