Cigarettes and Silhouettes

The Bruises

RPOV

I awoke to the warm sun beating down on my face through the glass walls. Almost immediately, I heard the loud buzzing of my cell phone on the nightstand.

"Yeah?", I mumbled sleepily as I put the phone up to my ear.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing still asleep?" Tom yelled into the phone.

I turned my head to squint at the alarm clock beside my bed, which read 2:23 PM. I groaned loudly as I ran my hand through my disheveled hair and over my tired, stubbly face.

"Shit, I didn't mean to sleep this late", I told my best friend.

"Well get your ass up. Be at the club tonight at 8. And don't be late this time!", he said before he hung up.

I set the phone back on the nightstand and dragged myself to the bathroom for a shower. I had the worst case of insomnia last night. The mysterious next door neighbor kept invading my mind.

There was something about her clumsiness and shyness that kept her in my thoughts. It was the way I could see her perfectly green eyes in the moonlight and that smile spread across those beautiful lips. Not to mention that feeling of electricity I felt when her hand touched mine. I didn't know why I was getting this reaction from her. I've only ever said two sentences to her.

I had sat on my couch all night, just staring at her house. I had noticed she covered every window except one, which was the one I saw her in. Even the silhouette of her was beautiful. Who was this girl?

After my shower, I made my way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I leaned against the counter while slowly sipping the hot liquid. Don't do it, I thought. Don't you do it. I muttered over and over in my head but I knew my efforts were futile. Of course in the end, I gave in. I carefully walked over to the glass wall that gave me full view of her house. And there she was, unloading boxes from the U-Haul.

In the sunlight, she looked radiant. She had on holey jeans and a little tank top that showed off her porcelain skin. Her long, chestnut hair lay over her shoulders and down her back. It was messy, natural, and ridiculously sexy.

"Kristen", I whispered to myself. I smiled at the sound of it rolling off my tongue. I longed to hear her voice and to be near her again.

I poured my coffee out in the kitchen, slipped some shoes on, and headed out the door in her direction.

Her back was facing me as she grabbed some more boxes.

"Kristen?" I said.

I swear she jumped two feet in the air and gasped as she spun around to face me.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that," I apologized profusely.

"No no, it's fine. I just didn't know...who it was," she said. There were meanings behind her words that I couldn't quite decipher.

She let out a nervous giggle and a sigh. Of relief , perhaps? I thought.

She looked even more beautiful up close. Her bright green eyes sparkled in the sunlight and her pink lips were the perfect shape. She had the loveliest cheekbones and cutest little nose. I faintly saw freckles lined across her cheeks, nose, and forehead.

"I saw you unloading boxes and just wanted to see if you needed any help," I asked.

"That's really okay, I only have a few more left," she said as she smiled up at me.

God, that smile.

There was a somewhat awkward silence as we stared at each other. I could feel the electricity from last night, and we weren't even touching. Could she feel it too?

"Alright, well if you need anything, you know where I live," I said with a smirk.

"Well thank you... Rob," she said slightly uncertain. "Right?"

"Right," I said and began to walk back towards my home. Nice going Pattinson, I thought.

I was almost at my front door when I suddenly spun back around. She was drinking out of a water bottle and I swear I had never seen anything so damn hot. Her cheeks were red from the sun and her forehead was glistening from the heat. My eyes fell to her lips around the bottle. Jesus, those lips.

"Hey Kristen," I yelled across the yard.

She stopped drinking her water and turned around to look at me.

I smiled at her, looking at her flushed cheeks. She was too adorable for her own good.

"Got plans tonight?"

KPOV

This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date, I repeated in my head over and over again. I barely even knew this guy! Except that he has the most godlike face I had ever seen in my life.

His blue-gray eyes could pierce right through my soul. To be honest that scared me a little. And his lips were full and absolutely delicious looking. It took everything in my power not to devour them in my driveway this afternoon.

He had the slightest stubble lining his perfect jaw and chin. His hair was an amazing color of copper and it shot out in every direction.

I had only unpacked the necessities and my clothes were still in a box somewhere in my empty bedroom. Do I wear a dress? Jeans? Heels? Is this a date?, I thought.

Rob had invited me to a club tonight to listen to his friend Sam Bradley sing. I had never heard of him, but I wasn't about to give up my first invite to hang out in LA.

Even though Rob was almost a complete stranger, he couldn't be too bad. The familiarity of those words stung my skin. And that's when the sinking feeling became potent.

I immediately went into the bathroom and filled up the glass of water sitting by the sink. I opened up my pill container and popped two pills into my mouth and washed them down with the liquid. I set the glass down and stared at myself in the mirror.

I carefully touched my right eye and flinched when I felt the familiar pain. Even though the bruise was no longer noticeable, the pain was still strong. I then carefully slipped off my jeans and stared at the huge bruise on my hip and the two on my thigh. I slowly grazed my fingertips over them and moaned in agony when the agonizing pain surged through my body. These were still fresh, and they were all shades of different purples, blues, and blacks.

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I would not cry. I would not allow myself to cry, not anymore. I would not be weak and vulnerable. The new Kristen did not cry, and it was staying that way.

I got into the shower and scrubbed my body, careful not to touch the bruises. I lathered up my hair and rinsed it out. I stood under the hot water with my eyes closed and let my muscles and body relax.

Suddenly, painful memories flashed behind my eyelids. I could still hear the faint cries of "please" and "don't" coming from my own mouth. I could still feel the hard tile of the shower pound into the back of my head. I could still see the blood and water flowing down the drain.

My eyes quickly fluttered open, erasing those images in my head. My breathing was hard and shallow. My whole body was shaking from the water that was now ice cold. I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. I forced myself to push those thoughts behind me and focused on tonight.

I finally decided on a pair of jeans, a dressy top, and my favorite black heels. It's not a date, I thought again.

I let my hair naturally dry and applied mascara to my eyelashes and lip gloss to my lips. I starred at myself in the mirror and decided that I looked as good as I would ever be.

I checked my watch, which read 7:24. Butterflies were starting to form in my stomach and I couldn't tell if they were good or bad.

"Just relax", I repeated to myself out loud.

At exactly 7:30, there was a knock on my door. My stomach did flips as I grabbed my purse and cell phone and went to open the door.

There he was in all of his perfectness. He had on jeans and a simple white t-shirt. I had never seen anything more handsome. He greeted me with a warm smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"Kristen, you look amazing," he said in his mesmerizing accent.

I felt my cheeks heat up and I tried to come up with my best smile. His eyes were locked on mine and I didn't want to break it.

"As do you, Rob", I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and smiled shyly up at him.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes", I said and closed the door and locked it behind me.

We walked silently next to each other over to his car. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for me. As he walked over to his side, I silently willed away the moths burrowing in the pit of my stomach and prayed that I didn't make a complete fool of myself tonight.