18

BPOV

"a good neighbor"

"Are we crazy?" I ask Wanda as we hit Hwy 101. "We barely know this man, and we're more than likely going to be neighbors." She turns to me with what I'm guessing is an annoyed look on her droopy face before hanging her head back out of the window again. "I probably shouldn't even be asking you. Your crush on the man is adorable." And it is. The last time we saw Edward, she whined for a good thirty minutes when we headed back to Forks.

We're on our way to Bremerton to help Edward move into his house, and I'm nervous. Not only to see him, even though we talk on the phone a lot. He warned me that his little sister Alice is coming to help as well, and I'm worried that she isn't as changed as he thinks she is.

We're the first to arrive, so I take Wanda for a walk before plopping down on the front steps. Our wait isn't long, and before I know it, a U-Haul, followed by a familiar truck, pulls in. I feel like an idiot parking the obnoxious SUV I traded the Mustang for in his driveway and offer to move it, but Edward just waves it off and drives the moving truck in the middle of the yard, close to the front door.

A small raven-haired woman climbs out of Edward's truck and immediately starts giving him shit for wrecking his new lawn, but he just fluffs her hair and jokes. "That's what landscapers are for." Making her slap his hands away.

He smirks and makes his way over to me. "Hi."

Wanda has been losing her shit since she saw him jump out of his truck, so I hand over the leash and watch him devote his attention to her. I've never wanted to be a dog so much in my life.

"We wanted to come down and help with the move," I say, smiling down at the two of them.

Edward stands up, brushing his pants off, and we decide to put Wanda in the back yard while we unload the truck. It kind of hurts that he doesn't hug me like he did the last time we saw each other, but I'm guessing he doesn't want Alice to start asking questions.

I lock Wanda out back and make sure she's comfortable before meeting the siblings back out front by the moving truck. Edward looks embarrassed, and Alice is smiling like the cat who ate the canary.

"We'll have to check on her, but she seems fine for the time being." I turn to Alice. "Hi, I'm Bella. You must be Edward's sister Alice."

We shake hands and she seems surprised to find out I'm also potentially moving to the neighborhood.

It takes us a couple hours to get everything inside, and I'm feeling the burn, but once we're finished, Wanda has reached her limit of solidarity. Edward lets her in, and she starts investigating his belongings,

"I'm sorry she's so nosy."

Edward just shrugs it off.

"Edward ... this place is beige." Alice shudders, making me laugh.

"I like it, Alice"

She turns to me. "How bad is your place?"

I tell her that it's similar, aside from a few rooms that are … questionably bad. I give Edward some side-eye, but he's busy ordering food.

He offers to accept some of her help decorating his new place, and she sticks her tongue out at him.

I've never had the means to decorate, so I ask Alice if she'll help me out. If I get the house, that is. I could use a female perspective.

The food arrives, and we sit on the floor around the coffee table to eat. It seems like Alice is doing her best to embarrass her brother, and it's working because his face is an unnatural shade of pink, and he refuses to meet my eyes.

She's the first to finish her lunch and asks if it will be okay for her to take Wanda on a walk to check out the neighborhood.

As soon as we're alone, Edward finally relaxes and asks about my possible move. He throws his arm around my shoulders in a comforting manner when l admit that I don't have anyone I'll miss.

When he slyly calls me out for my lack of friends, he immediately starts backpedaling, and I cover his mouth. His lips are warm and soft against my finger, making me wonder how they'll feel on mine. Our eyes lock, and I think he might be asking himself the same thing. He's leaning in when the door opens and our spell is broken.

After we clean up, Edward walks me out. I load Wanda in and lean against my car with my arms wrapped around myself.

"Let me know when you get home, okay?"

I expect him to hug me but he just opens my door and waits for me to climb in before closing it.

"Thanks for your help today."

"Anytime." l wink and head back to Forks, feeling a little sad and confused because saying goodbye shouldn't feel this hard.

What does that mean?