Golden - P.L.

7. Cinnamon Rolls and Lilacs

"Cross your thoughtless heart, only liquor anoints you. She's the albatross, she is here to destroy you."  - Taylor Swift, The Albatross

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My room was my safe space but even it couldn't patch the hole in my chest. I signed softly pulling the blanket that was wrapped around me like a burrito tighter. I knew Bella was worried about me. She found me walking on the side of the road and told me that Paul told her where I was. She never asked any questions about it, part of me had a feeling she already knew what happened.

The hardwood floor creaked under my feet as I walked to the bathroom. I dropped my blanket on the tile floor and turned on the shower. I watched as the water fell and slowly drained.

"Lilah?" I spun around seeing Bella leaning against the door, her eyes full of concern.

"Are you planning on getting in? I have to take you to work in 40 minutes." She said softly.

"Oh um, ya sorry." I said back looking down at my feet. Bella turned and left closing the door behind her. I looked up seeing myself in the circle mirror above the sink. My long blonde hair was thrown up in a messy bun and my green eyes seemed dull. I've never seen them without this much life. I hated it. How could someone I barely even know, cause this much damage? It hurt.

I hummed the tune to 'My Girl' as I rolled out the dough for today's cinnamon rolls. Almost everyday we make a fresh batch. Sometimes Ms. Janie likes to switch it up and do brownies instead, those are my favorite days. She lets me sneak a few and by a few I mean 10. She's a generous woman and never wants our family to go hungry since she knows Charlie doesn't cook. I tried insisting that Bella normally cooks and when she doesn't Charlie just gets food from the dinner but that wasn't good enough for her.

I heard the bell above the door ring signaling that someone must have come in. Putting down the rolling pin I looked down at my strawberry covered apron and dusted some flour off.

"Hey Delilah." I heard a male voice say making me spin around and face the front of the counter.
Oh no, Sam, Jared, Embry and Paul stood in front of the counter and I felt myself have a slight panic attack.

"Hi, what would you guys like?" I said softly giving them my best 'I'm not freaking out' smile. I hadn't seen any of them in a week. Not since that day.

"Lilah, I need to talk to you." Paul said surprising me. My green eyes locked with his brown eyes again and I was back on the beach. The place he shattered my heart.

"Would you like anything?" I said ignoring him and turning towards Jared.

"I would like a Carmel Frappe, please and thank you." He said with a smirk. I could feel Paul's gaze burning into my cheek but I didn't care. I couldn't think about the things he said back on the beach right now. Work was supposed to keep those thoughts at bay, now it seems he's everywhere.

"Okay, one carmel frappe coming up." I said with a grin as I continued down the line. One carmel frappe, one americano, and one cinnamon roll. I wrote down the order as I walked over to the old cash register. It was a rustic black and matched the aesthetic of the cafe well.

"Lilah. Please." Paul said softly coming in front of the cash register, handing me money.

"Thank you sir." I said taking the money and putting it into the register.

"Here's your change." I said passing him back a ten and a quarter. My hand softly skimmed his making electricity shoot up my arm and to my heart.

"Do you need help Lilah." Jonah asked placing a hand on my shoulder taking my note with all of the orders and going through it. I could see Paul's gaze turn cold and his eyes zeroed in on Jonah's hand. His jaw was clenched tightly and Sam shot him a look making him take a deep breath.