Finding Eden (19 page)

“
Wow,” Elle said.

“
Agreed.” 

“
Do you think anyone’s home? Should would knock?” She laughed, walked up to the door, and turned the knob. It opened.

“
Oh, my God! Gabriel! Come see!”

[ Elle
]

The cabin was small, but had everything a person would need to live fully. The main living area had a cranberry colored loveseat with a navy blue recliner beside it. They both looked handmade and not purchased. In front of them, there was a fireplace that I figured would never go to any use, but it still looked nice and kind of tied everything together. Against the wall there was a light oak wardrobe. I made a mental note to check it out later. There were paintings on the walls of English hunting dog scenes.

On the other side of the room was the kitchen area. I walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet, and water poured from the tap.

“
Running water, Gabriel!” I jumped up and down, not caring if I looked like a five-year old who had to go pee. “There must be another entrance somewhere. They surely didn’t get all these items through the tunnel system.”

He brushed against me and turned the faucet off. “That’s insane. I can’t believe they built pipes into this place.” He turned and pointed. “They also have a wood stove.”

“
They?” I said, remembering that he never told me where he had gotten the map.

“
I guess it’s
we
now.” He smiled and brushed his lips against my cheek. He opened up the cabinets built into the wall above the counter.

“
Dishes! Cups!” I squealed as I pulled open a drawer. “Flatware too! Oh, Gabriel, this is incredible.”

I practically floated passed the kitchen table and into what was the main bedroom. There was a queen-size bed with a small square table on each side. It had two very inviting pillows and a blue and green plaid quilt draped over the mattress. Two dressers stood against the front wall, near the door. I opened one; it was filled with women's clothing. The other was for a man. They must have been husband, wife, and child because when I went to the next room, it was built for a kid. Between the two bedrooms was the bathroom. It also had running water plus a toilet. If I had to choose between one million dollars and a toilet, I’d choose the toilet every time. I was tired of squatting behind rocks and bushes.

I turned around to Gabriel and that sad, reminiscing look was in his eyes. And then it hit me: this house was built for three, just like his family—a husband, wife, and child. It was so unfair and I ached for him. I quickly wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. He was limp for a second, but then he slid his arms around my neck.

“
I’m sorry,” I said. It was muffled against his shirt.

“
Don’t worry about it.”

“
Will you be okay?” I lifted my hand to his face and poked the crease between his eyes. “None of that,” I said.

“
Thanks, Blondie.” He smiled as he placed his hand on the top of my head.

“
Hey!” I frowned.

“
Sorry. I meant Elle.” He replaced his hand with his lips and kissed my head.

“
I forgive you.” I went back into the main bedroom and put my pack against the front of the bed. I didn’t want to think about sleeping arrangements right now.

There was a back door hidden beside the wardrobe I hadn’t noticed before. On the other side of the door was a backyard complete with a clothing line and garden. Most of the vegetables were fully grown and I saw juicy, red strawberries sprouting from their vines.

“
Fresh vegetables…” I breathed. I instantly began to salivate. There were snap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, carrots, and even fruit trees outlined the backyard with bright oranges, candy red apples, and fuzzy peaches.

I turned around and found Gabriel staring in awe.

“
Gabriel,” I said. “We could make a life here…never go hungry. There’s just enough sunlight pouring in that we could live in both night and day again.”

“
Make a life?” He rubbed his chin.

“
Yes. We can live here and never fear hunger or sunlight again. Oh, God, this really is Eden!” I took his hand in mine and squeezed it.

“
They would have loved it here. If only they had lived.” His face hardened.

“
You know how sorry I am, Gabriel.”

He took a deep breath and turned away. “I have to piss.” He disappeared into the cabin.

I adored that man, but he was just like a yo-yo—up and down, up and down. One second he was all over me and the next, he was being reminded of his former wife, turning his jovial demeanor into that of something dark and sticky.

I ran a hand over my damp hair and followed him inside. I stood in the doorway. The living room was empty, but the child’s bedroom was closed.

To be honest with myself, this place was depressing—miraculous, but depressing. Someone else was supposed to be living here and they hadn’t made it for some reason. This was a family’s home, so carefully made for their own wants and needs, by their own specifications. I felt like a guest in this place and the idea that I would always feel that way gnawed at me. I wondered if I would ever feel at home here with Gabriel, but my doubts seemed like nothing compared to what he was going through. This would probably be a constant reminder of what he lost because of my damned dad. It made me worry that he’d always harbor some sort of anger towards me because he couldn’t have revenge on the rightful person. There would never be justice for him and I would be the short, blonde-haired reminder of that.

I knew I needed to talk to Gabriel, but I was afraid. What we had become over the last week was amazing and I wanted it to continue and grow. I didn’t want him to build himself a cocoon to hide in, unless he planned to break free from it a new man. I thought he had already gone through that transformation though, but maybe I was only fooling myself.

I knocked on the closed door. There wasn’t an answer, so I let myself in. He was sitting on the edge of the small bed, his hands clasped between his legs. He looked up at me and his eyes were glassy. I needed to fix him, to heal him, to make him all better. Seeing him like that put me in overdrive.

I wanted to touch him, but I settled for sitting cross-legged beside him. He chose this room for a reason. He could have gone in the other. I waited for him to say something first, but he didn’t.

“
You’re missing Danielle.”  I said quietly.

His head dropped into his hands the moment I said it and I felt like a first class moron. His fingers pressed so hard into his forehead that the joints were bone white.

“
You don’t have to say anything,” I said, and not being able to stop myself, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“
It’s like the place was meant for us.” His words were muffled against his hands. I knew he didn’t mean him and me.

It was selfish of me, but I was beginning to grow jealous of a dead woman. I wished he wouldn’t have kissed me if he still harbored such feelings for her. I wanted to walk away, but I stopped myself. This wasn’t about me and I had to be his friend right now.

“
I know,” I sighed against his arm. “While we’re on this subject…”
Shut up, Elle. Shut up, Elle. Shut the
hell
up, Elle!
“What my dad did—I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t,” he said, his voice frighteningly steady.

“
I
have
to apologize for what he did. I know why he stooped so low, but the reason will never justify his actions; I have to let you know how sorry I am it happened. It’s disgusting and horrific, and I hope someday—”

“
Stop!” He bellowed and it surprised me so intensely that I fell flat against the mattress. I automatically curled into myself—a natural reaction.

Nothing happened though. I opened my eyes to find Gabriel gawking at me from across the bed.

“
Did you really think I’d hurt you?” He looked in pain as he crawled over to me and straddled my waist.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

“
God, Elle.” He cupped the side of my face and softly slid his thumb along my cheekbone. “I would never. I just wanted to stop you from apologizing for your father.” He did the thing I never seemed to get sick of, which seemed even more intimate than a single kiss—he laid his forehead against mine and we both closed our eyes. “You never need to apologize for what he did. I know you are not him.”

“
You’ll forever connect me to his crime though. How could you not?” He rolled off of me and pulled me into an embrace, holding me tightly against his body.

“
How could I not? How
could
I? It has nothing to do with you! Don’t think like that, please.” He smiled against my temple and kissed me there.

I was coming down with another case of word vomit.
Shut up, Elle! Don’t even think about opening that mouth of yours.

“
Sarah.” I said it a little too quickly, so that I couldn’t stop myself.

“
What about her?”

“
You seem like you still have feelings for her, yet you are like
this
,” I pointed to his arms around me, “with me. I just don’t want to be lead…” I stopped, afraid I was beginning to sound like a jealous girlfriend.

“
It’s true that I miss her sometimes, but my love for her faded some time ago. It was out of my control.”

I let out a breath and stood up. “You know—this place could have been made for my family as well. It makes me miss my mom a lot. The design of the interior was exactly her taste. I just wish I knew how she died.”

“
I’m sorry. I was being selfish—I didn’t even think about how this place would make you feel,” Gabriel sighed.

“
No. We’ve both lost a lot and something will always make those difficult memories resurface. All we can do is survive for our lost loved ones. That’s the only way their memories can live on.”

Gabriel smiled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Aren’t you just full of
wisdom.”

I laughed. “Are you surprised?” I asked as I looked out the window. “I’m hungry and I’m tired. Shall we see what looks good in the garden?” I held out my hand to him and he took it. It felt right.

We both had our problems and faults and I knew we’d overcome them without a hitch. As corny as it sounded, we just had to work at it together.

[ Gabriel ]

Elle and I both filled up a plate with fruits and vegetables. No more expired MREs, stale potato chips, and five-year old beef jerky. We sat down at the small dining table that had seating for four. Elle sat across from me and I waited for her to take the first bite. She had the biggest smile on her face as she stared down at the ripe strawberries, bright orange carrots, and the apple she had sliced into quarters. My plate mirrored hers, except I had added a couple of peaches, snap peas, and half of a peeled cucumber.

As soon as she bit into a strawberry, I dug into my meal. I wasn’t used to such healthy and fresh options, so I didn’t waste any time at all. My plate was cleaned off in a little over five minutes. The fruits were sweet and the cucumber had that same refreshing taste I had always known and loved.

Elle took my dish and brought it to the sink with hers. She turned on the faucet and started to rinse them off. Not being able to resist, I came up behind her and slipped my arms around her waist. She jumped slightly, but quickly leaned back into me, molding her body to mine. I rested my chin atop her head. She smelled like freshwater and strawberries.

“
Ah, doing what a woman should be doing.” I snickered and she jabbed my ribs with her elbow.

“
Oh, I didn’t know you were a male chauvinist.” She turned around and wiped her wet hands all over my neck, then dried them off on my shirt.

“
Oh, please! You know I’m teasing you.” I nipped at her ear.

“
Of course, I do.” Elle laughed, shoved me out of the way, and headed towards the bedroom. She yawned and arched her back, stretching. “It must be almost noon. Time for bed.”

“
We’re going to have to go back to being diurnal.” I stepped after her.

“
Aw, but I so loved living the life of a vampire.” Her lips twitched and she disappeared into the room.

I used the bathroom and by the time I made it into the bedroom, Elle was dressed in another woman’s pajamas and curled up on the bed. She made the bed look more comfortable
than it probably was, but I wouldn’t complain.

“
May I join?” I stood at the end of the bed.

“
You didn’t even have to ask. It’ll just be like sleeping on the cave floors, except actually comfy.”