"Well, he's fucked that up now hasn't he?"

Eden was laid out on her bed, her iPad propped up in front of her as she watched Sofia dot her face with concealer.

Her best friend was currently in New Jersey, getting ready to attend her cousin's quinceañera.

She had just finished relaying the latest episode with Barron, thankful that her friend hadn't called her stupid for having reached out for further talks in the first place.

"Seems that way," she murmured, her mood sour.

It had been two days since she had spoken with Barron. He had left her alone for the night but the next morning she had awoken to his usual good morning text, an apology and a plea to again hear him out.

She hadn't replied back for what more was there to say? He had lied to her face about the women in his life. If he had just told her that he had casual sex and left it at that then she wouldn't have cared.

Yes, it twisted her gut to think of him with other women, but he was free and single. And it wasn't like she had been celibate after they had split.

"What does that mean?" Sofia started blending in her foundation. "You going to hear him out again?"

Eden sighed. "For what purpose? I really only chatted to him to clear the air about what happened between us and to see if we could.. I dunno, start up a friendship of sorts. Nothing like we used to have, just..." she pittered out, unsure how to voice her thoughts to Sofia.

"You miss the fucker," she bluntly said as she rifled through her makeup bag.

"Yeah," she admitted. She changed positions onto her belly, propping her chin on her hands as she watched Sofia get ready.

"Tell me I'm an idiot." she invited.

"You're an idiot." she said bluntly. Then she stared at the screen at Eden and smirked.

"But you're also human. I get it. Sometimes I miss that douche canoe, too. I mean, he was one of my besties, too, ya know?"

Eden knew that Barron had reached out to both Sofia and Ryan to apologize for his behavior senior year. While they acknowledged his apology, they decided not to rekindle their friendship with Barron out of respect to Eden.

"You know, it's okay if you want to be friends with him again. I won't be offended."

Sofia tapped her mascara stick on her chin in mock thought.

"Well, I would like free drinks at The Good Home." She joked before unscrewing the lid on her mascara.

"So why did he lie about this Tracey chick, then? Did he say?"

Eden shook her head. "He just said that what Tracey confirmed to me was true but that it wasn't the whole story or something. He tried to explain but by then I was so done with the conversation that I just left."

"So are you going to hear him out... again?"

She let out a snort at Sofia's tone. "All right you shady bitch. I know that he and I seem to be starting and stopping all the time."

A sound from outside her closed bedroom door caught her ear. She tipped her head towards the noise and deciphered her Mom and Kelly's voice. She had been home alone for most of the day.

"What?" Sofia asked as she swiped the wand of her mascara on her eyelashes.

"Nothing. Just Mom's here with Kelly." She sat up. "They sound agitated."

"Okay. I better go finish getting ready. And hey," she peered at her as she multitasked with her make up. "I might be a judgey bitch, but I fully support whatever decision you make with Barron. Hear him out, don't hear him out. It's up to you. You guys have a lot of history, we all do with each other; so no one will judge you for finding it hard to fully break away."

She smiled, tears smarting at her eyes at Sofia's words. She was so lucky to have her and Ryan in her life. "Same here for you. I fully support you getting free drinks in the future."

She popped up from her bed, wanting to go see what the commotion was outside. "Have fun. Tell Zoey happy birthday from me."

After she logged off, she left her room and followed the voices coming from the kitchen.

"I just don't know who else to get this late in the game." She heard Kelly say, her voice worried. "This is such a - oh hey, sweetheart." Kelly called out when she saw her there. She was smiling but Eden could see the strain behind it.

"What's going on?" She asked the two women. They were seated at the dining table, a few papers spread out in front of them.

Kelly gave a frustrated sigh, pulling at her short hair. "Michael Gong pulled out as the special guest performer for the New Haven Summer Fair."

"Who?"

The annual New Haven Summer Fair was an event that all kids looked forward to. It marked the end of summer break, but was also a gentle reminder that school was back in session the following week.

Eden had loved attending the fair with Barron. They would stuff their faces full of funnel cake, cotton candy, hot dogs and milkshakes. They would make out on top of the ferris wheel and Barron would usually win her an obnoxiously sized soft toy. The last summer they were together, she remembered recreating a very memorable scene from the movie Fear when Mark Wahlberg fingered a young Reese Witherspoon on the rollercoaster.

She hadn't been to the Fair since she had permanently left New Haven and hadn't been planning to attend this year. She was heading back to New York a few days before it would occur, eager to get some rest before her packed schedule would start.

"Michael Gong. He came fourth on American Idol that one season."

"Oh. Right." She vaguely remembered that someone from a neighboring town had competed in the reality TV show. There was a massive campaign to get him votes since he was considered kind of a local.

"Anyway, he was going to be our guest performer but he pulled out. I can't get anyone this short notice."

She bit her tongue from saying that the acoustic singer at their local bar would probably be more well received than Michael Gong, but she didn't want to kick Kelly when she was down.

Her Mom rubbed her hand up and down Kelly's back in a soothing gesture. "Don't fret, Kell. We'll figure something out. Someone must know someone."

And just like that, an idea came into her head.

Excited, she quickly ran through the logistics, wondering whether it would work. She needed to make a call, the sooner the better.

"I'll be back!" She called out to them as she turned on her heel and rushed to her room in a flurry.

Grabbing her previously discarded iPad, she searched through her contacts before clicking on the profile, hoping that his last Instagram story showing him in Los Angeles was still current.

Her screen rang for a moment before a shaky camera angle appeared, showing a white wall.

"Hello?" she squinted, trying to make out the fuzzy picture.

"Alright, love?" A familiar Mancunian accent greeted her. "This is a nice surprise."

Joshua's smiling handsome face filled the screen. His tattooed fingers raked through his longish black hair; silver rings glittered on his index and thumb.

She gave Josh a wide smile, a fond warmness rippled through her as it always did whenever she saw him. They had so much history together; first as friends, then lovers before resuming their previous platonic friendship without any hard feelings.

"Joshy!" she greeted him before leaning into the screen, her face anxiously earnest. "Please tell me you're still in the States?"

"Eden!" Kelly exclaimed in delight when she opened the front door and spied her standing there. She opened the door wider, beckoning her in. "Come in, come in."

With a smile of thanks she moved past Kelly into their front hallway.

"Let's go into the kitchen." She put a hand on her elbow to stop her progress. "I do have to warn you - Barron's here."

Eden gave Kelly a small smile, twisting her hands in tense disquiet. "Yeah, I saw his car." She gave a hard swallow, hoping her discomfort wouldn't show through her features.

Sure, as soon as she saw his car she had stopped in her tracks and actively turned around to leave.

But then she had stopped short, chastising herself for being sensitive.

Eden had been so excited by her news, but by the time she had come out of her bedroom after catching up for a while with Joshua, Kelly had already gone home.

She had left straightaway, wanting to see her face in person when she told her that she had a replacement that would blow Michael Gong out of the water.

So she had squared her shoulders, taken a deep breath and surged forward towards the Carter residence. Who cares if he was here? They could be friendly with each other. It's his Mom she came here to see, after all.

But as she came through to the kitchen area and spotted Barron seated at the kitchen island, she almost paused in her step as the previous uneasiness settled over her.

She hadn't seen or spoken to him since their "talk" part two, and although it had started off well; it certainly hadn't ended that way.

Kelly rubbed her back encouragingly which reminded her that she was here for this woman; who she loved and would do anything for. Causing strain between them all was not something she wanted.

"Hi, Barron." She quietly called out to him.

His head shot up as he turned around in his seat so suddenly, almost dislodging himself. His mouth was agape for a second before a wide smile split his face. He jumped up, eyes devouring her intensely as he made his way to her.

Eden shifted uncomfortably, sure that Kelly could witness the acute way that her son was eating her up with his eyes.

Although, from the way Barron was keenly zeroed in on her, she didn't think he cared how it looked to his Mom.

She was having trouble not reciprocating his overt perusal herself. His arms were bared in a gray tank, his biceps defined and bronzed. He looked delicious and she cursed her body's reaction.

"Eden," he greeted her, his voice low and intimate. "Are you here to see-"

"Your Mom," she interrupted him before he could say more.

She didn't know whether he had discussed with his parents their side meetings but she wanted to keep it private; especially since she was unsure where things would be left between them once she left New Haven.

She didn't want Kelly or her Mom getting their hopes up that something would happen between them, friendly or otherwise.

Barron stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed in confusion at her response. She spied a hint of disappointment in his face, knowing that he had hoped that she had been here to track him down; just like she had when she came to his office on Wednesday.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Kelly asked in the strained silence.

Remembering the reason she came here, she turned to Kelly and grasped her hands, attempting to ignore the heat seeking body towered behind her.

"You left before I could tell you. The performance for the Fair-" she squeezed Kelly's hands as the other woman's face fell, recollecting the disaster of the last minute cancellation.

"- I have the perfect replacement act for you."

Surprise and relief lit her face and she started bouncing a little on the spot. "Who?" she implored.

"Joshua Gates." She proudly said. At the frown on Kelly's face, she realized that she probably didn't know who he was by name, or maybe not even who The Living English were.

"He's-"

"The lead singer of The Living English!" She exclaimed before what could only be described as a high pitched squeal sounded out as the older woman jumped up and down on the spot.

Eden laughed at her antics, pleasure coursing through her at being able to provide Kelly with such excitement.

Kelly looked behind her at Barron. "Did you hear that, honey? Joshua Gates is-

"Eden's ex boyfriend." Barron supplied darkly, his voice flat.

Kelly's face fell at her son's words and tone. Her eyes flicked to Eden's blushing cheeks, seemingly at a loss for words on how to respond to her son's behavior.

Anger inflamed her at his attitude. The elated air had been sucked out of the room like a lead balloon.

She turned to face him, noticing his tightly clenched jaw as he stared at her with gritty emotion.

"He's a close friend of mine." She told him in a low tone, watching his eyes dart away; jaw still held tightly with controlled agitation. "And couldn't agree fast enough to help your Mom out when I asked him-"

"I just bet he did," he bitterly interrupted.

"Barron David Carter, I am not liking your attitude!" Kelly ground out at him,

Eden resisted the urge to poke her tongue out at his Mom's chastising.

Barron folded his arms, causing her eyes to pause briefly at the defined muscle.

But when his hazel eyes coldly met hers, the temptation to slap his face at the look of betrayal he threw at her outweighed her libido.

"Anyway," she carried on, fixing him with a gaze she hoped melted his gonads off, she turned back to Kelly. "I called Josh and asked him if he could fill in and he was happy to do it,"

She heard a snort behind her with what sounded like "I just bet he was."

Eden took a deep breath, "Anyway," she said loudly for his benefit. "I was planning on leaving a couple of days before the Fair but will stay on for his performance and leave the next day. So what do you think? Better than Michael Gong, huh?"

Kelly squealed again before launching herself at Eden for a tight hug.

"Oh my goodness, Eden! This is amazing. I mean, I have to run it past the committee first but I can't imagine that they would say no."

"Well let me know as soon as you speak with them and I'll firm up plans with Josh."

She waved her hand dismissively, "Pfft, don't you worry about them. But just so we don't keep your friend waiting, I'll call them now."

"Great! Well, flick me a text when you know. I'll get out of your hair." Ignoring the searing heat of Barron's glare which she could feel digging into her back, she reached out to hug and kiss the other woman.

"Let me walk you out." Barron said, his hand coming to her back to guide her.

"Barron, I'm sure Eden can find her way out," Kelly snapped. Clearly Barron was going to get an earful from his Mom once she left.

"It's okay, Kelly," Eden interrupted, not wanting to exacerbate the situation further.

Not bothering to wait, she bid her goodbye and strolled towards the front door with Barron hot on her heels.

Her heart was hammering as she could practically feel Barron wanting to burst. She knew that he was containing whatever it was he wanted to say to her until he was well out of earshot of his Mom.

Not wanting to encourage him, she opened the front door with a barely said "bye" but was stopped with a hard hand to her elbow.

"Was this on purpose?" He gritted out, his lips fluttering against her hair.

"What?" She hissed, whipping around to glare at him as she yanked her elbow out of his grasp. Their faces were close together, the look on her face matching his in incredulity.

"You won't let me explain about the other night so you call up an ex to-" he stopped, breathing in deeply through his nose as he tried to get a hold of his emotions.

"To what?" Cursing herself when the scent of his aftershave and the close proximity to him caused the sting in her tone to fall flat. "What, you think I called Josh up to make you...jealous?"

As his stare skittered away from hers she gave a scoff, unable to believe his nerve.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She pointed a finger at his chest, digging it deep to emphasize her point.

"Your Mom came to our house worried about the guest performer falling through. I did this to help your Mom out not - not -" she sputtered, unable to speak as she was so offended at his insinuation.

"You know what? I don't need this shit!" she hissed, making sure to keep her voice low. She knew that Kelly had gone upstairs but voices could still travel.

She went to spin away but was again stopped by his hand on her arm. He gently moved her back to him, wrapping his arm around her stomach. She immediately tensed and her breathing grew shallow at the feel of his body against hers so intimately.

His mouth pressed against her ear and she felt him inhale deeply, as if he was breathing in the very essence of her.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. She felt his forehead come down against her temple. "I'm sorry." Was all he said.

She paused, closing her eyes against the rush of emotion. All the fight left her body at his huskily worded concession.

After a moment, she pried his hands from her body. Her heart heavy, she slowly walked away.

"So, what's your endgame here, son?"

He jumped at the sound of his Dad's voice. "Jesus, Dad! Where did you come from?"

"I was in the study. Voices travel from the door, you know that." He walked up to Barron and placed his hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Barron blew his breath out and ran his hand through his hair in unrest. "Yeah, well I didn't know you were in there."

"What's going on between you two?"

He stared up at the ceiling, a mixture of jealousy and turbulence streaming through him still.

When Eden had turned up at their house he'd been elated, thinking she had decided to hear him out after all; let him explain about the fuck up with Tracey.

His elation turned to disappointment before quickly jumping to jealousy at hearing the name of her ex boyfriend coming from her lips.

He knew that she and Joshua Gates had dated for a while - how long, no one knew. Their relationship had become public when a photo of the two of them had appeared in a gossip mag which had then made its way to New Haven's Instagram page.

They were hand in hand with matching rubber boots, strolling through the mud at Glastonbury. There was a link to the story and in a moment of weakness he had clicked on it. It was a bunch of speculative bullshit about how their friendship had blossomed and a guestimate on how long they had been together. Just as quickly as he had read it, he clicked out of it and threw his phone down, causing the screen to crack.

He had refused to listen to The Living English since. Which was a pain since their songs almost always hit the top 10 lists and were sometimes in rotation at The Good Home.

He never willingly listened to them, more like it.

"I don't know, Dad. Things are up and down. Bad at first, then okay, then I thought it was going to get better and then-" He bowed his head. "it got fucked up all over again."

"So, back to my original question. What's your endgame with Eden? You know your Mom is ecstatic to have her back in her life. Shit, son, so am I. She was like a daughter to me-"

"Yes, yes, I get it. I fucked things up. Don't you think I don't know that, Dad? Don't you think I'm trying my hardest to get her to forgive me? This is the most she's let me back into her life, and I'm barely in the door as it is."

Frustration caused his voice to rise. He was desperate. Time was running out - she would be leaving New Haven soon. But to know that her ex was coming to town to see her? That they were obviously still close? It gutted him.

"You're trying to win her back." It was a statement, not a question.

He turned to face his Dad, conveying everything he was currently feeling through a single look, unable to hold back the truth from the person he looked up to the most.

His Dad was utterly devoted to his Mom. Something he was unashamed to hide from his son. Barron had every intention of mirroring his Dad's reverence for the woman in his life.