Page 149 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Yes. To see the estate agent," Eden replied. "She wants to take photos of the house."

"You have to be careful. Andrei Ivanov is back. He tried to see Liam yesterday, but thank heavens James and the team stepped in. The man is a wildcard, so we can't let our guard down where he's concerned."

Eden agreed to take necessary precautions, even though she hadn't met the man yet. But if his brother's craziness was a perfect yardstick, she planned to heed Clarke's words.

Lois sat down and read the newest batch of get-well cards.

"What should we do with all these?" she asked, waving at the flowers and fruit in the room.

"I don't know." Clarke shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he gazed forlornly outside the window.

Eden didn't know either. But Liam would freak out when he woke up to find his ward had become a funeral home.

"Maybe donate them to the children's ward?" she suggested, as she strapped her bag across her body, preparing to leave.

"That's a good idea," Lois said, her eyes bright with newfound purpose as she took Eden's hand, and they walked out of the ward arm in arm.

They parted ways at the nurses' station, where Lois made arrangements for the flowers and fruit to be taken to the children's ward.

Beverly, a raven-haired plain Jane with a smile that could thaw even the largest iceberg, was already waiting when Aaron pulled into the driveway. He and Jace lingered nearby, while Eden showed the estate agent around the house.

"Oh, how quaint!" Beverly gushed over every little thing Eden had done with the house, from her clawfoot tub to the coastal theme in the living room and the farmhouse kitchen. She even suggested Eden should throw in the furniture too. But she nicely refused. She'd give up everything but Grammy's furniture. It was silly, impractical even, to hoard the stuff. But, the antique pieces were the last remaining link Eden had to her grandma. Each piece told a story deeply tied to her childhood and adolescent years. There was no way she'd part with all that history and memories.

"I think I've got enough," Beverly said a little while later as she flipped through the photos of the house on her camera roll. "I'll be in touch soon with the write-up for the listing."

"Thank you," Eden said as she shook her hand. "If we can, I'd like to push the sale through quickly."

Beverly smiled and nodded. "You chose the right time to sell. It's the seller's market. We shouldn't have any trouble taking this baby off your hands."

"Great!" Eden saw her out and watched her drive off, waving at Jace and Aaron smoking on the curb. She was so tempted to join them. And if she wasn't pregnant, she would have. The stress of the past few days was finally getting to her.

Sighing loudly, she returned inside to face the daunting task of packing away her life. If she knew four months ago what she knew now, she wouldn't have bothered settling in.

She rummaged through her closet, pulled out her trusty luggage bags, and stuffed all her clothes in the larger one and Aiden's in the smaller suitcase.

Since she didn't know what to pack for Brenda, she settled on a medium-sized weekender bag and threw in as much as it would hold. They'd have to come back one of the days anyway to box everything up and send it to storage.

Ten minutes later, Eden was done and ready to go. But she couldn't bring herself to leave. So she lingered for some time and spent a few minutes in each room, remembering drunken conversations that had played out within these walls, moments of utter bliss and complete devastation, and nights of great food, good music, and easy company.

She sat on the edge of her clawfoot tub and sighed wistfully, wishing she'd made time to use it. Liam's was even bigger. But hers would always hold a special place in her heart because she'd bought it with her first-ever paycheque in two years, and it was probably the third adult thing she'd ever done—

Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she quickly wiped her tears away before answering.

Erica was outraged again about Lois being the first to find out she was expecting. Eden had had enough of her bullshit. She gently reminded her they weren't close, hadn't been in years. She had no reason to share every little detail of her life with her.

"I'm your mother." Erica sniffled.

"You can't be a mother when it suits you," Eden reminded her. "And please, Liam is fighting for his life right now. For once, can you not make everything about you?"

"But Edie—" she said.

Eden wouldn't entertain her, though. She cut the call and didn't feel bad at all. She rounded up the bags and art supplies and locked up the house.

"Ma'am, let me help you with that." Jace rushed to her side when he saw her struggling with the luggage and easel. "I thought you're only moving in a few months?"

"That was the plan, but I don't want to waste another second."

Whoever said the wheels of justice turn slowly clearly hadn't met Clarke Anderson.

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