It's Not That Easy

Chapter 10 - Take a Step Back

Every couple has ups and downs, every couple argues, and that's the thing-you're a couple, and couples can't function without trust. - Nicholas Sparks

Chapter 10 - Take a Step Back

Edward's POV:

"By the look on her face, I know you did something." My sister accuses as Addyson and Joel pull out of the driveway. I shook my head to answer her, too scared that the anger building in me will make me burst into flames. I just spent two awesome days with a dream girl, and she bolts before she steps foot in her house.

Helen just stares at me waiting for an answer before, "Never mind, I don't think I want to know." She huffs out of the room, leaving me alone with me thoughts. Walking through my weekend step-by-step looking for what happened with Addyson, I still don't have a good explanation.

It wasn't a perfect weekend, she kept tensing up when we were together, but I felt we were making progress. It felt as if she was actually having fun. I really don't know what I did wrong.

Later, when Helen returns to the room, we talked about what happened in Charleston. "I don't want personal details. That is my best friend and you are my brother. It's kind of gross either way."

I told her about Addyson accepting my apology for what she had misunderstood four years ago. We talk about the different pubs we went to, and what happened at each, even about the fight. We talk about the dancing, and how beautiful she looked all weekend. I even told how I ended sleeping on her bed two nights in a row. I looked for things I might have missed and Helen kept asking questions to help me find answers, but there were none.

"Maybe you just came off a little too strong. You do have that way with her. Nothing is subtle when it comes to the two of you."

"Maybe, but I really was a gentleman this weekend. No teasing, hands to myself, told her how beautiful she looked, and I kissed her."

"How did you kiss her?"

"I don't know it was a kiss, more than one." Then it dawns on me. Every time I got a little physical she would relax with me. Then, she would become tense or back away. That's the reaction of an innocent. Oh my god, Addyson is still innocent.

"Just lay off of her. Maybe she's just not ready. Do you have any idea what she's been through?" She asks.

"I have an idea. She was stalked and attacked." I said coolly. I'm still letting my little epiphany settle in my head, and Helen almost came unglued.

"Yeah, that's it stalked and attacked," she said with a tone full of contempt. "She told a neighbor to, and I quote, 'Thank you for holding the door. Have a nice day.' And for that she got weeks of him in her face. Don't get me wrong he was nice and maybe even charming, but his attention was totally unwanted. She's nice to him, so she didn't tell him to get lost, not in those words. But, when she thought he finally got the message, he attacked her on the way out her apartment. He was arrested and got off with probation, and all he was told was to leave her alone." Helen is practically yelling this to me, and the Italian blood running through her veins was showing itself in the form of animated hand gestures.

"Needless to say, she quickly moved out and stayed with a couple that are friends with Emily."

"Did Connor leave her alone? No, she saw him in passing a few times, and she tried to hide. She thought she did a good job, but by Christmas he found her and tried to approach. She took off.

"She started seeing him different places. He showed up at restaurants, the grocery store near campus, coffee shops. Yes, more than one. But, she said they seemed innocent and random and infrequent. By summer he was everywhere, and she was trying to hide in plain site. There were few safe places for her, and she still had to go to school. For almost a year, he had her prisoner in her own life.