Samuel guided me around the cathedral with his hand on my back the whole time. He gave his thanks to the community members as they came to congratulate him on a wife and, in the same breath, gave their prayers for the loss of our father.
The words swirl, and faces blur. I don’t even remember getting into the car with Samuel or the drive home.
But as I hear the familiar crunch of gravel as he steps out of the car, my vision refocuses. I look toward the wide-open door.
Samuel’s hand is extended for me to take. I just stare at it blankly. My brain isn’t working apparently because I have no clue what to do or say next after everything that happened.
“Eden?” Samuel leans down to look at me still rooted in the leather seat. He keeps his eyes on me. I don’t budge. “You okay?”
Those words wash over me with such a heat that my blood instantly boils. My emotions snaps into place, like the wires in my brain had just been realigned. I scoot out of the car, batting his hand away from me, making my way to the front door.
Am I okay? What kind of question is that?
How can he be acting as if it’s just another day in Everton? My heart begins to beat harder in my chest. I lost the only person I could have called my father, and on top of that, my brother just claimed me as his fucking wife. Emotions swirl around inside of me at a rapid rate.
What the fuck is going on?
“Hey!” he shouts at me from behind, but I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to look at him. “Talk to me!”
I spin around just as I get to the front door. “Talk to you!?” My voice is shaky, but the anger is crystal clear. I don’t care. “Talk to you!? Like you talk to me lately? You literally have been making me go in blind to all of this!” With each advancing step he takes, I back farther away. “And now”—I swallow hard—“and now you just announce to the whole community that I am your”—I closemy eyes—“bride.” I look back at him. His eyes are searching for something in mine. “I am yoursister, Samuel.”
“You have and will always be,myEden.”
“You’re mybrother!”
“I am your Chosen!” he exclaims, causing me to jolt.
He never talks to me like this. Not in the twelve years I have been in this house has he ever raised his voice to me this way.
I whip around, pushing through the threshold of the house. He can’t be my Chosen. I don’t want to believe it.
I go in, aiming straight for the stairs, taking the steps with such a fast pace I’m afraid I might trip.
“There is no way around this, Eden,” Samuel says, right on my tail.
All I want is to be in my own room away from him. I feel like I can’t breathe. My lungs won’t contract, and no air is getting in.
My room comes into sight. I’m so close. I reach for the handle, but a hand grips the back of my neck, pulling me back.
My body hits the wall with a bang, head bouncing off of it, causing my vision to blur for a moment.
Samuel’s scent cascades over me, a mixture of spice and an earthy smell. I press my hands lazily on his chest as I regain my composure. It is only a couple of seconds, but Samuel pins me on the wall, his hot breath hitting my face.
“You are my family, Samuel.”
My emotions are too high, so confused that the tears form. I don’t know if they are because I’m hurt, sad, scared or completely enraged with anger.
His gaze follows the tear rolling down my cheek. “We can still be a family, Eden.” His voice softens. He steps closer into me. “We can make our own little family.”
What is he talking about? Has he lost his damn mind? He must have because how can he think all of this?
I am his little sister. I have always been. He saved me from the wreckage that is my life. Now he is telling me I am his bride, his wife. That we could still be a family?
I try to wiggle away from him, but his whole body is plastered against mine. I can’t get away, not with him holding my wrists and his tall frame almost flush on mine.
His head lands on my shoulder with an exasperated breath. He shakes his head back and forth like he is debating something. I take this as my chance to talk him down.
“Samuel, we can’t be a family likethat.It’s not right.”
