The first few weeks of school were hell for Eden. By the time their senior year started, their whole class had heard the news that the Golden Couple had split up; that Barron had cheated on her with Lissa and had dumped her over summer.

She kept her head down, ignoring the looks of pity and smirks of arrogance by Lissa and her band of idiots.

But what was worse was seeing Barron around school with her. He didn't bother hanging out with his old friends. He made his message very clear when he chose to sit near Brad and his crew during classes as well as sitting at their very loud and crowded table during lunch break.

Message received, loud and clear.

The one and only time she had made eye contact with Barron was on their third week back from Summer break. She had kept her head down, pretending to fiddle on her phone in order not to see the looks of empathy on the faces of her fellow peers.

An obnoxious laughter sounded out near her and on instinct she lifted her head towards the noise.

Big mistake.

The laughter was coming from Maria and Lissa, chatting animatedly with each other against their locker. Too late she noticed the figure beside Lissa, his body turned towards the crowd of students, but what drew her gaze was his strong big hand clasped firmly in Lissa's smaller, red finger nailed one. The image was so jarring, the complete antithesis of everything she knew of Barron that it had taken a few seconds for her brain to compute what she was seeing.

She knew. Of course she knew that Barron and Lissa had become a full blown couple. Or, at least whatever he had been doing with her, he certainly was now doing it with Lissa.

But she had managed to avoid seeing it thrown in her face, poolside make out aside. Now, there was no denying that Barron was no longer hers. For some reason, something as simple as hand holding seemed more intimate than the kiss she had witnessed. At least then she could pretend that it was a summer fling. Hand holding in the hallway of their school in front of the student body? Now that was sending a message.

It was only when she saw Barron shake Lissa's hand off that she had dared to glance up at his face. He was staring straight at her, his lips mouthing her name. His face looked flushed with guilt and it seemed like he had taken a small step towards her before Lissa's claw-like hands wrapped around his wrist like a visor, stopping him from doing whatever the hell he was about to do.

She had surged ahead, her pace quickening as her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Her nose was getting pink from the effort it was taking not to burst into tears. It wasn't until she had made it out into the bright sun and had practically run across the field and out of sight did she burst into tears.

That was how Sofia had found her. The small, curvy girl gathered Eden into her arms while swearing in Spanish.

"Why are you speaking Spanish, Sof?" she had finally stopped her waterworks and was mopping up the excess of tears on her face.

Sofia's brown eyes lit with fire. "Because I ran out of English insults for him."

She barked out with laughter. That was her Sofia. She was her ride or die and had easily taken up the role of protector and sound board whenever Eden needed to vent.

"I'm sorry. I've done so well to avoid seeing him and her but today...seeing them holding hands." Tears filled her eyes again and she shook her head in frustration. "I wish I could just get over him as easy as he's gotten over me."

"I don't know about that." Sofia said.

"What do you mean?" she asked

Sofia shrugged while staring back at the school building they had come out of. "Sometimes when I see him, he just looks miserable."

Eden frowned in confusion. "What do you mean miserable?"

Sofia shrugged. "I dunno. Just when I see him sitting at stank table he keeps glancing towards us, like he's looking for you. And then sometimes he stares at you. I mean, they're all joking and laughing around him but he seems...I dunno...almost bored."

Eden rolled her eyes. "He used to go on and on about them being shallow and vapid all these years. What, he suddenly thinks he has things in common with them now?"

"Well, who knows? I never thought Barron would cheat on you with Lissa of all people but here we are. People change."

Eden picked at a blade of grass in front of her. "But how could he change that much?"

Sofia sighed, pulling Eden's slim frame closer to cuddle her. "Chica, who knows what he's thinking in that big dumb head of his. All I know one hundred percent for sure is that he's going to regret letting you go."

"Yeah, well it'll be too late if he ever does regret it. There's no way I would ever take him back. I don't even want to be friends with him again. Which makes it awkward given our Moms are so close."

"Has he tried to reach out to you?" Sofia asked.

Eden shook her head. "Well," she amended, "he did send me a text two days after I caught him with Lissa, asking to talk."

Sofia pulled back to stare at her. "You didn't tell me that."

Eden shrugged. "I didn't reply back and blocked his number. I then blocked him from all my social media." She gave a bitter laugh. "I regretted it as soon as I did it. Cos' I was still deeply in love, ya know? And I did it as a jerk reaction. I just saw his stupid name pop up and I flipped."

"So, you're going to unblock him again?"

"Hell no." she firmly stated. "My Mom told me that it was a good thing that I blocked him so quickly. That I would've probably spent a lot of time reading through our texts and looking at his profile on insta. This way, out of sight out of mind and I can get on with getting over him. She was right. It's gotten easier."

"Until you saw him holding hands with bitch face."

Eden nodded sadly.

"Hey," Sofia bumped her shoulder with hers. "Let's blow off the rest of school and get shakes at Hammer Shake Shack."

Eden grinned. "As long as we get a basket of curly fries to go with it."

"Duh," Sofia smacked her shoulder and laughed.

As the school year dragged on, things got a little easier. She still missed and loved Barron, as much as she hated him. It was hard to let go of the sweet, loving and loyal boy that he was to what she had witnessed over Summer.

Her Mom and Barron's met up at her house regularly. They used to meet a lot at Kelly's due to her sizable deck and pool but her Mom was staunchly supportive of her daughter and refused to be anything but the slightest bit civil to Barron. Her Mom was a protective Mama bear through and through.

At first, things were awkward between her and Kelly. The conversation was stilted and she used to make herself scarce so that she didn't accidentally overhear any information about Barron and Lissa. Not that Kelly would ever talk about her son in front of her.

However, one day, she did overhear something that had briefly piqued her curiosity and sent her on another downward spiral.

She had been upstairs studying when she had come down for a soda break. The unmistakable sound of Kelly's soft voice floated up the stairs, stalling her descent.

"I tell ya, Susan, that boy is walking around the house like a bear with a sore paw."

"Sorry, Kells. I still adore your son but it serves him right for what he did to my baby."

"Is there any way -"

"None." She had heard her Mom firmly say.

"So he hasn't come round?"

There was a heavy pause. Eden's foot was suspended in the air, afraid to make the slightest movement in case her presence was rumbled.

"Yeah," her Mom sighed out heavily.

Eden's eyes widened in shock. Her Mom had never told her that Barron had come round.

"Eden is adamant that she wants nothing more to do with Barron," her Mom explained. "She's blocked him from everything and she seems to be doing better. I still hear her crying sometimes in her room."

She cringed at that. So much for thinking she was being quiet. The next time she feels the need for an emotional release she'll remember to turn her music on.

"He came round twice asking after her. One time she legitimately wasn't there. The other time, I was so mad at him I just wanted him to go away. Eden was having a good day, smiling and laughing. She had changed out of her sweats and had helped me cook dinner. She was getting back to her normal self, slowly but surely. I don't know what he would've said to her but I know it would've set her back twenty paces. I don't know if it was the right thing to do but -" She could picture her Mom shrugging in uncertainty,

"I get it," Kelly interrupted. "I'm a Mom, even though I wanna strangle Barron, but I would protect him as well. I think you did the right thing."

Eden quietly trudged back up the stairs, heart in her throat and tears burning her eyes. The fact that she had such a physical reaction over Barron trying to see her proved that her Mom probably made the right call in fielding his visits.

Her mind drifted back to the one and only time Barron had spoken to her since she had caught him with Lissa.

She had studied late at the school library which stayed open an extra hour for students on Monday and Thursdays. As her head was bent over her biology workbook, she felt a presence come closer to her through her peripheral vision. Her body tensed, sensing who it was before they spoke.

"E." Barron softly said.

She had gripped her book tightly, refusing to glance up.

"E, can we talk, please?"

Tears once again burned at her eyes and she held her breath, trying to keep them at bay. Anger and sadness coursed through her but she was determined to stay in control of her emotions. At least in front of him.

"Eden, please look at me." he softly said, coming round to stand in front of the desk she was working on.

Slowly she lifted shimmering blue eyes to his. He looked tortured. That was the only word she could use to describe him.

Good, she thought sourly. Let him drown in his own guilt over what he did to her. To us.

Hazel eyes raked over her, almost in desperation. He smiled hesitantly. "Are you doing okay?"

And just like that Eden's breath let out in a puff of disbelief. She hurriedly stood and began gathering her books, stuffing them haphazardly into her bag.

"Shit, Eden, wait." Barron rushed out, hands stretched towards her, palms out as if to calm or slow her down. "I'm sorry that was a stupid question."

She shot him a "ya, think" look before putting her arms through the straps. She stormed past him, ignoring the stares of the other students.

"Wait!" Barron called out, striding behind her urgently.

She ignored him and continued walking down the empty hallway, arms crossed protectively at her chest.

"I'm only asking because I'm fucking mis -"

She whirled around and shoved him back before he could collide with her.

"Do not follow me, you cheating asshole!" she hissed out at him, face red with anger.

He jumped back and held his hands up, his expression still frenzied. "E -" he started.

"No!" She sliced him. "No E, no Eden, no baby - nothing! You get nothing! Don't look at me, don't speak to me and don't ever touch me. We are nothing to each other, do you hear? Nothing!"

And with those parting words she turned and shot out through the school doors. Barron didn't follow her.

As it got closer to Winter break, Eden had another mini breakdown when she walked into the school cafeteria and was greeted with the sight of Lissa sitting on Barron's lap, kissing his neck. She turned around and walked straight out again.

Her Mom had come home and found her buried under her mountains of blankets, sobbing. It was always one step forward and thirty steps back with her emotions. She couldn't wait for the school year to be finished so that she wouldn't have to see or speak to Barron or Lissa again. She could do it, too. She was taking some time off to go see her Dad and half siblings in San Diego before enrolling in their local community college and hopefully transferring to a four year college. She thought she wanted to stay in Pennsylvania but now an out of State school sounded like a dream.

The original plan was to start community college together with Barron before transferring together to a four year college in their State. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. She had no idea if his plans had changed, too.

Her Mom pulled back her comforter, her mouth turned down in sorrow at seeing her daughter in pain.

"Aww, baby, please stop crying."

"Why won't it stop hurting?" she hiccuped. "One day I'm fine and the next I see them together and I'm back to that first day, seeing them in the pool together."

"Come here." Her Mom opened her arms and Eden soared into them without hesitation. She cried harder as her Mom stroked her hair lovingly, making soothing noises.

"Grief is a tricky thing." she said. "There's no linear movement to it. It's up, down, zig zag and cross wards. I was the same when your father left. I went one year feeling great, dating again and all that. Then our favorite song came on the radio one day in the car. I had to pull over."

She pulled back and stared at her Mom through red rimmed eyes. "How did you ever get over it?"

"Time." She simply said. "And something else that I won't mention." she joked as she gave her daughter a saucy wink.

"Ew, Mom" she laughed, wiping her face with the back of her arm.

"Hey!" Her Mom suddenly brightened. "I have an idea."

"What?" Eden warily eyed her.

"Let's go on a girls trip to New York!"

Eden laughed and stood up, wiping her face with the bottom of her shirt. It was gross, she knew, but hey she was grieving.

"C'mon, it'll be fun! We'll be tourists for the week - stay at a fancy hotel, take the ferry to see the Statue, visit Central Park, sightsee out the Empire State, eat our weight in junk food at Times Square... c'mon it'll be a blast. One last trip with dear old Mom before you go out to see Dad. Pluuuuus...." she sang out and wiggled her eyebrows. "You won't have to see Barron and whats-her-face for a week."

Well, now, that did sound appealing. One week reprieve from having to check the hallways first in case Barron and Lissa were making out at their locker. She didn't really have anything important left to do in her classes now that winter break was coming up. Anything she needed she could have Sofia fill her in.

New York. It was only an hour flight from where they lived but it still seemed like a different world. Yeah, fucking why not?

"I take it by your silence that your old Mom has some good ideas left in her?" Her Mom pushed.

She turned and smiled brightly at her Mom. Her first genuine smile in a long time. "Yeah," She said excitedly. "Good idea, Mom. Let's do it!"

Her Mom pumped her fist in the air. "Yass, girls trip! You never know, you may come back as a brand new girl."

If only she knew how true that would be. For as soon as their flight landed in La Guardia two weeks later, her life changed forever.