So here's the new chapter! It's a bit shorter than the past few, but keep an eye out for another one tomorrow!

On a side note, I'm totally obsessed with this song Boy With a Coin by Iron and Wine. You guys should check it out, it was definitely playing through my head on repeat while I edited this chapter haha

Also, I haven't been the best at answering questions from reviews in the past, but it's another thing I'm trying to step up and do so feel free to ask me anything!

Thanks for reading and another thanks to dumbrat for beta-ing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

The next time I woke up, dim light was coming through the window. I felt weak and sore all over. Pressure built up in my chest and I sat up, the need to cough overwhelming me.

As I coughed, I heard footsteps out in the hall. A few seconds later Charlie walked in.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"I don't feel so good."

"You don't look so good," he answered. He came and stood next to my bed, feeling my forehead. "What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth to answer him and was overcome with another coughing fit.

"Go back to sleep, Bella. I'll go call the school," he said. "You're staying home today."

I felt so tired I didn't care to do more than sink back into the pillows.

I slept on and off throughout day, not getting out of bed once. Charlie came in a couple times trying to get me to eat something, but my throat hurt too much to eat the off-brand soup-in-a-can he brought in.

I slept fitfully again during the night, waking up every couple hours from vivid nightmares that I forgot as soon as I woke up.

It was almost noon when I woke up the next day with sharp pains in my stomach. Holy crap was I hungry. The house was quiet and I figured Charlie was long gone for work. I sat up and spotted another note on the desk.

Bella,

I cleared you for school again so rest and try to eat something. There's chicken noodle by the stove downstairs.

Feel better,

Dad

I headed downstairs and saw a pot and the soup sitting on the kitchen counter. I rifled through the drawers in the kitchen until I found a can opener, used it, and set the soup on the stove to warm. While I waited, I made myself some coffee too.

When they were done, I went into the living room and set the coffee and soup on the coffee table. I grabbed a faded quilt off the back of the couch and settled in.

I watched TV while I ate, feeling really cozy. I was comfortable for a while and it was easy to distract myself with show after show. I didn't even notice that it had gotten dark again until I heard a key turning the lock on the front door.

"Bella?"

"In here," I answered.

"You look better," he said as he walked in.

"I feel better," I said with a smile.

"Good, because I brought take-out," he said, holding up a brown bag. He put it down on the table in front of me and walked into the kitchen to pull plates and silverware out of a cabinet.

He sat down in the arm chair next to the couch and handed me a plate.

"Do you mind if I put the game on?"

I shook my head and opened one of the containers. Italian. Yum.

As soon as we finished, I got up to do the dishes. I picked up our plates but Charlie waved me off.

"I'll do it Bells. Why don't you head upstairs and get your room set up. You still haven't unpacked any of your things."

I froze, but managed to thank him gratefully and go upstairs; closing the door behind me.

I sighed in resignation at the mountain of stuff that sitting in the middle of the room.

I picked up a CD player from the pile and plugged it in. I put in a Beatles disk that I had used to listen to at home and turned the volume up.

I smiled as listened to the familiar music. I methodically put clothes into the closet and drawers and threw everything else haphazardly on the desk.

It didn't take me long before everything was put away somewhere. The only things I had left sitting out were the books and the CDs.

By the time I was done it was pitch black outside and the rest of the house was totally silent.

On my way down the hall to brush my teeth I grabbed the first thing I could find to sleep in. It was the ratty sweats and t-shirt from the book.

I went back to the room and sat down on the bed, looking at the new clear space. The room had a different feel to it now. It looked lived-in.

I jumped under the blankets, burrowing my head under the pillows. Then I pulled the covers over my face and went to sleep.

I woke up Friday morning to the smell of coffee wafting through the house. I went downstairs and saw Charlie reading a paper and drinking out of a mug; fully dressed in his police uniform.

"Morning, Bella. How're you feeling?"

"Fantastic," I answered truthfully. "A million times better."

"That's great," he said with a smile. He folded up his newspaper and got up to refill his cup.

"Turns out I have to work today," he said regretfully, "and I probably won't be home until late."

"It's okay," I said. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"I know you will Bells," he said. He went into the hallway and came back with a set of keys.

"We're real short on groceries. You'll have to stop by the store on the way home from school." He smiled tentatively and dropped the keys into my hand.

"I still want you to have the truck," he said. "If you've changed your mind."

My fingers closed around the cold pieces of metal. "Thank you. I really do love it; it's perfect."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. HIs ears turned red and he looked down at his watch. "Shoot, I'm late."

He glanced wistfully at his new cup of coffee before dumping it out and putting the mug in the sink.

"I have to get going," he said. "Food money is in the same spot."

I got up and gave him a hug. "Thanks. I'll see you tonight."

He hugged me back and I followed him to the front door and watched him put on his holster and jacket.

"Bye, Bells," he said, and left the house.

As I listened to him drive away, I looked down at the keys clutched in my hand. There were two of them, one silver and one gold, on a little metal ring. I sudden image flashed in my mind of taking the truck and driving all the way home.

I turned the keys over in my hand, considering it. The thought had crossed my mind more than once while I had been sick. I had spent hours wondering and dreading what I might find there. I wanted, more than anything, to be able to think that my mom and my life were there waiting for me, just out of reach, but I couldn't make myself believe that my own world was the same one I was living in now.

Despite my doubts, I knew I would have to go home and find out for myself. I had to see with my own eyes what was left for me in my home. But even as I wished it, I knew I had no money to pay for that kind of road trip. I'd never make it twenty miles. I walked back into the kitchen and looked over at the row of ceramic mason jars sitting on the counter. Setting the keys down, I looked through each one.

I found what I was searching for in the very last one I opened. It was stuffed with bills—mostly singles and a couple of fives. I pulled them out and carefully counted each one. There was about seventy or eighty dollars altogether. Not nearly enough.

I dropped the money on the table and went upstairs to get ready for school. I picked out a pair of jeans and a top and went into the bathroom. I came back downstairs showered and dressed twenty minutes later.

My stomach grumbled uncomfortably as I walked back into the kitchen. I flipped through the cabinet until I found a power bar on a shelf next to a bag of jerky and bottle of steak marinade. Hoping Charlie wouldn't mind, I took it.

As I left, I eyed the money on the table. After a moment's hesitation, I picked up the stack of bills and stuffed it in my pocket, picking up the keys and making my way to the front door.

I figured that if one of the keys were for the truck, the other might be for the house. Sure enough, when I tested the gold key in the lock, it turned the bolt with a soft click. I pulled out the key and put on the jacket hanging by the door before leaving the house and relocking the door behind me.

The truck sat where it had all week long in front of the house. I walked around it, running my hand over the rusted red paint. Each scratch and dent made me curious of it source—even more so when I thought of its previous owners.

I stopped in front of the driver's side door and tried to fit the second key into the lock. It took some jimmying, but I managed to get it open. When I sat down and closed the door behind me, I caught a huge whiff of dirt and the outdoors, and the faint smell of peppermint.

Pulling the seatbelt across my lap, I started the car and headed towards the school. The engine really was loud; the wheel was vibrating slightly under my hands. I waited in the truck with the heater on until I heard the bell ring. But as the morning went on, I found myself spacing out in all of my classes as I thought more of what I might find at home.

I had to assume Santa Barbara as a city was how I had left it, but I spent the morning hours wondering if my street was still the same, or if my house was still in the spot in its little cul-de-sac. Worst of all, I wondered if my mother would even be there if it was; if she existed in this world at all.

At lunch, despite the rain, I sat outside on a cluster of picnic tables. For whatever reason, I didn't feel like being around people. I was so preoccupied that I almost didn't even notice that Edward wasn't in school. It wasn't until halfway through Biology that I realized the seat next to me was empty and remembered where he was.

After school, I remembered what Charlie had said about the lack of food in the house. I hadn't seen a grocery store on the way to campus so when I left, I drove down the street past the school.

I drove on the edge of my seat, looking at the houses I passed with some curiosity. After a few minutes, the small houses turned into little shops and stores dotted along the street.

I had passed a post office, two chotchkie shops, and three places selling bait and tackle supplies when I saw the sign 'Newton's Olympic Outfitters'. I hit the brakes and jerked the wheel to turn the car into the parking lot out front. A car honked as it swerved around mine and drove on down the street.

I ignored it and stared at the family-run store in front of me. Bella had gotten a job here hadn't she? Why couldn't I? With the money I earned I could save enough for a plane ticket to Santa Barbara. As much as I was afraid of what I might find, I needed to know what was there and there was no trying to deny otherwise

Shoving my anxiety aside, I got out of the car and walked up to the front door of the store. I didn't look like they were open yet. As I peered in through the window, the lights flickered on inside. A tall, pretty woman with long blond hair walked in and took off her coat, putting her purse on the counter next to the register.

I tapped on the glass, making her jump and look over. She smiled when she saw me and walked over to unlock and open the door.

"Hi there. May I help you?"

"Hello, Mrs. Newton. My name is Bella, "I took a deep breath, "and I was wondering if I could ask you for a job."

"A job," she repeated in surprise. "Here?"

"I know this is out of the blue, but I'd really appreciate the work. I can do all sorts to help out too; I used to work in a little boutique," I lied. "I helped restock inventory, work the register…things like that."

"Well this certainly is a surprise," she said kindly. "Why don't you come inside and we can talk."

She held the door open for me and closed it again when I was inside, flipping a sign on it to say 'Open'. She walked behind the register and moved her bag to the floor.

"Would you happen to be Isabella Swan by any chance?" she asked. I nodded.

"I thought so. My son mentioned you had your first day but that you've been absent all week."

"I've been feeling a bit under the weather," I explained, "but I'm fine now. I was back at school today."

"Well I'm glad you're better and that you've taken an interest with us, but may I ask why you picked our store?" she questioned curiously.

"Mike was the nicest, most welcoming person I met at school. I figured that if his family was anything like him, this would be a great place to work."

Mrs. Newton's smile softened at the compliment. "What about your family? Does the chief mind you getting a job?"

"He's okay with it," I lied. It seemed weird to need parental permission from a fake father, but I knew Charlie wouldn't tell me I couldn't.

"I wouldn't be able to pay you very much," she warned, "or guarantee you very many hours…It would be minimum wage and maybe ten or fifteen hours a week…"

I held my breath and crossed my fingers behind my back. "Whatever you can do would be perfect."

Mrs. Newton smiled at me bemusedly. "Okay, then. You're hired."

My heart leapt into my throat. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, Bella," she said kindly. "Why don't you come back after school on Monday and we'll get you all sorted out."

"Sounds great, Mrs. Newton," I said gratefully.

"Call me Nancy, Bella. I look forward to seeing you in a couple days."

I left the store with a huge smile plastered across my face.

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