Author's note; Happy Monday. I hope you all had lovely weekends:) We're up to chapter 6 of this little tale. Time for Bella to face some of her demons.

Chapter 6

"You want to keep this?" Edward asks. There's amusement in his voice, and when I turn around, I can see why; he's holding up my favorite stuffed toy - the only stuffed animal I ever won at Forks' Summer Carnival fifteen years ago. So what if he's a little battered and rough around the edges. He's going nowhere.

"Hey! Don't insult him … it's sentimental," I warn. Walking towards Edward, I snatch the bear out of his hands and place him in my keep pile.

We've been at this for a couple of hours now, starting in the living room and kitchen. I've not dared venture into the bedroom. Call me a coward, but I can't face returning to the scene of the crime as such. The last time I was in there, Jake was naked and fucking another woman in our bed. Probably has been since I left.

Maybe that's why I've been putting off going there, even though it's inevitable. We've not driven the four hours it's taken since leaving Forks this morning to back out now. I have to get over it some time. I just need to build myself up to it first.

And I still have a lot of shit to get through first. I've been brutal in sorting what to keep, what's going to charity, and what to throw away. I'm keeping only what I need or what holds sentimental value.

Surprisingly, not a lot of the mementos of my relationship with Jake fall into that category. I've kept a few items, but many of our things are in the charity bag or left for him. He can keep them if he wants- I'm not hanging onto anything representing lies and betrayal.

"What about this?" Edward calls, and when I turn, he's holding a jewelry box containing a bracelet Jake got me for my birthday as an apology for having to cancel dinner plans for a last-minute business trip…

Maybe it was a business trip … maybe it wasn't. I'll never know now because even if I were to confront Jake, I'd never trust a single word that comes out of his mouth.

"Charity," I tell Edward.

"Are you sure? This looks pretty expensive … important," Edward observes.

"Jake got me that for my birthday."

"Enough said," Edward doesn't hesitate to put it with the other items going to good causes before we move on to the next section.

A couple of hours later, we have the kitchen crossed off our list; the living room, too. Edward is so organized and efficient, and with his help, it's been nowhere near as stressful as I imagined. We've managed to separate everything; all the boxes are marked and labeled, keep, charity, and trash. We've even sorted out the furniture and any other larger pieces. I've marked what I'm taking. A table Charlie purchased for me being the only piece I'm desperate to keep. The rest are purchases I made when I first moved and tried to make do with what I could find before Jake moved in. They are in good condition, but they hold no value to me, so they are going to charity too. Edward has already arranged for a Goodwill Center to come to collect them tomorrow morning.

With that all done, there is no avoiding the one room that holds the most painful memories. But instead of taking action … or being decisive, I hover in the living room, trying to think of anything I need to do that will prevent me from going in.

I'm lingering in the doorway when Edward comes over.

"Hey, I'm starving. Do you want to go grab lunch?" He offers. He's giving me an out, and as desperate as I am to take him up on his offer, I need to get this over with and go in there sometime, and I tell him this.

"Thanks for the offer, but I still have some stuff to sort through here. Don't let me stop you, though. You've been doing all the heavy lifting - you're due a break."

"Are you sure?" Edward asks, concerned. He's reluctant to leave me, and he's been so amazing, but this is something I need to do on my own.

Edward gives me a half hug before he grabs his wallet and walks away. He pauses when he gets to the doorway.

"You need to eat, Bella. I'll grab you some lunch. Chicken mayo on rye, right?" he asks when he's about to head out the door.

I manage a smile.

"You know me so well," I say before bracing myself for the room that holds the most painful memories.

Author's note; See you Wednesday for the next update.

In the meantime, if you're not reading Found Missing by Lily Jill, check it out. Updates are daily and it's so addicitive.