A/N: Once again, you guys blow me away with your reviews. I try to answer questions as best I can without giving away too much. Don't forget, if you're not signed in, I can't respond.

Once again, FFN is screwing with my formatting once I upload. Hopefully I caught everything!

Chapter 7

"We move in together."

Bella looks at me with wide eyes, so I hurry to continue my explanation.

"I know it sounds crazy, but a two bedroom apartment is going to cost less than two separate one bedroom places. I've been at my job for six months and I have a steady income, so I can probably cover the credit check with no problem. But, your name will still be on the lease and at the end of the day, that's what you really need."

Her mouth drops open as she continues to stare at me. I want to say more, but bite my tongue and let it sink in.

"You'd …" she starts, then stops and shakes her head. "You'd do that for me?"

"Yes," I say simply. When her eyes don't move from mine for another minute, I go on. "Why don't we just see what Tanya can find and then go from there? If you're uncomfortable with the idea, we don't have to do it."

I feel like I've lost her when she still doesn't say anything. She closes her eyes for a moment and then opens them and takes my hand. "Okay," she finally whispers.

A smile breaks out across my face. I squeeze her hand and stand. "Let me go find Tanya and let her know that we're changing the direction of what we want to look at."

She nods and doesn't move, her eyes gazing blankly at something over my shoulder, so I hurry out of the room and into Tanya's office.

"Hey," I say as I knock on the frame of the open door. Tanya looks up at me with a slightly sinister smile. "We're ready, but we need to change the criteria of what we're looking for."

"You're going to send your friend," she sneers, "to the dregs of town?"

"Uh, no. We'd like to look at some two bedroom places."

Her eyes widen and she looks me over from head to toe, sending a shiver down my spine. "You're going to move in with her?"

"Not that it's any business of yours, Tanya," I say, adding some venom to her name. "But she's a close family friend and I'm helping her out. Now, are you going to work with us or not?"

"Sure, whatever you want," she says with sarcasm in her tone and a roll of her eyes. She gets up from behind her desk and we head back to the conference room.

Bella still hasn't moved so I put my hand on her thigh and rub it under the table. She turns to me and smiles, mouthing "thank you" before looking back to Tanya.

A few minutes later, Tanya pulls up a list of two bedroom apartments that fit the new criteria we've laid out. Bella and I look them over and decide on a few we'd like to see so we all grab our coats and head out.

Bella and I follow Tanya in my car. She's familiar with the neighborhoods and knows the town so we discuss the pros and cons of each location. She knows it doesn't matter much to me, other than being in a decent neighborhood. Everything in town is within a twenty minute drive anyway. Bella's the one who still has to worry about finding a job.

We stop at the first place and decide pretty quickly that it's not what we want. The only available location is on the ground floor, but it's halfway underground so it seems like a basement. We take a tour of the layout anyway, just in case a similar model opens up somewhere else in the complex.

The second apartment is much better. It's on the second floor and has a private entrance and balcony. The master bedroom is large and there is a master bathroom—something the first place didn't have. The second bedroom is smaller but decent, with the other bathroom just outside. We both like the spacious living room, but the kitchen leaves something to be desired. I think that's something we'll have to deal with though. There's no way we'll get a luxury kitchen in an apartment.

Tanya calls the landlord when we tell her we like it. He lets her know that the place is available immediately, pending credit check, so she tells him we'll have an answer for him by the end of the day.

We check out the third place on the list and find it to be decent and acceptable, but Bella points out the parking situation. The lot in front of the building is small and relatively packed. Although there is another lot at the back of the building, there's no entrance there. I don't like the idea of Bella having to walk around the building at night by herself.

Bella and I sit in the car to try and make a choice.

She looks at me skeptically for a moment. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Bella," I sigh. "You're the one who has to be sure. I offered. I'm fine with it. Frankly, I can live anywhere. If you're worried about what people will think, don't be. This is just one friend helping out another friend. I told you, we don't have to deal with anything else until you're ready, and I promise you no matter what happens, I'm always going to be your friend."

"Are you worried about what Carlisle and Esme will say?"

"Are you?" I counter with a quirked eyebrow.

She laughs, but it's forced. "I'm only worried Esme will be mad that she's not the one who gets to help me. Like you said, everything else can be explained."

"She'll get over it. She only wants what's best for you. Once you explain that you need your name on a lease to file the divorce petition, I'm sure she'll be supportive."

She lets out a sigh and nods. "You're right. Okay," she starts with more confidence. "So, we liked the second place best, right?"

"I think that's the best option," I agree.

"Alright, you'll take the master bedroom and—"

I cut her off with a laugh, shaking my head. "I don't need the master bedroom. Look, we'll deal with the details later, okay? Let's just talk to Tanya and make this happen."

With a sharp nod of her head, she takes my hand and says, "Okay. Let's do this."

It doesn't take long for us to get to the landlord's office, fill out the application and credit check, and return home. The landlord promised that he'd have the results of the credit check the next day, so Bella and I are on pins and needles when we get back to the house.

Bella starts on dinner, either hoping to help Esme out or to keep herself busy. From the living room, I hear something drop and then Bella's muttered curse. I run into the kitchen and find her staring at a mixing bowl on the floor with her hands shaking in front of her.

"Hey," I say, pulling her into my arms. "It's going to be okay." I rub her back while she relaxes into me.

"I know. I think this whole day has just been a bit much."

"Why don't you go relax for a little while? You know you don't need to do this," I say, gesturing to the food on the counter.

She sighs and pulls out of my embrace. "Cooking is usually a good stress reliever for me. I just need to get my mind back into it."

"If you're sure …" I keep her hands in mine while my eyes search her face.

"I'm sure," she says, just as we hear a throat clear from the doorway.

Bella and I turn to find Esme standing there, looking from our joined hands to the bowl on the floor. "Hey, Es," Bella says, dropping my hands and bending to pick up the bowl. "I tried to get dinner started, but I'm afraid I'm not doing a very good job."

With furrowed brows, Esme asks if everything is okay and I start to walk away to let the sisters talk. Bella surprises me when she asks me to stay.

Addressing Esme, she says, "Everything's fine, but it's been an interesting day." She launches into the story of Jasper showing up at the lawyer's office, everything the lawyer said, and meeting Tanya to look at apartments.

We've all taken seats at the table by the time Bella takes a deep breath and says, "Edward is going to help me out and we're going to get an apartment together."

Esme looks at me, confusion clearly written on her face. "What do you mean, 'you're going to get an apartment together?' I thought you were both looking for your own place."

"It started out that way," I chime in. "Until Tanya told us that no decent landlord would accept a renter without a steady income, regardless of how much money she has. So, it was either rent from a lowlife landlord in a less-than-desirable part of town, or look at two bedroom places where I could cover the credit check."

"Well, this is …" Esme pauses. "Awkward."

I roll my eyes and continue. "The place is actually really nice and has plenty of space, so we won't be stepping on each others' toes. I know Bella's good for the rent," I chuckle. "And, I've lived with my share of sloppy roommates. Bella will definitely be a step up." I turn to Bella and smile.

"Honestly," Bella starts. "This is my only option aside from having to go back to Phoenix and find a lawyer there. I have no idea how long it would take to get everything settled, and that would keep me from moving on with my life." Her eyes plead with Esme to understand. "I just want to move on. Edward was nice enough to help me solve a problem, and actually, sharing the rent and utilities will save us both some money. Besides, weren't you the one who didn't want me to be alone?"

Touché, Bella. Nicely done.

Esme contemplates for a minute before shaking her head and closing her eyes. "You're both adults, so it's not like I can tell either one of you what to do, but I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into."

Bella looks at me and gives a slight nod. "Yeah, I think we do."

A/N: Does she really know what she's getting into? How about Edward? Don't worry, their talk is coming up soon … just a few other things to take care of first.

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