Prompt: Rotten
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Edward stared down at her, vague memories flooding his brain.
Furious brown eyes, barely hiding the hurt behind them before she'd left Ro's bedroom. He'd yelled at her, the waitress, and she'd basically told him to go and fuck himself, if he remembered correctly.
Another foggy memory. Warmth, softness, a clean girly smell.
She stared at him. She was blushing.
"That'll be eight fifty-nine," the clerk said. She turned back around and fumbled for her money. Hectically, she gathered her items and stuffed them into her bag.
Oh, the tampons. Was that why her cheeks were red?
"I didn't think you'd remember my name," she said. Her skin was so pale, her eyes… yes, he definitely could remember those eyes, if not consciously.
"It is Bella, isn't it?" Suddenly he was petrified. Had he gotten it wrong?
"Yes. Yes it is."
"I'm Edward." He offered her his hand, and after a second, she reached out, placing her small, soft palm in his.
"I know," she said, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Edward paid for his items while Bella hovered in apparent indecision, biting her lip. God, she was beautiful! Had he really yelled at that girl?
"Look." Edward took a step in her direction. "I'm very sorry about that night. I… frankly, my memory of it is not very good." He tried a smile. "Actually, it's rotten. I know I was a complete asshole to you though, because I talked to my sister the next day."
"It's… it's okay," Bella whispered.
"It's not," he said. "It was out of line, and I am sorry."
"Okay."
"Um, would you…"
Shit, he didn't even know anymore how to do this.
And he had no idea what THIS even was.
"Would you like to…" He cleared his throat, and told himself that he was forty, not fourteen. "Would you like to have a coffee?"
"With you?"
Her huge eyes widened.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean to impose myself on you. You probably have better things to do on a Monday afternoon."
She bit her lip again, and he realized that it was a thing she did when she felt uncertain. Her brow creased as she tried to make a decision.
"Please," he said. "The least I can do is buy you coffee after the horrible way I treated you."
"I was going to get a sandwich," she finally said. "There's this little place around the corner?" She said it like a question.
"Okay," Edward said, and he didn't know why his heart was fluttering inside his chest.
They were silent as they made their way through the throngs of shoppers and tourists, turning into the quieter terrain of Rathbone Street.
"Here it is," Bella announced after a couple of minutes, pointing at a little café.
Edward opened the door for her and they stepped in. It was warm and cosy inside, and they settled down at a table in the back after ordering coffee and sandwiches at the counter.
"This is nice," Edward remarked. "Nice and quiet."
"Yes. I don't like those overrun chains. The coffee is ridiculously expensive."
Edward didn't really know what to say. It was simply something he'd never thought about. Never had had to think about.
"I guess so," he said.
"I'm sorry about your dog," she said. Their coffees arrived, and she smiled and thanked the waitress. "My family, we have a dog too. I'd die if anything happened to him."
"Yeah, it was pretty hard. But he was old. It was no surprise."
"Still," she said, staring at her mug.
They were silent again, but strangely, it didn't feel awkward to Edward. Which in itself was odd, because he was used to feeling awkward in the company of strangers.
Somehow, Bella didn't feel like a stranger.
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A/N: Sunday is a day off in the land of WitFit. I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Your reviews make me ridiculously happy.