So sorry for the delay :) My computer still on the fixing process. I used my cousin's computer now ^^
Thank you to all my readers for their patience and to my beta, xx-twilight7-xx (Anita) for beta'ing the chapter :)
Chapter 10
First Moment
I've been in a lot of situations before, but none of them prepared me for a time like this. Carlisle just asked me if I wished to assist Edward, where he could ask for help from his friends or the professionals. Unbelievable!
"You're asking me to assist your son?" I asked cautiously. I needed to make sure there was nothing wrong with my hearing.
Carlisle smiled warmly. "Yes."
Alright. My hearing still worked.
I chuckled nervously. "Why?"
He folded his arms on the desk. "Well, you must know the answer, Bella. If you were the one who could help him, I will gladly give you my permission."
I took a deep breath. My memory wandered to Edward again when he said he wanted his life back. Could it be that Carlisle had other motivations? I looked back to Carlisle. He was waiting for my answer. "Why do you want Edward to discover his old self?"
He smiled slightly and shook his head. "I knew you will ask this kind of question." He sighed. "I just want him to recover. He has a bright future and I don't want to see it get ruined by his anger management issue."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "So….all that you think about is his future." I chuckled darkly. "What about his feelings? What about his dreams?"
Carlisle's face turned hard. "That will be my personal problem with Edward."
I scoffed. "Really? If he really was your personal problem, why did you take him here? Why didn't you put him into personal therapy?" Somehow I had the feeling they had already tried it, but the result was not as good as they expected.
Carlisle narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid that was a personal question, Bella." He tilted his head. "Aren't you supposed to not get attached to your subject?"
Oh.
So, he decided to play on my field, then?
I smirked. "Aren't you the one who said I could treat them both as a subject and a friend?" I pointed back.
Carlisle looked at me with a shocked expression. He might be a senior doctor, but he was playing on my field and I will gladly play along with him.
A soft knock was heard from the door and I turned to see Kate already standing at the door.
"Yes, Kate?" From my peripheral vision, I could see Carlisle speak to Kate, but he didn't remove his gaze from me.
Kate cleared her throat. "The therapy session will be starting in 15 minutes, Dr. Cullen."
"Alright. Thank you, Kate," Carlisle said to her.
Kate glanced briefly at me before nodding slowly and quietly walked from the door. I turned to look at Carlisle again. His face was expressionless.
"So, Bella…what your answer would be?" he asked me after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
I took a deep breath again. "I'm here to help, Carlisle. Of course I will say yes. But, I'm a volunteer and-"
"Don't worry about that," he interjected. "I'll tell Kate you will assist Edward after lunch."
I blinked and nodded thoughtfully.
And then he smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You may leave now, Bella. Kate will tell you where to meet Edward at lunch."
"Alright," I said shortly.
I had risen from my chair and started to walk before Carlisle called me again, "And Bella…."
I turned around to face him. "Yes?"
He smiled slightly. "If you don't mind, I would like to read your reports on Edward's progress."
My heart twisted. I must help him, but I must treat him as my subject too.
I shrugged. "We will see about that."
Carlisle nodded. "Thank you, Bella."
I didn't answer him. I just walked out of the room.
Apparently Margaret had her therapy session this morning so I didn't see her today. I used my spare time to write my notes about Margaret's progress. I learned that she had already improved a lot and I had the idea to take her to have a walk outside from 'Our Hearts'. Maybe take her to a high school event or something like that.
I ate my lunch in silence and after I finished with my food, Kate called me to her office.
"Dr. Cullen told me about your schedule and after lunch from today you will assist Edward," she told me when I arrived at her office.
I smiled grimly. "I know."
Kate sighed. "Bella, if there's anything that I can do to-"
"To what?" I asked her. "To cancel the schedule?" I chuckled darkly. "I'm here to help, Kate."
Kate's eyes tightened. "Yes, you are, Bella. But, risking yourself to be with him…."
"Is a bad thing?" I finished her sentence.
She didn't answer me.
I took a deep breath. "Maybe I didn't know Edward like you did, but I know he is not dangerous. He asked me to help him, Kate."
Kate smiled sadly. "I guess there's nothing I can say that could change your mind, isn't it?"
I grinned. "I'll let you know if I have one."
Kate laughed lightly and I smiled.
"I hope you can arrange your schedule to fit with both Margaret and Edward," Kate said to me after her laughter subsided.
Speaking of Margaret, I guess this is the right time for me to voice my idea about taking her for a walk.
"I've studied Margaret's case and I can tell that she already improved. I have a plan to take her out next week," I said again.
Kate blinked. "Really? Are you sure about this?"
I nodded. "She needs to feel the real life outside this place. I will assist her."
"Alright. Where will you take her?" Kate asked me.
I was not surprised if Kate gave permission almost instantly. Margaret had already had some intensive therapy and I was thinking of another approach rather than just spending your time with the professionals.
Kate nodded thoughtfully. "That is a great idea. I'll talk to Dr. Cullen, then."
I smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kate."
She smiled back. "No problem, Bella. And now, I think Edward is waiting for you in his piano room."
I took a deep breath. "Okay."
I gave Kate one last smile before I walked out of her office and headed to the piano room. As my steps got closer to the room, the sound of piano was getting clearer. Edward was playing random tunes on the piano, perhaps waiting for me to arrive. I gulped. I hoped I did the right thing.
My heart turned erratic when I stood in front of the door. The sound of the piano was loud and I slowly nudged the door open with shaky hands. It was like a déjà vu when I saw Edward behind his piano. He wore a blue shirt with dark trousers and his hair still looked unruly. I didn't know if my eyes played tricks on me, but he was more handsome every time I saw him. And just like the last time, he stopped short when he sensed my presence in the room. He raised his head to look at me and smiled when our gaze met.
I smiled back to him. "Hey," I said in low voice.
"Hey," he greeted back. He stood from his sitting position and gestured to the space next to him. "Please, have a sit."
"Thank you," I said timidly and walked slowly into the room. I sat next to him and blushed slightly when I saw he was staring at me with smouldering eyes. I cleared my throat and looked around the room. "This room is nice. Are you spending most of your time here?" I asked him as a distraction.
"Not most of the time," he answered.
I turned to look at him.
He smiled and continued to play some tunes. "I bet you have heard already that I just began playing the piano again since you got here."
"I've always wondered how all of you could hear some news or rumors so fast," I said in curiosity.
Edward smiled knowingly. "This place has eyes and ears on the wall. It was not a big deal."
I made a face. "I see." I will remember that next time.
He laughed lightly when he saw my expression. "So, I think my dad already gave you his permission. What will we do today? Do I have to lie back on a big chair and wait for you to hypnotize me?"
I chuckled. "You watch too many movies. I won't do that."
Edward grinned. "Well, that's good because I don't think I could keep my secrets if you really did that."
I looked at him. "Secrets?"
Edward sobered up immediately and cleared his throat. "Um….nothing."
But, the damage was already done and I didn't know if he realized it or not, but he already told me a little bit about himself.
I raised my eyebrows. "So, you think your secret is nothing?"
He went silent for moment before he said, "Yes."
"Why is it nothing?" I asked again.
Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I knew he was trying to control his anger and I just push him to do that. But, I needed to know how much he could take until he couldn't control it. Again, it's risky. I know.
"Because there's nothing to tell," he answered me in stern voice.
"Maybe I should hypnotize you to find out about your secret," I said again, keeping my tone neutral. This is my gambling field right now.
Edward raised his head and looked at me with narrow eyes. My heart sped up and it took all the strength from my body to stay where I was. I must admit I was afraid, but I needed to do this.
Edward clenched his jaw and suddenly he stood from the bench. "You…."
I quickly stood from the bench too and held his shoulders. "Edward, look at me."
He stared at me wildly, but I kept my eyes on him. "Control yourself and your anger. It won't do you any good if you lost your temper," I whispered to him.
Edward closed his eyes briefly and took deep breaths. His tense posture slowly relaxed and I exhaled too.
"Better?" I asked him in low voice.
He nodded slowly.
I smiled grimly. "Why don't we talk in the garden? I think you need some fresh air." I still kept my hands on his shoulders.
Edward nodded again and looked at me. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier."
I shook my head. "It's alright. You could control your anger. That's good." I smiled. "Come on."
We walked together to the garden and sat on the green grass. Edward exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I've already made a bad impression to you, haven't I?"
I turned to look at him and smiled grimly. "I've never thought that all of you are bad or different. I know you guys work hard too to get your life back and not many people could understand that."
Edward chuckled. "How about you? Spending your time in this miserable place. Your boyfriend is probably not happy about that."
I laughed lightly. "There are two things that you need to know. One, this place is not miserable and two, I don't have a boyfriend."
He raised his eyebrows. "No boyfriend?"
I shook my head and grinned.
Edward nodded thoughtfully. "No one who could impress you yet?"
I laughed again. "What about you? A good looking man like you probably has a beautiful girlfriend."
He scoffed. "Are you serious, Bella? No one will ever be interested in someone like me; the troubled one."
I smiled slightly. "Do you think of yourself as a troubled one?"
Edward frowned. "Are you doing that psychology thing on me again?"
I chuckled. "I'm a psychology student, Edward. Sometimes I do that unconsciously. I'm sorry about that, but that is the most effective way to learn about someone."
"I bet I'm interesting to you," he said slowly.
His expression really broke my heart, but it was still too early to become attached to him. I needed to stay professional.
I looked over to the green grass and sighed. "I'm here to help you, Edward."
"I know."
Silence.
"I'm not asking too much from you, am I? I mean….to help me," he asked softly.
I raised my head and looked at him. Edward was playing with the green grass near his feet.
"No, you're not," I answered him in an equally soft voice.
He stiffened and turned to look at me. My heart skipped a beat when our gaze met. Edward raised his hand and caressed my cheek. I didn't know why, but I couldn't even move. I just sat there and looked into his green eyes. I wondered if he was the one who had the hypnotic power on me.
Seconds later Edward blinked and reluctantly lowered his hand to his lap. I took a deep breath when he released his gaze from mine.
"So, what is it like to be a psychology student?" he asked me in playful tone.
I smiled slightly.
I spent my afternoon with Edward mostly just talking. He didn't open himself completely to me, but he willingly told me a little bit about himself, which is good. He needed to learn to trust someone.
I said goodbye to Edward at 5:00 pm and promised him I will give him company after lunch tomorrow. I didn't see Carlisle at his office and I decided to go home. I will talk to him about Edward when the time comes.
I couldn't stop thinking about Edward during my journey home. He was really an interesting case. His changing temper was rather unique and I was wondering what thing could cause him to go that way. He didn't like to be pushed, that was the thing that I learnt from him today. He will turn on defensive mode when he felt threatened and from what I learned it could happen to someone who had been emotionally wounded.
I was expecting to go home to an empty room and I guessed right. Alice was not in our room and she didn't leave a note either. I sighed and rubbed my temple when I was looked at the mess on my bed and my desk. I was busy with 'Our Hearts' and that made me have no time to clean it up. I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom. After taking a warm shower and changing my clothes, I decided to clean my side of the room. I hummed some random tunes when I made my bed and arranged my desk. I might be a volunteer in 'Our Hearts', but I was just Bella Swan in this room.
I stopped short from my cleaning when I picked up a Rubik cube from beneath my desk. I had already given up trying to match the colors on the cube months ago. I smiled slightly and put the cube on my bag. I decided to give it to Edward tomorrow to test his patience. I continued my cleaning and finished one hour later. I lay on my bed and looked above at the ceiling before I fell asleep thinking about my project and Edward.
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