Chapter 11
1031 Words
JANICE'S POV
I see Eden before I even reach the kitchen. He's standing outside the service entrance with his hands in his pockets and that same unreadable expression on his face.
My stomach tightens because this isn't about work anymore.
The hallway smells like coffee and fresh bread, staff rush past us carrying trays and paperwork.
Nobody notices the tension stretching painfully between us or maybe they do.
Eden watches me approach. "You're early."
"I couldn't sleep."
The answer lands too heavily between us and his eyes stay on mine for a second too long then he asks quietly, "Can we talk?"
Every instinct inside me screams no but I nod anyway. We step into an empty storage room near the kitchen.
The second the door closes, the air changes. Eden leans against the counter behind him. "How long did you know Chloe?"
My heartbeat stumbles hard. "She was my sister."
His expression shifts slightly like he forgot that for one second or maybe he's still trying to understand it. "How close were you?"
I force my arms to stay folded. "We were twins, Eden."
"I know that."
"Then what are you asking?"
His jaw tightens. "When did you last see her?"
The question slices deeper than he realizes.
Hospital lights flash briefly through my head, machines, monitors. Chloe crying quietly while pretending not to be afraid.
I shove the memory away immediately. "Years ago."
His eyes narrow slightly. "That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Silence stretches then he asks softly, "Why does every conversation about her affect you like this?"
Because I watched her die, I destroyed both our lives afterward because you loved her first and you loved me after, because none of this was ever supposed to happen.
Instead I say nothing again, Eden notices the silence immediately.
The tension follows us straight into service and the kitchen explodes into movement around us.
Orders fly, metal crashes, steam curls thick through the air but under all of it I feel Eden watching me.
Celine notices too, she corners me near the prep station while Chan screams at somebody for overcooking salmon. "You look insane."
"Good morning to you too."
"You're shaking."
"I'm holding hot pans."
"You're emotionally holding hot pans."
I glare at her and Celine ignores me completely. Her eyes flick briefly toward Eden across the kitchen then back to me.
"What's happening with you two?"
"Nothing."
"That's a lie."
Before I can answer, Chan appears beside us carrying trays. He studies my face for a second then asks quietly, "You okay?"
The question catches me off guard because beneath the sarcasm and constant complaining, he actually sounds worried.
"I'm fine."
Both him and Celine stare at me. Nobody believes that answer anymore.
By afternoon exhaustion settles behind my eyes again then school calls.
My stomach drops immediately, Jack rarely causes problems.
The second I hear his teacher's voice, panic rises anyway, thankfully he's fine, jJust upset.
I pick him up after work and find him sitting quietly beside the classroom window.
"Hey."
Jack looks up slowly. "Hi, Mama."
I crouch beside him. "What happened?"
He shrugs but his fingers twist nervously around his backpack strap, finally he mutters, "We have a project."
"What kind?"
"Family tree."
The words hit harder than they should, I stay silent and Jack stares at the floor. "Everybody has to put their parents."
Something presses hard against my ribs, I brush his hair back gently. "You have me."
"I know."
His voice stays small then comes the question I've spent five years dreading. "Do I have a dad?"
The hallway suddenly feels too warm and small. "Yes."
Jack looks up immediately. "Then why doesn't he know me?"
My throat closes completely because there is no answer that won't hurt him.
No answer that doesn't destroy something, Jack waits and I can't speak.
The silence says too much. That night exhaustion drags through every inch of me by the time we reach home.
Jack disappears toward the couch with dinosaur cartoons. I barely finish locking the apartment door before somebody knocks.
My stomach tightens, nobody visits unexpectedly especially not at night.
I open the door carefully and freeze. Eden stands there holding Jack's notebook, the dinosaur one from the parking lot.
Eden lifts the notebook slightly. "He dropped this."
Relief hits so fast my fingers tighten against the doorframe. "Oh."
His eyes stay on my face carefully. "You okay?"
"Fine."
Lie obviously and he notices, Jack suddenly appears behind me. "Tall man!"
Eden's expression softens instantly. "I have an actual name."
Jack grins. "I forgot it."
"That feels intentional."
To my horror, Eden actually laughs. The sound catches me off guard completely.
Jack immediately launches into another dinosaur speech while dragging Eden halfway into the apartment before either of us can stop him and Eden lets him.
The next thirty minutes pass too naturally. Jack talks nonstop about cartoons and dinosaurs and school projects.
Eden listens like every word matters, like Jack matters.
Eventually Jack disappears toward his room searching for something dinosaur-related.
Silence settles between me and Eden, for one dangerous second it almost feels normal then Eden speaks quietly.
"He's a good kid."
Something inside me softens because hearing somebody care about Jack always reaches me.
"He is."
Eden studies me for a moment then asks softly, "Why do I feel like you're terrified of me meeting him?"
Everything inside me shatters, the truth rises so fast it almost reaches my mouth.
Because you're his father and he already loves you, because I ruined everything five years ago.
I say none of it.
The confession sits there between us. Eden watches my face carefully then his phone rings.
The sharp sound slices through the silence instantly. Richard and Eden answers, I watch his expression slowly change while he listens.
The color drains slightly from his face. "What is it?"
Eden lowers the phone slowly and his voice comes out quieter than before.
"Someone accessed Chloe's archived hospital records this morning."
My blood turns ice cold because I'm the one who did it because if those records are reopened everything buried inside them comes back with it.
- Writer
