Bella paused in the doorway with her cleaning supplies. She sighed as her eyes roamed around the living room. Just two days ago she'd spent half a day cleaning the place from top to bottom, and since then only Demeter had been in there to watch the soap operas she'd followed for over half a century. Yet, the amount of dirt that coated the uneven wooden floors made it seem like a dozen construction workers had trekked through the living room every day for a month. Cobwebs dangled from the ceiling, though Bella had yet to spot one spider in the whole house.

One question kept repeating in Bella's mind, had been for days now. How did the living room get so dirty?

It had to be little sprites, but whenever Bella brought it up to Demeter, the Olympian would just chuckle. Soon, if this constant soiling of the room didn't stop, Bella was going to set up cameras to catch the beasts. She hadn't told Demeter this, though, for Bella knew her guardian would forbid the extreme measure. But the tiny monsters couldn't be allowed to continue their shenanigans. They had to know who was in charge.

Demeter glanced from the television screen to her charge. She offered a weak smile. "Come, sit down with me."

She gestured to the free couch cushion.

Bella shook her head. "It's disgusting in here. I need to—"

"Cleaning can wait 'til later."

"No, I'd like to get it over now."

"It's not that bad in here, so don't worry about it."

"No, you can't live in these conditions."

Demeter had finally woken up the night they'd arrived in Forks. Over the past week, she'd tried to build up her strength, but she couldn't do much more than place a pot of water on the stove. Her color hadn't improved, and she had a thick, rattling cough she went out of her way to keep secret from Bella. Luckily, Leah was as concerned as Bella, so the shifter reported every little change with Demeter to Bella.

Usually, what could make mortals ill wouldn't affect gods, but Bella didn't know if that would change now that Demeter was almost as weak as a mortal child. Bella refused to risk her guardian's health, no matter how silly her insistence might seem.

Demeter muttered another protest, but Bella didn't listen. She marched into the room and set to work cleaning every nook and cranny. She felt Demeter's disappointed gaze on her, yet Bella didn't slow her actions.

As Bella swept behind the couch, she saw Demeter turn off the television and remove the bowl of popcorn from her lap to set it beside her.

"Bella?"

Bella abandoned sweeping, picked up a cleaning rag, and walked over to the living room's bay window. A giant cobweb hung above it. Bella made a show of stretching to clear the cobweb away.

"Bella?"

Bella finally responded, but still wouldn't meet her guardian's gaze. "You shouldn't miss your shows."

"I want to talk with you. We haven't really done that since Terni."

Bella shook her head and swiped the dust from the window's ledge to the floor. "Later, okay?" she said. "I have a lot to do today."

"No, right now."

The power the Olympian managed to put into her words made Bella stop and turn to her guardian. For just a moment, Demeter had sounded like her old self, and it almost brought Bella to tears. Though she'd had many reminders over the past few days, she'd yet to accept how messed up the encounter with the vampire had left Demeter.

"I...What do you want to discuss?" As Bella spoke, she maneuvered her way closer to the couch.

Demeter shifted to look at Bella better. "Have you left this house since we arrived?"

"Of course."

Bella didn't add that she hadn't gone past the yard.

"So, you've gone into town? What's it like?" Demeter wore a slight, playful grin, but a severe glint shown in her eyes.

Bella stood her ground; even flashed a smile of her own. "Oh, I don't want to spoil it for you. Maybe the anticipation will make you heal faster."

The pair stared each other down for a long, tense minute, neither hinting at relenting their stance. Part of Bella disliked herself for stressing Demeter out, but she couldn't abandon the Olympian, not with her being so sick and them now living in the USA. The Black pack had yet to find evidence of vampires (or any other creatures besides mortals, for that matter), but that didn't mean none were nearby or wouldn't show up soon.

Demeter glanced at the doorway Bella had stood in ten minutes ago. "Seth?" the Olympian called.

"Why are you bringing him in—"

Not a second passed, and the youngest member of the Black pack popped his head around the doorway. "Yes?"

"It's nothing," Bella said. "You can—"

Demeter pointed at Bella. "Get her out of the house."

Seth's big brown eyes shifted between Bella and Demeter several times before settling on the Olympian. "I...don't think—Why?"

"She's been in the house too long. Some fresh air will do her good."

"I'm fine," Bella insisted.

Demeter waved away her comment. "Do it, Seth."

The shifter's russet-colored skin paled. "Well...I don't...Maybe we should wait for—"

Bella threw her cleaning rag on top of Demeter's popcorn. "Whatever. You want me out of the house? I'll go."

Bella marched past her guardian and the stunned shifter. Without another word, she left the house.