It's Not That Easy

Chapter 6 - Spilling the Beans

You couldn't erase the past. You couldn't even change it. But sometimes life offered you the opportunity to put it right. - Ann Brashares

Chapter 6 - Spilling the Beans

Edward's POV:

CJ Daniels offers me the job, "Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to working here." As we walk down the hall to reception I see her, the once little girl that turned into the woman that now haunts my dreams.

I watch Addyson hug and talk to her uncle. She's beautiful. Her hair is down and curly today. She has a light complexion, but there's a hint of sun on her cheeks. Her eyes are amazing, sage green, pale sage green with a hint of mischief. They are large and I can't help but stare at them, hoping they look at me. I miss the way she used to look at me...like I was her world.

The investment firm Mr. Daniels' works for is much larger than the one where I currently work in Nashville, and I would have taken the job even if it weren't for Addyson. Taking this job will give me a chance to be near her, and possibly with her...soon.

I knew after seeing Addyson over the July 4th holiday that my feelings for her haven't changed, not even after four years. It was hard to be around her at the river and not be with her.

All three of us talk for a moment before I ask her if she misses me, she doesn't answer. She just leaves with her uncle to his office. I wait in reception hoping to talk with her again, before she leaves.

A few weeks ago I found she's a little more serious than I remember, but the funny fun-loving girl was still in there. She maybe a bit bottled up, but she's still in there. At the river she spent most of her time with her new friend Joel, but that didn't bother me. What did bother me that he openly flirts with her and touches her, but I've watched her...there's nothing but friendship there.

When I kissed her on the 4th there was definitely something there, and it was not just me. I affect her. We affect each other. Now, after all this time, I finally know what happened. Why she left me without a word. Why she took off to Boston early without saying goodbye. Now I know what wrong I have to right. I know I have to prove to her that everything that had happened between us was real, because she is not and never was the DUFF.

As I'm thinking about Addyson, Holden arrives to pick her up and we talk. It's unbelievable how over-protective this family is when it comes to her. How was she able to live in Boston for four years without them?

We talk about my new job, and he offers me a place to stay until I can find my own apartment. I guess I have a new roommate for a little while.

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Holden only came up to his dad's office to walk Addyson two blocks to a restaurant. Unbelievable!!! They treat her like she's helpless.

During dinner, I watch. She smiles and laughs a lot with Elliot and Joel. Her eyes sparkle when she tries to tease, and she's every bit as beautiful as I remember.

I'm listening to Elliot tease Addy about her oversized wardrobe. Joel and Addyson jump out of their chairs like they are on fire. He says something about a stalker boy, and the next thing I know she's gone...so is Joel.

Holden glares at his brother and shakes his head without a word, and then turns to me. "This is a no go topic with Addy, understand?" I nod. "Addy has had an unwanted admirer for almost two years...a stalker. We're just starting to see the old Addy coming back." He tells me.

"Shortly after Mason finished his MBA and moved to South Carolina, she befriended a neighbor, someone who had gone out of his way to be nice to her...but became overly nice. Just as the semester began, he attacked her in the stairwell of her apartment building. Thank goodness she knows how to defend herself. She was able to stop him before he got very far." His look tells me that he had probably intended to rape her.