“ It seemed to be an endless cycle of blow-ups ”
She sounded more irritated than contrite . Aron didn ’ t like being ignored .
You ’ re stupid . You ’ re a bitch . You ’ re a traitor . You ’ re weak . You ’ re pathetic . You ’ re a loser .
“ Do you even remember all the things you said to me ?” Nora asked .
“ I want to sweep it under the rug and start over .”
Nora thought about her encounters with Aron , how she had blown up over thinking Nora was flirting with her boyfriend . Before that , when Nora sought comfort in Aron after fighting with her parents , Aron was disgusted by her weakness . It seemed to be an endless cycle of blow-ups , and then the sweeping away of the aftermath . Now it was too much to clear away .
Sean brought the coffee , glancing at Nora before he went away .
“ So , do you still think I was trying to come onto your boyfriend ?” Nora said .
Aron carefully took a sip of her coffee , looking away from Nora . “ No , the girl who told me about it was lying .”
“ But you still believed her . And you said all those horrible things to me .”
“ I can own up to anything I said that bothered you ,” Aron offered . It wasn ’ t really an apology , but more than Nora expected from her . Nora pulled the package out of her bag and put it on top of the table .
“ So what ’ s the point of this ?”
Aron reached into the box and pulled out the hand mirror .
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“ You left it at my house . I thought you ’ d want it back ,” she said , placing it onto the table next to the empty box .
“ I asked you to give it back to me months ago ,” Nora stated . “ You said you didn ’ t have it .”
“ You never asked me to look for it . I would have remembered ,” Aron said dismissively as she took another sip of her coffee .
Nora took the mirror and put it in her bag . They sat silently , watching each other with scrutiny , with tight lips . Sean walked by their table , looking at Nora .
Aron caught the exchange between them . “ Are you going out with him ?”
“ No . We ’ re just friends .”
Aron observed Sean as he served the other customers . Nora noted that she didn ’ t seem to like what she saw .
“ It seemed to be an endless cycle of blow-ups ”
“ It was nice of him to deliver the package for you ,” Nora said .
“ It was very considerate ,” Aron allowed . “ What now ?” Nora asked after a moment . “ Now we go back to how it was .” “ I can ’ t .”
Aron considered this for a moment , then set her coffee down .
“ Why ?”
Nora scratched her elbow , fidgeting in her seat and looking everywhere except Aron ’ s face .