Image Made By: KaylaKeifer

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Chapter Currently Unedited

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"Thank you so much for helping us out with this," I hand the gentleman a couple hundreds for making so many trips for us. The boxes all lining the driveway of Andrew's house... I mean our house. I shook my head. Getting used to that was going to be harder than I had thought. I reminded myself to thank my mother for getting one of her friends to help us. I cursed myself for not being able to remember his name at the moment. He smiled and waved as he drove off for the final time, probably heading back to his own family.

I glanced at the watch on my hand, the band itchy and uncomfortable. Andrew had gotten it for me for Christmas and I felt like I needed to give it a chance. My body ached from all the work we had done this last week. Stretching my back I looked at the girls there with me. My mother and Clara stand looking at the boxes as if they were a murdered body.

"When did you get so much stuff?" My mother questions.

"And how did you fit it all in that apartment?" Clara responds.

I chuckle lightly at the girls as I tighten the bandana wrapped around my head holding my hair out of my face. My mother and Clara wore matching ones to make fun of me. I had brushed it off grabbing the first box.

"Stop complaining, let's just get these into the house before someone yells at us for dropping the property value," I tease, searching the bushes as if a neighbor was peeking through the cracks. That was a silly thought though, because that would mean there were cracks in the bushes and that was the furthest from the truth. Andrew wouldn't allow anything like that on his property.

Clara scoffs as she grabs her box dragging it up the stairs and into the door. We dropped the boxes off by the front door as the waiters gathered them and took them towards the bedroom Andrew and I possessed.

We did this for around twenty minutes before Clara collapses on the stairs placing her head in her arms.

"There are too many boxes!" She complains, her eyes scouring the pile that was left outside. I shrug my shoulders.

"This is everything I've ever owned pretty much, you can ask my mother. I'm a class one hoarder," I head over to Clara to sit down next to her. "Plus we haven't even started moving your boxes to the apartment so you can't be done with this yet. There's more stairs there than there is here," I pushed her teasingly trying to get her to break her form. She collapses onto the stairs shouting as if she was injured.

"Ow...ow...owie! I can't work, you've injured me," I shook my head at her dramatics.

"Are you okay?" Ricky shouts as he comes running up the staircase towards us. I roll my eyes as soon as I notice the boy from the kitchen. He must be coming into work. Lucky for him he was hauling boxes up the stairs.

"Morning Ricky," I mumble waiting for his snarky response.

"Morning, what do you mean morning, you are going to just let this girl sit her and cry out in pain while you sit next to her, don't act like you care, I saw you push her," He rushes over to Clara grabbing her arms pulling her to where she could look him in the eyes. Her hair cascading over her face. "Privileged people," Ricky scoffs under his voice.

My jaw drops as I shoot a glance at my mother. She shrugs her shoulder. I shook my head. Why was he talking to me like this?

"Excuse me Ricky..." As soon as I had started, my body fired up ready to just tear into this kid. Clara raises her head the hair falling away from her face as she laughs sporadically.

"You actually thought I was hurt? Man I should become an actress," She leans towards me a large grin covering her entire face as she speaks. "Erin, I'm going to need the rest of my life off at the shop, turns out I found my true calling," I roll my eyes. Clara was insane at times.

Ricky jumps back staring at the two of us before shaking his head. His hands were held out in front of him like he didn't know what to do with them. I watch him carefully, his eyes flicking back and forth between the three of us.

"Do you have something you would like to say?" I question watching the rude boy fret over his words.

"No," He mumbles pushing past us as he heads into the house. I shake my head laughing it off before getting up off the step I was perched on. I needed to continue hauling boxes before the helpers came out to yell at us.

Once I was back in the pile of boxes I felt an overwhelming feeling come over my body. This was really happening, there was nothing I could do to reverse this. I couldn't take the apartment away from Clara now, but as much as I wanted to move on with my life I was having a hard time letting go of the place I had called home for so long now. There were so many memories there, and though most of them involved either Carter or Clara, it was my place. It felt weird handing it off to my friend.

What if something happened and we weren't friends anymore, would I never get to see my... I mean her apartment again? I scoffed at myself. This was such a ridiculous idea, we would always be friends and I knew that was true. My legs were burning as I carry yet another box up the stairs. Clara had finally shuffled her way back into work, her brown curls bouncing as she jumps up the stairs. I praised her for her effort to make this fun.

Around two hours later the three of us decide we've had enough for now. There were still a few boxes outside but we all needed a break to get a snack or something. If not a snack at least a drink of water. I lead the girls into the house as we make our way towards the kitchen. Everyone that would be cooking had the day off. Those who needed to make money came in to help with the moving. I was grateful for that but felt bad having so many people help us.

Once we were in the kitchen Clara and my mother both let out a gasp at the same time. I shake my head at them looking at their faces as they gawk at the industrial kitchen.

"Erin, you've hit the jackpot. I've never seen a house with a kitchen as nice as this. You are going to have so much fun cooking in here," Clara's mouth was practically on the floor she was gaping so hard at everything. Running her fingers along the countertops as she turns on the sink. "Ohhh, that water works. It is a real kitchen, not just for show at your local Home Depot," This earned her a laugh from my mother and I.

"Yeah, if I ever get to cook," I mumble hoping they wouldn't actually hear me. I wasn't that lucky though.

"What do you mean if you ever get to cook," My mother scowls as she searches my face for an answer. I shrug my shoulders. I meant exactly what I said.

"Andrew has a full staff of chefs cook his every meal. They would usually be in here doing meal prep right now for lunch or dinner," My mother rolls her eyes as I speak. I know she feels my pain. She knows me well enough to know my feelings about having a full staff do everything for you. There was no way Andrew was so busy he couldn't complete daily functions like picking out his clothes or pouring a bowl of cereal. If he had time to eat while he reads the paper in the morning then he has time to make himself something to eat.

I could feel the annoyance growing as I realize I was going to have a lot to get used to.

"Where is Andrew anyways? Shouldn't he be down here helping us as well?" Clara asks as she leans against the counter still trying to pick out every detail she can. I could tell she was getting ideas for her dream kitchen.

"He is around here somewhere I'm sure, he must be in a meeting or doing something work related. He might be in his office, I can run and check... maybe, if I can find it," I could tell I was rambling as I try to pull out every excuse possible for his absence. I found myself hiding my emotions from those who were closest to me. I wasn't happy about him not helping. He had originally told me he would. He never used to be this busy while we were just dating but now that we were getting married he never seemed to have any time for me. Where were all these new clients coming from?

"No there is no need to bother him if he is... busy," My mother places her hand on my shoulder as she responds. I felt the comfort there but it just wasn't enough to wash away my worries. I had no clue why he wasn't around as much and I was starting to worry about it.

"What would you guys like to eat?" I question digging through the cupboards to see if there were any snacks that were actually edible. There was nothing, everything was fresh ingredients that required work to make something nice to eat. I didn't have the energy in me. Clara and my mother worked on grabbing glasses of water for everyone as I continued to search through the pantry. I shrug as I couldn't find anything.

"I'm going to go see if I can find Jimmy or Ricky and ask them if they know of any snacks we could eat," I head towards the door of the kitchen before Clara questions me.

"Who is Jimmy? And is Ricky that ninny from earlier today?" I nod my head holding back a chuckle before turning to look at her.

"Jimmy is the... well... the butler," I mumble quickly before rushing out of the kitchen. I didn't want to hear their response. I knew my mother would be disappointed in me for having so much help when I was a strong independent woman who could do things for myself. I was trying my best, Andrew's mother hated me because I was trying to hold on to who I was but I felt it slowly drifting away with every breath taken in this place. Was Andrew growing too accustomed to being helped that he was losing himself completely? Was that why he was acting so differently lately?

I trudge up the stairs keeping an eye out for either Jimmy or Ricky, that wasn't who I was really looking for though. My eyes were set on Andrew. I needed his support and I never seemed to get it. My body trembled as I came up on his office doors. I wasn't sure what I was going to see when I walked through them. Maybe he would be hard at work at his computer, or yelling at someone on the phone. Swallowing my pride I forced myself to grip the handles before pushing them open quickly revealing a slouched over Andrew as he sat in his desk chair.

I rushed over to him to check and make sure he was okay as he collapses on the desk in front of him. Checking his pulse he was still alive, his breaths slow and shallow. Was he okay?

"Andrew, can you hear me?" I shout towards him hoping for any sign the he was okay. He rolls over, stretching his arms above him as he yawns.

"Sorry, what?" He mumbles through groggy eyes. I let out a sigh of relief. He was just asleep. Suddenly I wanted to smack him. He should have been downstairs helping us unload the boxes but instead he was up here catching up on his sleep.

I needed to give him the benefit of doubt though. Maybe he didn't get any sleep last night and he was trying to make up for it? Maybe he fell asleep and hadn't realized it, nothing told me he did this one purpose.

"Andrew, you scared the crap out of me," I took a seat on the floor needing to catch my breath. He turns in his chair staring at me for a second before he leans forward taking my head in his hands. Planting a kiss on my forehead he pulls me close to him to hug me.

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to scare you, I've been so exhausted lately I've been having a hard time sleeping at night and I don't know why," He whispers in my ear as he holds me close to him. I can feel my heartbeat slowing down as I'm embraced by his wonderful aroma.

"Yeah, you've been rather forgetful lately," I tease him, holding him just as tight as he holds me.

"What do you mean? What have I forgotten?" He jumps away from me in his chair searching his desk for any note he has left himself that he might need to tend to. I can feel the annoyance in my chest once again. How could he not realize I was talking about something not work related?

"Andrew," I wait for him to look at me before I continue speaking, "You were supposed to help us unload my stuff today, don't you remember I'm moving in today?" I question him, hoping that I would spark some memory.

"I thought you hired a moving company to do that for you? We were going to spend the day together right?" He mumbles looking around his desk like he was still searching for something. We didn't have any plans to spend the day together but I wasn't against something like that. I just needed to finish hauling all my boxes inside first.

"Maybe you can come downstairs and help us finish up so we can have more time to hang out together?" I question. He turns to me, his eyebrows scrunched as if I had just threatened his mother. Even though I really wanted to.

"I told you to hire a moving company to take care of everything, here you go again, not listening to a damn thing I say and now you are hurting us," I felt my heart stop as soon as he said that. I was not the one who was hurting us.

"You have no time for me anyways! I have to find things to keep me entertained while you let your body morph into the shape of that chair, so don't you dare tell me about how I'm hurting us. I have barely seen you all week, I've done all this work by myself, I've done my best to be everything you need me to be, you do not have the right to treat me like this," I felt my heart come back to life as it begin to beat in my chest so rapidly that I couldn't help but feel like it was going to burst right through my skin.

"Erin," He pauses for a moment, licking his lips as he holds his hand out like he is carefully thinking about his words. He needed to tread lightly with whatever he was planning to say next. "You need to calm down,"

My body wanted to collapse. That was the wrong thing for him to say.

"I'm done, I'm out of here, while I'm outside working my butt off... for you might I add. You can sit in here and think about how you have been treating me lately. I've had enough of it," I fold my arms before storming out of his office. Part of me prayed he would run after me, the other half of me knew he couldn't be bothered to move from that chair.

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I walk back down the stairs. I wasn't sure I was going to make it without bawling. I wanted to collapse on the floor. I wanted to crawl to my death or wrap myself up tightly in my blanket and just hide away from the world. I glanced in a mirror as I was passing by, I was shocked to see how big the bags under my eyes actually were. I must be stressing myself out too much. I tried to let out a deep breath before wiping the tears away. I needed to put on a good front for Clara and my mother.

A pang of guilt echoes through my chest as I think about the fact that I'm lying to them. I'm telling them everything is perfect but it's the opposite. It felt like everything with Andrew and I was falling apart and I was starting to get scared we wouldn't even make it to our wedding.

How could he not see what he was doing to me? I felt like any second my hair was going to start falling out? Was I asking for too much from him? Did I need to give him some space? Maybe that's what I will have to do.

Sooner than I had expected I was back in the kitchen. Clara and my mother stare at me, their eyes blinking as they wait for my response. I had no clue what to say to them. My heart felt broken but I needed to play it off like I was just looking for Jimmy or Ricky.

"Sorry there are no snacks, Jimmy said he will work on getting some for next time,"