Page 148 of Begin Again, Part 1

Now that she'd met Laura, she was tempted to ask Liam about her and demand answers about their relationship. But what right did she have when she'd firmly drawn a line?

"—I like to get a sense of all my patients." Linda finished off, and Eden blinked at her. She'd missed half her explanation on why today's focus was on her.

"I am not your patient," Eden reminded her. "I'm here because Mr Anderson hired me to fix him."

"Have you figured out how to do that?"

Eden shook her head. "If he needs to vent his anger, I'm okay with that. But I'm just not sure what else I can do for him."

"Liam, what do you think?" Linda turned her attention to the reason for the session, and Eden was glad the focus had shifted from her.

"About what?" Liam asked.

"What Eden said. She doesn't know how to help you."

He scoffed and stared straight ahead at the watercolour behind Linda. "She knows what she needs to do to help me. I've told her what I want. The ball is in her court now."

"I told you, it's not going to happen!" Eden retorted, and things went to shit from there as they both went off on each other.

"Why?" Liam demanded, clenching his hands on his lap. "Because you allowed a bunch of gossip-hungry assistants to get in the way of our happiness?"

"It's easy for you to say that because no one thinks you're the office whore!" Eden gave it right back at him.

"Quit talking like that!" He growled, his lips drooping down in anger. "Nobody thinks that of you!"

"Oh yeah? Then what the hell is this? Did I get this mark because I'm everyone's best friend?" Eden demanded, pointing at her face.

And that brought Liam back to his senses. He put up his hands, withdrawing from the fight. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt because of me."

Eden nodded and swallowed her tears, stunned by the sincerity in his words. It was the first time she saw real remorse in his eyes or heard it in his words.

"Is there anything you'd like to say to Liam, Eden?" Linda handed her a box of Kleenex.

Yeah, Eden thought as she grabbed a handful of tissues and blew her nose. She had plenty to say to him. But where would she even start? So she picked at the tiny, loose thread on the hem of her dress while she spoke. "I want him to be okay. It hurts me to know he's hurting, and I'm responsible. I still don't understand what I did or how I did it, but as much as I didn't want to take responsibility at first, I now realise that when someone says you've hurt them, you don't get to decide you didn't."

Linda scribbled furiously in her notebook, and Eden wondered why she was writing so much when she hadn't said anything of significance.

"I want him to find peace."

"Why?" Liam asked, and she made the mistake of looking into the ocean in his eyes. Once again, she was free-falling and drowning, struggling against the current.

"Because when you're okay, maybe I'll be okay too. I hurt when you hurt," Eden admitted as she held his gaze. For a while, it was just the two of them in the room. No blames. No accusations. No screaming. Just a rare moment of honesty.

"You've been in your new job for a month now. How has it been?" Linda interrupted their moment, taking control of the session again.

"It's been crazy, I guess," Eden confessed. "I'm learning a lot, trying to do a job I know I'm not qualified for as best as I can."

"What are you qualified to do?"

"I draw," Eden replied. "I'm a damn good illustrator."

"Then why did you sign up as an assistant?" Linda asked. The pen had paused, and the notebook was closed now.

Eden opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.

"It's okay. This is a safe zone. No judgements," Linda assured her when she saw her hesitation.

"I needed a job," Eden lied. It was far easier than telling the truth and admitting she missed Liam and wanted him to have a relationship with his son. It was so much simpler than admitting she was in love with him, even though she knew they never stood a chance.

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