Whispered Curses

I hung my head. "Yes."

Eden turned, releasing my hand, and leaning slightly away from me. "You'll never understand how sorry I am,” she said in a weak , quivering voice. "But if you, or anyone else got hurt because of this, I would never forgive myself."

She stood up, her hands clenching and twitching. “I need to be alone for a bit. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I feel awful leaving you after everything you're paying for–"

"Don't even think about that," I said. “I'm just happy your mom is being cared for. But please Eden, I never want to stop taking care of you. Helping you. Being with you."

"I can't," she choked, taking a step away from me. "I can't hurt you. I don't want to hurt myself, but that's less important. So I can't see you again."

I just stared at her. Her beautiful lips were twitching. Her lovely eyes refused to look up into mine, as she blinked frantically to hold back the tears.

"What if I got you your own hotel room, and we discussed this in a day or two?" I asked gently.

She shook her head. "No. I can't trust myself. Eric, I… Feel so much for you that walking away feels like shredding myself into pieces. But it's the only choice.”

Eden took two more steps back, as if she could feel how much I needed to hold her.

"Thank you for everything. Take care of yourself." She turned and ran. I watched helplessly as she went down the street.

Once she was out of sight, I stood up and went to the row of taxis at the side of the hospital. Jumping in, I gave him an address.

There was no way in heaven or hell that I was going to lose the girl of my dreams because of some superstitious nonsense unless I had proof that it was real. There was only one way to find out.

~ Chapter 23 ~ Eden ~

* Nana *

I knew that a cup of tea with my grandmother always made things better. This time, I needed it more than ever.

I found the most direct bus route to take me to Nana’s condo. Staring out the window along the way, I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful Vancouver scenery. I felt completely gutted. Not just hollow, but as if I’d been scraped out.

At the time, breaking up with Andy because he was about to dump me anyway was the end of the world. Now I could see that was like comparing a hangnail to tumbling off a cliff.

Eric made my heart race like never before. Now it felt like my heart had disintegrated, leaving behind a residue of black tar. Possibly poisonous.

The worst thing of all was that he might never understand. I wasn't just doing this for my own safety, it was primarily for his.

I knew that listening to whispered outbursts and trying to live your life by them might seem illogical. But my family had seen far too many of these prophecies come true. When you're faced with evidence again and again, you have to accept it. It's always going to be there.

Getting off the bus, I walked two blocks, trying to breathe in some fresh air to clear myself. I couldn't let Nana see how upset I was.

Tomorrow I would figure out how to help Mom for a few days, then get home. Tomorrow, I would figure out how to attempt to patch myself back together well enough to take care of everything. In a few days, I could compose an email or text to Eric, thanking him for everything.

As I entered the lobby of Nana’s building, I said good morning to several sweet white-haired ladies who were all reading books on plush couches. It was funny that I'd never seen the seating in a building lobby being used before. It was lovely that they were social during their quiet reading time.

I took the slow elevator up to the fourth floor, while I thought about being alone again. Sure, being alone was a lot better than being with Andy, at the end. In the beginning, I was deliriously happy from the thought of always having someone to call.

I didn't want to be a fragile girl. But there was a great comfort having a man around if I needed protection. Or comfort. A little voice in the back of my head screamed, ‘Or a private plane to visit your mother in an emergency.’

The knowledge that I was a complete jerk rattled around my mind heavily. After everything Eric had done for me, I broke up with him. I could only hope that after some time had passed, he would understand that I was doing it for his own safety as well as mine.

Walking down the pristine cream-colored hallway, I felt absolutely nauseated knowing that I had hurt him. There was so much to love about him. So much to still learn. So many possibilities.

Being forced to shut all of this down made my skin crawl. Yet I knew it was right. It was the only safe thing to do. My stomach churned since we had flown together, knowing now what may have happened.

Taking a deep, clearing breath, I smiled hard, trying to relax my face. I had to have a bright expression. Nana might be upset that Mom was in the hospital, so I couldn’t put any more stress on her plate right now.

Knocking on the door marked forty-six, I heard Nana's familiar shuffle to the door.