Guardian of Eden (32 page)

“Mom, why-” 

“
Shh
!” She interrupted me. She waited until she couldn’t hear any more footsteps, then hugged me again and continued to whisper in my ear. “That’s when I came in. I grabbed the gun then shot Corbin in the crotch, then in the head, then four times in the face.”

 Though my mother said these words with conviction, I still had a hard time believing her. I hated to think that I was so weak that I would vomit at the sight of blood. And if I had witnessed something as gruesome as Corbin getting shot in the face four times, surely I would remember it. But then again, maybe that was exactly why I couldn’t. Maybe it was too gruesome to endure.

 “I was wearing my pink cashmere sweater and a pair of winter white pants.”

 She continued to give me details of the shooting until the police officer came back and said, “All right, that’s enough. Garrett, come with me.” He seemed irritated that we were still hugging, like instead he wanted us to fight and reveal a new piece of information for the case. That was probably why they let me be alone with her in the first place. They wanted to see how we interacted and if there was anything more to the story my mother had fed them.

My mother clung to me as the officer had to physically separate us. “Take care of our Eden,” she called as her hand slid out of mine. “She needs you more than she’s ever needed me.”

Those last few words hovered in my mind. It struck me the way she said “our Eden” she’d never referred to her that way before. But really, she was ours. Though my mother gave birth to her, I had been the one to raise her. I saw her take her first steps, I taught her to read,
I
tucked her into bed nearly every night of her life. She learned to say my name before she said ‘mama’ and whenever she had to fill out a form or something for
school,
she always listed me as her guardian instead of Holly.

Eden looked to me for protection, guidance, love, and security. In the past few months, I had failed her, but I would never let that happen again. I would be there for her for the rest of her life even if it meant sending my mother to prison.

It wasn’t hard to prove what Corbin had done to Eden. Even though she still refused to talk, the investigators didn’t need to hear what happened. The DNA from the dead fetus proved with 99.7% accuracy that Corbin was the father. Given this evidence, the district attorney showed my mother leniency and allowed her to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter instead of charging her with first degree murder. I’d hoped that the judge would also be lenient and give her a reduced sentence, but that didn’t happen.

 The judge sentenced her to eight years in prison with eligibility for parole in five. He felt that my mother couldn’t claim the knowledge of Eden’s abuse fueled her actions since she knew weeks beforehand.

 At the sentencing, my mother resigned to her fate and showed no emotion. The way she nodded in quiet acceptance made it seem like she wanted to go to prison. I think she felt she needed to pay for all the years she was an inadequate mother.

 Eden didn’t attend the hearing. In fact, she rarely left her room at the foster home where she now resided. I had succeeded in earning my emancipation and therefore did not need to live in a foster home again. But I wasn’t able to get custody of Eden just yet. I had to prove to the judge that I could take care of myself and provide a stable home for my little sister.

 Senator
McPhee
let me stay in his condo in DC while I got a job and saved up enough to rent my own apartment. During the day I worked as a bicycle messenger for an accounting firm and in the evenings I worked as a busboy in an Italian restaurant. On the weekends I spent all my time with Eden trying to get her to open up to me. 

Working 16-hour days during the week and camping out in Eden’s room on the weekends left me very little time to spend with
Maddie
. Not that it mattered since she still accompanied her father on interviews across the country as he tried to salvage his political career. He’d given up his run for the presidency, but he still sought support for his new foundation that attempted to protect young girls from sexual predators.
Maddie
and I talked on the phone as much as possible and took full advantage of the few times she came into town. Our relationship had developed into so much more than a high school crush and even went beyond first love. We knew we would always be a part of each other’s lives no matter what the future held.

Senator
McPhee
understood our connection and he never tried to hinder our relationship.
Maddie
felt silly for ever hiding it from him. He accepted me into their family without a second thought. He did, however, advise that we take it slow and not pressure each other into a lifetime commitment while we were both still so young.

After four months of saving every penny I earned, I finally had enough money to rent and furnish a small apartment in Manassas, Virginia. I also got my license, bought a car, and took the liberty of registering Eden in a nearby school. Now I just needed the judge to award me temporary custody so I could prove I could take care of her. Then maybe I could have permanent guardianship.

 “The next time I see you, we’ll be in the judge’s chambers,” I told Eden one Sunday afternoon. I had just finished reading to her some poetry from Maya Angelou hoping to spark some sort of reaction out of her, but to no avail. Eden had continued her catatonic stare out the window the entire morning. “Judge Garner is going to decide whether or not you can come live with me.” 

Eden looked at me for the first time that day. She didn’t need to speak for I knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to know if there was really a chance that she could get out of this place and go home with me. 

“I’ve been working so hard, Eden, to prove that I can take care of you. I think the judge will see that. I think I have a pretty good chance.” 

Eden reached for a pen and paper off the bedside table and wrote:
You mean you still want me?
The question tore at my soul and made even my bones ache. How could she ever doubt that I would want her in my life? What had that monster done to her self-image?

 I embraced her and said, “You’re my baby sister. You mean everything to me. Of course, I want you.” 

 That afternoon, Bernice came over to my apartment in order to evaluate it and report back to the judge, “Everything looks great, Garrett. You’ve really done a wonderful job proving your competence. I’m proud of you.”

 “Thanks, Bernice.” I smiled inside trying not to reveal just how elated I was to hear her say that. “
Maddie
helped me decorate this room. Purple is Eden’s favorite color,” I said as we walked into what would be Eden’s bedroom.

Bernice smiled at the purple walls then sat on the bed and picked up a large pink butterfly pillow. “Eden would definitely love this room,” she said staring at the pillow.

 I didn’t like the uncertain way she said ‘would.’

“Why did you say it like that? Is there something I should know?”

 Bernice sighed. “It’s just that. I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve done a great job over the past few months proving you can pay bills and take care of yourself, but let’s face the facts here. You’re 17, you have a questionable mental health history, you haven’t finished high school, and you’re working so many hours to make ends meet, when would you ever be home for your sister?” 

I leaned against the dresser and stared at the bottles of body
spritz
and glitter lip gloss that
Maddie
insisted Eden needed. What would I do if I couldn’t have my sister with me? I couldn’t let her stay in a foster home for the next six years until she turned 18. I would kidnap her and run away before I let that happen. But then what kind of life would that be for her?

 “I’ll do the best I can, okay?” Bernice squeezed my shoulder before exiting the room and leaving me with my thoughts.

Six o’clock the next morning, I opened my front door on my way to work and found
Maddie
on the ground searching through the contents of her purse. 

“Garrett!” she whined as if I’d just spoiled her surprise. She closed her purse and stood up. “I think I lost the key you gave me.”

 “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Texas this week.”

 “I was, but my dad let me fly out here so I could be with you on your big day.” She jumped into my arms. I swung her around while planting kisses on her neck. “Wait a minute, wait a minute,” she said as she unfolded herself from my arms. She looked at my bike messenger outfit and said, “Where are you going?” 

“I have to go to work.” 

“But it’s the day of the hearing.”

 “Yeah, but that’s not until three o’clock. I figured I can put in a few hours of work then change and get to the judge’s chambers in plenty of time.”

 
Maddie
stared at me in disbelief. “Garrett, this is possibly one of the most important days of our lives. You can’t-” 

“Our lives?”
I repeated with a slight grin.

 “Yeah, our lives, I mean, I plan on being a part of your life for like a really long time. That is, if you want me to be, of course. And Eden is a part of your life so I figure she’s a part of my life too. I mean if you get custody of her and we get married one day or something…I mean, I’m not saying we’re
gonna
get married or anything. I mean, not any time soon at least. Not that I don’t want to marry you or anything. I’m just saying…well, I don’t really know what I’m saying but-”

 I silenced her nervous rambling with a long kiss. 

Several moments later, we pulled away both flustered and flushed. 
Maddie
smiled and licked her lips. “Well, in any case,” she continued once she relaxed somewhat, “you can’t just show up all frazzled and sweaty from work. You need to make this day special for you and Eden. I thought we could pick her up and spend the day together. I have it all planned out.”

 
Maddie’s
plans actually had very little to do with me. After we picked up Eden and had breakfast,
Maddie
whisked her off to a beauty salon for some pampering. I didn’t realize how much Eden had let herself go until I saw how beautiful she looked after a haircut and new outfit. 

Maddie’s
beauty makeover really did wonders for Eden’s mood. I saw a glimmer in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in months. She actually smiled when I complimented her.
Maddie
helped restore some of the self-esteem Corbin had stripped away.

At three o’clock, Eden and I sat in Judge Garner’s chambers along with Bernice and Henry
Lattimer
, the lawyer
Maddie’s
father recommended.