Howdy! I am Starksarrowgirl and welcome to chapter 2 of Moonlit!

So, here's the deal- I'm going to try posting about once a week. This week is a bit different because I wanted to get a couple chapters up to get some interest going. I haven't written or posted anything in like 5-6 years and this is me trying to get back into it so. We'll see how this goes. I don't have a beta at all. It's just me myself and I, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes you might find. I try my best to catch them before posting but some slip through the cracks.

Mood music for this chapter:

Jonathan Low by Vampire Weekend- during Bella's work day

Afraid by The Neighborhood- when Bella goes home til the end of the chapter

I was already out the door before the other two had woken up. I was leaving a little earlier than I really needed to, but I felt too raw to watch Jacob and Nessie drive off in the Volvo. So I decided to get to work early.

Working at one of the only diners in town as a waitress wasn't exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but then again nothing had really turned out like I planned. Plus it's not like there were a ton of jobs waiting to be filled in Forks. It just paid the bills and I got decent tips, mostly from men who thought I was an angel fallen from heaven. Vampire beauty really did come in handy sometimes. There were a lot of people I knew from high school that frequented the restaurant, which was rough at first. I had kind of dropped off of the face of the planet for a full year and when I came back, I went into an independent home schooling program that was usually reserved for those seniors who hadn't done well to earn back some credits. Not to mention, I suddenly had a "little sister" to take care of all the time. I knew I looked different to people now too. The vampire enhancements on my appearance were pretty apparent for anyone who knew me previously. A rumor had started around at one point that I had ditched school to go to LA and got plastic surgery to look like them because I was still obsessed with my high school sweetheart. I never confirmed or denied it, happy to let them think whatever they wanted to as long as it wasn't too close to the truth. I knew we would still have to leave sometime soon, but until then I could deal with the whispers. Plus, it was kind of nice to see where everyone ended up after high school.

"Hey Arizona!" Mike called as soon as I came out to start my shift. He grinned and waved me over to his table, where Jessica was trying to calm down two crying children, while the third was drawing happily on the table itself instead of the paper activity sheet the diner gave to kids.

I stifled a groan and went over to them. "Hey guys," I said, plastering a smile on my face. "How are you all?"

"Great now," Mike shamelessly flirted. Jess shot him a glare and smacked his leg under the table. He jumped, as if remembering that she was still there. "Just treating the family to a nice breakfast," he said, trying to put his arm around Jessica's shoulders.

She shrugged him off and said, tired as all hell, "Can we get our usual, Bella? And just leave a coffee pot on the table.

I nodded and went to put in their usual order with the kitchen. Mike had married Jessica after he knocked her up at senior prom. They had three kids by now and it was very apparent they weren't the happiest couple in the world. Jessica tried to keep it together though. She wanted to be the one starting rumors, not be the subject of them. They had started coming in more frequently as of late and I couldn't help but wonder if it was because Mike still had a crush on me. I hoped not. Last thing I needed was to deal with a jealous housewife.

"Excuse me, miss?" Someone said from the counter. I turned around to a man I had never seen before sitting on a bar stool with one of the diner's mugs. His dark hair was in a small, loose ponytail on the nape of his neck, a few strands that had escaped framing his face. His face was a mixture of strong and proud, delicate and beautiful, with full lips that were now pulling up in a smirk as he asked, "Anyway I can trouble you for a cup of coffee?" And his eyes. Oh those eyes would've had me blushing about as red as a fire truck if blood still pumped through my veins. Deep green with flecks of brown surrounded by thick, dark eyelashes any woman would kill for.

"Black or decaf?" I heard myself ask, going over to the coffee pots.

"Black, please."

I grabbed the pot and starting pouring more into his mug. I glanced up at him briefly and said, "I haven't seen you here before. Did you just move here?"

He chuckled. "I guess this really is a small town, huh? Yeah, just moved here last week," he said as I put down the coffee pot. "I'm Brian."

"Bella," I smiled a little at first and then wider when I heard his heart speed up ever so slightly. "So, Brian, what brings you to Forks? It couldn't be our bustling night life."

"You know, just need a fresh start," he shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "Too much baggage in my hometown, it weighs you down after a while, you know.?"

Oh don't I know it. I opened my mouth to respond when a loud crash came from the direction of the Newton's table. One of the kids had knocked all of the condiments off of the table, effectively breaking all the glass bottles. "I'm sorry, I have to take care of this." I ran over to clean up the mess, all the while listening to Mike apologize, try to help clean up, and then getting reprimanded by his wife for being "willing to help a pretty waitress clean up but when I ask you just to fold the laundry..". By the time I was done cleaning up the mess and making sure none of them were hurt, Brian was gone. I surprised myself by feeling a little disappointed, but shook it off. He was just good conversation, that's all, I told myself. It wasn't often we got visitors from out of town. He was interesting.

One of the other waitresses, Shelly, came by a little later and said, "Hey Bella, some guy left this for you on the bar this morning." She handed it to me before announcing she was off for the day. I looked at the white napkin to see a phone number written down along with Thanks for the coffee. I bit my lip and stuffed it into my pocket hastily. I hadn't been interested in anyone else since..him and I wasn't about to start bringing more of that drama into my life now.

The rest of my shift was uneventful and just busy enough to be a good distraction from any thoughts buzzing around in my head. Too quickly it was over and I was clocking out to go home. As I was getting in the truck, my cell phone rang. "Hey Mom," Renesmee said when I picked up. "I'm going to be a little late coming home. Quil and Seth invited us to a bonfire on the Rez tonight."

My heart squeezed. I hadn't seen or heard from Nessie all day and missed her terribly. Not to mention I really didn't like staying in the house by myself if I didn't have to. Then I remembered how worried she looked last night just about the car. I couldn't tell Nessie that. She wouldn't go anywhere then and I didn't want her to give up any social life just to make me feel better. "All right sweetie. Just be safe," I said, trying to keep my voice light.

"I will, I love you," she said.

"I love you too." We hung up and I was left wondering what to do with my night. I considered going over to Charlie's but remembered it was Tuesday. Date night. Charlie had taken a liking to Sue Clearwater after her husband had died. Sue was Leah and Seth's mother, more members of the La Push Wolf Pack, so she knew quite a bit of what Nessie and I were. She wasn't particularly loving to mostly me, but she was kind and respectable at least. Sue helped me protect Charlie and also made sure he didn't look too far into things. I was grateful for that and that she kept Charlie happy. But, that didn't mean I wanted to crash their date night. I thought of how close they had gotten in such amount of time and smiled. Charlie hadn't changed much from when him and Renee were married. When he fell for a woman, he fell hard and fast. At least one Swan will have a happy ending, I thought wryly as I put the truck in drive.

As I drove home, the rain really started to come down. I grimaced at it, taking it as a foreboding sign. The house seemed much larger and imposing when I pulled into the driveway, causing me to sit in the truck for a minute longer and stare at it. A sudden feeling of longing washed through me. I wish Angela was still here, I thought. Jessica and I had never really gotten along when we were in high school and we certainly weren't going to get along now with Mike trying to constantly make passes at me. Angela, though, was a great friend. She was always looking out for me, making sure I was okay. When I found out I was pregnant, I almost called Angela crying because I knew Angela would stop at nothing to help get everything I needed. But I never did. I knew Angela would ask too many questions and I couldn't explain how I just found out I was pregnant when my stomach looked to be about three months along. So, I didn't say anything and just left. When I came back, I found Angela had left with Ben to a really great college, leaving me with only Jacob as my friend. I thought about texting Angela to see how she was doing, but decided against it. No, Angela was better off without all the chaos that seemed to surround me.

I ran to the door to escape the rain and once I was safely inside, I looked around. The house seemed colder without Jacob and Renesmee's warm banter. Everything in the house was telling me that I was an unwelcome visitor and to get out. The shadows on the wall seemed to grow taller and stretch towards me menacingly, threatening to consume me unless I left. I hugged myself tightly and backed up until I was pressed against the door. It was right. I shouldn't be here. This wasn't my home. I ran the rightful owners of the house out and now the house was angry. I shouldn't be here...I shouldn't be here...I shouldn't be here...I shouldn't even be alive...

"Bella..."

Time stopped for a brief second as my head snapped up and I looked around in a frenzy. The house was still empty, but nothing seemed threatening anymore. I took unnecessary breaths and my arms fell to my sides. I looked around wildly for the source of the voice, but saw no one.

That voice, I thought.

Bella... it called again. I felt the frayed edges of the hole in my chest writhe in response. The voice...it sounded exactly like him. Could he...

I shook my head and took deep breaths to calm myself before I fell apart. No. It couldn't be. He was gone and never coming back. None of them were. "Busy. Gotta...gotta keep busy," I muttered between clenched teeth, finally moving fully into the house. I went upstairs and changed out of my work clothes to a large T-shirt and stained sweatpants. I threw my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck and went to work cleaning the whole house.

Deep cleaning the house didn't take as long as I hoped it would. I suppose it might've taken longer had I done every single room, but there were a few I couldn't make myself go into, for instance his room. At least it helped ease my mind a little and I was able to relax finally. I didn't hear any spooky voices during or after my cleaning and came to the conclusion I was just mentally drained from work that day. It happened when I was human, why wouldn't it happen when I was a vampire? The sun set, stars blossomed across the sky and I decided to take a bubble bath. I didn't like to think of who had this room before me, but I did like to thank them mentally for the jacuzzi tub connected to the room. Vampires may not need to bathe as often as humans, but I certainly liked to relax in the warm water. It felt almost..normal. Sitting here in the tub, I could almost imagine there were people waiting for me outside of this bathroom that still loved me. That we would go out for a day in Port Angeles where I would be forced to buy new clothes and then we would go to that restaurant where we really talked for the first time.

Stop it, I chastised myself. What was with me today? Hearing voices, thinking about things I swore never to imagine. This went against rule number one.

I got out when the water turned cold and put on some warm, long sleeved pajamas. I didn't need the warmth, but they were extremely comfortable. I heard the front door open and close and grinned. They're home. I practically ran down the stairs to greet my daughter, saying, "You guys are home ear-" when I caught the scent of who was downstairs. As I reached the bottom step, I froze.

Two vampires stood in front of me, a man and a woman. The man had honey blonde hair and stood tall and lean, with scars decorating every inch of his arms. The woman was short and pixie like with small features that were now pulled in a surprised and worried expression. Her hair was black and short, pointing in random directions. The hole in my chest roared to life when I met their golden eyes. Cullens, I allowed myself to think for the first time in five years. Jasper...Alice. I held my breath, struggling to keep from falling apart in front of them. The hole continued to thrash and stretch inside of me, trying to struggle free.

Alice took a hesitant step closer and whispered, "Bella?"

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