I apologize for the long time it took to update. But now, in the words of AC/DC, school's out for summer! You can expect more frequent updates. (:

A big thank you to my lovely Beta, Siob [poisonedbirth]. She just got off hiatus too. Check out her stories. ;]

Disclaimer: I tried to convince Stephenie to let me buy the entire story off her, even offering to finish Midnight Sun, but she said no way. =[

Chapter 4

BPOV

"Hey, Mom?" I called as soon as I got in the door.

"Yeah Bells?" she answered.

"I think.." I paused, not sure how to word it.

"You think..?" she prompted. When I didn't say anything, she said, "Are you sure you think?"

I forced a laugh at her joke. "Mom, I think you should tell Elizabeth."

"Tell her what, honey?" she asked, though I was fairly positive she knew what I meant.

"Um, if it helps us keep this house; then I don't have a problem with them, well, moving in... here."

"Isabella," I winced at the use of my full name. "You better not be saying that simply because you think I can't afford this house. Your father and I are going to make this as easy on you as possible. If we have to downsize, so what? It's just the two of us now, baby. You don't have to tell me you want them to move in. Really. I promise you, Bella, I understand if you don't. It was just a spur of the moment idea."

"I'm not just saying this, Mom. I want Alice here with me," I didn't mention Edward, though from the look on Renee's face I could tell she knew I wanted to see them again. "Please, Mom?" I said, softer.

"As long as you are one-hundred percent sure about this, Bella," she told me. I nodded, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder.

"Will you call her tonight?" I asked.

"I was planning on waiting until tomorrow," she said.

"'Kay." I paused for a moment. "I'm just going to get some homework done."

She nodded. "I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Thanks," I said as I went up the stairs.

**

"Bella, are you up?" I heard Renee yell from downstairs.

"Yeah," I muttered, rolling over in the bed.

"Bella?" Renee shouted. Before I could answer, I heard her foot steps coming up the stairs. Damn.

She walked right in, not bothering to knock.

"Bella, why are you still in bed? It's 6:57. You need to leave in ten," she told me.

"You asked if I was up. You were downstairs, I was up. Therefore, technically, I was up," I mumbled, putting the pillow over my face.

She turned on the light and yanked the covers off my bed.

"Come on, lazy butt. You're going to be late."

I groaned, climbing out of the bed. I threw on a tee shirt, slipped into a pair of gray sweats and went to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I flipped my hair up into a messy ponytail and went downstairs. I slung my bag on my shoulders as Renee beeped the horn, telling me I better get out there or she'll leave without me.

As I slid into the passenger seat, Renee put the car in drive and took off.

"You could wait for the door to shut, Mom," I told her.

"We're already late, Bella," she said.

"Late for what?" I asked, curious as to what she had planned for today.

"I have a few job interviews lined up," she said simply, like it was no big deal.

She dropped me at the school, barely pausing long enough for me to get out before driving off again. I realized I was scowling, and quickly put on the happy facade.

I went to school, pretended to pay attention to Jessica and the other drones at lunch, finished out the school day and walked home.

A rare day without homework left me with nothing to do. I ticked off things in my head, but nothing sounded particularly appealing.

After channel flipping for a while, I noticed a cooking show. I decided dinner would be good thing to do to keep me busy. I had a good three hours to make it.

I rummaged through the fridge and the pantry, looking for ideas. I pulled out the chicken Renee must have bought last trip to the grocery store, found a few potatoes and the bread crumbs to make stuffing.

After preheating the oven, I rinsed the chicken and peeled potatoes. By the time Renee walked in the door, I was setting the table and getting ready to pull out the chicken.

"Good timing," I told her.

"It smells great in here," she commented. "Looks good."

She took her coat off and came into the kitchen. "I'll finish this up," she said, taking the silverware from my hands.

I nodded. I slipped my hands into the oven mits, and pulled the chicken and potatoes out of the oven. I set the pan in the center of the table on a potholder and got the pan the stuffing was in and set that next to the chicken.

"We didn't have any gravy," I said.

"That's okay," she replied. She got the butter and milk out of the fridge.

We served ourselves, clinking of silverware being the only sound.

"Thanks for cooking dinner, Bella," Renee said, breaking the silence.

"Not a problem," I said, smiling. "Did you call Elizabeth?"

"I did," she said. I didn't say anything, thinking she would elaborate, but she didn't.

"And..?" I prompted.

"And, she didn't answer."

"Oh," I said, lamely.

"Yeah. I left a voicemail, so I suppose until she calls back that's all we can do."

"What did you say in the message?" I asked.

"Basically 'Hey Liz, it's Renee. It's about eight-thirty on Tuesday. Call me back when you get this message'."

I laughed. Typical Renee. She always said the time and day of the call, but never said why she was calling. It was like a mystery to be solved. Whenever I asked why, she said it makes people curious as to why you called in the first place and they call you back to find out.

"Anyways, I'll clean up since you cooked. Go do whatever it is teenagers do in their free time nowadays," she shooed me.

Nothing. I do nothing in my free time, Mom. That's the problem, I said in my head.

I went upstairs, putting on my iPod and turning on the ancient computer. Before it had the chance to turn on, I flipped it back off, frustrated with it's pace. I looked out the window to see it was only sprinkling lightly. After changing into sweatpants and throwing on a wind breaker, I laced up my running shoes and went downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going jogging for a little bit. I'll be back soon," I called before leaving.

I jogged at a steady pace along the side of the road, letting the rain hit my face and wash away all feeling.

Along with burning off calories, I sweated off the past. The phrase 'It is what it is, deal with it' ran through my mind. With that thought, I pushed my feet against the wet pavement harder, picking up the pace.

It is what it is. Deal with it.

Raise your hand if you're curious as to where I'm taking this! xD

Oh, I do have a question. Longer chapters that take more time for me to write (in other words, less frequent updates) or shorter chapters, like this one, more often? I'm leaning towards the shorter more frequent ones. If you want long, then let me know.