Chapter Nineteen Eden

Chapter Nineteen

Eden

Three Years Ago

No one had noticed Eden's new nose. Or, if they had, they were too polite to say.

Eden fished her Dior compact from her purse, flipped it open, and peeped her new profile in the mirror. Ski slope with perfectly symmetrical nostrils, just as her mom had ordered. It was fine, she reasoned. Most of them hadn't seen her in person in ages, and lots of people's noses changed at this age. That's what her mom said.

"My nose completely transformed when I was sixteen," her mom would cackle with a wink. Thanks to Dr. Shah, she left off.

There was no shame in it. Everyone in Hollywood had their noses done. Eden was just ahead of the curve at fifteen.

And also ahead on drinks. She downed the dregs of her fourth (?) glass and deposited the cup…somewhere? Who cared. The help would grab it.

But, god, so far this party was a drag. Declan had promised something epic. It was, after all, technically a grown-up party. A celebrity party. But Declan had invited half of Warner Prep, and the adults were on the wrong side of twenty-five and must have forgotten how to party while they were quarantining. Either way, Eden knew she had to do something. There was no way Blaine had any good footage, and the last thing a reality show could be was boring. Piper had really ruined their plans with her tantrum.

Maybe this would make Declan notice her. Really see her, finally. How good they could be together. Eden pushed the flicker of guilt back down her gullet with a long draw from a fresh cocktail.

Like, look, sure, Delaney was Eden's friend, technically, but she was all wrong for Declan. Declan was that guy. Magnetic, always down for a good time, but goofy, too. His jokes were terrible, cheesy-bad, but they always made Eden laugh. Delaney seemed more annoyed than anything by him most of the time. Declan would, simply, be happier with Eden. She was just stating facts.

Eden spotted Delaney lurking in the corner like a slutty garden gnome. She'd just snatched some tuna tartare on a cracker from a waiter, and it was better than theater watching her bite, chew, and awkwardly swallow in apparent disgust. And then she choked a little, expelling crumbs with a cough right in the waiter's face! Eden was lightning fast with her phone; she really had an eye for composition, her social-media manager said. She snapped Delaney mid-cough, the waiter's revulsion framed perfectly at a Dutch angle.

Eden opened Instagram and tapped her profile twice in rapid succession to switch over to her alternate account. Her thumbs flew, typing out a funny caption and tagging both @deliciousdel and @warnerperps and hit post. It wasn't pretty work, but Delaney was a pretty girl. She'd bounce back. And Eden could always loan out her PR team again anyway.

But that was the last of social sharing for tonight. It was time to live in the moment and liven up this party for Declan's pilot. This was Eden's wheelhouse.

"Come with me, Wyatt." Eden saved the boy from humiliating himself further on the dance floor, practically humping every girl he could find. She grabbed him by the arm and ferried him onto a corner of the patio. The landscape all around them was pitch black but for winking window lights from the spare mansions that dotted the Malibu hills up to the stars.

"I know you've got weed, but would you happen to have something stronger on you?"

Wyatt grinned like a pervy jack-o'-lantern. "Now you're speaking my language. Let me ask Blaine."

And then he was off, and Eden's plan was on.

Maybe it was a bad idea, but now that Piper had messed with their Visine prank, Declan needed something good for the footage. Something that couldn't be faked. And Eden was more than willing to help.