A/N: Pics (including character pics) & vids are up on the blog (www . lvtwilight09fanfiction . blogspot . com) Just remember to get rid of the spaces.
If I wasn't nervous enough about meeting Bella today, my nerves tripled when she showed up to my house.
She was, for lack of a better word, beautiful.
She had an understated, shy quality to her, and a smile that made me instantly feel calmer.
Emmett snickered as I stuttered through introducing myself to her, but I couldn't help it, there was something about her that made me want to know more about her.
As soon as she suggested going inside though, reality came crashing down around me.
She was here because I had issues, not for a social call, and, with her specializing in people like me, there would never be a snowball's chance in hell that she would ever even give me a second glance, not when she knows what she'd be getting with me.
Like the day before with Dr. Brandon, she asked me to show her around, and Emmett being the ass that he is, had to make comments about everything he could, especially when we made it into the game room.
"Seriously Edward?" He asked.
"What Emmett? I have an issue with things, we know this already." I replied.
"Look dude, I get you buy a lot of this crap because it seems like you can use it. But you don't even have a dog…and I know you don't even like cats."
"What are you talking about Emmett?" I asked, confused about why he was bringing up my lack of pets. I did always want a dog or two, but really…how the hell would I ever be able to find them with my house looking like this?
"This Edward," he replied, pointing to the two stacks of boxes next to him. "I'm talking about your piles of Potty Patches and stacks of CitiKitty Cat Toilet Training Kits."
"Oh…those, yeah…I uh, I forgot about those. I think I bought them sometime last year."
"Okay Edward, I think I've seen enough. Why don't we have a seat and talk and work out a game plan?" Bella asked.
"Sure," I answered, thankful for her saving me from another of my brother's tangents about my buying unnecessary things.
We made our way, slowly and carefully to the den and all sat down on the couch.
"First things first," Bella began, her voice stern. "Emmett, no more ragging on your brother about his things or his hoarding. He knows he has a problem, he knows he needs help and he's asked for it. You picking on him for it won't help, it'll make things worse. I think it's great that you're here for Edward, but, if you keep making comments the way you have today then I'll ask you to not come back, are we clear?"
I tried not to laugh as my brother sat slack jawed staring at the woman who put him in his place. The only other people who have ever been able to do that were our mother and his fiancée Rosalie.
"Um, yeah. I…I uh, I'll stop."
"Good," Bella replied before smiling and turning her attention on me. "Now Edward, I am happy you asked for help, and I will do everything I can to help you reach your goal of clearing out your home. We'll work at your pace, one room at a time. We'll even break the rooms down into sections if you like. The only thing I need from you is communication. I need to know your thoughts as we do everything, okay?"
The way she spoke to me…it was so reassuring, made me feel at ease even though I wanted to scream from the anxiety creeping up inside me from the thoughts of having to get rid of all of my things.
"Okay…yeah, I…I think I can do this."
"No, Edward," Bella firmly told me. "Don't think you can do it, know you can do it. Just think of it this way…one day at a time, one item at a time. Now, you said that you're meeting with Dr. Brandon twice a week, so the day you work with her here at the house, I will be here too. I'll also come by one day a week on my own to work with you as well."
"Okay, that sounds good."
Bella, Emmett and I talked for a while longer, discussing ideas for which room to tackle first and possibilities for what to do with all of the things I planned on getting rid of. In the end, we agreed to tackle the foyer first since it would be nice to be able to just walk into the house without stumbling over things, and we decided that I'd donate the things I could or bring them to one of those eBay stores for someone to sell for me, unless they absolutely needed to be thrown away.
A short while later, Bella left, giving me a quick hug before she did, telling me to think positive and that before I know it, I'd have a nice, clean, empty house.
The problem was though, for me, in the short time I had known this woman…I was already becoming attached. Maybe it was the fact that she saw the inside of my home, the visible manifestation of my issues, and didn't judge me for it and didn't go running for the hills, but I was already dreading the day that I would have to say goodbye to her and watch her walk out of my life.
That night, after dinner with Emmett and Rose, I headed off to my room, my emotions all over the place, despite my head telling me that I shouldn't get attached to Bella, she was a person I hired to help me get my house in order, nothing more than a professional relationship would or could come of it. I needed to get over the fantasy I was already starting to weave in my head before it spun out of control.
I needed to distract myself, and as much as I knew I shouldn't, I opened up my laptop to one of my many bookmarked shopping websites and placed an order…for 8 pairs of Sauna Pants. As soon as my confirmation email came through, I quickly shut my laptop off and settled in to bed, hoping that sleep would overtake me before the guilt over my latest purchase would.
It didn't.
A/N: Chapter 7 will post tomorrow.