After Valentine's Day, I set to work clearing my head of everything Ben. I made myself a list of things I needed to do before I could move on and first on that list was doing a massive clean out.
I started with the bathroom, steaming up the mirror and wiping away the message he'd left for me. There were tears in my eyes as I swiped a towel across the glass but when it was done, I actually felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Next, I sorted through the cupboard, throwing away Ben's toothbrush and razor that he'd left behind as well as some other various items hidden in the back of the cupboard that reminded me of him. When that was done, I gave the room a total clean out, scrubbing away all evidence of Ben being here.
Our - my - bedroom was next. I set a big box in the middle of the room and threw in every item of clothing he'd owned or I'd stolen from him. I threw in every gift he'd given me, every photo of the two of us from the walls. There was a lot in the box when I was done. My closet looked unnecessarily empty too as I realised how many clothes I wore were actually Bens. I made a mental note to go on a bit of a shopping spree to get myself some things to replace the old ones.
I spent the rest of the week slowly going through the entire house, collecting anything and everything connecting my life to Ben and boxing it up. On Friday, he was coming over to take Nathaniel and Alexis for the evening and I would give him the three boxes I'd collected then. My heart definitely felt lighter knowing that I was one step closer to finally getting my life back on track.
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"Charlie!" Nick bounded over to me on Monday morning, looking like an excited puppy. I laughed and took a sip of my morning coffee.
"Hi there. You're awake this morning."
"You'll never guess what happened yesterday!" He was practically bouncing on his toes, a huge ridiculous smile on his face.
"Uh, you and Imogen celebrated Valentine's Day?" I screwed up my nose, pretending to be grossed out. He snorted and shook his head.
"No. Well, yes. But she gave me something."
"Well, you're not limping and you can sit down so I'm guessing it wasn't something dirty," I smirked at him, trying to make a joke. Nick just went red and looked away.
"Um..."
"Calm down. Just tell me what she gave you." I was still laughing for a moment when he turned back to look at me, the embarrassment gone from his eyes, replaced with excitement.
"He got us tickets to New York!" He jumped up excitedly, grinning like a kid who'd been given tickets to Disneyland.
"Oh wow. That's a nice gift."
"It's a work trip for her but she's taking Abby and me too."
"When?"
"School break. We'll be gone for two weeks." His eyes cut to me then and his smile faded a little. "Will you be okay without me for two weeks?"
"Of course I'll be okay. Like I told you; I'm fixing up my life. I don't need a babysitter."
"I know. But it's still all new to you. You know; being single again."
"I'll be fine. You deserve some time away with your family. You've been through a lot the last few months."
"I think you've had a tougher time." He disagreed but I rolled my eyes at him.
"It's not a competition, Nick. Just go and enjoy yourself. Have fun. Just don't come back speaking with and American accent."
"It's only two weeks. I don't think it takes only that long to pick up an accent." He laughed, reaching for an old-style camera he'd had stored in his locker.
