Fic Lab Prompt #10- Running into an ex you still have feelings for.

E/B. RATED M.

NEXT.

My shift is almost done. I can't wait to get out of this fucking place.

This wasn't my plan. To be a twenty-three year old waitress working at a grungy diner, stuck in the mundane, small town I was born in.

I promised to escape years ago. But things don't always go the way you planned. Some things happen that destroy all of your dreams.

Time flies. It feels just like yesterday when I was eighteen with such big dreams. To leave this town behind, move somewhere hot and sunny with so much opportunity, and all I needed was the most important person in my life at the time by my side—the only person that mattered.

No. Don't think about him.

Even though it's been five years, just the thought of him rips through my chest. In a split second, all of your dreams can fall apart and leave you with nothing.

But I can't hate him. I'm still madly in love with him even though he's sitting in a prison cell right now.

I glance at the clock and see that I have 30 minutes until I can leave this shithole. I hate it here but it pays the bills and rent.

I'm hiding in the kitchen, fiddling on my phone, hoping that time goes by quickly.

"Bella, someone is asking for you to serve them," my co-worker Alice says loudly, chewing her gum as she walks into the kitchen.

I groan, glaring up at her from my cell. "Alice, my shift is done in half an hour. I'm not taking any more tables."

Alice places one hand on her hip as a smile creeps onto her face. "B, I don't think you're going to wanna refuse this man when you see what he looks like. You don't see many fine men like him around here." She pops her gum obnoxiously. "Plus, he specifically requested you and hinted at knowing you."

That's so weird. I haven't been on a date with someone in the past six months, and the guys I'm friends with can't stand this place. I couldn't go on a date or even touch another man for more than a year after my ex got arrested. Although it took me a while, I did eventually try to date a few guys, but I couldn't be intimate with any of them. Even though I guess you could say Edward was my ex, it didn't feel like it, and it would feel like I was cheating on him since we never officially broke up. I didn't want anyone else, and no one could compare. His face haunted every moment I was with another man.

My curiosity gets the best of me. I don't want to get stuck here longer than I have to, but I do want to see who this mystery guest is that happens to know me. I hope I don't have any creeper stalker I don't know about.

As I peek over from behind the wall that connects the kitchen to the dining area, I lose all the breath in my lungs at what I see.

Holy fuck. What? There's no way.

I think my mind is playing tricks on me. It's common to see his face sometimes when I'm missing him and lost in memories. I have delusions of him all the time. It will never be long enough to forget him.

But this feels so fucking real, and he looks very different than my memories of when he was 18 years old—the last time I saw him.

His once messy hair I used to love pulling on, is now shaved short, darker than years ago. His figure is toned and bulky, the opposite of his lanky form from high school. He seems even taller when he already towered over me back then. Tattoos cover a large portion of his muscular arms that I've never seen. He looks older, tougher, stronger; like he's seen things beyond his years.

I didn't know someone could change so much in five years—but I guess that's what prison will do to you. He seems so different than the Edward I used to know—and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

I don't know what I should do. I'm tempted to run out through the back door, but I have fantasized about this moment for years. The day he got arrested was completely unexpected, and he wasn't able to explain himself. I never got answers to the questions I asked daily.

I didn't know anything about his case or how long he would stay in jail. I tried everything in my power to visit him and find out more, but it was like no one was allowed to speak about it; I didn't even know what prison they sent him to. I knew the secrecy had something to do with my dad being the chief of police in our town. He was ecstatic the day they arrested Edward, and I haven't spoken to Charlie since then.

I was heartbroken, confused, angry. Everything I thought I knew had flipped upside down, I lost my soulmate, and everything important was destroyed.

Even though he was locked up, my love for him hadn't weakened at all. I know, deep down in my heart, that he's not a bad guy.

But is he even the same person anymore? Is he still my Edward?

He looks different, so could his personality have changed as well? It's been five years, and prison can change a person so much.

Before I can think about what to do, Edward lifts his head and catches my gaze. My heart is trapped in my throat, and the spark between us hasn't faltered at all. If anything, it's more pronounced with all the years we haven't seen each other. His hooded, dark green eyes are intense and burn through me, speaking so many words I can't comprehend and desperate to know. I can make out the pain and longing in them, though.

I can't fight the magnetic energy that's drawing me towards him. It's like I don't have any control over my body as my feet propel me towards him before I even realize what I'm doing.

I stop inches away from him. I can see his fists clenching and unclenching, fighting for the need to touch me. I feel the same.

We stand there in silence, no words big or good enough to speak right now. I'm lost in his heartbreaking eyes and at the reality of him so close to me. I can smell his smoky, woodsy scent that always drove me insane with lust. The one that lingered on my pillow and bedsheets for days after he left that I never wanted to wash and cried to sleep with every night. I am so grateful that his scent never changed.

I never thought I would have this again. After what feels like forever, I take a deep breath and find my voice. "You're back," I murmur in a low whisper. I fiddle with my hands and break eye contact, barely hanging on by a thread. I'm a mess and so caught off guard. I don't even know how to act around a man that was once my everything. There are a million words I want to say, but none of them come to mind at this moment.

Edward clears his throat and clasps his hands on the table. "Yeah, I was just released hours ago. This is the first place I came to." His voice is even deeper and huskier than before, and it sends an ache between my thighs. Memories of the things his dirty mouth would say to me flash through my mind.

I wonder how he found me so quickly after he was released, but I'm not surprised with the connections he must have.

I don't know what to say, but I don't need to when he speaks again. "You're even more fucking beautiful than my memories of you. I haven't stopped thinking about you for one second during the past five years. You've consumed every one of my thoughts and dreams." Edward is in awe and agony as he takes me in and devours me with his eyes.

He came back for me.

My heart warms at his words, and even though my body wants nothing more than to run into his arms and sob with joy; my mind is angry at all of the time we wasted because of his stupidity and how he left me all alone. Even though it wasn't intentional, it happened and fucked up our future and all the plans we had. He was my safe place for years, and for the past five, I had to learn how to do all this without him, hating every moment of it.

I'm overwhelmed with emotion and never thought this would actually happen. I don't know how to deal with this, and it comes out the wrong way. "You don't even know if I've moved on, Edward. It's been five years. You expected me to wait for you?"

I did wait, but I don't want to admit that to him–just yet.

First, his face falls with sorrow, but then rage consumes his expression. His jaw and hands clench as he growls out," I don't give a fuck. You're mine and have always been mine. Being behind bars hasn't changed that, and nothing will stand in the way of having you." His tone gets softer as his eyes gloss over. "It's been five years too long, and I'm not spending a second longer without you. I could handle jail, but I can't handle not having you in my life. I missed you so fucking much, baby."

Thankfully, the diner is pretty empty, but I can feel the curious stares of my co-workers watching us. I lower my voice 'cause it's none of their damn business what's going on here.

I'm not going to deny myself of him anymore. He's finally here, and I won't lose him again.

My heart aches as the gate rips open and tears pour down my face. "I never got over you, Edward. No one could ever compare. I thought about you every day too. It broke me the day they took you, and I haven't been the same ever since. You were everything and still are. I never stopped loving you."

Edward rips from his seat, grasping onto me for dear life as he wraps his arms around me and crushes me against his chest, smothering me and breathing me in. His face is buried in my neck, and I can feel the wetness from his tears. It feels so good to be in his arms again. My skin breaks out in goosebumps as the electricity from him runs through me. I never want to let go.

"Let's get out of this shit hole and start over, baby. It's you and me from now on. You'll never have to worry about losing me ever again." He leans down and kisses my forehead, his arm wrapping around my shoulder as we head towards the door.

I knew that I stayed trapped in this town because I was waiting for him to come find me when he was out—and he did.

I ignore the annoying voice of my manager calling my name, wondering why I'm leaving twenty minutes before the end of my shift.

I'm not coming back here ever again. It may have taken longer than expected, but now we can finally leave this town and start our lives together.