The pair quickly got to the elevator, Edward pressing the up button and then placing both hands behind his back as he stood firmly. He stole a glance over at Adriana, who was now casually rubbing her fingers along the edge of her extremely torn skirt and humming lightly. The tune traveled to his ears and bounced around in his brain, soothing him to the point of relaxation.
"So, this sister of yours…do your parents know of her…vulgar actions? Surely, they must at least know of her kicking you out and have tried to stop her from doing this." He said as he stepped inside and let the elevator car take them to the fifth floor of the building. He awaited her answer with baited breath, standing up straight and looking at the climbing numbers above the doors.
"My mother works very late, so she comes home in the early hours of the morning and is too tired to check in with my sister." Adriana explained as she looked around the car and placed her hands by her sides, reaching her fingers down the fabric of her skirt. "She collapses on the couch and sleeps until mid-morning, when my sister has already disappeared from the house. However, I tend to return in the morning so that she can see that I am safe and sound."
"Well, that certainly is good to know," Edward nodded his head and stepped out when the doors opened, his eyes meeting a dark grey hallway with a few pictures spaced along the wall. Edward started to admire the left side paintings, thinking that the brush strokes that composed the flowers gave them texture and grace. He was just about to look at the other side when he did a double take and saw Adrian at the end of the hallway, standing by the door to his apartment. He swear that she had been a good 5 feet behind him and that he was walking a moderate pace, but even if she had been walking quickly, her feet still should have made noise…right?
"I see that you are…you must be…eager…how did you…" he stammered, trying to find the right words, but failing miserably. He simply just took his key, which had a little horse charm dangling off it, and unlocked the door, leading her into an elegantly decorated living space, complete with antiques just as he had mentioned before. There were a lot of dark blue and white things, including couches and chairs, bed sheets and covers, bowls and glasses, and curtains and loose blankets. The antiques were in a variety of colors, more golds and silvers than anything else, and looked expensive and fragile. She didn't dare touch them, for fear that they would break easily. A trail of water followed her as she glided across the carpet and sat down on the floor near the navy couch, pulling her legs up.
"Would you like to take a shower to freshen yourself up? I do not have female clothes, unfortunately, but I could provide you with…clothes that may fit." He said with an uneasy pause, looking from side to side and then upwards.
"That would be lovely," she said with a slight smile and stood up. Her voice seemed even hollower now in the open, empty space of the apartment, almost airy in tone. "May I please pick out my clothes? I assume that you know which drawers the clothes you are talking about lie inside." Walking down the corridor, she looked back at him with her dark eyes, sending a shiver down his spine and making him follow her in a slightly trace-like state. They entered a room in the back, most likely a spare guest room, and she walked up to an old oak dresser against the wall, no dust covering the surface or residing in the cracks.
"They are in the bottom most drawer; they are old clothes, from when I was younger." He explained as she took out a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a white tee shirt with blue lining the collar, sleeves, and hem. She also took a pair of light blue boxers with a white checkered pattern on it, smiling lightly.
"Thank you, Edward," she said with a nod and walked to the bathroom, closing and locking the door as she took in the white and golden bathroom that laid in front of her. She looked at herself in the mirror, the dark circles under her eyes prominent on her frighteningly pale skin, her black irises staring at her reflection. The scars looked even worse in the light, but she could only smile at them lightly. Blinking her eyes twice, she started to peel off her wet clothes, laying them on the marble countertop as the steam in the bathroom rose to the ceiling. Once it got hot enough, she stepped into the shower, looking down at her stomach and sighing with a sad smile.
Edward went to his room, sitting on his bed and taking his ponytail of hair out gently. He sat there for a few moments before grabbing his head in his hands and lowering it towards his lap. He didn't know what noise he made at that moment, but it was somewhere between a growl and a cry, loud and frustrated and confused. Why was he feeling like this? What was wrong with him today? Ever since he had talked to Adriana, he had felt this eerie feeling in his gut, his heart rate increasing every time she spoke to or touched him. He grabbed his hair harder, huffing a little as a flush of frustration tinted his cheeks. He had to relax; he just had to relax. "Maybe a nice, hot shower will soothe my nerves." He thought coherently as he stumbled up and walked into his own bathroom, designed like the one Adriana was in, but bigger.
After Adriana was done, she turned off the water and dried herself off with a fluffy towel that was hanging on a silver tone bar on the wall. It felt nice against her pale skin, and her scars had no blood leaking from them so it did not ruin the fabric. Quickly getting dressed in his clothes, she gratefully rubbed her palms against the dry shirt and sighed contently. Her feet silently pressed into the carpet as she walked into the main room with the couches and chairs, combing her hair and then tying it into a ponytail as she walked. The curls in her hair instantly started to form as it hit the air, a few pieces falling into her face as she sat on the cushions and tucked her legs under her body. She didn't have to wait long before Edward joined her on the couch, wearing a navy blue tank top and black shorts that hit below his knees.
"You look much better now that you have cleaned yourself up," Edward said, hoping that he didn't sound rude, but the slight smile that she gave him eased his mind. Casually crossing his legs, he placed his hands in his lap and felt his body sink into the couch, looking at her form leaning against the pillows. The fabric didn't even seem to give under her weight, staying as perfect as it was before she sat down. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her and asked, "Is there anything I can make you to eat? Staying out in the rain for that long must have made you weak to some extent."
"Noodles would be lovely, thank you very much. They are my favorite." Adriana answered softly, running her hands along the sweatpants and giving off a faint grin.
"Heh…I haven't had noodles in a while actually…" Edward answered with a bit of a hesitation, getting up from the cushion prison and walking over to the small kitchen that housed a small stove, a counter top with a sink, an oven, a microwave, and a bunch of cabinets. He took out a big pot from under the sink and filled it with water setting it on the stove to boil. "Now, where did I put those noodles?" he pondered internally as she searched all his cupboards, finally finding a pack in the back of the farthest cupboard. He froze up a little when he read the package; soba noodles, a day before its expiration date, but that was not the reason his pupils shrunk and his hands started to shake. They reminded him of…no, he didn't want to think about that; he had a guest. Opening the package and dumping the noodles in, the smell instantly filled the room as Adriana hummed happily.
"I love Asian noodles," she breathed, loud enough for him to hear, but just barely.
"Really…that is certainly…interesting to say the least," Edward hesitated, his hand shaking a little as he stirred and a few beads of sweat forming on his brow. This didn't interfere with his cooking, however, as he perfectly cooked the food and made a little, flavorful sauce to go with it as well. In another pot, he broiled some vegetables and added a bit of butter to give them flavor, but not overboard. Butter had never been a big part of his diet, but a little bit here or there did taste good. Adriana eventually walked over and observed his progress, sitting on the sink counter and tilting her head.
"You are a very good chef," she smiled lightly and peered over his shoulder. "You are even better than my mother, and it is a rarity when she cooks, so if this is a daily thing for you, I am impressed."
"Well, thank you, Adriana," he said with a nod, "I used to cook decently as a teenager, but I really picked up the passion once I finished college. It seemed like a good opportunity to increase my skill set now that I was surrounded by urban landscapes and fast food restaurants. So I took a cooking course, bought some ingredients, and tried my hand at a complicated dish that I had seen in a magazine. It turned out pleasantly, and I took a picture of it." Looking upwards, he added "I don't know why I took a picture of it, but I did."
"What was it?"
"It was salmon with a sweet glaze, with mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side. I find fish to be a delicious alternative if someone wishes to not eat meat one night."
"I agree with that fully. Meat is all right on occasion, but fish are very tasty."
"Not many people I know share that opinion…" he trailed off, but maintained a small smile as he finished up the noodles and sauce, taking out two white and blue plates in addition to two sets of silverware and two napkins. It was odd setting for two, but it was also a nice experience.
"Well, I am glad to be one of those people." Adriana nodded as she walked over to the small table, sitting down in a chair and looking down at her plate. The smell wafted into her nose delicately, making her smile a little more and making her dark eyes seem to glow with a strange backlight. He was so distracted by the latter result that he bumped his leg on the table, a sharp pain shooting up his muscles as he sucked in and exhaled outwards roughly.
"Are you OK?" she asked, concerned for his well-being.
"Yes, yes I am OK," Edward said as he sat down, the pain already subsiding. "My question is…" He pointed at her scars, bruises, and cuts, biting his lip and sighing. "Do those hurt at all? Would you like me to bandage them up for you? It would be no trouble for me; my training has given me the ability to dress wounds." He let the steam waft into his face as he swirled noodles onto his fork and lifted it towards his mouth.
"No thank you, Edward. These scars were a result of both my sister and those who I thought cared for me." Gracefully eating a forkful of noodles herself, she hummed as she enjoyed the taste and then swallowed, continuing to talk afterwards. "My sister tends to abuse me, hitting and kicking me when I get in her way, which happens a lot. The majority of the cuts and scars are from two people; my best friend and my former boyfriend." She paused for a minute, adjusting her temperament as he eyes grew darker. "One day, my friend just turned on me, yelling at me and scratching my shoulder with her nails. Every time I talked to her after that, she injured me in some way. My former boyfriend, on the other hand, was always abusive from the day I dated him. I just didn't pick it up at the time. He started to get more and more violent until the day I couldn't take any more and broke up with him." She ran her hands over the raised, red scars. "They never seem to go away, always a reminder of people in my past who broke my trust."
The thud of the metal fork was heard behind her, and she looked to see that it was now firmly embedded in the tan painted walls of his apartment. "I cannot stand for this defilement of a beautiful girl like you. When I find this boy, I will arrest him on the spot and put him in prison for a very long time!" He exclaimed, instantly covering his mouth and flushing a little. He had always been known for swift, emotionless justice and just for being very collected and strong in character. But this was a totally different side of him, a side that he didn't even know that he had. He looked at Adriana, fearing that she hated him now, and seeing her eyes lighten a little bit.
Adriana, who had finished half her noodles, simply looked at him, stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. She lifted her fingers and then placed them on his shoulders, her thumbs resting on his neck, and started to rub in circles. The smell of the food still circulated around the room gently, seeming to blend with her soft humming.