chapter four
Broken Promises & Shattered Coffee Cups

"With Austin's behavior and the mess that has been caused since we've met... I just want to say, I'm sorry. Really, I am. "

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It is unfortunate that that simple smell of a coffee shop is not strong enough to wake up a tired mind on early mornings. The sun had yet to rise in the sky in Tampa, but a small coffee hut was preparing to open it's doors and start business for the day. Prudence Florent sat at the sole opener, starting up the cleansed machines, prepping the day's materials and counting down the minutes until the doors were to be unlocked for the public.

Prue didn't mind early morning shifts. It gave her time to clear her mind and have the space to herself. Plus, no one else came in to work until three hours after the doors officially opened and it gave Prue some time to make some decent tips for herself. She had started the morning with a cup of her favorite coffee and just a few of her favorite songs. Despite the slight amount of fatigue that she felt; In this element, Prue felt at peace.

It had been a week since the NXT live event, since the late night drive between two strangers from Orlando to Tampa. Life had gone back to normal, everybody started to push the memories from that night into the back of their minds. Kit had been taking things pretty hard, realizing that Austin was never going to call the number she had given him. Prue's aches and migraines had subsided, the small bruises imprinted on her skin had faded. In a physical sense, it was like nothing had ever happened at all. It's a shame that the mind wasn't erased so easily.

Although she willed herself to ignore any thoughts of the wrestler that she had met seven days prior, his flannel was still tied to her purse, the note he left sticking out of the small breast pocket. The note had been pulled out multiple times in the six days since it had been written, but the number scribbled on it had never been dialed. Every time Prue went to type it into her phone, she thought about Austin and felt disgusted, worrying that Kyle was no better than his long-haired pal.

At five forty-five in the morning, Prue opened the entrance to the coffee shop. She propped open one of the double-doors, letting the cool Floridian air sweep into the store. The brunette hoped for a quiet morning with just enough business to keep the time from dragging on. For the first several hours, her wish was answered.

It was around nine in the morning when the morning did a complete one-eighty. It went from steady and peaceful to overwhelming, the mood changed with just the ring of the entrance bell. However, it wasn't the amount of orders or the demands of customers that caused the change in tone. There was something much worse than that... Four familiar looking men strode into the coffee shop and Prue glanced up to meet a familiar pair of brown eyes. Their two faces matched in an expression of surprise.

It was then that the rest of the six male eyes rested on the brunette behind the counter, two of the pairs soon forming in a glare. "Greenwood, did you know she worked here?" Chris, the one that Prue was least familiar with, asked. The six eyes turned to Kyle, whose eyes were still locked on her.

"No...This shop isn't even in her neighborhood." The man shook his head. Finally, he broke eye contact with her and swallowed the nervousness that had began to form as a lump in his throat.

Bobby stepped forward to order. "Come on, guys. Just trust him. We'll get our coffee and leave." He defended his friend before turning to Prue. "Nice to see you again, miss. How's your head?"

Prue smiled. "It's fine, much better now." She was grateful for at least one of the four being kind to her. Although, it wasn't like she could be very rude to them in her place of work, anyways. "Are you guys ordering for here or to go?"

"To—" Bobby started.

"For here." Austin cut in, his dislike for the woman still painted in the expression on his face. Her cheeks flushed with anger, but Prue stayed silent and nodded. The men ordered all together, pretty simple items. After it was all put together, Prue carried the tray of their drinks out to them.

She placed the cups in front of each man and sent a forged smile to them. "Enjoy." Kyle set some bills on the table and slid them over to her, as a tip. However, the brunette shook her head. "I don't need your money."

Prudence returned to her place behind the counter and the men began to chatter amongst themselves. All five of them were on edge, sending glances in one another's direction every few minutes. It wasn't until almost fifteen minutes later, when the shatter of a coffee cup echoed in the small space, that Prue allowed herself to look at the group with more than a glance. Austin was looking at her, his cup now in pieces on the floor. "....oops."

Looking over at her coworker, Prue sighed. The other employee was focused on taking orders, meaning Prue was to grab the broom and sweep up the intentional mess that had been made. She stormed over there and began to clean up. "You know, you don't have to be rude to me at my work place."

"Whatever do you mean, dear?" Austin responded, playing dumb. The tone of his voice made her skin itch, her fingers curled tightly around the broom as she begin to sweep. "You know, you call our job pathetic, but at least we don't have to clean up other people's messes for a living."

At that comment, Prudence turned to the man. The expression on her face was cross and mean, the customer service side of her personality had vanished as those words fell from Austin's mouth. "So? You probably did something like this to pay your way through wrestling school. Please, don't act all high and mighty. You're not perfect, Austin. None of you are."

Kyle spoke up. "Don't listen to him, Prue." 

"No, Kyle. Your opportunity to stand up for me is gone." She shook her head. "I'm sorry that I don't watch your over-produced, fake wrestling every week, but that doesn't give you the right to come in here and pick on me. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't even ask you meet you guys."

The man she was most familiar with stood. His eyes were painted with apology, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment from how his friends were acting. "Listen, the scars on our backs prove that what we do isn't as fake as you seem to think. I'm sorry—"

Prue dropped her eyes, not even daring to look at Kyle. Somehow, that morning was worse than the night that she had the week prior. They had embarrassed her in her work place, people were staring and it just made her feel worse. "Listen, Kyle... I don't want your apologies."

"You know what? Whatever. You're too thick-headed to understand." Kyle shook his head. Although her attitude was what set her apart from others that he had met in the past, Kyle was tired of Prue dismissing his attempts at kindness. He was trying to be genuine, but there was a wall that she had up and he couldn't get through to her.

The pieces of the coffee cup were pushed into the dustpan, Prue kneeling to collect them. She took one last glance up at the group, her blue eyes refusing to meet Kyle's. "I am so glad that you came to that conclusion. Now, please... Get out of my coffee shop." Her voice was frail, she had given up on fighting.

This time, it was Bobby who stood. His tanned hand came down on Kyle's shoulder and he nodded toward the door. As the four wrestlers exited the store, they left both a physical and emotional mess behind.

Once the morning had faded into the afternoon, Prue was relieved from her duties as a barista. Her apron was hung in the back-room and she pulled out her cell phone as she strolled into the daylight. It had been an eventful day, but she was able to cool off once the men had left. Her emotions had met back at their equilibrium and she was prepared to have a nice evening.

There was a small park next to the strip of stores where Prudence worked. It was a nice place to sit and breathe in the air, winding down from a long shift behind the counter. Dark green grass surrounded a painted bench where Prue sat, scrolling through the notifications that she had missed.

Her eye caught on a notification about a text from an unknown number. After checking some other apps and messages, Prue's pale finger finally settled on that one, opening it to reveal the address to the local stadium. A note was attached to the link. "Please, meet me here at four. Let me explain." It didn't need a signature.

Looking at the time, the brunette stood and began her short stroll to the parking lot where her vehicle was kept. There had been a lot of bad blood earlier that day, but Kyle wasn't the one who caused any of it. Although she wasn't looking to forgive him, Prue figured that she needed to at least hear him out. So, she headed downtown toward the Raymond James Stadium.

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Kyle was waiting outside the back door of the stadium, checking his phone for the time. Despite his frustration with the woman's actions previously, he still hoped to see her. She thought she knew him and he had this urge to prove her wrong. So, he stood there. The wind curled around his biceps, sending a chill down his spine. Kyle's hopes were almost lost, but it was then that Prue's red Volkswagen Beetle pulled up.

The first thing he noticed when the woman stepped out of the car was the flannel that she wore. It brought a smile to his lips, knowing that maybe he had a chance in his explaining himself after all.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Her arms crossed over her chest as a defense mechanism, making her feel more secure. This time, the blush painted slightly on her cheeks wasn't from anger.

"I guess I've just never seen you like this, not frazzled or injured." The man let out a short laugh. Despite his urge to step forward, Kyle stayed back. A distance remained between the two as Prue leaned against the hood of her car. "What were you looking to tell me, Kyle?"

He looked across at her. "If I would've known that you worked at the coffee shop, I would've never let them in there. Austin has a bad attitude and I wish I could have stopped him from saying the things he did." Kyle shook his head before correcting himself. "I should have stopped him from saying the things that he did. I should have stood up for you and I should get better at standing up to Austin."

"You're right, you should." Prue replied, matter-of-fact like.

"You can say that, but I promise you don't understand what it's like. You don't have to work with your best friend and you can pick fights with them without causing problems in almost all of the aspects of your life."

Prue shook her head. "Actually, it's quite simple... Just don't choose friends who are douchebags."

Greenwood sighed, this time actually taking a step forward. "Listen.. With Austin's behavior and the mess that has been caused since we met, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I really am, Prue."

There was a silence between the two and Prue looked down. She fumbled with the sleeve of her shirt nervously before responding. "I accept your apology, Kyle, but that doesn't mean that I don't think you're too caught up in your world of wrestling to know what's real and what's fake."

The flannel began to slip off of Prue's shoulder and Kyle reached forward to pull it up. "You think I can't tell the difference? Well, I know that I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for a week and, by the fact of you wearing my shirt, I think that the feeling is mutual. " He let out a nervous chuckle. Kyle Greenwood wasn't the type to talk about his emotions, he had been taught not to. For the first time since the meeting had began, the two allowed their eyes to meet. "This? This weird feeling that is drawing me to a girl who I barely know? That's real."

"Let me hang out with you for one evening.. I will prove that you're wrong about me. And, if I don't, you will never see any of the four of us again." It was going to be a challenge, Prudence was a tough shell to crack, she was stubborn. However, it wasn't one that Kyle wasn't willing to take. There was the rule that Austin had tried to set, the promise between the two men. Although, much like the coffee cup that morning, rules were meant to be broken.

"I think that you've got yourself a deal." A small painted on the woman's lips. Although she wouldn't admit it, she knew that she had never really given him a chance.

☼

Author's Note
Ugh, this is so hard for me because I usually drag out my stories for so long. However, I want to keep this one a little shorter and straight to the point so, bare with me— I am trying something new.
Also, I think that this is the longest chapter that I have ever written. I hope it redeems the book after the mess that the last chapter was lol. As always, tell me what you guys are thinking. I love reading all of your comments, they really make my day brighter.