The past few weeks found Bella busier than she could ever remember. Between work, school, finals, and late-night talks with Edward, she found herself making time for Mike less and less thrilling. While this disinterest could be easily chalked up to the pressure Mike felt in his program to network and pass with top grades; she also began feeling like she was just a tool for him in the former situations.

Bella loathed networking with every fiber of her being, especially when it meant attending events with Mike strictly for those purposes. She would not admit whether Edward also played a role in her detachment.

But, Mike did have his good qualities- he was light-hearted and fun to be around. Passionate when discussing a case study- she loved watching him working through a problem or presenting evidence to support his argument for mock trials. She could see a future with him and a happy one at that, even if it meant actively climbing the ladder, he held in his mind's eye. So as the semester wound down and she finalized her application for the Peace Corps, securing letters of recommendation from her favorite professors, she knew it was time to make sure her plans and goals were part of their equation.

As they sat at a food counter at Pikes Market, she decided to rip off the Band-Aid; to tell him all about the project she was applying for. How excited she was getting at the prospect of spending time in Central America, working with people and a culture she felt close to. When she told him everything was ready to be submitted, noting which professors gave her a reference and how moved she was when they sent her a copy of their kind words, she worried at his response. But when she finished, finally taking a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, the suspense was prolonged as she was met with Mike's thinking face.

"Wow, Bella- that's great. I'm excited for you. How long would you be gone?"

"For a year. Look. I know whatever we're doing is still really new, but I like you, and I think you feel the same, so I just wanted you to know if this changes things for you."

"Bella, I like you too, and you're right; I can see we're moving in a good direction. I am really happy and hope it all works out with the program. Long-distance sucks, but I've never been further south than Mexico. It could be fun to go down and visit, maybe take a trip together if you get breaks?"

"Really? Oh my God, I would love that! I've always wanted to hike up to Machu Picchu. If you start training now, you might be able to do it with me," she joked, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"That'd be great, Bells," he responded with a kiss on her temple

With her head resting against him, Bella let the content feeling of his response settle through her system. Maybe it was just nerves that made her so anxious to tell him. And as they ordered and received their food, Mike offered her tastes of his sandwich, giving her all his crispiest chips, her favorite. She thought that maybe it was just cold feet making her second-guess her growing relationship with him.

They spent the early evening walking around downtown after the market closed for the night; Mike talked about his plans for a summer internship and the various professional development events and seminars he had lined up over his break. When Bella mentioned that she was planning a full schedule over the summer to finish a semester early, he beamed at her with pride.

"You're such a hard worker, Bella. It makes me proud I get to be the one you show off. You should see how impressed people are when I tell them about all you've been through and how hard you fought to get where you are now."

"What do you mean all I've been through?" She asked, sincerely confused. She had never told Mike about her mother's illness and the role it played in temporarily splitting their family across borders. He did, however, know she spent a chunk of her time in Mexico, and her slight accent she no longer tried to hide was obvious. While the separation and reintegration into a family unit in small-town Washington had its pains, they mostly made it work- the love her family had for one another smoothing over any tensions.

"You know, growing up in a third-world country, moving here, getting to college, and look how you're almost done and ready to go back to help the people that didn't make it out like you."

Bella couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. She was often hesitant to tell the whole story to people for fear of judging her parents, her ma, in particular. But as she imagined the tale Mike must've weaved on her behalf, the assumptions he made, maybe she should have been more forthcoming. Maybe if he had asked.

Biting back her annoyance, "Parts of Mexico are poor or unstable or lacking resources, but I would hardly call it a third-world country. There are plenty of places here in the U.S. struggling with poverty or violence, too. And you know I was born here, right? My dad is a chief of police! If anything, I've had a very privileged life, Mike."

"Whoa, seriously? But the way you talked … dirt roads, farming—"

"My family in Mexico owns and operates a ranch. They do well for themselves, even by your standards."

"Shit, I'm sorry, Bella. I mean, what you've accomplished is still impressive, though. I'm still proud to call you my partner."

Still proud. Bella wanted to be angry but couldn't find it in herself to start a fight.

"Just don't brag or whatever about me. You drag me to enough of these events that I don't need you to tell people who I am or what I've been through. I can do that on my own."

Hoping he might take the hint that maybe he should ask and learn for himself, she waited, but the request never came.

"That's fine, Bella. Don't be mad, okay? If anything, it just makes me want to drag you to more of them so you can impress them yourselves."

As he drove them back to her place after dinner, the thought of inviting him Forks to meet the family at her brother's party bubbled up. Watching his profile as he focused on driving, she liked his straight nose and the dimples that appeared whenever he focused all of his attention on something or when smiling. But their conversation wasn't sitting right with her, and so, as she held back the feeling to ask, she was glad for not extending the invite. They would have to talk soon, she thought.

Though she seemingly quickly dismissed it, she knew it would be a point of contention for her if she didn't. Maybe she was hyper-sensitive about her background and culture as a result of her experiences in Forks, but who just assumes like that? It's too early for meeting parents anyway, she thought, and not about whether the eyes or mess of hair was the wrong color.

——————

Bella's alarm went off loud and ugly early on the Friday before Emmett's barbecue. Rather than hitting the snooze button a few more times like she usually would, she sprung out of bed, excited to finally see her family. With an unnatural giddiness in her step, she walked the short distance to Alice's room, intending on jumping on her and being a general pest so they could get to Forks as early as possible. However, upon throwing the door open, she was greeted with a view of Jasper's white ass and the rest of his naked body looking much too large for her cousin's full-size bed.

"What the fuck, Al! Can't you lock your door?"

"Normal people knock first," her voice mumbled, presumably buried under the blankets and Jasper's lanky form.

"G'morning, Bella," Jasper said, stretching and moving to roll over on his back.

"Ay Dios Mio, okay, I'm leaving," she said, turning around and shutting the door before she could see more. "Get up, Maria Alicia. We gotta get going."

Having packed the night before, Bella started the coffee maker before jumping in the shower, surprised that Jasper really did have a great ass for being so skinny.

By 8 AM, they were on the road in Bella's beat-up Bronco, Ernesto, the faded red beast she had been obsessed with the moment Charlie pulled into their driveway with it. As they slowly made their way, Bella listened as Alice gushed about her night with Jasper. The proper date he insisted on was cut short because they couldn't wait to be in bed together.

"Bel, I don't know. I've never been with anyone like him before. It makes me feel a little crazy- but in a good way. And he's so funny and nice."

"Aw, Al- good! I'm so happy for you!"

As they drove, Bella was content to listen to Alice gush, loving the second-hand feeling of the excitement that comes with a new relationship.

As the conversation lulled to a comfortable silence, Jack Stauber crackling through Ernesto's old speakers, Bella found herself daydreaming of what her life might be like if she was accepted into the program in Guatemala. She imagined befriending the locals, roaming the tianguis, finding treasures to send back home or cherish forever, weekend trips to the coast, and swimming in the water she hoped would be much warmer and welcoming than that of the Pacific Northwest. But as her mind drifted to taking a bus and train, then likely a bus again to Peru, the long trek to the Urubamba River valley, it was Edward's disheveled form in backpacking gear by her side instead of Mike.

Pulling into town, passing familiar streets and shops, Bella was reminded of how difficult her time here was. If she had not been bullied, and if Emmett had been a little warmer and sooner upon their return, then things might have been different. If her mother, an immigrant, hadn't stolen the town's golden boy and trapped him with two kids. If Rene hadn't gotten sick. Had Bella fully understood what Charlie went through alone, a wife and daughter on the other side of North America, she might have felt comfort returning to the small town hidden in acres of evergreens. Feeling mired by old anxieties and insecurities, she grabbed Alice's hand like a lifeline, letting her cousin's warmth settle around her like a security blanket. Knowing she was just minutes away from her family washed away the bitterness with each mile. Okay.

"Ama!" Bella yelled after pulling into the driveway of one of her childhood homes, walking through the front door.

"Isabela," she hushed, "keep it down; your father is asleep. He covered second shift last night."

Dropping her bags quietly and with much more care than her entrance, she let herself be wrapped in her mother's embrace, seemingly smaller than what she remembered.

"Look how skinny you are, Ma. Are you feeling okay? Are you eating?"

As Rene released her daughter, moving to hug her niece, who followed close behind, she explained, "I'm finally off the prednisone, Mija. I'm no longer swollen and gordita."

"Tia, you were never gordita," Alice cooed, squeezing her just a bit tighter.

"Did I ever tell you you're my favorite, Alicia," Rene responded, giving her an extra kiss on her cheek. "Come eat the breakfast your papá was too tired to eat," Rene said, moving slowly towards the kitchen with the girls trailing her.

As the three women caught up, Alice once again gushing over Jasper and Bella, the program she had submitted her application for after finishing the semester with a 4.0.

Rene was speechless with pride. After all the things the girls had been through, the things she put Bella through, they were thriving. As bright as they were beautiful, optimistic, and focused, everything she felt upon first arriving in Forks on a work visa. Like her, Rene hoped they remained fiercely independent and, unlike her, flexible enough to be loved without undue heartache. Watching them joke and tease each other as they shared their updates with enthusiasm, the peace Rene had experienced since returning to Washington glowed from within her, unable to be subdued by the illness she worried had ravaged her body.

After eating and enjoying un cafecito, Bella and Alice went upstairs to settle into her childhood bedroom, utterly unchanged from high school except for the new bedding her mother must have recently purchased.

Settling on the bed for a quick nap until Charlie woke up, Bella finally shared with Alice the assumptions Mike had made about her and what he seemingly had been telling his acquaintances and peers. She appreciated that her cousin flared with anger at all the right places, encouraging when she needed it but ultimately understanding and non-judgmental when Bella came to the decision that he was still worth a chance.

"It's only been a couple of months, you know? I'm annoyed he went off with these stories, but at the same time, I never told him everything either. I'm not blaming myself or anything. He's an idiot but a good guy all the same."

"I see that. I can also see he makes you happy and I like that he cooks dinner for us. Just be careful, babe. You're smart, though. And besides, you can always just ghost him when you make it to Guatemala if you need to," Alice comforted as she wrapped her arm around Bella, already halfway to sleep.

Watching her cousin doze off, she wondered whether she should divulge that she'd been talking to Edward for weeks, at least before they all saw each other tomorrow.

Waking up before the sun the following day, Bella ignored her sleepiness, just excited to spend some time alone with her old man. Without much talking, as Charlie was more the type to speak when he only had something meaningful to say. They went through the routine of checking the tackle box was well stocked, loading up their poles, and Bella reversing her old Bronco with Charlie's guidance to hook up the trailer with his prized fishing boat.

As the morning passed them in comfortable silence, Bella couldn't help but think of Alice's response to what she shared about Mike. Hating that she let things go so easy; should she have gotten angrier? She more than knew it would never have happened had she been open with him from the beginning. But how was she to know she'd end up liking him so much?

"What's on your mind, kid. You just missed that fish nibbling at your line."

As she reeled it in, frowning at her sad, empty hook as it neared the surface, proving her dad right, she surprised herself by asking-

"Dad, how did you deal with mom and me leaving. How were you okay with it?"

Watching her dad's mustache twitch in consideration as he handed her their can of corn and power bait, he responded gruffly. "I wasn't okay with it, but you know your mother. I love her, but she's hard-headed. You get that from her, by the way," he teased before continuing. "We couldn't afford the treatments for her here. Back then, our health insurance options weren't great, and on a patrol officer's salary, I couldn't afford everything she needed. When we figured she could see just as good doctors in Mexico, we didn't feel like we had any other options."

"But what about when we stayed, I mean? We were gone for so long."

"Well, we tried to visit when we could; got you kids those expensive phones so you could video chat, but it was hard for your mom here. She was homesick. I couldn't imagine what that must be like. I only knew if her being there helped her physical health and spiritual or whatever. I wanted to do what I could. It wasn't easy. Nothing with your mom ever is. I still don't know if it was the right thing to do or the right way to do it, but it's water under the bridge now."

"Not that I would have wanted it, but why not get divorced?"

"Have you met your Abuelo, he would've killed me, and I would've deserved it. We love each other, Bella, and it just was never an option. Where's all this coming from?"

"Ugh, I'm kinda seeing someone. I haven't told him anything about that, and it's kind of led to him making some assumptions. I'm just protective over all of us; I guess I just don't want anyone to judge."

"Bella, you are the kid; it's our job to protect you, not the other way around. And if you're worried about someone you're kinda seeing doing that, judging you, then maybe you should be considering why you're kinda seeing them." He finished, dropping her line so she could re-cast it.

Smiling at his teasing of her relationship with Mike, she sent her line back out into the lake, grateful for her quiet and patient father, hoping she inherited even just a little of the endless empathy hidden by his gruff exterior.

AN:

Hoping this chapter helps add a bit of clarity to Bella's past, but more to come soon. Thank you for reading, and to Fran, as always!

tianguis = flea market