Chapter:4
Her smile faded and she scowled. "Thanks, but I have to go to work. I have the dinner shift at the diner tonight. But I'll see you tomorrow morning at seven, okay?" She hugged me goodbye again.
I watched her cross the street and disappear into her little blue house. Then, I took a big breath and sighed. Alice in large doses was going to take some adjusting to. Her exuberance was going to take a toll on my anxiety unless she toned it down a notch.
Once I finished eating dinner, I headed up stairs to call my mother to thank her for the bedroom décor and to pick out tomorrow's outfit. As I knew too well, the first day impression would set the tone for the entire year. I tossed around cute and flirty looks with smart, mature sophisticated ones and an hour later my room looked like a missile went off, completely rendering my earlier unpacking efforts futile.
Finally, I settled on my favorite pair of skinny jeans, a tailored white button down shirt and a pair of brown boots. Cute.
I found my pajamas, powered up my laptop, and then I checked out my nose in the mirror. The swelling had gone down but I could easily cover up the bruise with concealer. I walked across the room the window to close the blinds. From my bedroom window, I could see the front and side of the Cullen's enormous house lit up through the trees. The house was set far back into the woods, making it look even bigger and more pretentious at night.
I undressed, pulling off my top and jeans, tossing them into the hamper. Standing in front of the full length mirror mounted to the inside of my closet door in just a bra and underwear, I looked at the reflection. Tomorrow would be the start of a whole new life here in Forks…a whole new future. Clean slate, blank sheet of paper, fresh start.
Dear God,
Please let me have a good year here in Forks. Please don't let me have any panic attacks and don't let me trip and fall in the cafeteria in front of the whole junior class while I spill applesauce all over my new boots. Thank you for my new boots, by the way. Oh, and bless all the poor people and the sick kids and my mom and dad and Phil and Alice and say hi to Jesus for me. Amen.
~Edward~
"How are you today, Edward?" she asked, without looking up. I'm pretty certain she avoided eye contact as a precaution. Like looking into the eyes of a lion, I sensed I made her uneasy. I knew it and I used it.
Yeah, I can be a prick on occasion, so what?
She sat in her ugly tan business suit with her legs crossed just enough so that she thought I wouldn't notice the visible run in her stocking. Her notebook was in her lap and her expensive pen perched delicately in her fingers, just waiting for me to say something profoundly insightful or deftly incriminating so that she could write it down, analyze it and cure me. Or have me arrested; which is what I truly believe was her ultimate goal.
She would be highly disappointed today, as would she be on every other Tuesday when I sat in her office, trying to whittle away the fifty minute therapy session with minimal but satisfactory answers to her mundane questions with as little effort or detail possible. She knew I wasn't about to spill my guts to her. She knew damn well that I was an untrusting pissed off kid that was resentful and angry at the world for taking away the things that were most important to me.
And it wasn't without notice that she never once led me to believe that she thought I was innocent. Time after time, with subtle and obscure references, she would try to entrap me into a guilty admission. I hated her guts for that. And I hated the last two therapists who felt the exact same way.
"I'm, fine, thank you. And you?" I asked, creepy politeness oozing from my words.
She scrawled notes on her pad. "Very well. So how was school this week?" What in God's name could she possibly be writing?
"School was the same as usual."
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"Not particularly," I responded dryly. Because seriously, what the hell was I supposed to say? That Forks High school was an unchallenging joke of an educational institution?
All right, Dr. Kate, since I'm bored, I'll dangle the bait just for the sake of some entertainment value.
Carefully, with a smile behind my tone, I said, "A new girl just moved down the block from my house. She's supposed to be starting school this week. "
Ah, there it is…eye contact.
Score!
Dr. Kate looked up abruptly, quickly averting eye contact, and then back to her pad. "Have you met her yet?"
"Not yet. But from what I hear, she's very pretty. I am sure half the male population is planning on staking a claim before she even gets to homeroom," I said, with a smartass snicker. The males enrolled at Forks High School were craving fresh meat, and hadn't seen anything in ages. The new girl had been the sole topic of conversation for the last two days.
"And you? Do you want to stake a claim as well?"
Here we go…
Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion I asked, "And how would I be able to do that? I am afraid I don't understand the question, Dr. Kate. What are you asking me?"
"Edward, why did you choose to tell me about her? You could have spoken about any other event in your week, but you chose to mention the new girl. Why is that?"
"Because she is the only thing that isn't the same as last week, when you asked me the exact same question."
She sighed, clearly frustrated with my insolent behavior and lack of cooperation. "You have been my patient for fifteen weeks, Edward. And each of those weeks you sit here for fifty minutes and say absolutely nothing. I realize you aren't here under your own volition, but you could at least make it worthwhile for both of us to come to the session."