Hello all. I'm 1 away from 100 follows and 8 away from 50 reviews. I know these numbers are peanuts to some but it took me forever to get there with my first story so I'm thrilled to be here already. You guys are awesome. Time for poor Bella to go clean out her old life. It'll be smooth sailing right?

I own nothing but my mistakes.


Chapter 8

BPOV

For the second morning in a row, I woke with a pounding headache and a less than settled stomach. Maybe it was time to find another way to deal with my anger and heartache, for the sake of my physical well-being at least. I wondered if Edward was faring as miserably as I was and rolled over carefully to check but all I found was an empty bed and a missing pillow. It was obvious that he hadn't slept here.

That's when it began to come back to me. Something had been bothering him and I'd harped on it until I'd made him completely uncomfortable. I felt like a complete bitch. Headache be damned, I needed to find him and apologize.

I pulled myself from the bed and ventured out to the living room, expecting to find him passed out on the couch but there was nothing there but the missing pillow from the bed. I smelled coffee in the kitchen and headed that way before a noise sent me in the direction of my old bedroom. There was a pile of dismantled furniture leaning against the wall in the hallway and as I stepped into the doorway I finally found him, sitting on the floor stacking books from his bookcase into a cardboard box.

His back was to me and I had to clear my throat to get his attention. "What are you doing?" I asked once he'd turned to face me.

"Oh, Ali arranged for us to go get your stuff today. I figured I should probably make room."

"Guess you're in a hurry to get your bed back huh?" I asked, attempting a joke to lighten the mood.

"What? No, Bella, you're welcome to everything I have. I just thought you'd want your own stuff sooner than later."

"I'm just messing with you, though I'm relieved to hear you say that since I don't actually have a bed anymore." He was quite still for a second and I worried that I was taking advantage of his kindness. "It's just that I got rid of my old bed when I moved in with him and we bought a new one together and, well, even though it is technically half mine, I just don't want that bed, the bed I shared with him. It seems tainted now."

"I can understand that."

"I'm sorry," I added quickly. "I think my parents still have my bed in my old room. I'll see if I can have Emmett or my dad bring it over. Until then, I'll sleep on the couch. I don't want to kick you out of your own bed any more than I already have."

"Bella, you haven't…"

"Yes, I have," I interrupted. "I know you spent last night on the couch and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pass out there last night. I just wanted to talk to you and I guess I was more tired than I thought. Well, drunk, I guess."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. I was being a totally nosy bitch last night and I'm sorry. I'd blame it on the alcohol but that feels like a copout. So I'll just apologize for being such a nag and making things weird."

He frowned and shook his head. "Bella, please don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. Let's just move past it, ok?"

I nodded as he went back to stacking books though it was clear that whatever was bugging him last night was still an issue but this time I would wait until he was ready to talk about it.

"Well, can I help you with this? When are we supposed to head over there?"

Edward looked up at me in surprise. "We? Bella you don't have to do this. We can handle it. You don't have to go over there."

"Yes I do. It's my stuff. I'm not going to make you run all my errands for me. You've done enough already."

"You know that's not the way I see it, right?" he asked.

"I know," I said with a small smile, "but that's what it is. I'm a grown woman. I can go pack up my old life and move the hell on already."

"It's only been two days, B. You're allowed to take your time healing."

"Two days is more than he deserves. I've already wasted three years on him and I don't want to waste any more time on that prick. So, I'm going to be a big girl and get my shit out of his house, besides it's too hard to try and explain everything that you guys would need to grab."

"Alright, fine. Alice, Jazz and your brother are coming with so we should be able to get it done pretty quickly. They'll be here at noon."

We didn't say much more but I helped him clear the bookshelf and take the shelves off before moving the empty case from the room. I felt horrible for making him rearrange his entire life like this for me but he refused to listen to my apologies, insisting he had plenty of room for this stuff in the den he used for his music.

"I should have moved it a long time ago anyway. It will actually make my life easier having it all in one place," he said matter-of-factly and that was that. I knew he was full of shit but I appreciated it all the same.

We made good time and got the room cleared out just as everyone else arrived. Emmett didn't understand my need to come along either but Alice understood.

"There are just things you don't realize you need until you see them in front you," she stated as I nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!" I cried. "Now can we go get this over with?"

Alice and Jazz had caught a ride over with Emmett and piled back into his truck as Edward and I followed in his car. It had only been two days yet my house seemed to be an entirely different place now. It felt cold and unwelcoming. Funny how knowing your whole life together had been a lie changes your perspective. I decided quickly that I didn't want to be there any longer than necessary and immediately began pointing out things that the boys could grab while Alice raided the closet, carefully tossing all of my clothing into boxes and bags before heading to the bathroom to grab all of my toiletries. I didn't bother sorting through anything. I could do that later. My plan of attack was simple. If it was mine, it went. Other than some pieces of furniture that I didn't really care about, there wasn't much that belonged to both James and I so that made the whole process much simpler. There was nothing worth fighting him over.

We were making great time and I felt I was handling the ordeal well until my eyes fell on a tiny velvet box on James' bedside table. I knew what it contained and I should have walked away but I was drawn to it. I waited until I was alone in the room and then opened the little box. My breath left my body as I saw the delicate diamond ring nestled inside. We hadn't reached that part of the ceremony before it had been interrupted so James must have gotten the ring back from his best man. This ring, which had once represented my love and future now felt like a hollow lie. It didn't look as sparkly anymore, it's shine dulled by the betrayal of the man who'd given it to me. All of my buried feelings bubbled to the surface and I fell to the floor sobbing.

Edward found me within minutes and pulled me from the floor and into his arms, carrying me out of the house. "You ok?" he asked as we sat together on the porch, my head resting against his shoulder.

I held out the box containing my wedding ring and he nodded in understanding as he took it from my hand and set it aside. He wrapped his arms around me and let me cry against his shoulder until we heard the sound of a car door slamming.

"Wow Bells," a familiar voice called out from the driveway. I looked up as the man who'd been minutes away from becoming my husband strolled towards us. "You sure didn't waste any time. I knew you'd go running to him."

"What?" I cried as Edward's entire body tensed next to me.

"Look at the two of you. And on our front steps? I can't believe I thought you'd be good wife material."

I was so confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Bella. I admit, Vic interrupting the ceremony was inappropriate on her part, but really, this jilted bride thing you've got going on is a bit ridiculous. I always took care of you. We have this nice house, nice things. You would have wanted for nothing and I woulda even let you keep working, at least until the babies came along. But you had to get self-righteous and storm off and now you're here canoodling on my fucking porch with this guy who you always swore was 'practically familly.'" He sneered using air quotes to make his point.

I could do nothing but stare open mouthed in shock at what he was saying. I always knew that James was a bit traditional but I couldn't even believe this was the same man I'd agreed to marry. Edward was setting me aside and off the step in a flash. There was a loud crack as his fist connected with James' face.

"Stop," I cried as James regained his balance and tackled Edward to the ground. I could do nothing but yell as the two of them wrestled on the grass until Emmett and Jasper heard the commotion and barreled out of the house. Edward had James pinned to the ground and was hitting him repeatedly when Emmett pulled him off. My brother held Edward back as Jasper stood between them and a bleeding James.

"You motherfucker! Don't you ever fucking say shit like that about her!" Edward was screaming. "She was always too good for you. Way too fucking good. You have never fucking deserved her! You piece of shit!"

Alice had come outside and held me as I looked in horror from my best friend to my ex-fiancé. James looked at me and actually smiled, his mouth filled with blood before looking back to Edward. "Hmm, maybe I got it all wrong. You sad fuck," he jeered at Edward. "Shoulda known you were way too pansy to ever fucking tell her."

He didn't get a chance to say anything else before Jasper turned around and punched him hard right in the face, dropping him instantly and surprising the hell out of the rest of us. "What?" Jasper asked with a shrug, "everyone else got a turn. I was feeling left out."

I was still utterly stunned and confused by everything that had just happened, especially by the vitriol that James had been spewing. I had a million questions but didn't get the chance to ask them before Alice ushered me to Edward's car. Edward was still seething and Emmett had to damn near force him into the backseat of the car with me as Alice took the keys and slipped into the driver's seat. As she pulled away from my former home, she informed me that Emmett and Jazz would deal with James and load up the last of my things before meeting us at Edward's house. Jasper would be driving my own car over as well, something that hadn't even crossed my mind after all the drama of the fight.

As Alice sped down the street I turned to Edward and noticed his hand was injured. I didn't say anything but pulled his hand into my own and inspected it. His knuckles were cracked and bleeding and my heart broke knowing that it was all my fault. He'd been hurt defending me. It seemed everything I did caused him trouble and pain. I'd kicked him out of his own bed, forced him to rearrange his home and now he was bleeding for me. I was possibly the worst friend in the entire world.

I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it softly. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"What are you talking about? You have nothing to apologize for," he snapped, pulling his hand away.

"You're hurt because of me."

"I'm fine, Bella, and it's not because of you. It's because of that little fuck and I'll be damned if I let you apologize for him."

He was still very angry and so I chose not to argue with him. Instead I slid over and rested my head against his shoulder. "Well, thank you for defending me then."

He sighed in frustration but still whispered "you're welcome," against my forehead and rested his head against mine.

Once we reached home he reluctantly allowed me to pull him into the bathroom and run cool water over his bleeding knuckles. He scowled at me as I fussed over him but didn't fight me and even allowed me to rub a bit of Neosporin over his cracked skin before wrapping them in some gauze. It might have been overkill but I just wanted to be able to take care of him in some small way, the way he always took care of me.

By the time we exited the bathroom, Emmett and Jasper had arrived and Edward joined them in carting in all of my stuff as Alice and I began putting clothes away in my new closet. It was all we really could put away since I still had no furniture for my room. Emmett agreed to bring over my childhood bed from our parent's house in the morning but I still needed new bedding and maybe a desk to work at. Of course, once she realized my dilemma, Alice was more than ready to help me rectify that.

So, Alice and I went shopping while the boys decided to hit the gym for a little stress release. Alice managed to wait until we were lying on our backs on a display bed in the middle of Bed, Bath, and Beyond before she asked about the fight.

"What happened, Bella? I know Edward was looking for any reason to hit him, but what did James say to make him fly off the handle like that."

I exhaled loudly and turned to face her. "Oh my God, Alice, you should have heard him. He basically said that because he was a good provider that I should have shut up and married him and let him do whatever, and whoever, he wanted like a good little housewife. He even said he would have let me keep working until the babies came. Let me! Who the hell was I about to marry?"

"An asshole."

"Right? He also implied that I had already rebounded with Edward. That we were hooking up or whatever right there on the damn porch on a Sunday afternoon!"

"He did not!"

I nodded. "He did."

"He is so full of shit!" Alice cried out and sat up quickly, causing more than a few looks in our direction. I was mortified but Alice, of course, couldn't care less. "That is just ridiculous.

"Alice," I begged. "Would you please keep your voice down? I've had enough attention for one week"

"Sorry. I just can't believe he would say something like that. The idea is just ludicrous. I mean you and Edward? That's insane. He would never."

Though I couldn't argue with what she was saying, the way she said it stung a bit, surprising even me. "Right, because your brother wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole, is that what you're saying?"

"What? No. Bella, that is definitely not what I meant. You were just in a relationship with someone else. One that ended badly. You know Edward, he's a good guy. He isn't the type to sweep in and take advantage of that kind of situation and he certainly wouldn't be doing it on some other guy's front step. I mean, seriously!"

I couldn't help but laugh, knowing that she was right. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little sensitive and insecure," I said, trying to explain my bizarre reaction.

"I understand," Alice replied. "Your fiance was seeing someone else on the side. That's a blow to anyone's ego. For the record," she added, "if you weren't his oldest friend in the world, I'm sure my brother would totally try to get in your pants. In fact, I'm kind of surprised he never tried."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence but let's move on now. I think we're venturing into 'weird' territory."

We both laughed it off though I caught Alice shooting me strange glances here and there as we moved on to look at more comforters until I found one I liked. As we continued on to pillows I considered the offense I'd taken by Alice's earlier comment. In the back of my mind was a niggling idea that there was more to it than merely my fragile ego. I shook that thought off as ridiculous. Edward and I have never been anything more than the best of friends, why should I be bothered by the insinuation that anything more between us was impossible? It's not like I ever expected or even wanted anything more between us. Right? I shook off that line of thinking as nothing more than those of a wounded ego and silenced my doubt by inflicting serious damage on my credit card with new bedding, pillows, curtains, a new desk and more.

Since my bed wouldn't be arriving until morning I knew I'd be spending the night on the couch but I didn't mind. I also knew Edward would fight me on it but he wouldn't win. Not this time. There was no way I would let him cram his large body onto that little couch two nights in a row. It just wasn't going to happen.

Seeing James and hearing him confirm his affair had given me a sickening realization. The girl was pregnant and so clearly he'd fucked her unprotected. I was on the pill and believed we were monogamous so we'd quit using condoms months ago. Shit.

"Al," I asked once we were back in the privacy of the car. "Do you think your dad would do a blood test for me?"

"A blood test? What for?" she asked. I just stared and watched as understanding spread across her face. "Oh. Oh, shit. Yeah, I bet he will. He's on call today. Let me call and see if he can help you out.."

Alice called her dad who encouraged me to stop in as soon as possible, promising to squeeze us in discreetly. We went straight over and Carlisle's PA, Maggie, ushered us right back to an exam room. Alice held my hand as Maggie tested me for every possible STD there was. Carlisle, while more than willing to do the testing himself, had thought I might be more comfortable with a woman performing some of the more invasive tests. He was definitely right about that. It would help us both avoid any potentially awkward future family get-togethers. Once the testing was finished, Carlisle came in and promised to call me with the results the moment he received them. Before we left he pulled me into a strong fatherly hug.

"Don't let that no good, sonofabitch get you down, Bella-girl. He was never going to be good enough for you. But Esme and I love you like one of our own and if you need anything at all, you just call, ok?"

I was slightly stunned, having never heard Carlisle curse in the two decades that I'd known him but his kind concern threatened to make me cry again.

"Thank you," I replied, my voice cracking as I attempted to hold back tears. "For helping me out. I know it's awkward but…"

"Shh, oh sweetheart, don't you worry about it," he said reassuringly, placing a comforting hand on my own. "I'm so glad you called. This was an important thing to do and you did the right thing by getting it out of the way, not just for your health but to help you move on from this unfortunate situation." His nurse knocked then, letting him know his next patient was ready so he excused himself, giving my hand a small squeeze and kissing Alice on the top of her head as he went.

On the way home we stopped in at the grocery store and bought some things for dinner. The last time we'd lived together Edward had been content to get most of his meals from a drive-thru window or a delivery boy and from what I'd seen of his refrigerator lately, it was clear that not much had changed. However, I was not twenty-one anymore and my stomach refused to survive on a steady influx of fast food. It was time the man learned the value of a good home-cooked meal, whether he liked it or not.

I dropped Alice off at home before heading back to Edward's. He was still out with Jasper and Emmett but Alice had talked to them just before I dropped her off and I knew he'd be home soon. So, I quickly set to work making dinner. I'd done nothing but take advantage of his friendship all weekend. It was time I started paying it back a bit.

I heard the door open just as I was finishing up dinner but I had my hands full and couldn't greet him. "Hey, I'm in here!" I called out.

"Dear God in heaven, what is that amazing smell?" he said just before stepping into the kitchen. He saw me standing by the stove and his eyes lit up. "Holy shit. Did you cook?"

"Yup, hope that's ok. You haven't eaten yet have you?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it's ok. I'm starving." He stepped closer and looked over my shoulder. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Blackened chicken alfredo," I said with a smile, knowing it was one of his favorites. "Oh, and there is garlic bread too."

Edward groaned in appreciation. "Do I have time to clean up a bit? I'm all sweaty and gross."

"You've got about five minutes."

"I'll be back in four!" he called, already halfway to his bedroom, tugging his shirt off. "Don't start without me."

I heard the water turn on as I pulled out a couple of plates and set the table. I was just setting the food on the table when he returned, looking a bit like a little boy on Christmas morning.

"Settle down would you? It's just food," I teased.

"It's food that didn't come from a paper bag and I didn't have to schlep over and beg my mother for it either. I don't think you understand how exciting this is for me." He took a set and quickly began piling pasta onto his plate.

"Maybe you should learn to cook."

"I make a mean breakfast," he insisted.

I chuckled, "Ok, well maybe you should expand your skill set."

"Why? I have you now."

I scowled at him and he laughed before turning his attention back to the meal in front of him. I was twirling pasta around my own fork when I heard Edward moan.

"Goddamn, this is so good I could kiss you."

I smirked and raised an eyebrow in question as Edward looked at me and froze. "Sorry, was that weird?"

"Nah, it was a compliment, right?"

"The highest."

We laughed it off and finished our meal, Edward eating so much I thought I might have to roll him away from the table like Violet Beauregard in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. After dinner he helped me clear the table and together we made quick work of the clean-up, chatting casually as we rinsed dishes. He didn't bring up the incident with James earlier that day and neither did I. We usually didn't shy away from any topic but I wasn't going to ruin our pleasant dinner by bringing my asshole ex into it.

"So, you wanna watch a movie or something?" I asked once the kitchen was clean.

"I would but I've actually got a project due soon that I've been neglecting. I really should try to work on that."

"Oh, right, of course," I replied, surprised to find that I was actually a bit disappointed. "You do what you've gotta do. Maybe I'll just read a bit."

"Thank you for dinner, B. It was so delicious."

"No problem."

He smiled and hesitated slightly before turning away and heading into the den towards his piano. I walked to my new bedroom and slipped into some old sweat pants and a tank top. I rifled through a few of the boxes until I found a book to read and grabbed one of my new pillows and a blanket before heading out to the living room.

I could hear Edward playing lightly as I settled onto the couch. I didn't know exactly what kind of game he was working on now but what I heard was lovely, too lovely to be wasted on a video game. I'd forgotten how much I loved to hear him play. When we were kids I used to come over to his house after his lessons and he would try to teach me what he'd learned but it was hopeless. After more than a few frustrating sessions, I gave up on trying to learn and settled for just listening to him practice. He never hesitated to play for me when I was having a bad day, knowing that it always cheered me up.

With my book forgotten, I closed my eyes, letting the music work its magic once again until all my worries and stresses melted away.


Anyone else get the feeling that Edward had that punch locked and loaded for a long time? LOL.

Anyways, these kids are stubborn but there are cracks appearing on the ice.