A/N: Hello, followers and readers!

Disclaimer: Still don't own the character names, but I do own the concept and I have it trademarked! XD

Thank you all for your support and patience with this chapter! I hope that you enjoy this one!

Depending on the response I get to this chapter, we might have smut in the next chapter.

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Day Six

White Dresses and Meddling Friends

I am huddled on my couch just after midnight, watching crime shows on Netflix. My face is tear streaked, I definitely have not taken my make-up off, and I'm wrapped in a blanket like I need it for the shock. I have barely gotten changed out of my dress and I sport fuzzy PJ pants, my giant glasses and a tank top. I've barely managed to change the dressing on my forehead wound...and I've only done it because I know that it is stupid not to.

My phone vibrates with a phone call, but, I'm feeling too sorry for myself to answer and I don't want to speak to anyone. It's Friday night. Alice knew I was home and I wasn't going to go out with her, no matter what she said or promised.

Not long after this, it vibrates to a text. I will look at a text at least.

I frown when I read the screen. Two missed calls from Edward Cullen. One text message...from Edward Cullen.

The text was simple enough.

Edward-

Are you still awake?

Time Stamp: 12:13 a.m.

A little toxic to call me twice and text me. I roll my eyes. I shouldn't answer. I'm still mad. You can't apologize over text message.

Too late, I realize that it sends him a "read" notification after I open the text message. I feel the frown on my face deepen. Oh, well.

I've spent the past two hours thinking about how I, also, owe Edward an apology for overreacting. I am not good at admitting that I have made a mistake and I am even worse at talking it out with someone else when I do make a mistake. But...I actually want to apologize...I just am not sure how I'm going to do that quite yet.

Thirty minutes later, there is a knock on my front door as I am dozing off. It startles me awake and I carefully creep to my front door to look through the peephole.

I bite my lip when I see a delivery driver standing there with a bag. I don't open the door and instead, yell through. "I think you have the wrong apartment…"

The driver seems confused. "Um...Is this Bella Swan?"

I twitch. "...yes." I groan and unlock the door. I sigh and outstretch my hands for the bag. "I didn't order anything," I grumble as I take it from him.

He looks apologetic. "I'm sorry...it says it's a gift…"

I nod, thanking him quickly, before locking myself down again in my apartment. I take the bag to my couch and open it. Inside, I find a large cup of ice cream and a note.

I'm sorry for what I said. It was uncalled for and harsh. I have no excuse. I would like the opportunity to apologize. If you're available this evening, can we please do dinner?

-Edward

P.S. I am not on call.

I feel very flustered by the note. And, even more flustered by the gift of ice cream. Is this a peace offering? Is he taking some of my relationship advice after all?

I take a deep breath. How am I supposed to respond to this?

I square my shoulders. He is offering me an olive branch. He is giving me an opportunity to apologize and accept his apology. I need to take this opportunity and roll with it.

Without thinking further, I grab my phone and open my delivery app. I need to return the gift. That's reasonable, right? It's midnight. He's been working hard...and, so have the rest of the staff. I find the nearest twenty-four hour coffee shop that is delivering and I go through their options. Finally, I settle on a couple of gallons of coffee to be delivered to the hospital for the staff. It wouldn't seem weird if I gave it to everyone, right?

I'm sleep-deprived and not really sure this plan isn't half-baked, but it is worth a shot.

I write him a note in the delivery instructions.

Please deliver this to Dr. Cullen:

Dr. Cullen:

Thank you for your concern. You do not owe me an apology. I would like to apologize for my overreaction. I have plans to be with your sister for the remainder of today. Perhaps dinner can be rescheduled?

The Hot Psychologist

I sigh as I hit "confirm order". Hopefully that is sufficient enough. Edward doesn't have to accept my apology...but, it would be nice.

I take the ice cream and put it in my freezer before I get up and move to my bedroom. I need to go to sleep. Alice is dragging me wedding dress shopping today and I will not look like a hungover rockstar in the bridal salon.

To Alice's credit, she plans a wedding as fast as most people plan a birthday party.

I huddle in my bed and pull the blankets over my head.

Please, don't dream about Edward Cullen, I think to myself as I doze off.

I'm back on that stupid balcony.

I don't know why I'm here, reliving a night from ten years ago…but, I'm back.

I sigh. I don't know why, but, I don't want to be here. My stomach churns and I feel uneasy. I look out over the balcony and see the same stupid signs.

I'm back at Edward's graduation party. Who needs a graduation party from med school?

Maybe I'm just bitter and that's why I'm reliving this?

"Bella?" I hear a voice call, but, this time, it isn't Edward's...it's someone else's. I feel even more sick to my stomach.

My brain is screaming at me to wake up. I need to wake up. I can't be here. I can't be here.

I can't, I can't, I can't…

I wake up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. I don't know what's wrong with me. Psychology would say I'm blocking some kind of memory, but, I don't know what it is and I don't want to.

I glance at my clock, the tears still stinging my eyes. It's seven-thirty. I guess that's my sign to get up…

I grab my phone and glance at the notifications I've missed while I was asleep.

One new text message.

From Edward.

5:07 a.m.

Thank you for the coffee. You are now this floor's favorite person.

They also want to know who "The Hot Psychologist" is.

Let me know if you feel up to dinner after dealing with the damn pixie.

Wedding dress shopping sucks. I did it once for myself. And, it sucks. You have all your people there, telling you how you look "great" in everything that you try on...but, there isn't really a single dress you like and you will never find a dress that is "the one" because you don't look like a bridal catalogue.

I think I'm bitter, honestly, because my only experience getting married did not go...well, it didn't go well. That's pretty much all I can say on that note.

Alice is three dresses in and the chiffon and silk from the high end bridal store is becoming suffocating. To her credit, Rosalie is being much more supportive about the entire trip than I am. She is the dutiful sister in law. I'm the crusty maid of honor who is finding everything wrong with every dress she tries on.

"You're too judgemental, Bella," Alice finally says as she picks up the skirts of one very large wedding dress. Alice had enjoyed it, but...it wasn't "Alice!" It didn't jump out and smack me in the face like she did.

I shrug. "I'm just not seeing anything that's your style," I say, my arms crossed across my chest.

Rosalie, her glistening blonde hair down, her skin glowing, and her statuesque features making everyone in the store do a double take, smiles encouragingly at Alice. "I think they've all looked very nice," she offers. Rosalie isn't normally that kind, but pregnancy has apparently done wonders for her.

Alice sighs within her dressing room as the bridal consultant helps her get dressed in another gown. "No...Bella's right. I want glitz and glam and...I want something that smacks people in the face when I walk into the room!"

I smirk and look at Rosalie, triumphantly. "See?"

Another employee of the bridal shop brings us a tray filled with mimosa. I take one, but, Rosalie declines, for obvious reasons. The bridal consultant walks out and goes straight to the racks as Alice groans through the door. "Maybe...maybe we should wait until closer to the wedding."

Rosalie and I exchange a glance, nervously. "Alice...you already said you wanted the wedding as soon as possible…" I say, carefully.

Rosalie gets up from her seat. "We need something that sparkles like the sun and is slinky, right? I'm on it." I nod as she rushes over to the racks.

I sigh. "Alice, what's wrong?" I cross the dressing room to make sure that I'm right outside her door.

Alice groans. "I feel stressed out, Bella!" She sounds like she's stressed out…

I take a deep breath and shake my head. "Well, you don't have to FORCE yourself to plan a wedding in three months." I shrug, not sure what other comfort I can offer.

Alice's voice that comes back is strangled. "I just want everything to be perfect! And I'm tired of waiting!"

I roll my eyes. "Alice...you could get married at the courthouse in a potato sack and Jasper would still love you...and want to be with you."

Alice sniffles in the room. "Really?"

I take a deep breath. "Yes, Alice. Really." I roll my eyes. The things I do for this pixie. "But, if you want a giant party to commemorate it and need it RIGHT THIS SECOND...then, your options are pretty limited."

The bridal consultant and Rosalie come in at that moment, their arms piled with crinoline. Rosalie has gone into full on Mama Bear mode. "Ok," she says, "I got five sparkling gowns that look like she'll be covered in diamonds. But, if that's not enough, I also have it on good authority that there are a couple of twenty grand dresses in upstate New York that I can have here in the sample sizes by Tuesday."

I smirk. Leave it to my friends. I clap my hands together. "Well, then...looks like we have multiple solutions to the 'White Dress' problem." I step back several feet from Alice's dressing room door. "So, let's try on a few more dresses and then go eat some lunch, then! What do you ladies say?"

As Alice and the consultant close the dressing room door, my reflection is cast in the bridal ad on the door. My face is superimposed onto the model in the mermaid gown with organza and silks. Something inside me stirs and I feel a weird longing and guilt. A flash of me, walking down the aisle in a white dress and veil, my face done beautifully, my hair in curls...

I quickly shake my head. No. I don't ever want to get married again. It just complicated things and relationships and would make my trust issues worse.

"I can't marry Edward Cullen."

Over soup and salad - because that's all that Rosalie can apparently stomach with her new morning sickness - Alice waxes poetic about one of the dresses that Rosalie was able to find. I am ecstatic for her because the skin-tight dress looks like she walked through a rainstorm it has so many rhinestones on it.

It isn't until a lull in conversation that Alice makes the decision to choose violence.

"So...Bella. How are things going with Edward?"

I pause in raising my fork to my mouth...and sigh. I place the fork back on the plate. "It's...interesting."

Alice raises an eyebrow. "Meaning…?" Rosalie has now paused, but I'm not sure if she's actually curious or if she feels nauseated again. Rosalie could just be using it as a convenient excuse.

I shrug. I don't think I'm getting out of it. "He is...very difficult to set up on a date," I say this carefully, because I don't know how Alice feels about my talking about her brother.

Rosalie's nose wrinkles. "Why is that?" She twirls her fork through her salad. I don't think that she's finishing her salad.

I sigh again. "He has very specific tastes and preferences...and he doesn't just blindly go for attractive women."

Alice takes a deep breath in. "Soooo...what happened to you dating him?"

Rosalie immediately leans across the table toward me. "What?!"

Alice's eyes sparkle like her wedding dress. "Oh, you didn't know yet!" She claps her hands together. I try to interject, but, that means nothing to Alice. "Bella made this bet with Edward that she could get him married in thirty days. Long story short, Edward now wants to date Bella."

Rosalie taps her long, elegant fingers against her water glass, smirking. "Oh, really?" She gives me a knowing look.

"It's been seven days."

I roll my eyes. "He's an odd duck," I mutter. "Edward has decided that he has a right to a counteroffer to my bet. His counteroffer is that he will make me fall in love with him in thirty days...while I am trying to find him a woman to marry."

Rosalie's face shows a mask of confusion that I'm sure is understandable. "Do you not like him?"

Alice answers for me. "Oh, no. She does." Alice drinks deeply from a glass of red wine before she answers for me, again. "She's just running scared because he really likes her."

Rosalie turns to me, "Is that true?"

I roll my eyes. "I don't think he actually likes me…"

Alice almost chokes on her wine. "What do you mean?" She pushes back her plate. "Bella...Edward was always fond of you."

I roll my eyes. "Clarify, please."

Rosalie looks very intrigued now. Alice smiles, like she knows some grand secret. "I mean he used to like talking to you when you came over."

I shake my head and raise my water to my lips. "But he's never tried to make any kind of friendship out of this? I don't think that shows that he is fond of me. I think that shows that he needs a rebound from his ex-girlfriend and he's looking at me to fill that space."

Alice bit her lip. "Bella...don't you remember? He was supposed to go to New York for his residency."

Rosalie's eyes hit her hairline. I roll my eyes. "That has nothing to do with me. He's been dating Tanya for the past ten years. I think that has more to do with why he stayed."

Alice chews her lip. "Actually…" Alice looks around, as if she's concerned. "He had some legal issues that kept him from going to New York. But, that's not my story to tell. You should ask him about that." She waves for the waitress, as if she immediately regrets what she's saying.

Rosalie rolls her eyes. "Alice, I'm sure it's not that big of a deal." She quickly looks at me. "I don't know anything about this, Bella, before you ask."

I shrug. "He probably forgot to turn in a library book," I joke, but, I am a little intrigued that this didn't pop up on my background check. That means, whatever it was, it was expunged. "It doesn't matter to me, either way. I don't think he's really interested in dating me anymore."

Alice smiles and takes her phone out from her purse. "Is that why he keeps asking me if you'll be free in time for dinner tonight?"

"He is not asking you that."

Alice's smile is even broader. "No, but he is asking me how shopping is going...and what we were all up to."

I let out a groan. "Again, that has nothing to do with me."

She giggles and types on her phone. "Rosalie, what do you say that you and I get Bella dolled up to go out tonight?"

Rosalie's face utterly sparkles again. "I think this sounds like an excellent idea."

I hold up my hands. "No. NO! I am exhausted and I want to sleep. Besides...it's…" I glance at my phone for the time. "It's already five o'clock. It's getting a little late for dinner."

Rosalie and Alice exchange a look. Rosalie takes out her wallet. "I have a corporate credit card from the law firm. I'm sure I can find a use for a formal dress…"

Alice pulls out a make-up case from her purse. "I have make-up."

I pull at the hem of my jeans. "I doubt he even has a date planned." I am not going to be bullied into going on a date. "And I would really like some Edward-free time at home on my couch...with my wine and my trashy romance novels."

Rosalie raises an eyebrow. "And that is why you will remain single for the rest of your life."

My phone starts buzzing and I glance at the screen. Text from Edward. The only person who seems to want to contact me. I roll my eyes, but, open the text anyway.

5:07 p.m.

Counter offer to dinner:

No dinner, if you've already eaten. Dessert, instead around 7. I'm cooking. I'm not on call tonight, so, there's no rush.

What do you say?

I bit my lip, and try to close the text, but, Alice has already seen it. She looks at Rosalie before she looks back at me. "Bella...go."

I feel my face grow warm. "Alice...this is a booty call text. I'm supposed to say 'no' if I have any self respect. Also, this is your brother!"

Rosalie's nose wrinkles again. "Edward?" Alice nods. Rosalie downs the rest of her water. "Oh, just go."

I glare at them both. "I'm not even dating him!"

My phone buzzes again. Alice smirks and cranes her neck to look at the screen. I cling to my phone. But, I can't resist looking at it.

5:12 p.m.

I was thinking salmon for dinner tonight? My place. You are welcome to say "no"...please don't feel obligated.

Alice lays a hand on my shoulder. "Bella...when you marry Edward, Rosalie and I will rebuild your self respect. For now, answer this question: do you want to have sex with my brother?"

I think my eyes are the size of saucers. For a moment, I can't answer. "Alice...I don't think that's something that I should discuss with his sister…"

Rosalie scoffs. "That's a yes. Bring us the check so we can get her out of here."

I roll my eyes. "What about bros before hoes and all that?"

Rosalie's face turns particularly vicious. "I am pregnant. Which means I'm horny a large majority of the time. Let me live vicariously through your deeds, as my husband doesn't seem to realize that sex will not hurt our child."

I'm not sure how to reply to that, but, Alice smirks, knowingly. "Bella, you haven't gotten laid in years. PLEASE, for the love of God, go get laid." She holds her card out in the air and a waitress magically snaps it up.

I don't know what I expected, but, I definitely didn't expect this level of emotional support from Edward's sister and sister-in-law. I sigh. I wanted to go. I really wanted to go.

But, I still have twenty-three days left with Edward. And, I was going to have Edward married...in thirty days. That was the deal.

If I did this, there might be no going back…

I sigh as I open back up his text messages to compose a reply.

5:18 p.m.

I'll see you at 7. Text the address?

A/N: Reviews, Critiques, and Flames are welcome! Just be prepared to get a reply! :)