forgetting me

35

New York City
August 29th, 2002

William could barely keep his eyes open, slouching as he stood and yawning every couple of minutes.

The day had been long and no amount of light-hearted chatter with Jacob was able to cure him of his exhaustion. Something about the day had felt odd, like it was building suspense for a life-changing moment. Waiting for the moment was what was tiring William.

He was finishing his last order when he felt someone staring at him.

"There's a girl that just came in that's looking at you, Will. She's sitting down in the back corner and she doesn't  seem like she's going to buy anything," Jacob muttered while William poured his customer's coffee.

"I know," he whispered back.

After the customer left, he turned to the back corner to find the culprit, and he found her.

Elle's eyes were wide, filled with disgust, but also fear. William felt a pang in his heart as she stared at him. Maybe he could make things right.

William hastily made his way over to her. The disgust in her eyes vanished as she let out a small squeak.

"Hey, I don't want to hurt you. I want to apologize, Ellie," he whispered, slowly walking closer.

He was keenly aware of Jacob watching him, but at least he was the only other person in the café, as they were preparing to close for the night.

"No, you don't," she answered softly. Her voice shook and she shrunk against the wall.

"I'm really, truly sorry, Elle. I didn't mean it. I was in a horrible state of mind, and I know you tried to help. I'm so sorry."

He stepped closer to her, reaching out to comfort her.

"Get away!" she cried. She pushed William away from her and ran from the café.

William stood there, mouth wide. He felt like every piece of his body crumbled as he leaned onto a table. He knew he'd hurt her, but he didn't know he'd hurt her this bad.

"Hey, who was that?" Jacob asked. He stood in front of William, staring down at him.

William rubbed his hand across his face and let out a deep sigh. "A reminder of who I used to be." William studied the space she had just occupied, not believing that she had just been there. "That man that she's afraid of is the man I'm trying to forget."

-

A/N
This is the moment that made Elle run off again at the end of "forevermore", just an fyi. She may have over exaggerated it, but Kadyn didn't know that, and Elle did think William was threatening her.