Denali Home, Alaska
May, 1992
Eden sat beside Raven, reluctantly listening to her converse with the person she resented the most. As much as she hated it, this was the only way she would find out if Raven was cheating.
"You have a permit, not a license, Ray. That means you can't drive the truck by yourself. I understand that Eden has her license, but you said she's only had it for six months. That's not good enough for the cops," Victoria explained as she helped Carmen cook the two humans dinner.
Raven groaned, facepalming. "This is why Ice Cube says fuck the police."
Eden covered her mouth to muffle her obnoxious laughter, while the others looked confused. She wasn't surprised they didn't listen to rap music.
"It's been a while since we've been to Meadowdale Beach, and the weather's looking promising. How about I let you drive us down there this weekend," Victoria suggested, chopping cilantro without looking.
Eden watched in disbelief as Raven brimmed with excitement, readily agreeing. She looked down at her hands as to not see that familiar, radiant smile that split her face when Victoria said anything at all. She could say the grass was purple and Raven would smile and agree with her.
She wanted to keep her mouth shut, but that wasn't who she was.
"We were going to have dinner with my parents, remember," Eden whispered to her girlfriend, unaware that she was surrounded by vampires.
Realization hit Raven and she grimaced. "Is there any way we can reschedule...?"
Eden's brows lifted incredulously. This was the first time the other girl had completely bailed on their plans. Only made worse by the fact that she blatantly made plans with someone else, despite their previous agreements, right in front of her.
"Yeah. Sure."
By the time dinner was finished, Eden was ready to go home. She'd had enough.
The way the other girl held onto Victoria's every word made her sick to her stomach. Raven barely glanced at her. It was as if she weren't there at all. She might as well have been a picture hanging on the wall. She was an accessory to be forgotten in place of a shiny new toy. Well, a not so new toy that was unfathomablely more beautiful.
When she and Raven went up to her room, Eden couldn't keep up her happy facade anymore.
"I forgot I have a paper I need to write. I should get going," she said, not looking at her.
Raven's eyes narrowed. She was completely unaware of how her own actions affected the other girl. Confusion marred her face and she gripped her girlfriend's arm to keep her from walking out the door.
"Hold on, what's going on with you? You've barely said anything to me all evening and now you're leaving," Raven asked, annoyed with her behavior.
"I didn't want to intrude on your conversation with Victoria. You seemed pretty invested."
Raven flushed, sputtering as she attempted to form some sort of rebuttal. She simply didn't have one because Eden was right. She'd been completely preoccupied for the better part of her visit without realizing how rude it was.
Raven fixed her mouth to apologize, but Eden stopped her with a raised hand.
"It's cool. We can always reschedule this, right?"
Victoria watched Eden leave with a heavy heart.
The girl was ready to burst into tears. Her voice was shaky when she said goodnight to them. She could be heard berating herself for visiting as she started her car. Her hands slammed the steering wheel making the vampire sigh.
"It's finally getting interesting around here," Kate sang, an infuriating smirk tugging at her lips.
Irina frowned deeply. "Indeed."
The obnoxious sound of a phone ringing made Eden roll her eyes. She walked over to it, picked it up, and slammed it back down for the thousandth time in the past three days.
"Who keeps calling my damn phone," Ewan Harlowe griped, Scottish accent heavy. Hard, blue eyes stared her down as he adjusted his tie.
"It's no one important," Eden replied, heading toward the stairs that lead to her room.
"It's obviously Raven, honey. This is the most time she's spent away. What happened? Are you girls fighting," Oliva asked her daughter, visibly worried. She hadn't been acting like her usual happy self as of late.
Eden sighed in annoyance. She didn't want to talk about it, especially with her parents. She just wanted to have a beer and smoke a joint to calm her nerves.
She couldn't tell them what was really going on. They were old fashioned Scots. The concept of homosexuality was not something they would ever accept. They would disown her and she'd be out on the streets in moments.
"Everything's fine, we're both just focusing on different things right now," she said, turning away from them to hide her puffy, red eyes.
"Enjoy your dinner."
Later that night, Eden lie in bed looking at pictures of her and Raven they'd taken at the photo booth. Her fingertip traced over the girl's smiling face, looking into her hazel eyes.
They looked good together.
Raven, the dark haired, mocha beauty constrasting against her red-haired hair and pale complexion. Eden's arm was wrapped around Raven's shoulder, while they looked into each other's eyes softly. The younger girl had gently traced a finger down the bridge of her freckled nose, before cupping her face in her warm hand.
Eden closed her eyes, remembering how quiet and peaceful that moment had been. There was only them. She could still feel Raven's finger caressing her face. She knew she was still just as in love as she was back then.
Even though Raven was slowly walking away from her.
The sound of a vehicle pulling into her driveway jolted her and she ran to the window. Raven hopped out of her truck and waved to Irina as she backed out and onto the street.
She grimaced, noticing the difference in how she treated Irina versus Victoria. No warm embraces, no smitten smiles. She considered pretending she wasn't at home, but her kind heart wouldn't let her leave the girl in the cold like that.
Eden opened the door without saying a word, and they walked up to her room with an uncomfortable silence thick in the air. After years of knowing everything about each other, it was as if they were strangers again.
Finally, Eden turned to her with her arms crossed over her chest. "How was the beach with your girlfriend?"
"I didn't go. If you would have answered your damn phone you would know that I was going to come over and have dinner with you and your parents," Raven said, her voice dripping with annoyance.
"First of all, fuck you. Second of all, how dare you have an attitude with me after you bailed on plans we've had for over two weeks. Right in front of my face," Eden growled, getting closer to her as she spoke.
"I tried calling you to apologize. I came by twice to see you, but you were gone. I'm sorry I forgot about our plans, but you don't get to just ignore me for days. That fucking hurts, Eden."
Raven jolted as the other girl laughed loudly in her face. It was entirely mirthless, and in that moment she could see the turmoil lying beneath her eyes like she never had before. She was hurting badly over something.
Eden pressed her finger deep into her chest.
"You know what hurts? Watching you fall for somebody I can't compete with."
Raven's eyes widened, having not expected to be called out. She coughed hard, shock making her choke on spittle. She was completely unprepared for this type of confrontation. To her, she hadn't been obvious in front of the other girl. How could she know?
Eden watched the emotions pass over her face with an aching heart. She thought she wanted to hear Raven say it. She thought she deserved it. Now, as she watched her struggle to speak, she regretted saying anything. Panick quickly set in. She was terrified to hear it aloud.
It would mean the end of them.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm in love with you, Eden. I'm yours," Raven said shakily. She winced, realizing she was trying to convince herself as well.
Eden looked her over. Her green eyes searched her face as if she couldn't recognize her, as though she were a ghost.
She felt like one.
In the past few months she learned it was possible to live in two planes of existence at once. The reality that existed when she was with Victoria and the reality where she was with Eden.
The only common ground being she was constantly trying to convince herself that the truth was, in fact, a lie. One can only live that way for so long before they lose sight of what is real.
Did she still love Eden as more than a friend anymore? Did she actually want to be more than friends with Victoria?
Raven wrapped her arms around her waist, pressing hot lips to her neck to distract them both. Eden's eyes fluttered closed and her nails dug into her back hard enough to make her hiss.
"Promise?" Eden breathed, leaning into her.
It sounded more like a plea.
Eden knew it was a promise meant to be broken. She knew Raven was falling out of love with her. She was asking to be lied to and promising she would believe it. Because, denial was so much warmer than the bitter cold of her reality. Simply having her felt better than being alone.
They drowned in silence as Raven kissed her.
