Thank you to my beta, xx-twilight7-xx, for beta'ing the chapter ^^

Chapter 4

First Encounter

The rest of my Sunday went by uneventfully. I must thank Alice for making my feet totally exhausted. She seemed cheerful since she met with Jasper. She didn't stop humming random tunes even after we arrived back at our room. I still couldn't believe it if Alice began dating the guy she had met at the mall; even though it was not my business. But I didn't think I could meet with Rosalie again and have a decent conversation with her. I must ask Alice to keep quiet so I could get some sleep because I needed to arrive early at Our Hearts tomorrow morning.

Thankfully I managed to get into the building five minutes early just like when the ceremony was held. And then after the short briefing, Kate and other senior volunteers told us to assist the kids. I got the chance to see Margaret again and learn about her personality. I was more like a double agent here. A friend to Margaret, but also a student who needed to do her project by studying other people. I left Margaret with other kids to have lunch when the staff told us it was lunch time.

I was scribbling down my notes when Kate called me and asked for my help to give some documents to the second floor.

"Everyone is busy and I just happen to see you, Bella. Can you give these papers to Dr. Cullen upstairs?" Kate asked me and handed me a pile of papers.

"I thought the second floor and the third floor were forbidden for the volunteers," I said to her as I took the papers from her hand.

She looked exhausted; no wonder because she had to make sure all the kids were doing their therapy session while she had to watch our work.

Kate grinned sheepishly. "I know, Bella, but I need to be at the lunch room now. Garrett and the staffs need my help. Besides, Dr. Cullen's room is right next to the stairs so you don't have to meet with the kids who have intense cases."

I took a deep breath. "Alright."

Kate smiled gratefully."Thank you, Bella."

I smiled back and began to walk to the stairs. I exhaled and took the steps cautiously. The second floor was so quiet and it felt different from the first floor. My heart beat increased and I prayed silently I didn't have to make a scene here.

When I arrived at the second floor, suddenly the building seemed quiet to me. All of the doors were closed except one door that opened in half. I walked slowly and glanced at each door, but I couldn't find any sign of Dr. Cullen's room. I continued to walk and stopped at the end of the floor. There was a big window and when I stood there, I saw the scenery below and realized it was the time when I first spotted Edward.

A shiver ran down my spine when I realized I was standing right where he was standing on that day. He was on this floor at that time.

I swallowed hard. I knew this was a bad idea for me to be here. I might be a Psychology student, but to be near someone who has mental problems was still was not a good choice. I clutched the papers in my hand tightly and decided to return to the first floor. I turned around and almost screamed when I saw a man was standing behind me.

All the papers in my hand flittered to the floor and I almost fell on my knees, but the man held tightly on my waist and kept me stood upright. I unconsciously held his shoulder while trying to control my erratic beating. His grip was so strong yet so tender and he was so warm. I slowly looked to the man's face and gasped when I saw it was the bronze haired man.

The man was Edward.

My heart beat remained erratic. My conscious side told me to run away from his embrace while the other side of me told me to stay right where I was. He was looking at me with his piercing green eyes and our faces were inches apart. I swore I could hear his heart beat on my chest. He looked at me deeply with a curious expression while I tried not to squirm on his embrace.

"Edward, let her go!"

I heard a man's voice from behind his shoulder and glanced to the blond man. I recognized him as Dr. Cullen.

Edward still held me tightly, as if he was afraid to let me go.

"Edward!"

Edward closed his eyes briefly before he released his arms from my waist and took a few steps backwards. He looked at me for a moment before he turned around and walked into the room where I saw it was half opened earlier.

I took deep breaths and shook my head briefly.

Dr. Cullen approached me and started to collect the scattered papers on the floor. I snapped back into the present and quickly collected the rest of the papers.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen. I shouldn't have been here," I said in remorse and gave him the papers. I was sure my cheeks were flushed now. I gulped. "I already said no to Kate, but she said she was so busy and-"

"It's alright," He interjected with a smile. "It's not your fault. I should keep Edward in a room, but I allow him out of his own room. "He extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. And you are…"

I smiled. "Bella, sir. Bella Swan."

He chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Bella. Don't worry. These sort of things won't happen again in the future."

I smiled slightly. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

The blond doctor gave me a slight smile too. "Please, call me Carlisle." And then he looked at me curiously. "You are the Psychology student, right?"

I grinned. "Yes, I am."

He chuckled again. "It's a great honor to have you here with us, Bella. We don't see many Psychology students as volunteers in our place. We do have a psychiatric here, but sometimes it's nice to have a young Psychologist once." He gestured to me, "Have you already had your lunch?"

I blushed. "No, not yet."

He smiled. "Let me put these papers and we can talk."

I nodded slowly.

Dr. Cullen took me to a room and we had our lunch. It was a medium room full with files and books. Several desks with chairs and LCDs were put in different corners. Each desk had names on the top of it. Dr. Cullen took me to his desk and I sat across from him. We ate our lunch and talked casually. He was a humble man although he was graduated from Harvard and had his master degree not long after he took the shifts at the local hospital. He met with Dr. Gerandy while he was starting his early career and they became best friends. He also the first doctor who agreed to help Dr. Gerandy to build 'Our Hearts'.

"It's a lovely place, Carlisle," I said to him when he finished his story.

Carlisle smiled. "Thank you, Bella. "

"And all of the kids…how did they know about this place?"

He sighed. "Dr. Gerandy has some patients who their children had behavior problems. He thought to build a place that could help them and he remembered this building. It was owned by his parents and they gave it to him after they passed away."

I nodded. So, the article that I read was telling me the truth.

"We've been helping lots of kids here," he continued. "Most of them have had the second chance to live normal again. Some of them sometimes volunteers in this place."

My eyes widened.

Carlisle smiled when he saw my shocked expression. "Yes, Bella. Kate and Garrett were two of the kids here, but they recovered. They met here, fell in love and I'm sure you know they are married now."

I blinked. "I..uh…yes…it's just I never expect they were troubled once." Honestly, I saw Kate and Garrett as nice people although I was curious as to why they volunteered in this place repeatedly. I guess I know now. Even if they were troubled, this place was good to make them a better person. I thought briefly if 'Our Hearts' could help Edward too.

Carlisle chuckled lightly. "They are good people, Bella. But, I don't think it's wise if I told you why they were here."

I smiled. "I understand."

"So, any particular reason for you to volunteer in this place?" He asked me.

I gulped. "Uh…honestly, sir….I just want to spend my college break." I grimaced inwardly.

Carlisle smiled knowingly. "Ah, I see….but, a nice girl like you just doesn't spend time to help at a trouble situation without a motive."

Ouch.

I sighed in defeat. "I'm a bad liar, aren't I?"

This time the blond man laughed. "No, you're not, Bella. It's just your face was so easy to read." And then his laughter subsided. "So, why are you here, Bella?"

I played with my fingers nervously. "Well….I had problems about my college project and my best friend told me about 'Our Hearts' program so I decided to give it a try." I sighed. "But, honestly, I just spent my time here in two days and I could see these kids are special. They are interesting subjects, but still they are….special."

Carlisle nodded slowly. "I understand, but you must decide either you treat your subject just a subject or not at all. These kids are vulnerable on the inside. If they knew your intention just for your project, they will be heartbroken."

I swallowed hard. "I know that, Carlisle."

He went on. "Or….if you could find the way to treat them both as your subject and your friend that would be good. You could stay as their friend while you remain objective for treating them as your subject."

Believe me, I was considering for that part.

I nodded again.

Carlisle smiled. "Thank you for having lunch with me, Bella, and I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I assure you that the kids with intense cases will not manage to come out from their rooms unsupervised."

I shook my head. "No, it's alright." My heart skipped a beat when Edward's green eyes flashed in my mind. "He didn't hurt me. He just helped me not to fall off my own feet." I didn't know Edward, but I think I need to save him from being treated wrong after Carlisle caught him holding me.

"It's just a precaution, Bella. Edward is known for his sudden behavior. We don't know when he will lose his temper," Carlisle explained. I didn't know why, but I saw Carlisle's eyes flashed with sadness the moment he spoke about Edward.

"What happened to Edward?" I asked curiously.

Carlisle sighed and looked over to the window. His gaze turned dreamily. "Edward was a bright boy once. He was smart and caring, but he slowly turned to the way he is now because of his father."

Silence.

And then Carlisle turned to me. He smiled weakly. "The lunch break is over, Bella. You should get back to the kids."

I blinked several times. "Uh…yeah…sure." I rose from the chair. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"You're welcome, Bella."

I got out of the room in deep thought. This whole problem made me think. What was exactly happened with Edward? And Carlisle…..he seemed to know something, but he didn't want to share it with me.

I walked down the stairs after looking briefly to the room where Edward walked back into. Once again I was thinking that Edward could be the interesting subject.

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