Reviving Aspen

Ch 1

Eli

It was in the floor of Roma's Bookstore and Cafe that Eli first laid eyes on her. If the Cafe door hadn't swung open right as he passed, washing him with the too tempting scent of fresh coffee he would have never even given it a second thought. His curious mind was glad he had not passed up the shop when, after he placed his order, he strode down a random aisle and spotted her. It must have been her peculiar position on the floor that snagged his notice. There were plenty of open tables and cushioned chairs scattered about, yet there she sat, an awkward heap leaning against the shelf labeled "Self Help". Logically he should have taken this as a warning sign and gotten the hell out of her line of sight, but his legs didn't catch the memo. Luckily for him she was too engrossed in her own head to notice him and he couldn't resist the opportunity to study her.

Long, wild locks of auburn hair fell down what appeared to be slender, quaking shoulders. It was hard to be sure of her body type seeing as her figure was completely obscured in a massive cream sweater. A pale hand slipped her mane of hair behind her ear and he then caught a glimpse of tears which he had correctly foreseen. Her hand then clasped over her mouth and in her lap lay an open book that seemed to be the source of the problem. Eli tended to ignore female tears, the whole concept of crying confused him and he hadn't personally done it since he was six. But there she was, completely oblivious to him, yet somehow still dominating the entirety of his attention. He really didn't have the time to stand there like an idiot, but every time he tried to drag his eyes away, his curiosity stopped him. Why hadn't she noticed him? Normally all he had to do was walk in the door to commandeer the attention of everyone in a room, but he found himself thoroughly combated by her. The atmosphere of the place revolved around her and shifted with every breath she took.

Seconds passed as he stood there, fascinated, before a pair of bright green eyes found his. The girl countered his gaze with one of her own as an expression that he couldn't quiet make out flitted across her face. Her round lips didn't part with surprise at the sight of him watching her, nor did she flash him a smile. No color rose into her soft, pale cheeks. It was almost as if she were more disappointed than anything else. Words clogged in the back of his throat and before his tongue could catch up with his brain she was on her feet, placing the book on the shelf and walking away. He noticed then with some amusement that she couldn't have been over five foot two, which instantly reminded him of his sister's incessant chatter about how short girls where "just all around better girls". He'd always insisted that it didn't really matter to him because pretty much everyone seemed short next to his six four frame. The ding of the door chime snapped him out of his reverie and without a second glance in his direction the girl disappeared into the bustling city.

The small shop became dull and lifeless as soon as she vanished and he was left confused as hell. He never choked up over anyone, especially not females. He had a feeling that it had everything to do with the weight of the presence that she carried. There was something different about her, like she was trying to suppress something that wanted to break free. Eli pondered his stranger reaction to her as he ambled back through he shelves to the front, where an overly jolly barista thrust his coffee into his hand on a smile. He wondered if he should inform her of the chunk of red lipstick that clung to her left canine, but thought better of it.

"Thanks." He grumbled, not bothering to flatter her with a smile. His head was churning and he needed to get out of there.

Originally, he walked the short distance here from his office building in an attempt to blow off steam after that morning's meeting, where he had to talk down a heavy handed buyer. That, and he needed to burn the excess energy from last night's win. Normally the city air and hustle would sufficiently level out his head, but now the walk back to his office was filled with nothing but green and auburn in a city of pavement and brick. Wearily he noticed that there was a knot in his stomach which had grown with each step he had taken from where the teary eyed girl had sat.

What was wrong with him? He shook his head and tossed the now empty, crumpled cup into a street can.

Women had cried in front of him before plenty of times, a trophy wife of some prick business man that lost everything to him, or some guy's girlfriend that looked on as he beat this shit out of her wimp boyfriend. Sure, he'd seen those sort of tears often enough, but her tears made something in his chest move. He knew that he should pretend that the last thirty minutes never happened. Hell, he had no idea who she was. Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe she was the kind of girl that cried all the time over everything. He doubted that when he remembered the look on her face and how she hadn't made an attempt to get his attention or pity. Actually she had done more of the opposite by practically running from him. Damn it. That girl, with her wild hair and angelic face, shouldn't cry that way. He had a strange feeling that he wanted to be the one to find her smile.

"Mr. Byrns! Is everything alright?" Candice, his over eager, mega-blonde assistant was waiting for him in the lobby, she followed him around like a puppy. He supposed that was the reason he'd hired her. Shallow girls would do anything he asked without giving a second thought, an important characteristic when he sometimes asked her to blot out an occasional black eye or busted lip before business meetings. He thought back to the broken girl and grimaced. Hell, he was a fighter. What made him think he could make a fragile girl smile when he made grown men cry for sport?

Snapping out of his strange daydream he attempted to keep his attention on Candice. "Yes, fine."

"Shall we go over your schedule for the week?" Eli grunted and it was all she needed to begin rambling from her planner. She went on for what seemed like forever, but Eli enjoyed being booked. When she finally finished he locked himself in his office for the afternoon and submerged himself into paperwork and emails, trying desperately to push a troubled and beautiful face out of his mind. It seemed as though her form had been burned onto the backs of his eyelids. He may not be able to make her smile, but he was seriously considering taking care of whatever asshole broke it.