Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Bella woke from a deep sleep and got the feeling that someone was in the room with her. She reached to her nightstand to turn on her lamp only to see nothing. The window wasn't even open. She ran a hand through her hair with a sigh as she continued to wake up.

Her phone vibrated and she picked it up to see that the text was from her mom.

Happy birthday Baby!

Thanks, Mom.

She shut her phone realizing that the feeling that someone was in the room was her false hope that Jacob would come home just because it was her birthday. She knew that Billy and Rachel had left a few days before to go and see him. That was where the hope had originally stemmed from. She had hoped that they would bring him home.

Charlie could be heard up and walking around. She heard the bathroom door close while she dressed for the day. The shower turned on as she made her way downstairs.

There was a box at her seat at the table. There was an envelope small enough to hold a gift card lying on top of the box. Sure enough, there was a gas card inside from her dad. The box was unmarked and unwrapped. She cut the tape with scissors before digging through the popcorn inside.

She pulled out a cell phone box and a new battery for her computer. Her computer had been acting weird and when she had taken it to get checked the guy was going to charge her three hundred dollars. The battery was less than a hundred and she could save money by having Quil install it for her. She sent a text to her mom, thanking her for the gifts before starting a pot of coffee.

Charlie came down as she was sliding fried eggs onto a plate for him. She handed him the plate and he sat at the table.

"Why did your mom get you two gifts?"

"Only the battery is my birthday gift. The phone was free when Phil signed up for a new contract," she explained.

"What are you going to do with your old one?" he asked curiously.

"I was thinking of giving it to you since yours is outdated," she teased.

"Well, thank you. That saves me from getting g new one," he joked, rising from the table.

"You're welcome, and thank you for the gas card," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Honey," he said kissing her temple.

"I was thinking of going to Port Angeles today to apply for a job," she brought up.

"Where at?" he asked.

"At a place called Autumns Antiques. They're an antique dealer," she explained.

"I've heard of them," Charlie said with a nod.

He left for work half an hour later and Bella readied herself to leave for the day. Her cell phone vibrated as soon as she got into the car. She started the car before pulling her phone out of her jacket. Alice had texted her.

Happy birthday!

She smiled as she slid the phone shut. Once on the road she turned her cell phone off. It was a habit that her dad had started, that way she wouldn't be distracted while she was driving.

She got lost twice trying to find the store. She parked in the parking lot off the side of the store. She looked through the wrap around windows as she walked around to the front. The store was small, not a single space was unused.

A small bell dinged over the door once she opened it. The store was void of people, so she walked down the small aisle in the center of the room. There was a sign on one of the columns that said, 'Please do not touch merchandise. Ask sales associate for assistance, thank you.'

A door at the back of the room opened and a tall, skinny girl with reddish blond shoulder length hair and stylish glasses stepped into the room as Bella looked at a gold mantle sized clock on one of the tables.

"It's almost a century old," The girl said.

"It's beautiful," she said admiringly.

"It's also three thousand dollars. It belonged to a former Mayor of Washington," The girl boasted.

"Do you know if the sales rep position has been filled?"

"No, it hasn't. I'll go get Ronnie; she's one you need to talk to. I'm Kourtney by the way," she introduced herself.

"I'm Bella," Bella said with a tight lipped smile.

"I'll be right back. Feel free to look around."

Bella took in the room with its vaulted ceilings and wooden floors. It really was a beautiful space, even if it was a little cramped.

"Can I help you?" A woman asked from the end of the aisle.

"Yes Ma'am, I'm Bella Swan."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Ronnie Thompson," she said with a warm smile.

Ronnie was about Bella's height with a slightly smaller body frame. Her long brunette hair was pulled back in a loose braid that fell to the middle of her back. Her pale green eyes reminded Bella of cat's eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you about applying for the sales rep position," Bella explained.

"Do you have any experience?" Ronnie asked curiously.

"I worked for Newton's Outfitters in Forks for a year," Bella answered.

"You don't work there now?" she asked in concern.

"I'm in between jobs right now. I left there on good terms with my boss," she said reassuringly.

Ronnie nodded as she considered what Bella had said. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Write down the number for Newton's and your phone number. I'll get back with you in a few days," she said handing Bella the paper and pen.

"I don't need to fill out an application?" Bella asked in confusion.

"I do things a little different here Bella. I trust my employees and in turn they do honest, hard work," she explained before taking the pen and paper from Bella.

Bella nodded before turning to leave. She waited until she got into the parking lot to pull her phone out of her pocket. She turned it on as she unlocked the car. A door opened behind her as she opened the door.

"That's a nice car," Someone said.

Bella looked over her shoulder to see Kourtney leaning against the building.

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"Did you buy it yourself?"

"No, it was a present from someone," she said with a shake of her head.

"You should know that Ronnie is on the phone with your former boss. Whatever you said impressed her," she mentioned.

"Even if I don't get the job, I'll still come in. It's a really great store," she praised.

Kourtney nodded as Bella got into the car. Her cell phone vibrated reminding her that she still hadn't checked it. Angela, Jessica, Mike, Eric, and her Aunt had texted her while she was in the store. The last text was from Billy. It was a picture of Jacob with the caption, 'He still loves you'. Her eyes welled up with tears as she stared down at the picture. Jacob stood on the beach wearing a pair of cargo pants rolled up to his his calves and a white button down shirt that was left open to show off his deep tan with the sun setting behind him. She couldn't see his eyes behind his aviator sunglasses but the smile he was giving reached his eyes. His hair had grown out a little and was wind swept over his forehead. She was glad that he wasn't depressed or keeping everything inside like he used to. She had a feeling that he would be home soon.

XXXX

Bella was watching TV when Quil let himself in that afternoon. He could be heard in the kitchen while she searched for something to watch. She settled on a movie that she hadn't seen as Quil came into the room with a soda.

"The Bourne Legacy? You have to be the only person I know who hasn't seen this," he teased.

"Then don't tell me what happens," she stated bluntly.

"You're confusing me with Seth, and I am offended," he scoffed.

"Speaking of Seth, where has he been lately? He can't still be grounded."

"Sue finally gave in and let him try out for football, obviously he made the team," he said rolling his eyes.

"Of course," she said with sarcasm.

"Happy birthday Bells," he said handing her a picture frame turned upside down.

She flipped the frame over then touched the glass as tears formed in her eyes. Jacob's eyes were cast down. He looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears.

"I got it in the mail the other day. Rebecca's mother in law took it. Look at the date in the bottom right hand corner," he urged.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she did what he asked. The picture was taken on August 13th, the day that she was supposed to get married. Had it really only been a month ago? It seemed longer than that.

"I didn't give to you to upset you," Quil said apologetically.

"Billy sent me a picture of him today. It's completely different than this one," she explained.

"Can I see it?" he asked without thinking twice.

"It's the wallpaper on my phone," she said, gesturing towards her phone.

Quil grabbed her phone from off the coffee table and stared at the picture for at least a minute before setting the phone back on the table.

"He looks good. He's getting some sun and he's putting the weight that he lost back on. Now if only you would do that," he joked, nudging her playfully.

She chuckled, knowing that he was right. She needed to get back out into the world. She would only venture out if she had to. Looking for a job and taking classes at the community college would be a good place to start.

XXXX

Voices drifted out the open sliding door to where he stood leaning against the railing of the deck. He had his phone in his hand, debating on if he should call her. He wouldn't say anything, he just wanted hear her voice; to know that she was alright. Of course she was alright, she had everything she wanted, while he was left alone. Maybe if he hadn't left, or he had tried harder to make her see how much he loved her things would have turned out different.

He didn't want to live in the past, but it was better than missing her. Did vampires celebrate birthdays? What a random thought that was, but it was something that he had been asking himself all day. He honestly was doing better. He was glad that his dad and Rachel were there. He had missed his dad more than he wanted to let on.

So far, Billy hadn't brought up that he wanted him to come home and he hoped that he would refrain from doing it for the whole time he was there. He had started school that week and he didn't want to uproot himself just yet. Now that school had started he didn't think of her as much. Rebecca wanted him to focus on school so that was what he would do.

He heard someone step onto the deck and stop a few feet away from him. He didn't need to turn to face the person to know who it was.

"I'm fine," he said with a frustrated sigh.

"Do you promise?" Rachel asked.

"Yes Rach, I'm not going to slit my wrist just because I miss her," he said his voice filled with acid.

"Maybe you should call her, lay everything out on the table. You'll feel better once you do," she offered.

"I can't. Hearing her voice would start the process all over again," he said solemnly.

"Don't you think that she's hurting too?" she accused.

"No. She made her decision, she married him," he said with a scowl.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't miss her best friend," she reminded him.

"That's all I'll ever be," he said, shaking his head slowly.

"Isn't that better than nothing at all?" she reasoned.

She had a point; he hated it when she was right. She took hold of his hand, squeezing it lightly. He needed to tell Bella how he felt about her. He had hoped to hold off until she had made up her mind to be with him, but that obviously wasn't going to happen now. He may not have been the one she chose, but he still wanted to be there for her as her best friend.

"Cat got your tongue?" Rachel asked to break the silence.

"Just thinking," he said shaking his head.

"You're going to contact her?" she asked hopefully.

"Maybe I could write her a letter. That's just as good as calling her, that way I won't lose my nerve and go home," he pointed out.

"I think writing her a letter is a great idea," she said with a small smile.

He nodded wishing that this day would hurry up and end. He didn't like thinking about her so much. It felt like all of the steps that he had taken to get where he was had been for nothing. He was fine with thinking about her at night, but when Bella took over the day too he knew that something had to be done.