Angus was familiar with Hannah's appetite soaring when they ate, knowing how often Travis withheld food from her every day. But he didn't expect a whole plate of spaghetti and a basket of bread to be consumed so quickly. Maybe it was one of those, 'time of the month' symptoms Sherrie always talked about. Another basket was ordered and Angus was invited to share it this time. How could he refuse?

"I'm real sorry, Angus, I don't want to spend your money around," Hannah said, wiping crumbs off her dress. A dress Angus didn't remember buying, and was real surprised to see. 

"Don't worry about it, tonight's a good night," he answered with a wave of his hand. 

"Really?" Hannah asked. "What makes this one so special?" With a silly grin, Angus mentally smacked himself and shrugged.

"Dunno, just is. How's your food?" Looking down, she noticed only the crust remained in her hands.

"Gone."

"Good. I meant, it's good that you're eating, eat all you want." Hannah grabbed a glass of water and drank instead. "I guess tonight could be considered...a special one," Angus decided.

Hannah swallowed the last of her water. Did he know, did he learn about the phone call? "It is, huh? What makes you say that?" Angus was too nervous to explain why, and took to drinking from his glass instead of answering. "Did you have something to say?"

"It can wait," he said quickly. "It can wait, I'll tell you later."

"But-"

"Tell me about you, what did you get up to while I was gone?" He grinned, hoping to find out some misdeed she acted upon. "Come on, I won't tell."

Hannah shrugged. "Well, I managed to work out my article writings," she said, watching for his reaction. "I'm able to send them in by mail now. I have a job!"

Angus' eyes lit up. "You did? Hey, that's great! When's it all startin', you work tomorrow or anythin'?"

"It'd be better if I did, I have to write more now before sending them in due to the time it takes for mail to deliver long distance," Hannah explained. "But it's worth it, having a job now so I won't have to move back in with Travis." Even the mention of his name sent Hannah into a sadder, slower state than she had been in. Angus wanted to pull her out of it. 

"Well I'm happy for ya', you're on your own! What made you take it so quickly? I mean, it's not bad, but I thought you'd rest up for a few days or somethin'."

"Rest up? Me?" Hannah asked with a grin. "Rest would be nice but I want to open my options as quick as I can. And..." Hannah played with her fork, Angus leaning in closer.

"And, what?"

Figuring it was best not to keep secrets from her friend, or, whatever he had become in the last few days, she sighed. "I didn't mean to," she started. Angus' eyes dimmed.

"What?"

"I didn't go through your mail, I just happened to glance at a page and saw a few things," she admitted. Angus didn't look upset, but he didn't look happy either. "I thought...getting a job might help with-whatever it is you need help with."

"Hannah, I don't want you spendin' your money on me, it's all yours," Angus said. "You're earnin' it. Besides, what I'm dealin' with isn't important." 

Angus reached for his water but Hannah grasped his hand. "Eviction, Angus," she said. "I think that's very important."

He sighed. "It's probably jus' a threat, I'm not gettin' evicted. If I pay the rent," he mumbled. 

"Then let me help! I can use some of what I earn to help pay it off!"

"I'm not gonna be like Travis an' take your money," Angus said firmly. Realizing what he said might still rub a raw wound, he softened up. "So, the last album didn't do so great, you know that. An' maybe money is a little scarce around here, but I don't want you stressin' yourself out, you should be makin' money for yourself!"

"I am! And for you! Like you said, I want to help you, you ask everyone around you to ask for help but you can't seem to do it yourself!" Knowing good and well this girl wasn't giving up, Angus cracked a grin. 

"You're stubborn, you know that?"

"So are you," Hannah said letting his hand go. Angus forgot he was thirsty until his pocket began to feel heavy. He still had some news to share as well. "If you're gonna be paying for fancy dinners the least I can do is help my friend keep his damn house."

His water was gone in an instant. He knew he'd regret the decision later, but right now he didn't care. "Th-thank you," he stuttered.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothin'. Nothin'." His leg bounced in his seat, the fork he held soaking up the sweat on his palm. 

"You sure? You look kinda sick."

"Well, I might be in a few minutes." Ignoring her worried look he reached into his pocket, grabbing the little box. "Hey, don't look so shaken up, I'm the one that ought to be."

"What makes you say that?"

"Believe me when I say it ain't easy sayin' so," he continued. "And it ain't easy askin' either." Hannah couldn't figure out what had gotten into her friend. "Whatever you say, I'll understand, you're not-forced to comply or nothin'."

"Angus McKinnon, what on Earth are you talking about?"

"Heh, uh, I should probably get to that now, huh? See, I've been meanin' to ask you...not for a long while, ya' know, jus'-somethin' I thought that...might be a good idea. If you want." He hid the box in his hands and rested them on the table. The presence of dirty dishes could have been done without, but Angus thought they gave a certain charm to the situation. "You...you know I love you, right?"

"Of course I do, I love you right back." He looked down at his lap. "Angus, what-what are you doing?"

"Prepping," he mumbled. "I know you only jus' found out last night about my...ya' know, feelin's an' all that. But, I've been feelin' this way for a while. Even..." He inhaled sharply, as he wasn't sure if he should divulge another secret so soon. But given the circumstances, it was probably time. "Even when Sherrie had been stayin' with me I-sometimes I thought, 'I could be spendin' this time with Hannah instead, I could be doin' this with Hannah, or that,' an' all that. Ya' know, Sherrie didn't like me goin' off with you so much."

"Don't tell me..."

"What?"

"You didn't split up because of me," Hannah asked with guilt. 

"No! No, you had nothin'-well, almost nothin' to do with it-it was mostly our problems, we argued too much, we-we weren't gettin' any further in our relationship, it didn't seem she wanted more from it, an'..." Angus shrugged after trying to calm Hannah down, who had hidden her face in a napkin. "We weren't right for each other, ya' know? We both had a part in it, part of mine was seein' you when I didn't have to."

"She didn't like that?"

"No, it would seem she didn't." The box weighed heavy in his hands again. He could feel every corner under his fingers. "Uh, anyway, I'm jus' sayin' I've loved you for a long time, so this isn't from thin air or anything." He moved his plate out of the way and set the box down in front of Hannah, clasping his hands. "You don't have to say yes, don't let my begging puppy eyes sway you." Hannah took the box gingerly as if something very valuable was enclosed. She opened it the tiniest amount and saw the slightest flash of a silver light given from the fixtures above. Inside the box was a key, a small key she had seen Angus use when they arrived at his apartment. It must have been a duplicate, but the only one Hannah could think of that would have one was Sherrie...and she didn't live there anymore. "Hannah, would you, m-move in with me?"

Hannah couldn't help but blush from his stutter. It was, she had to admit, the sweetest yet most sudden thing anyone had ever asked her. But, she didn't know if she could agree. "Angus, I-why?"

His heart picked up the pace from one hundred beats per second to two hundred. "Why? Why what?"

"Why do you want me to...move in? I mean-" Hannah worded her sentences carefully as this was a crucial time for the man sitting across from her, who already looked like he was on the verge of a stroke. "I want to help you earn money for your rent but...but moving in...I can't ask that from you."

"Well, I'm no wizard," he said, keeping calm. "But I think I," He pointed at himself, then pointed at her. "asked you."

"I don't know, this is very sweet of you. And...I certainly don't want to live with Travis ever again."

"Me either, ya' see? Me an' Mal thought it was a good idea if you had a home to go to, so you wouldn't have to worry about...about findin' one." Hannah had to admit that was a good point. "But-but I can understand if you're not ready to start livin' with a man again-permanently I mean, since..." He looked at her arms, which she had left uncovered again. Without any fresh ones they had all been light enough to show without arousing suspicion. "But...you said you want to help me with my apartment, I have an extra key an' want to help you find a place to live...I'm jus' sayin' the option is there." He rested his hand on top of hers, comforting them both. "The option is yours."

"Well..."

The apartment was dark and considerably colder by the time they got back. Angus opened the door to his apartment, guided Hannah inside, and closed it after them, switching the light on. "Angus I'm sorry," Hannah said. "I feel like the choice should be obvious but...it doesn't feel obvious."

"I didn't know if it would be," Angus said setting his jacket over her shoulders. She had been shivering the whole way up the stairs. He had a feeling something more than cold was causing it, but he wanted to do something. Something. "I'm not upset or anythin', I told you I wouldn't be."

"But I feel awful, it's just-" Angus brought her over to the couch to talk. "This is a big decision, Angus. None of these decisions are ever black and white."

"I know, I know, I've had to make some of them myself."

"But with this new job I've just started, you know, being in Oregon and mailing the articles...I just feel I should work this way for a while. If I move in, it'd be easier to simply write for the local paper, right?"

"Right." Angus knew that moving in shouldn't define what job she got herself, she could be working abroad for all he cared, but he also knew it would be easier to switch to something local, it'd make more sense. And having just lived with a man who was abusive towards her...but she loved him, she said so herself. And he loved her, he had asked her in the first place just to give her a place to live so she wouldn't have to move back. And if she wanted to help pay for the rent... Maybe her independence desire was coming through again. Or maybe, there was some other reason deep down inside that she wasn't telling him. 

"And...I can't have you sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life," Hannah said. Angus cracked a grin.

"Well, I didn't sleep on the couch when Sherrie lived here," he said. Hannah punched his arm. "Hey, I'm jus' sayin'!"

"And what about when you want to buy a house, huh?" she asked. "When you finally move out and get a real house, what then?"

"Well...you know you could come with me," he suggested. "Couldn't leave you behind now, could I?" Hannah smiled. There, sitting right there next to her was the love of her life, offering her his home. And for some reason she couldn't seem to conjure, she had to think about it. 

"I'm not saying yes..." she started.

"But you're not sayin' no," Angus finished. 

"No. No, I'm not saying no." He put his arm around her, giving her some form of support for whatever she decided. He couldn't completely hide the disappointment, but he couldn't let it take over and lead her into anything. The key was back in the box in his jacket pocket, weighing a ton. He took it out and set it on the coffee table, feeling a little bad he had given it to Hannah to wear, like he couldn't handle the weight of it anymore. 

She had hidden her face behind her hair, so Angus pushed it aside. Some was tucked behind her left ear and some was tucked behind her right. His hand lingered on her cheek, turning her to face him. Once again he searched her eyes for a story, one he hadn't seen before. He searched them for their story, seeing what would play out, if their futures would become one. He couldn't find anything, his vision narrowing as he leaned closer. 

"Angus..."

"Mm..."

"Angus?" Two lips pressed against her cheek, feeling their way around, searching for another pair to grab. "Angus!"

His eyes opened, lips unlocking from her skin. Keeping his breathing as quiet as he could he answered, "What?"

"Your phone is ringing."

*riiiiiiiing*

He slowly turned his head to the phone.

*riiiiiiiing*

*riiiiiiiing*

He turned to face Hannah again. 

"Aren't you gonna answer it?"

*riiiiiiiing*

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah." He pulled his hand away and stood from the couch.

*riiiiiiiing*

*riiii-*

"Hello?" Stretching the phone cord as far as it could go, he sat down on the coffee table with Hannah behind him. "Yeah...yes." He looked behind him at Hannah, a slight frown forming. "Uh huh." Hannah sat up, listening in what she could. "Yeah, she is. Who is this?" She frowned herself when Angus turned around, hand outstretched offering her the phone. "It's for you," he whispered. 

Angus didn't look worried about the other end, but he didn't seem too thrilled about it either. Surprised maybe when the call wasn't for him. Hannah accepted the phone and took Angus' spot on the coffee table, the man standing up and pacing the floor in front of her. "Hello?"

"Am I talking to Hannah Ruth?" a male voice with an American accent asked. Hannah didn't recognize it at all.

"Yes," she answered with hesitance.

"This is the Oregon police department, we're giving you a long distance call on request of a Mr. Travis Wilson." She paled.

"...Okay."

"So it seems we were called to investigate this man, is that correct?"

"I uh-"

"Did you or did you not call us, ma'am?"

"Yeah, yeah we did." The man's voice was rough, like he'd been working all day and wanted to go home. 

"Well we did some research on his background and it appears he's been involved in numerous illegal activities including hog racing, greyhound racing, as well as betting on these races." Hannah closed her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, he was." Her eyes then met Angus', who was still frowning. 

"It also appears he hasn't been paying off what he's gambled, making some company of his very unhappy, they've called us as well."

"He owes them too?"

"Yes, and we're having all of them under investigation as well actually. Busy day here."

"I'll bet," Hannah said, trying to be polite. "What's the problem then, what am I being called for?"

"He says you lived with him, working for the Oregonian while you did, is that right?" Hannah confirmed, slightly more frightened than she had been. "We called them up and they responded with the number you called them from, and we tracked it down to you."

"I...I see."

"What do they want?" Angus whispered. Hannah didn't answer. 

"Apparently, the house you share, as you're still marked as living there, is being confiscated by the bank, as no money has been given to pay for mortgage or bills or anything." Hannah swallowed, unaware of any of this. The police man read her mind. "Did you know about this, ma'am?"

"No, I had no idea, where is his money going?"

"He works at the bank over here, yes?"

"Yes, but-"

"It seems he's been borrowing money there and was unable to pay any of it back, losing money from illegal races." Hannah's finger turned blue, and she unwrapped the cord from around it. "He's been taken in, we're holding him now actually. He told us to call you, thinking you would have a solution to the problem."

"It's his problem!" Hannah blurted out, then cupping her hand to her mouth, quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we're just calling to let you know your house is being held now as private property of the bank, and unless some money can be given to pay the bills and what not, they're taking it completely." 

For a split second Hannah pictured Travis, wherever he was. All that time she spent in that house, and only half of what she was told she was aware of. Everybody has secrets, and no one to tell them to. "Where...where is Travis, did you say?"

"We're holding him here tonight, we'll be taking him in for a few years if the money isn't paid off. Would you like to talk with him?"

"No!" Hannah answered a bit too quickly. "No, that's okay. He's just not-" She caught her breath. She scratched her arm. "On his own, or anything?"

"No, we can't let him go unless someone bails him out of this." The man on the other end let out a half laugh. "Probably why he asked to call you."

"If I pay off his debts-"

"We'll set him free," the man finished. "Of course, there's a few ways you can go about this. You could pay off his bail, that's one option." Hannah nodded, though the man couldn't see. "If you do we let him go, but the house is still bank owned and he has no place to live, which, means you have no place to live." Hannah stole a glance at Angus, who sat down beside her and made a snack out of his fingernails. He caught her gaze, his frown turned to a look of slight worry now. "If you don't want that, I understand, and you can pay off the house payments instead, which means you get to keep the house. Of course, then Travis will be staying with us."

"Is paying off both the house and the bills an option?"

"Yes, which would be the best option," the man answered. "But I warn you, the amount is-rather high." Hannah closed her eyes.

"How much is it?"

She nearly dropped the phone when the man said three thousand. Of course, that was altogether. For one or the other, it was half that. "The longer you wait, the higher it will be. For the house anyway," the police man reminded her.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Hannah spoke in the best way she could. "Alright, um...how-how long do I have?"

"We'll give you till next week," the man replied with a hint of sadness. "Don't be so sure the bank will be so generous. And...we're really sorry."

Hannah thanked them for calling her, apologizing for her relative's unacceptable behavior making their jobs more difficult, and told them she would have an answer by next week before hanging up. Problem was, she wasn't sure she'd ever have one.

"What was that about?" Angus asked, watching her set the phone on the cradle. "What'd they want, you okay?" He stood up to reach out for her but she hurried out of his reach and stopped at Angus' bedroom, closing the door. He knocked on it as loud as the night would allow. "Hannah? What happened? Are you alright?"

She lifted her head from the pillow, wiping away the smallest of tears. The smallest, and yet the one she was most ashamed of. "It's nothing," she answered, forcing her voice not to shake. 

"I've gotten a lot of phone calls, Hannah, the ones that last that long usually aren't nothin'!" He continued to knock, slower every minute, either getting tired, or giving up. Maybe both. It had been close to ten minutes. "Please, Hannah?" She probably fell asleep in there, and Angus giving one last look at his bedroom door, with four freshly bruised knuckles, turned around to head for the couch.

Hannah hugged the pillow as tight as she could. Some dark spots peppered the white areas and she rubbed them futilely. That kind of money was never something Hannah ever had access to. Even from selling her artwork or submitting articles was never enough to match three thousand. Angus was in enough hot water of his own, he couldn't pay it off, and Hannah wasn't sure he would in the first place. Helping the man he hated most was not on his list. 

Now her house was being taken. She knew she would never go back there in the first place, but it was daunting to think she would soon have none at all. Angus' question came back to her. He offered her this apartment, this room, this bed to live in. Maybe, she could have a house after all.

But it didn't fix Travis' problem. He'd still be homeless, or in jail as another option. Paying off both was just too much money, and with her new job it would still take weeks to earn enough for half that. 

The locket slipped from her fingers hitting her neck. Angus told her she could sell it...no, she could never sell it. Whether it was hers or not, she wasn't going to sell something that had once been a part of his family, no matter how fond of it they weren't. It probably wasn't over a couple hundred, at the most. 

But, it was still something.

Something that Angus gave her, something that her best friend gave her when no one else accepted it. She'd never give it up. 

But, what if Angus was about to lose his house?

He already was by the looks of the letter she read that morning. If she couldn't earn enough in time, she might have to sell the locket anyway. Something grazed her finger as she rubbed her hands together. A diamond, stuck on a ring she wore for years. A ring serving as a visual promise she had made to her mother...

Now, taking care of Travis and bailing him out of jail wasn't part of that promise. But staying with him was. Hannah couldn't go back to living with him. Her arms were, for the first time, kissed by sunlight today, and despite the winter settling in, she didn't want to keep hiding under long sleeves. 

If she couldn't bear to live under the same roof as Travis anymore, like her mother asked her to, maybe this was supposed to be her way of keeping the promise she made. Helping him out not for his sake, but for her mother's. Her mother was the one Hannah really loved, out of the whole small family. 

Selling the ring would be paradoxical; selling the symbol of the promise, to keep the promise. Whether or not the ring was worth much she had no idea. But it had to be more than the locket, which she would hate to give away. Especially since the locket was given from someone she loved. 

And even if the ring or locket were worth something, how would she use them? She could let Travis keep the house, but he'd still be going to jail to serve his time. Or she could pay the bail, and have him be homeless the rest of his life, if he couldn't get a handle on things. And where would she live? She'd spend her weeks working nonstop to earn a place of her own, keeping her original idea. Or, she could move in with Angus like he suggested, and simply work to pay off the apartment. Then her mother's promise kept tearing the idea apart, filling her with guilt. As if the decision weighing on her shoulders that evening wasn't enough.

Hannah didn't know what time she fell asleep. She didn't even realize she had until she woke up to a dark bedroom, eyes crusty with sleep. It had to be the middle of the night, at least. Her throat was burning and she made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash her face and quench her thirst. She kept her actions slow and quiet lest she wake Angus up, who, judging by how loud his voice was in the living room, was already up. 

"Yeah, yeah she's in there sleepin'." Hannah kept the bathroom door open, letting the water drip, and keeping the light off. "I don't know what she's said, she hasn't decided yet...Well Mal told me not to push her into anything..." He sighed. "I know you're not...Then she got this phone call a few hours ago an' she wouldn't tell me what it was about, she jus' hurried away...She's asleep, Mum, I'm not gonna wake her up to ask." Hannah cupped a small amount of water in her hands and brought it to her lips, waiting for another fill to wash her face with. "I'm not gonna-" Angus ran a hand through his hair. "I know, I know." Hannah dried her face and shut the water off. 

"I'm not throwin' my money around, I haven't done that once!...That dinner was to be nice, an' ask her a question, that wasn't a waste...She hasn't said no!" His voice was much clearer when the bathroom door was pushed open just a little bit more. "No, I'll be fine, it's not much...No, but thank you though...Alright, well I gotta call Mal, he's wantin' to know what she said too an' then I gotta get to bed." His voice was tired, the couch carrying all his weight. The day began to take its toll. 

"What was that?...Yes...Yes...I love her, yes...Yes, she knows...Yes, you an' Dad were right..." Angus sighed, and Hannah thought she could see the faintest smile on his face. "I know, I will...I love you too, Mum...Alright, goodnight."

Hannah stole into the bedroom and closed the door before the phone hit the cradle.