>greene gently placed the bowl down and pushed it towards the far side of the table
>the stego across from him continued to stare into space
>he lightly tapped the table next to the bowl
>the thumping sound caused the stego to twich
>slowly their head turned towards the sound of the noise
>they stare at the bowl for agonizing seconds before a wobbly hand extends from their person
>their fingers pinch one of the orange slices in the bowl
>a bit to hard as juices squirt out
>the stego is unbothered
>she mechanically takes the piece of fruit and deposits it into her waiting maw
>a methodical, thorough chewing followed by an audible swallow
>her hand reaches out for another piece
>greene looks at her and sighs audibly
>the stego makes no sign she heard him
>orange juice begins to dribble down her chin as she feeds
>greene leans forward to wipe it off
>for the umpteeth time he asks himself why he continues to come here
>guilt is the immediate answer
>he still remembers the day this all started
>she had hit on him in the most obnoxious manner possible
>using "statistics" as a justification for why greene should get with her and ditch melissa
>perhaps he would've responded differently if his gf hadn't been sitting next to him
>after years of holding it all in, he let loose
>he summarized her every shortcoming
>every negative trait and personality was brought to light
>and finally the crowding moment
>"I'd rather be dead than date a pathetic, stinking, worthless, internet femcel like you"
>he'd been pretty proud of himself
>until he'd really looked at Cynthia
>a look of pure devastation on her face
>total ego death
>she looked at him, stunned
>he refused to apologize
>he stared her down
>finally she wandered away
>everyone around him took a collective breath
>melissa had mildly chastised him
>"too harsh" she said
>he hadn't cared
>he forced himself not to
cont