Chapter 108 I'm Scared

Eden's POV:

Arriving at the hospital, I make my way to my grandma's ward. I've rushed here, straight from work, hoping that I might actually manage to spend time with my grandma before she falls asleep.

The nurses are sitting at the nurses' station, typing away on their computer. When they spot me coming towards them, they both give me a wide, welcoming smile.

"Miss Clancy," the first one says, "it's good to see you again."

It's practically the same words, verbatim, as what the nurse last night and the night before said by way of greeting.

She falls into step beside me, as I continue down the ward to my grandma's hospital room.

"She just fell asleep, unfortunately."

Big surprise there. It's always the same. I come every day and she's always asleep. If I didn't know she'd just had a heart attack, I'd think she is trying to avoid me.

"No problem," I say, my voice deflated as I enter the room.

Grandma looks frail and weak, far too small for her hospital bed. I don't like this at all. Coming to sit beside my grandma's bed, it's frustrating. I really wanted to talk to her today. I could have really benefited from her advice.

Usually when things get difficult, grandma is my go to for advice. But I've been keeping secrets from her for months, not telling her about the whole embezzlement thing. I wanted to talk to her after I heard that my parents might have been murdered but then I found her on the floor of her kitchen.

Tucking my grandma in, I take her hand in my own.

"I really wish you weren't asleep," I mutter.

I stay by my grandma's bedside for about an, hour or so, my mind spiraling. I need to do something; I just don't know what. I can't allow things to stay the way they are. Getting to my feet, I drop a kiss to my grandma's temple.

Exiting her hospital room, I wish the nurses good night as I pull out my phone to call Noah. I need to talk to him. He's supposed to be picking me up in a little while but I don't want to stay any longer than I already have. I should let my grandma rest. I can always come back tomorrow during the day when We need to move forward and fix everything for my grandma. I want all of this corruption drama over with when my grandma finally makes it out of the hospital.

Noah is waiting for me outside.

"Hey," I say as I climb into the front seat next to him.

"How is your grandma?" Noah asks, taking my hand in his and leaning over the middle section of the car to kiss me briefly.

"Asleep," I answer, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh, that's a shame," he replies, turning on the car's engine. "I guess there's always tomorrow."

"Yeah... Tomorrow."

He squeezes my hand sympathetically before letting it go so he can pull out of the parking space.

Noah's POV:

Eden seems pretty deflated. I drive slowly to her apartment, not wanting our time together to come to an end.

"You said there was something you wanted to discuss."

"I want to talk to Martin about our suspicions."

"Our suspicions?" I ask. I'm pretty sure Eden doesn't share my suspicions so it's weird to hear her say 'our.'

"Fine. Your suspicions." I can almost hear laughter in her voice.

"You want to confront Martin?"

I can barely believe what I'm hearing. She can't be serious? What does she want to achieve? This might be the worst idea I've ever heard. If what James said is true, we shouldn't be talking to Martin. The last thing we should be doing is letting him know what we know. We should be talking to the police.

"Not so much confront as discuss."

"Absolutely not," I say sternly. "There's no way."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous," I insist.

"It's Martin, Noah," she scoffs.

"I know you think you can trust him but what if you're wrong?"

She gives me a look that says she thinks I might be off my rocker. I pull up the car outside Eden's apartment but neither of us move from the car.

"What do you suggest then?" she asks stubbornly, after a moment of silence.

"We need to find proof."

"Proof? I feel like we're going round in circles, Noah." She turns in her seat to look at me, her eyes wild. "All we've done is look for proof. We've gone through ten years worth of company accounts. We've found loads of proof... Just nothing that proves who did it."

"Eden..." I reach across for her but she pulls away.

"I want to talk to him," she says, her voice high pitched. I think she's close to tears. "He's family."

D*mn it. How am I supposed to talk her out of this?

"It's too dangerous. If he really did kill your parents, letting on you know... It's like putting an arrow on your back."

"He wouldn't do that."

"You don't know that."

She gives me a frustrated look. She's right. We're going round in circles.

"What about talking to the police?" I ask, even though I don't think she'll agree. She's loyal to Martin; she trusts him.

"I don't want to argue with you," Eden says softly, "but Noah, he's like an uncle or... a father..."

I'm quiet for a moment, unsure how to comfort her.

"Just a few days," I try, "if we don't find anything, then you can have that conversation."

She gives me a look that makes me think she's going to refuse but then she's nodding her head in concession. "Okay. If that's what you think is best."

Eden doesn't wait for me to say anything else or kiss her goodbye, before she's climbing out of the car. She says a quick goodnight before closing the door behind her. Slamming my fist against the steering wheel, I swear between gritted teeth.

The last thing I want is for Eden and me to argue about Martin. Climbing out of the car, I call her name.

She stops, turning back to face me, a small smile on her face as she asks me if I want to come up for Chinese takeout. Grinning, I lock my car, stepping towards her, grateful that as much as we might not agree about what do about Martin and the embezzlement, but at least our disagreements don't last crazy long.

"I'm just really scared, Noah."

"I know, Eden," I say, pulling her into my arms. "I'm worried too. I just need you to be safe."

She's quiet as we stand outside her apartment building. There are tears in her eyes.

"We just need to tread careful," I tell her. "I promise, we'll find the answers and we'll fix everything. We just had to be careful."

My hand moves to her hair, cupping her face. "We're a team Eden Clancy. I'll protect you."

"It's not just me I'm scared for." Her words are barely a whisper.

"I know," I reply, pulling her tighter into my chest.