Perspicuous (J.HALE)

19

I yawned at the coffee machine as I waited for the pot to fill up.

The early mornings weren't an issue, exactly—but the disjointed sleep I got anyway, having to wake up for Ethan's night feeds, just made me feel like a zombie. Always drifting in a state of limbo between constantly awake, and perpetually asleep.

The end of my shift was approaching with each excruciatingly slow tick of the clock on the wall. I'd grown increasingly anxious to be away from the Cullen house for extended periods of time. In the space of two days that I hadn't been there, when Meg and Elliot had returned, Bella had progressed to what looked like five months pregnant. Her hair was starting to thin and her skin was pulling so tightly around her bones, I could almost see their clammy, white surfaces. I knew that she was under the best care that she could possibly have—Carlisle was drowning in books and websites and journals and tubes and monitors—but I jumped every time my phone rang.

A loose plan had been developed; she as going to have a C-section as soon as the baby would be able to survive without her.

"What's up with you?"

I jumped. Will stared at me from the other side of the counter where he was clearing plates.

"Nothing," I said, a little defensive.

"You've got a face like a slapped ass," he said with a shrug.

My brow crinkled in mild offence. "Thanks."

He paused in what he was doing, narrowing his eyes a fraction and tilting his lips toward a smirk. "You don't like me, do you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not doing the best job of convincing me otherwise."

He chuckled. "I don't think I've done anything inherently terrible."

"You're right," I conceded. "I'm just judgemental."

"Honest, too," he said. "At least."

I gave him a small smile.

He wasn't that bad. He just seemed a little too friendly, and it brought my back up. Friendly people always made me suspicious.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked.

"About seven months," he said.

"You in school?"

"Graduated last year."

"Cool."

"What about you?" he asked. "With your kid and everything?"

"I was home-schooled while I was pregnant," I said. "I'll pick it up again at some point. I'm getting that diploma if it kills me."

He smiled.

Kevin walked past us with a bucket full of clean coffee cups, offering us both a smile as he passed. I smiled back, assessing him for a moment. He was older, yes, but there was a twinkle in his eye, and he stood tall for his height. I could see him being attractive when he was younger. I leaned a little closer to Will.

"So, my aunt comes in here every week?"

"Yeah," he said, a little put off by the increased proximity. "Why?"

"Have she and Kevin ever...?" I trailed off, hoping he would catch my drift.

He paused, blinking at me, before it dawned on him. "Oh-what? No." He laughed. "No, definitely not."