Reign of the Broken Heart

Getting to Know You

Chapter Two

As Rebecca pulled up behind the McDonald's next to Edmund's Grand Prix, he was leaning against the trunk, smiling broadly. She parked her Saturn in the space next to him, breaking into a smile herself as she did so. She turned off the ignition, and to her surprise he was opening her door for her. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. His eyes got that slight sheen to them again before he broke contact.

“So, do you want to order first?” he asked, once again scratching his head as though he was nervous.

“Nah, that's okay. You said you were hungry, so you go ahead. It's been awhile since I ate out, so I'm not sure what they have. I'll need a couple of minutes to decide.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her again. “I'm not THAT hungry, Becca. I can manage to wait for a few minutes if you want.”

She shook her head. “I insist you get what you want. No need to wait for me.”

He shrugged and headed toward the counter. He took a few seconds to order a quarter pounder with cheese Value Meal. The cute cashier girl handed him a cup as she asked, “Anything else?” with a big grin.

“Nope. Thanks,” he responded, not noticing her interest in him in the slightest. He turned toward Rebecca and took a couple steps closer so he wouldn't have to raise his voice for her to hear. “I'm gonna fill this quick. Unless you want me to wait for you?”

She smiled back at him, causing another of those warm, friendly smiles of his. “Nope, go ahead. I'll be right there if you wanna pick out somewhere to sit.”

“You got it. I'll put my drink there and be back to get my order. Don't run away on me now,” he smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes at him in fake disdain. “Oh why did you have to spoil my perfect plan with that comment?” She immediately giggled, so he would know she was joking, and gave him a quick wink.

He chuckled under his breath and shook his head as he walked toward the soda fountain to fill his cup. She smiled after him, then turned back to the girl at the counter to place her order. “Could I please get a grilled chicken sandwich with a fruit parfait and a medium drink?” she asked gently, noticing the glare she was getting from the cashier.

The girl just nodded in an irritated manner, punched in the order and said, “That'll be $8.27.”

Rebecca dug her last remaining ten out of her purse and handed it to the girl behind the counter. The girl took it and took a couple of seconds to get her change, practically slamming it into Rebecca's hand. “Thank you,” Rebecca said to her, trying to smile at this obvious change in the cashier's demeanor, knowing she was the cause.

The cashier rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she sneered at Rebecca and walked away as quickly as if she had been poked with a cattle prod.

Rebecca sighed unhappily before Edmund walked up to her. She automatically smiled up at him as he approached her side. He gave her a puzzled look for a second. “Something wrong?” he asked compassionately.

She shook her head softly at his question. Wouldn't really do anything to tell him about the cashier anyway, and she was used to being treated like garbage by most people. “Other than being a little hungry, nothing,” she quipped.

Edmund smiled and she had to stop herself from reaching out to cup his cheek in her palm. She'd been fighting the instinct to touch him all day, and seeing as there weren't any of her co-workers around anymore, it was getting harder and harder to do. He was close enough to her that she could feel the warm aura radiating off of his body, and smell whatever he had used as soap the last time he bathed. It was having a reaction on her that she didn't want anyone to know about, and it wasn't particularly a good one as her head was starting to ache slightly. That was usually a sign she was going to black out soon, but she didn't want to leave the restaurant and risk him thinking he had done something that she didn't like.

"So where are we sitting?" she asked, trying to take her mind off the dull throb starting in her temples.

"Over this way," he said, jerking his head backward and slightly to the right.  He turned and headed over to the table to grab his drink and take a long pull on the straw.  The corner of his mouth pulled up slightly as she followed him to the table.  He pointed to the wall on the left of the dining area, "Fountain's over there."

Rebecca nodded and gave him a quick smile before heading over to fill her cup with Diet Mt. Dew.  She turned back toward the table to see him quickly turn his gaze downward before he headed toward the counter to check on his order.  She walked over to the table to place her drink before she followed him for her own.  She winced and rubbed her temples.  S**t

She wandered up behind him to get her order and caught herself admiring his behind.  She blushed when she noticed what she was doing and the heat from her cheeks was probably noticeable, but at least he didn't turn around until it subsided.  Edmund gave her a smile as he turned toward the table and she walked up to the counter, once again noticing the cashier glaring daggers in her direction.  She sighed again as she picked up the last thing she would be able to eat away from home that week, and followed him to the table, trying not to let the other girl get to her.

She noticeably plopped down opposite of him and he looked at her with another quizzical smile.  "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, fighting the urge to rub her temples again.  "Just been a long day.  Not my usual shift.  I barely got any sleep last night because I didn't want to be late today and get fired."

"You haven't been working there long have you?" he asked.  "I've only seen you a couple of times, and you were always focused on your work."

She smiled slightly, not knowing that he had noticed her before.  "Yeah, I kinda zone out when I'm working.  distractions aren't really a good thing when you're running a saw.  I'm not doing that anymore unless the supervisor needs me to cut something, I just moved to a new department about a month ago."

"I think you're in my department now," he said. "I'm in Clad on day shift."

She nodded, "Yeah, that's my department right now.  I'm not a big fan of certain people, but you have a**holes everywhere, right?"

"True.  Just keep your head down and do your job.  They'll leave you alone after awhile."  He focused on his food, unwrapping the sandwich and taking a fairly large bite.  Rebecca followed suit, opening the cardboard box and lifting it out to see that the cashier had logged her order wrong.  She mentally shook her head and took a small bite, wondering what she had done to piss the girl off.

The breading tasted like grit, but she forced herself to swallow it and pretend she was enjoying her meal.  She glanced up to see Edmund was about half done with his burger, and decided if she didn't start talking their meal would be over before she got another word in.  "So when did you start?" she queried.

"October," he answered non-chalantly.   "You?"

"Same here," she answered honestly.  She'd been wondering why she felt that tingle on the back of her neck before, but not too strongly she couldn't ignore it.  When she'd started it was very faint.  Them being in different departments explained it, seeing as it got stronger when he was physically closer to her.  "You know," she mused, "It seems to me you're a decent listener, but I'm not sure how much about me you actually want to hear."

He smiled at her, putting the burger aside and cleaning his upper lip off with the lower one.  She gulped slightly, hoping he didn't notice.  She was feeling suddenly very warm, her temples getting even worse.  She forced herself to continue looking at him.  "Why am I getting excited by such an innocent gesture?" She asked herself.  "I don't think he's trying, but I just want to touch him over the simplest things.  What the Hell is going on with me?"

"What'd you study in college?" Edmund asked her, rousing her from her internal musing.

"Sociology and Anthropology.  Double major.  I minored in Education.  Wanted to be a middle school Social Studies teacher, but I couldn't afford to stay another year and a half to add a third major."

She thought she heard him sigh, but couldn't be sure.  "So you're pretty smart, huh?

She shrugged.  "I was only second in my high school class.  I didn't work as hard as I should have in a class, so I only got a B plus.  The valedictorian got an A minus, so I blew my chance at a full scholarship."  She added to herself, "And you nearly ended up in jail that quarter too."  She looked up, after taking another bite of the horrible chicken sandwich when she heard him chuckle, wondering what she had said that he'd found funny.

"I graduated and that's about it," he said, still laughing.  At her obviously incredulous look he responded, "I took my C's and D's and went home at the end of the day.  My parents didn't really give two s**ts about my grades."

"Hmm," was all she could think to say.  "He's obviously more intelligent than he lets on," she said to herself.  "I wish he'd have applied himself.  He probably could've gotten a scholarship."

"You get a lot of s**t for being too smart around here," he replied, as though somehow reading her thoughts.  "Figured I was getting teased enough for being fat, so I didn't need to add to the c**p."

She nodded, remembering what her classmates had done when they found out about her cousin molesting her when she was younger.  She really wished she hadn't told Teri her secret, seeing as she had told practically the entire school afterward.  But secrets have a way of coming out, especially dirty laundry like that little tid bit. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.  I was pretty much always an outsider at my schools.  Tried, but I didn't really get along with anybody.  Especially when they found out I'd been molested by my cousin most of my life."  She immediately dropped her eyes to her food, not understanding what had possessed her to say that last sentence.  "F**k," she screamed to herself, "Why did you say that?"

"You weren't to blame for that," Edmund said softly.  She looked up to see something that she had never seen on the face of anyone she had ever told about her past.  She saw a small smile and a look of near admiration on his face.  She released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and he continued, "You're a really strong person if you could handle something like that happening and not completely lose your mind."

She gave him a small smile.  "I'm not that strong.  I attempted suicide a couple of times because of it.  It hurt so much, being told by my own mother that it never happened."  She looked at her food again, trying desperately not to start crying.  She was not expecting his reaction.  He reached over the table and took her hand gently.  Her eyes shot to his face, not understanding why her breathing was suddenly quickening and she felt as though her entire body was being warmed by a bonfire.

He gave her another small smile, running his thumb softly over the back of her hand until she gently pulled away.  "He did that to you.  You didn't do anything wrong.  He did."

Her head was pounding and swimming.  She focused on his face, trying not to black out.  She felt horrible.  Not because she'd told him, but because she was about to break a promise to an old, dear friend she made an agreement with a little over two years ago.  She had to tell Edmund about the arrangement she had with Christian.

"Um, I should tell you that I have a fiancé," she said.  There was a flash in his eyes she almost didn't catch.  Disappointment?  No, she wouldn't be that lucky.  "We told each other that if I wasn't in a relationship with anyone else when I turned 30, we'd get married and have children so neither of us would be alone," she could barely get the words out.  She felt like a complete fool, practically throwing herself at another man while still being in a long distance relationship with Christian.

"He told me that being with another man for s****l contact wouldn't bother him, but you're with someone, and I wouldn't make you a cheater considering you're in love with her."  That sheen came over his eyes again as he simply nodded at her.  And that's when the darkness completely came over her.

Edmund's POV

Rebecca said something that he didn't think he'd heard right, so he just nodded.  He thought she was offering to have s*x with him, but he must have been hearing her wrong.  She had a fiancé.  He had a girlfriend.  She couldn't have possibly meant what he thought she'd just said.  He looked up and there was something different about Rebecca.  There was an almost menacing grin on her face as she practically seared him with a lustful gaze.  He swallowed and averted his eyes.

"She's been hurt before.  I have no clue how badly," he told himself.  He looked up again as she said, "That is unless you want me to..."  Her voice was different.  It was raspy and cold, as though she had somehow turned into an entirely different person.  He thought about speaking, but had no idea how she'd take what he was about to tell her.

Then he felt something he knew Rebecca wouldn't do.  It was definitely the woman sitting across from him, but he didn't think it was Rebecca anymore.  She was rubbing between his legs with her foot.  Caressing him.  Taunting him like she wanted him to relent to her touch.  Her eyes glimmered with mischief and almost hatred.  Like the sweet, battered woman he'd just been talking to was no where to be found.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea," he said firmly.  She frowned then pouted, like he had just taken away a child's favorite toy.

"What's the matter?" she purred.  "Don't you like me?"

"I just think of you as a friend," he said.  "Besides, we're both seeing other people.  And we just met.  Would you really jump into bed with someone you barely know?"

She shrugged with an evil grin.  "It wouldn't be the first time," she said.

"I don't believe that's true.  Not from what you've told me today, Becca."

She glared at him before her body shivered and her expression changed yet again.  Her eyes no longer had the evil sparkle to them.  She seemed calm again.  Almost more calm than she had been all day.  When she spoke, this time there was a slight warble to her voice as she gave him a gentle smile.  "Sorry about Samantha, dear.  She never did know how to keep her hands to herself."

He swallowed hard, not knowing what to say.  "You're not Rebecca," he said matter-of-factly.

Again she gave him a gentle smile.  "No.  You are quite right.  I am not Rebecca."

His mind flashed the answer in a fraction of a second.  "She's been molested," he said to himself.  "Multiple personalities are common with s****l trauma.  I need to see if I can get Rebecca to come back out."

"What do I call you then, since you're not Rebecca?"

"You can call me Ester if you like.  Don't worry, Edmund.  I've put Samantha back where she belongs.  She usually does more harm than good, anyway.  I know that Rebecca told you about her cousin.  She didn't tell you that he wasn't the only one who used her like she was only good for one thing, however.  She's been fighting so hard for so very long, with absolutely no one to confide in.  Even her so-called fiancé acts as though she's a burden.  A problem to be solved.  Like he can fix her as he does a piece of electronic equipment.  It's not that simple."

Edmund nodded.  This sweet girl in front of him just wanted a friend.  She wanted someone to lean on when no one would listen.  Did everyone in her life use her?  Why did she trust him, of all people?  How was she going to remember today?  Would she remember it at all?  Would it completely leave her mind as though it was all a dream?

"What do I do to help Rebecca?"

The female across from him smiled again.  "Just be her friend," she said.  "She feels safe with you.  She is attracted to you, but she meant what she said.  She knows you're taken, and she doesn't want you to break your fidelity to your girlfriend.  She does have someone willing to marry her, but I wouldn't necessarily call it love.  They do care for each other.  I hope that's enough.  Would you like to speak with Rebecca again?"

"Yes, please.  Thank you, Ester."

She smiled again, and her head lowered.  When she looked up again there was fear in her eyes, and he instantaneously knew Becca was back in her own body again.

Rebecca's POV

She felt like the room was spinning again, but when she looked up Edmund was still sitting across from her.  The smile on his face was soft and gentle.  She wondered what why she had come out of her blackout so quickly.  Usually, she was somewhere else when she came to.  Most of the time she wasn't alone.  Nearly every time, she was in a compromising position with someone she either had no clue who they were or barely knew.  She was terrified but exceedingly happy that Edmund was faithful and honorable to his girlfriend.  It meant they wouldn't be together as a couple, but that was alright.  As long as he was happy, she'd manage.  Her thoughts went to Christian, knowing full well that their relationship wouldn't be continuing after she got home.  She desperately wanted the man across from her to be hers.  She couldn't be with another man if she felt this way.

"Are you okay?" Edmund said softly.  "You seemed to be in your own little world there for a bit."

She nodded.  "Yeah, I'm alright."  She looked down at her food.  Picking up the last big bite she shoved it into her mouth so she couldn't say anything else she would regret and push him away.

"If you're done with your food too, we'd better go home," he said.  "I've got to talk to Kimberly soon enough.  And I kinda need a nap before then."

She nodded.  "I've just got this," she said, holding up the parfait.  "I can finish it when I get home."

He smiled at her.  "I'll walk you to your car," he offered.

She nodded, not noticing he'd pulled out a scrap of paper and written something on it.  When they got to her car he handed it to her with a gentle smile.  "If you need someone to talk to, you can give me a call.  If I don't answer, I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

She gave him a weak smile and got into her Saturn.  "Thanks.  Guess I'll see you at work."

He nodded.  "Yeah.  Talk to you soon, I hope."

She smiled and turned on the ignition.  "Later, Ed."

He stepped away from the door and closed it for her as she finished buckling her seatbelt.  With a wave she pulled away toward home.  She got outside of town, pulled over on the side of the highway and cried to herself at her rotten luck.  

"Why now?  Why him?  Edmund.  Please.  Kim doesn't deserve you.  Walk away.  Be with me.  Let's be happy together.  I know in my heart we could be."  She pulled back onto the highway and headed home.  Switching on the radio, it echoed her own thoughts.  Need to be Next to You started playing about half a mile after she started driving again.