A/n: The chapter is from Bella's POV, where she finally starts the process of feeling again.

I do not own the Twilight series or any of its characters. A girl can dream, though.

"If only the Cullens were still around. They were our best customers. Not that we are struggling, dear, but they did shop here consistently. All of the children were incredibly well-mannered, too."

I froze in my tracks; I was in the back room grabbing my coat after I ended my shift. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but Mrs. Newton was loud and I couldn't help hearing what she said. I wish I hadn't heard. But it seems like fate had other ideas.

And then suddenly a memory appears, a day before I knew about vampires, a day before I started dating Edward. It was sunny that day, and I remember looking around for the Cullens, hoping for at least a glimpse of them, when Jessica noticed.

"They're not here, you know. Every time it's sunny out, Dr. Cullen and his wife take the kids out of school to take them camping and hiking…."

I shut down that memory before it could go any further, but then more memories came, flashing through my mind, and no matter how hard I tried, they invaded my mind like a flash flood. There was no stopping it. All I could do was endure it until the memories stopped.

Our first official meeting the second day I saw him in Biology. Our confession of love the day after I figured out what he was. The first time he kissed me. Him sucking out James's venom before it could change me. His promise that he would never leave, made while I was laid up in the hospital in Phoenix. The way he tricked me into going to the prom.

By this point I gave up stopping the tears. Instead I curled up in the closest corner, holding my middle as the memories continued.

The entire summer that I spent hanging out with his family. The times that Alice decided to give me yet another makeover. The times that Emmett laughed at me every time I tripped over my own two feet. Jasper's quiet calming presence whenever I would start getting too mad at Emmett or Edward.

A sob escaped my lips as I entered my next set of memories.

My birthday, and the subsequent party that evening that Alice threw me, despite my wishes. The moment when I cut my finger and Jasper attacked. When Edward was distant that night as he drove me home, and he became more distant over the next couple of days.

I could faintly hear a strange keening sound, but I paid it no mind. I had to concentrate on not letting the next memory surface. I couldn't handle the pain that this one caused me to feel. But it seemed that I would be forced to face this memory too.

The day in the woods, when he told me he didn't want me. That I wasn't good enough for him. That he didn't love me. My futile attempt to catch up to him.

It wasn't until I felt Mike pick me up and hold me in his lap, gently shushing me that I realized that the strange keening sound was coming from me. How I knew it was Mike, I have no idea. I just knew. He was warm, familiar, and I found myself letting go and allowing the hurt and the pain wash through me. I allowed myself to feel, and to sob out my long-held-in emotions. It was strangely liberating.

For hours he held me, cocooned tightly in his arms, as if he was trying to hold me together when I found myself falling apart. His hand rubbed small circles on my side, and he cradled me into his lap, with my head resting on his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head as he told me to let it all out, to stop holding it in. He whispered over and over again that he was there, not once complaining about anything.

And I did. I let everything out. My hands clutched his shirt, and my face was buried into his chest as I cried. And when I managed to stop crying, when I was able to breathe again, I loosened my grip to look up at him. I was grateful, if embarrassed and unsure. Would he still want me after seeing that?

As if reading my mind he smiled at me and said, "I'm not going anywhere Arizona. That's not enough to scare me away. We are still friends. And friends are there for one another. So when you need comfort, I'll be there."

I smiled back, "Thank you, Mike."

It was then that I knew. This was only the beginning. He knew it. I knew it. When I would break down again, I didn't know. But when it happened, I knew that Mike would be there to provide comfort in any capacity I would accept it. That's when I knew he was a true friend to me.