Guardian of Eden (9 page)

“I guess we’ll have to reschedule the interview.” I smiled down at her.

“Definitely.”
She smiled back.

***

“Are you okay, Gary?” Eden asked while we ate lunch.

“Yeah, why?”

“ ‘
cause you look rather
despondent
,” she said proudly. I couldn’t help but smile at her correct usage of the word of the day.

 “I’m not
despondent
, Bug. I’m fine.”

Eden wrinkled her nose. “Is it about that girl, Marty, Marjorie…
”

“
Maddie
,” I offered. Eden shrugged and took a bite of her hamburger. “I guess I am a little
despondent
over her,” I added after thinking for a moment. She seemed really sick. I wondered what was wrong with her and why she thought I would treat her like a leper. I hoped it wasn’t anything life-threatening.

“Why?” Eden asked as she wiped her mouth on a napkin. “Does she not like you or something?”

“I don’t know.”

“If she doesn’t like you, she’s insane. You’re the sweetest, cutest, smartest boy I know. And you’re the best big brother in the world.” My heart smiled. “Do you want me to talk to her?” she added.

“Thanks for the offer, Eden, but I think I can handle it.” I tousled her hair and stole a
french
fry.

***

 That night,
Maddie
called me. We spoke for hours about nothing at all and it was wonderful. I didn’t worry about secrets, lies, and murders. We talked about movies, books, magazines. We even debated over which is the better side item, onion rings or
french
fries. In
Maddie’s
opinion, circular food of any kind wins hands down.
Maddie
was the first person ever to make me laugh, besides Eden of course.

“
Gary, I need help with my homework,” Eden called as she entered my room. I covered the phone with my hand and said,

 “Can we do it later, Bug? I’m on the phone.”

 “You said
that
two hours ago.”

 “Just ten…twenty more minutes okay? I promise.” Eden left my room in a huff.

“Who was that?”
Maddie
asked.

 “That’s just my baby sister. She needs help with her homework.”

“Oh, well, do you need to go?”

“
No…no, I want to talk to you.”

An hour later, I went to Eden’s room.

“
Okay, are you ready to get started?” I asked, hopping on her bed.

“Don’t worry about it, Gary. Corbin helped me.” Eden had already changed into her pajamas and was tying her long hair into a ponytail.

“He did?”

“Yeah, I had to write this paper about some stupid lizard and Corbin helped me write it and even found some pictures for me to add.”

“Oh, okay. So, you’re all done then?”

 
“Yep.”
Eden crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

“What about math? Did you do your math homework?”

“Yep.”
Eden rolled onto her side, turning her back towards me.

“Eden.” She didn’t respond. “Eden, are you mad at me?” She continued to ignore me. “I asked you a question, little girl,” I said, as I started tickling her. She laughed and kicked and squealed and begged me to stop. “Not until you forgive me.”

 “I forgive you, I forgive you,” she panted.

“Good. I love you. See you in the morning.” I kissed her forehead then stood up to leave.

“Gary,” she called before I reached the door. “Do you love
her
too?” I knew she meant
Maddie
.

“I think so.”

“Well, then I’ll love her, too, okay?” I smiled and clicked off her light.

“I’m cold,” Eden said for the fifth time. “I think it’s
gonna
snow.”

“It’s not going to snow,” I said, feeling she was being a little dramatic.

“I hope it does snow. Maybe they’ll send us home or cancel school tomorrow. Why are we standing outside, anyway? Who are you looking for?” She whined.

“Don’t end sentences with prepositions.” I stated as I stared at the cars pulling into the parking lot of Barton Arms. I knew
Maddie
would be arriving any minute.

“Fine.
Who are you looking for,
Gary
?”

“Very funny.
Go to class. We can meet for lunch today, okay?” I kissed the side of her head and tousled her hair. Eden re-adjusted the purple beret Corbin brought her from Paris last week, lifted her chin in the air and strutted off as if she was mad at me.

“I’ll see you for lunch.” I called, ignoring her façade.

“I love you!” She replied brightly as she blew me a kiss and ran away. She couldn’t even pretend to be angry with me for more than a few seconds.

I leaned against the railing and tried to assume a relaxed position so
Maddie
wouldn’t think I was waiting for her. Seconds later, she appeared.

“
Hey,” I said when she was about to walk past me.

“Hello.”
Maddie
hugged her books tightly, adjusted her backpack and avoided making eye contact.

“Can I carry those for you?”

“Why don’t you go carry
her
books?” she said looking in the direction Eden had just walked.

“She’s in middle school. She barely has any books.”

“Middle school?
You’re dating a middle
schooler
? That’s sick, Garrett!” She started up the steps, but I grabbed her arm and turned her around.

“Wait,
Maddie
. She’s my sister. That’s Eden.” I could see the wave of confusion wash over her face. “I thought I told you she was white.”

“
That’s
your sister?” I nodded. “My God, I’m such an idiot. I…I saw you eating lunch with her yesterday and then I saw you holding her hand and I just assumed. Oh, my God, I am a complete moron.”

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” We hadn’t spoken since our three hour phone conversation Monday night. I’d wave to her in the hall and she’d turn away or slip into a classroom. She was killing me, literally killing me. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. All I wanted to do was see her or talk to her or just touch her hand again.

“She doesn’t look twelve or almost twelve,”
Maddie
said after licking her lips. “She’s…she’s stunning. I mean, really, how tall is she?
5’7”, 5’8”?
No wonder your stepfather wants her to model. When I saw you with her I thought
,
why would he want me when he could have her? But she’s your sister.”
Maddie
chuckled a little. “But you can see why I was jealous. She…she’s gorgeous. I should have known. I mean, look at you. You’re beautiful so of course your sister would be beautiful.”

 She thought I was beautiful? Of course, I’d heard girls refer to me as ‘sexy’ or ‘cute’ or whatever, but something about the way she called me ‘beautiful’ touched me. I suddenly felt flushed and nervous. I hid my anxiety by smiling confidently and saying, “You think I’m beautiful?”
Maddie
turned red and dropped all of her books. Then she swallowed hard and licked her lips again. She did that a lot. I think it was a nervous habit. She didn’t realize it, but that habit drove me insane with desire. I loved her lips.
Maddie
started applying some cherry lip gloss that she’d retrieved from her coat pocket while I picked up her books. I saw an opportunity.

“Can I try some?”

“Lip gloss?” she asked completely confused.

“Yeah, just a little.”
Maddie
shrugged and held the tube out to me. But instead of taking it, I leaned down and caressed her lips with mine. They were even softer than I’d imagined. Her touch sent electric warmth careening through my body. She kissed me back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed me closer to her. “Can I take you somewhere? Today after school…can we go somewhere…together?”

“Anywhere,” she breathed.

***

During lunch I tried to find her. I thought maybe we could grab a bite together. I ended up in front of the newspaper office.

“Is it true you kissed that genius black kid?” I heard a girl ask before I entered. I knew she had to be talking to
Maddie
. I stood outside the door and listened for her response.

“His name is Garrett,” she said.

“Oh my God, so it is true?” The girl squealed. “What was it like?”

“It was…it was perfect. I mean I’ve kissed before, but nothing like this. I seriously almost fell over.” I relished in the fact that
Maddie
had enjoyed the encounter as well. My lips involuntarily curved into a smile of satisfaction.

“So, are you guys like together now?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know your father’s
gonna
flip, right?”

“My father doesn’t have to know.”

“Ha! How long do you think you can hide it from him? The senator has eyes everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if he already knows.”

So,
Maddie’s
father was a senator that apparently wouldn’t approve of me. I decided to use my lunch period for some investigation into this matter. But on my way to the computer lab, I ran into Eden.

“There you are, Gary. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Eden jumped on my back and kissed me on the cheek.

“You have? Why?”

She jumped down, tilted her head to the side and stared at me. She looked rather confused as she said, “You said we were having lunch today.”

“
I did? That’s right. I’m sorry, Bug. I forgot.”

“You forgot about me?” Eden’s voice quivered a little.

“No, of course not.
Look, we have twenty minutes left. Let’s go get a sandwich or something, okay?”