A/N: I don't own Twilight. Y'all, we're in the final stretch of the story! We made it. All 3 of us. I can't wait to be finished. There are 88 chapters in total, though, so we're not quite there yet. I enjoyed writing this chapter. It featured more Bella than I planned, but it was for the better. (Try not to gloss over the minimal Paul x Bella fluff; there are some important details.)

Enjoy.

LXXX.

let's have a toast to the good life

Life on Earth—life in the badlands—continued once everybody get back. The road trip had been entertaining and full of memories, but it had been long. It had been long past time to go home. They had jobs. They had school. They had lives to get together.

Going back to doing the same old thing in Forks was comforting for Leah, but she soon found herself feeling somehow inadequate to Seth despite the fact that they had entirely different agendas. In early-June, Seth graduated at the top of his class, and while Leah was happy for him and had certainly cried at the end of his valedictorian speech, she couldn't avoid the feeling of jealousy that she was faced with. She also felt completely out of the family picture.

On Seth's graduation night, Leah, Seth, Sue, and Charlie had gone out to dinner in Port Angeles. Bella had been invited, but she had politely declined; she did, however, promise that she would see them all soon. Then again, she was also the queen of broken promises.

At dinner, Leah found out that Seth planned to go to UCLA in the fall. Sue had casually mentioned it in a conversation that Leah had never been in on until now. At the table of the Italian restaurant, Leah glared at her mother, who was still basking in her newlywed glow.

"Oh, Lee, what's that look for?" Sue asked.

"You guys have got to stop keeping secrets from me," she said. She looked at Charlie. "Did you know Seth's going to UCLA?"

Charlie couldn't hide his smile. "Sorry, kid," he said. "We thought he'd tell you."

Seth, who had never looked happier to eat the highly-Americanized ravioli in front of him, chewed and swallowed quickly. "My bad, Lee," he said.

Leah gave him a look.

"No, really, my bad. I swear I told you on the road trip or something."

"How was that?" Sue asked. "It kind of just happened."

"Paul's very generous," Leah said to her curtly. She turned to Seth. "But, Seth, you're moving to L.A. That's so crazy. I always knew you were smart, but I thought you'd wanna go to U-Dub or something."

"I got into there, too. Oh, and Stanford, USC…"

"Oh, my God."

"Keep in mind that you don't live together anymore," Charlie said. "It's probably been hard for him to get a hold of you with you living in Forks."

"Yeah, but—"

"C'mon, Leah, let's not make your brother's graduation night all about you," Sue said.

"Why California, Seth?" Leah asked him.

"It just called to me, you know?" he replied. "It's where I need to be."

Leah was overly happy for him, but she had to make herself refrain from rolling her eyes. What a Libra, she thought.

"And they offered you a full-ride scholarship," Sue added, beaming. She had always been so proud of her boy. Then again, ACLs could break (as Leah knew very well) and cost someone a scholarship, whereas brains couldn't—at least, not as easily, and definitely not for Seth.

So Leah let Sue have her moment with her boy. That night, Leah was fully able to get over the mere fact that her time had passed to still be the old Leah, high school Leah—Lightning Leah.

Change wasn't going to hurt her.

Change wasn't hurting Bella, either, but she was adjusting to it more rapidly than Leah was. Without taking much time to breathe upon returning from the road trip, Bella and Paul spent a good part of June getting ready for a lot of changes. They planned to move in August, but they still had to find out where, and Seattle was not specific enough.

After some hasty yet thorough searching throughout the first half of June, Paul and Bella had settled on an expensive house in the neighborhood of Laurelhurst, on the waterfront. Paul could not mention the area without also using the word "bougie."

"Quit being so difficult," Bella said, playfully punching him in the stomach when the realtor, an older white lady who still didn't seem to take them seriously, was out of sight. "If you think it's so bougie, we can always live somewhere else."

He leaned against the kitchen island, and he tried to imagine himself actually living here. Once he stopped seeing himself as the poor kid from Tacoma who got beat by his dad, he could see it. The house was like a fantasy, TV home with gorgeous views of Lake Washington, five bedrooms, a giant sundeck—all the works, and taken up to eleven, too.

"Oh, I'm the one being difficult?" he asked her with raised eyebrows and an incredulous smile. "You're the one who just has to move in August, like that's some special month."

"I just wanna get settled as soon as we can," she said. "You know we're gonna have someone else to look after, right?"

"I think about it probably three-and-a-half times a day," he said. "But for real, it's not the house that's the problem. The house is fine. It's the neighborhood."

"The bougie neighborhood," she said.

"The bougie-ass neighborhood," he echoed. "I don't know, I just think we'd have to drop off the kid at Fremont or Ballard just to get him a little cultured."

"Or her."

"Right, or her."

Bella smiled. "You don't want him making friends at the country club?" she asked, echoing the realtor, who had recommended the nearby country club to them in order to convince them that she was finally taking them seriously.

"Goddammit," Paul sighed, exasperated.

Bella giggled. "He—she—they will be fine," she said. "But we've gotta have somewhere to live first."

"Tell me, Bella," he began, his voice quiet. "Do you like it here, in this house?"

"I love it," she said.

"And not just because you're trying to get out of La Push by August."

She punched him in the arm a little too hard. He winced. "You're too damn aggressive, Swan," he said.

"I don't play when it comes to houses, Lahote. I watch HGTV and my Pinterest board is very detailed."

"Then it's yours," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're okay with moving here in August?"

"I'd love to live here in this big ol' house with you, the baby, and ten more of 'em."

She smiled. "We've gotta get this one out first," she said, and then she pulled him in for an embrace. He kissed her, and for a moment, the proclaimed bougie life ahead of her didn't seem so bad.

A couple of days later, Bella sat in her La Push home alone. It was a late Saturday morning, and Paul was in Seattle again, this time to meet with his financial advisers, Kim's uncles. It was sunny outside, but Bella simply had nothing to do. She found herself watching on the couch, playing on her phone, and listening to music. She was content.

Bella was pages and pages deep into the "nursery decorating ideas" tag on Pinterest when she could hear her music starting to fade because she was receiving a call. It was Charlie. She hadn't talked much with him since he and Sue had gotten married, but he was always checking up on her. She ignored him just enough for him to keep calling, but not enough for him to hold a search party for her. She routinely texted him, "I'm fine—just busy!" It was true, but not very.

She waited for him to leave her a voicemail message, but he didn't this time. He was giving up. She was no longer content. She ended up calling Leah, who picked up promptly.

"Are you okay?" Leah answered.

"What, I can't call my sis for fun?" Bella asked, and she could practically see Leah roll her eyes.

"Don't call me 'sis.' What's up?"

"I'm tired of being cooped up in my house," Bella complained. "Wanna go to the beach?"

"That works," Leah said, surprisingly cooperative.

"I'll give you half an hour?"

"Actually, I'm at my mom's house—old house—helping Seth pack." Sue had moved into Charlie's house after they got married (and still, they didn't even know that Paul was going to buy them a house), and Seth was in an odd halfway point. He lived in the Clearwater house for the time being, but the house still needed to be sold, so he was also packing up to move into the Swan home for the summer. At the same time, he was getting ready for L.A. Everybody was just getting used to change. Seth could especially adapt, though.

"Oh, okay," Bella said. "I guess I'll start heading over there. See you soon."

"See ya."

Bella hung up. The last time she had asked Leah to meet up with her at the beach, they had almost killed each other.

Funny, she thought. It hadn't even been a year yet since that happened.

Bella was waiting for Leah in the First Beach parking lot. The beach wasn't far, so they had both walked. Bella was surprisingly elated to see Leah. There she was—human contact who wasn't a small child, a coworker, or Paul.

They walked along the beach, feeling the sun beating on them. It was the 21st of June, the summer solstice, and summer had come on time for once. Forks had been able to catch up to the rest of space and time.

"How've you been?" Bella asked.

"Good," Leah replied. "What about you? We missed you back at Seth's graduation dinner."

Bella sighed. "About that," she began.

"Has Charlie been calling you a lot?" Leah wondered.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's been calling me, too, asking if you're okay. I just keep saying you're busy, but I know he's not really buying it. He really wants to have a family dinner—all five of us." Her tone wasn't excited, but it didn't hold resentment, either.

"I wish I could make myself follow through with that," Bella said glumly.

"Are you okay? Like, really."

"Leah, I just feel like I'm keeping this horrible secret from my dad, except that's not even true. Yeah, I moved out and I'm pregnant and engaged, but I'm happy."

Leah refrained from mentioning that Bella was also filthy rich; maybe Paul didn't want Bella to know that she knew that.

"Like, actually happy," Bella continued. "I'm just so afraid he's gonna be surprised and upset once I explain it to him."

"He'll be surprised, for sure," Leah agreed. "I don't know if he'll be upset, though."

"He will be," Bella assured. "He'll try to act like he's not, but he will be."

"Well, if you just get it over with, it won't bother you anymore," Leah suggested. "At the very best, he can't kick you out of the house for running off and getting knocked up."

"Yeah," Bella agreed morbidly. "He doesn't really know who I got knocked up by, either. This whole thing can't get any worse."

Leah shrugged. "Only way to go is up."

"I don't think my skin is thick enough to even try to go up," Bella admitted.

God, this girl really hates herself, Leah thought. No wonder she and Jacob were such a shitstorm together.

"C'mon, Bella," Leah said. "Just take it easy and figure it out. Handle it. It'll be okay."

"I'm not gonna be the only one who looks bad here," Bella said. "We traded boyfriends over a pretty short time-span."

"Okay, so first of all," Leah began, "your situation with Paul is not mutually exclusive to my situation with Jacob. I could care less about that."

"You couldn't care less," Bella corrected her, yet again, her tone unbothered.

"You know what I mean," Leah said, annoyed. "And second of all, I'm not dating Jacob."

"I thought Wafflegate solved your problems, but okay."

We saw all the relevant parts of the United States and all that anybody chooses to remember is Wafflegate, Leah thought.

"Really, Bella," she said, "you've just gotta handle this situation with Charlie. Just handle it. You'll be fine."

"If you say so, Leah." Bella didn't want to admit it yet, but talking about this specific affliction did make her feel a bit better.

They began to head back to where they came from in mostly silence, just feeling the sun as they listened to children laughing and the waves crashing.

"How are you and Kim?" Bella asked.

"Um, I can't really speak for Kim," Leah began, "but I'm fine. I guess she's fine, too."

"No, I meant, like—"

Leah's eyes went wide. "Oh, you think we're together?"

"Since you're not with Jacob, I figured…" Bella trailed off. "I thought it was obvious. Sorry."

I'm not you. "It's okay," Leah replied. The idea of her and Kim together was up in the air at this point, but not in a bad way. They weren't giving in at the moment, but they certainly were not giving up. No matter what happened, they were soul mates. Platonic or not.

Leah's eyes were down at her own hands. She still hadn't cut her fingernails since Daytona Beach. Maybe that was her answer for the day. Maybe once night fell after today—this long period of daytime, the summer solstice, the first real day of summer—she would have a different answer.

She looked back up and focused on the beautiful sight that was the first day of summer.

When Bella got back home, she called Charlie back. It had taken her telling herself (in Leah's voice, no less) to handle it for about ten minutes, but she finally did it. Charlie answered the phone almost immediately.

"You're alive, kid!" he greeted her.

"I guess I am," she said. "How've you been, Dad? How's everything with Sue?"

"Great," he replied. "Things are real good over here. When are you gonna come visit? We miss you. Leah says you've been busy."

"She's not wrong. I've just been at work all the time. I hardly get a break, it seems."

"Still at the daycare?"

"Yeah."

"Bells, you don't have to be a stranger just because you're busy, okay?" he asked. "You can always come by after work. You know I'll be home."

Bella wanted to cry. She wanted to tell him everything even more, but she ended up chickening out and skating around the truth, as she usually did. "It's just…" she started. "I haven't been around because of my anxiety. It's been bad, Dad."

She wasn't lying—her anxiety had never really gone anywhere—but she wasn't telling the truth, either. She hated herself increasingly by the second, especially since Charlie almost always backed off when she mentioned her mental health.

"I thought you were over it," Charlie said sadly. "I thought you were taking steps and getting your medication—"

"I've been off my meds for a long time," she said, and that was true. "I don't need them anymore, and I'm making things work for myself, but I still haven't been my best. I'll try to come around, but I need to focus on me first."

"I guess I can't fight that," Charlie said.

"Thanks for understanding."

"Just don't be a stranger," he told her again. "Keep calling me when you're feeling okay. Come and visit when you're ready."

"Okay."

"I mean it."

"Okay," she repeated.

"Love you, kid."

"Love you, too."

She hung up, and the tears finally spilled over.

If I can't be truthful now, what am I going to do in August?

The end of summer couldn't feel closer.

"Maybe we should have opened the window before we had sex," Paul said later that night as he cracked open the window in their bedroom. He was buck-naked and sweaty, and she was in the same condition as she laid in their bed.

"Good plan," she replied. "It's burning up."

He got back into the bed and turned to his side, propping his head up as he stared at her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"We have the house picked out," he said. "All we have to do is go over a few things, pay for it, and then move in."

"What are you asking?"

"Why do you wanna wait until August?" he wondered.

"My job," she admitted. "I really love it there. I love the kids—all of them. Even the snotty-nosed ones. Working at Sunshine Daycare has really opened my eyes up to how kids are and how important it is to bring them up right."

"You can still work at a daycare in Seattle," he suggested.

"Those kids are bougie," she said. He chuckled in response. "The kids up here, Paul, they've all got something wrong with them, but they're special. I love them."

"You always said they were problem kids. I thought you'd wanna move away even quicker."

"I still love them, though," she said. "And I think I'm actually gonna miss it here. You know, Forks. La Push. Granted, I hated it when I first moved up here. I thought it was the boonies and that no one liked me. All that's still true, but this place has grown on me.

"I never miss anybody I've met, Paul. I never miss anywhere I've been. I just leave places and find new ones. But this is different. I'm gonna miss it here, but at the same time, I know I can always come back."

This was the first time she had ever thought she would miss the badlands. She didn't even know why; it just had this strong pull on her. The badlands were a beacon, but she didn't want to stay away forever. She just didn't want to be kept here forever, either.

"I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too."

They paused for a beat. Then he asked, "Where do you wanna go for our honeymoon?"

"You had me thinking that cross-country road trip was our honeymoon," she said with a mischievous smile on her face.

"You're funny."

"How about Hawaii?" she asked.

"You've been to Hawaii."

"But you haven't."

"Let's do something different, baby girl. Let's go somewhere that neither of us have been."

"You have so many big questions," she said. "We still need to get married first."

"What were you thinking?"

"Courthouse. Two witnesses max. Quick ceremony. Nice blue dress."

"That's so specific," he said.

"Those were my parents."

"They didn't work out, though."

"But still," she replied. "I liked the concept."

They were silent again. Then she asked him, "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

"The fact that we can't just go out and get a beer after we get married."

"I'm not bothered by you being pregnant, Bella."

"That's not what I mean. Paul, we're young."

"I think we can handle it."

"Even if you weren't a multimillionaire?" she challenged.

"My mom isn't a multimillionaire and she made it work. Yours did, too."

She pouted.

"What's really wrong?" he asked.

"I wanted the house in Laurelhurst, so we got it. I wanted to move in August just to stay at my job for a little while longer, so we're moving in August. You asked me how I want to get married, and I told you, so we'll probably go to a courthouse."

"Okay, and?" he prompted.

"Isn't there anything you want?"

"I got my road trip."

"I meant about us," she specified.

"Well, we're getting married," he said. "I have you. We're gonna have our baby. There's nothing else I need."

"Nothing?" she repeated. "You're twenty. You don't want to anything big before we get married and move away and have this kid?"

"Trust me, baby girl, I've had my wild days. I've been a crazy-ass since I was three. This is what I'm about now. This is what matters."

She pouted again.

"Don't worry about it," he told her.

And she didn't. She had fallen under his spell yet again. It was the best thing that had happened to her all day because finally, she didn't have to think.

A/N: I'll try to update again before the New Year.

Thanks as always and happy holidays,

HS