“Bella cut again,” Edward said solemnly.

I turned to glare at him. Couldn’t he just say ‘fine’ like a normal person would?

Nancy fidgeted in her seat and looked at me. “Is this true, Bella?”

“Mmhmm,” I whimpered.

“I see,” she continued. “Why do you think this is?”

“I don’t know.”

Why couldn’t they all just be quiet and leave me alone? There was nothing wrong with me. I just had some pain and needed the release. All of the cutting would stop. Eventually.

“Well… Edward, what do you think?”

He was silent for a minute, pretending to think about what to say. I knew his words would only cause me more pain, so I mentally prepared for myself for the onslaught of emotions that I would face.

While waiting for his words to come, I thought back to the conversation Alice and I shared after the first meeting.

“He loves you, you know?”

“I do.”

Why couldn’t it be that easy? Why did I have to go around and ruin everything I had? Edward left, taking part of me with him, leaving nothing but an empty person. Now he was back and the void in my life was filled. So why in the world did I still have to suffer?

“I don’t know. For once in my life, I don’t know. It’s my fault. I left her – I had no choice. We both fell apart and this is how she dealt with the pain. I just… I don’t understand,” he answered, sounding broken. I was on the verge of tears.

Looking around the room to do something other than meet their eyes, I observed the various objects. A stuffed monkey; rock crystals; several Native American dolls; a jewelry box with a rose on the top; a carved, chocolate, Labrador puppy; and an old-fashioned abacus all stood on a table behind the brown couch across from where Edward and I sat.

“Okay. Bella, what do you think?”

What did I think? Well, for one, it certainly was not Edward’s fault. I didn’t care what he said or what he went through, there was no way my actions were his fault. Secondly, I highly doubted there was a problem anymore. After all, just because I had done it again last night, didn’t mean that I needed to do it again – it was just a little addiction.