EPOV
I sighed to myself as I strolled down the walk to the tiny café I worked at. Simple gusts of wind swirled around me, causing my scarf to almost fly off. Fallen maple leaves danced around my feet, and I turned my face upwards to the large expanse above me. The overcast skies were the perfect anecdote to my mood. People usually find days like this dreary, but I enjoy them the most. I smiled to myself as "Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage ran through my head. Oh, how true that tune is.
When I turned to enter the little coffee shop, I was bombarded by a clan of high school girls on their way out. They started giggling and batting their eyelashes after they realized who they bumped into. I politely smiled despite my building annoyance due to their strategic blockage of the doorway. I slipped through their tightly wound circle, and heard them babbling something about "Oh my god that's the one I told you about!" and "He's so dreamy!" as I headed to the counter. Honestly, I am completely fed up with the girls that swoon over my supposed "good looks". They come into the shop and sit around for hours: giggling and flipping their hair around whenever I walk by. It's maddening!
I waved at Jill, my daily co-worker and walked into the back room to set my things down. I heard Jill say something about needing to take a smoke break so I headed out to start working. At that moment the front door opened and a huge gust of wind blew in, apparently annoying the nearby customers. Little did I know that the girl that stumbled in would change my life.
The girl's chocolate brown hair swirled up around her face. She attempted to tame the wild tresses but ended up tripping over the welcome mat in her lack of concentration. The door swung shut behind her, and she quietly apologized to the surrounding onlookers after regaining some balance. She scurried over to a corner table away from the crowd and took a seat. I walked over to her table just as she was removing her coat. Underneath she wore a loosely fitting green sweater, dark blue jeans and some worn brown boots. She had a glimmering amethyst pendant hanging around her neck. It complimented her pale skin very nicely, I thought to myself.
"Hello, and welcome to Lana's Coffee House. I'm Edward" I recited, "What would you like to order?"
The girl looked down at the menu for a few seconds before turning to look up at me. When she did, I was taken aback. Her entrancing brown eyes looked up at me through dark lashes. Something seemed off in them though, she seemed to be upset.
"Well, I've never been here before," she timidly replied. "What would you recommend…Edward?"
Her eyes locked with mine, and I could see the sorrow swimming in her eyes. I didn't quite understand it, though. It created a feeling inside me that I couldn't exactly identify. I felt as if I should do something - anything - to make her feel better. I conjured up the most warming smile I was capable of, and replied.
"How about the chai tea latte? It's a mildly sweet drink with a little caffeine" I suggested.
"That sounds great, thank you" she said.
"No problem" I smiled even wider and turned back towards the counter. I started making her drink, seriously pondering why her distressed eyes had such an effect on me. I glanced back over my shoulder to find her leaning back in her chair. She was fidgeting with a packet of artificial sweetener. I wanted to know why such a beautiful girl could be in such distress over something. It seemed so unfair.
After her drink was finished I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and threw it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up. I strode over to her table, setting the chai and cookie on her table.
At seeing her confusion about the gooey chocolate chip cookie sitting in front of her, I grinned and said, "It's on the house. You looked like you could use a bit of a snack to go with that drink." Her saddened face lit up at my words, and in turn I chuckled a bit. She thanked me excitedly, and pulled up her green sleeves. It was then that I saw the purplish black handprint around her wrist. Seeing the bruise brought on a flood of emotions. I was shocked that someone would actually lay a hand on this fragile girl. The shock turned into sadness and sympathy for just a moment before the anger hit. My eyes were blinded with rage when I thought of the person who would even dare to touch the beauty sitting right in front of me. My hands clenched into fists, and it took everything in me to keep from throwing a table across the room. I now understood the feeling I had before; I felt very protective of this girl, and for reasons I can't even fathom.
Her soft voice interrupted my thoughts then. "Would you like to join me? I don't know if I can eat this whole cookie myself. As lame as it sounds," she giggled, "It might be too much sugary sweetness for one person." A genuine smile spread across her face as she motioned to the chair across from her.
Without even thinking I responded, "I would love to, um-"
"Bella," she said finishing my sentence.
"Well then Bella, let me go grab a cup of tea, and I'll be right back."
Her smile was interrupted when her cell phone rang. A look of terror spread across her face as she picked it up and read the caller ID. For a few seconds, she gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. I was about to ask what the problem was when she shoved it quickly into her pocket.
"Uh, actually Edward, I can't stay. I really need to go. I'm sorry..-" she trailed off with her head bowed. In an instant, she gathered up her things, threw on her coat and was out the door. I was left standing there stunned. There was no doubt in my mind who was on the other line.