Chapter Text
"The myth of a Mate, a true soulmate who is meant to be an everlasting companion for an immortal, is one of the widest spread falsehoods in our community. An immortal might form a romantic bond with an individual, but it is no fated connection. Nor should an immortal's platonic relationships be disregarded in their importance. Immortals are obsessive in all their relationships and they rarely suffer a severance of such ties." - An except from "The Nature of Bonds" written by Queen Sulpicia with observations from King Marcus
January 1st, 2005
Mia was crouched down on the asphalt outside of Sea-Tac Airport, the cherry red tip of her cigarette a beacon in the early morning fog. Feet flat on the black top, she took a deep drag of smoky relief. This was her last cigarette and Mia was determined to savor it.
A loud cough echoed across the parking lot.
She flinched and quickly glanced around. Mia didn't see anyone. Shuffling closer to the random pick-up truck she was hidden behind, she took another drag. It warmed her chest like a hug. The headache from the plane ride was finally going away. She idly wondered if there was a Patron Saint of headache relief. If there wasn't, there ought to be. Mia was going to need somebody to direct her prayers to once the nicotine withdrawals really started hitting.
Avoiding the thought of her future torment, Mia focused on enjoying her cigarette. Bella was still in the airport bathroom, using the extra time provided by their plane's early arrival to clean up a bit. She rolled her eyes, as if Charlie would care about that. The man had been over the moon since they started planning the move to Forks. Personally, Mia wasn't one to count chickens before the eggs hatched, but she doubted looking a mess would deter the man.
Another inhale and exhale.
She doubted her logic would relieve Bella, but really. Between the two of them, the only one who needed to worry about being left at the airport was Mia. God only knows what Renee had told him about her.
Mia looked down at her chipped and stained nails. Was it weird she'd miss the nicotine stains? That is, of course, if she manages to follow through with quitting. But Bella was right, hiding the habit from her father, a cop, would not be possible.
Bella was usually right, she thought with a frown.
She had a few more drags left until she hit the filter. Mia tried to enjoy the, objectively, worst part of a cigarette.
"Mia!" A whisper-shout behind her made her flinch, immediately dropping what was left of her cigarette into a murky puddle.
Mia let out a smoky sigh as she stared down at the remains of her last cigarette. Then she looked up and over her shoulder with a forlorn expression, meeting her sister's annoyed eyes.
"Why," She pouted, "Why would you do this to me?"
Bella rolled her eyes so hard that Mia was amazed they didn't just tumble out of her face and swatted her.
"Don't be dramatic," Mia gasped and pressed a dramatic hand to her chest in offense. Her theatrics were ignored, but she would swear that Bella's lips twitched, "C'mon and get up from the ground. Charlie's here early, I saw him in his cruiser." Bella sniffed at her, crinkling the delicate nose she inherited from Renee, "He's going to smell you the moment you get into the car."
Mia shrugged at her as she stood, wobbling enough that Bells reached out to steady her.
"And if he does, he'll just think that Renee picked up the habit or that Phil smokes." Mia wasn't worried about it. People assuming the worst of her was nothing new, even if it would be true this time.
"Whatever, I hope you enjoyed it because it will be your last," Bella declared with the same theatrics she accused Mia of. The girl walked around quoting classical literature. If Bella wasn't riddled with stage fright, she would've been a theater kid.
Bella grabbed her arm, nails perfectly manicured and pencil smudges on her fingers, and started dragging Mia off to find Charlie.
Of course, once they were actually in front of the man, Bella floundered.
Charlie was leaning against his police cruiser, in uniform, with his arms crossed. He looked like he was out on patrol.
Her instincts told her to immediately make herself scarce and avoid the fucking cop. Mia forced those instincts down, though the image made her skin prickle, and concentrated on the fact that Charlie was a mirror image of her. An awkward, nervous, and mustachioed version of herself. It was always a little unsettling whenever she saw him over the summer, staring at a genderbent version of herself. Mia was going to have to get used to it, living with him and all. At least Mia knew she'd age gracefully.
She forced a cheerful smile and threw herself at the man. When in doubt, fake it out.
"Dad!" Mia greeted him and was met with strong arms and a startled stare.
He blinked down at her for a moment, awkward and clearly in need of more coffee. Then it seemed to click and he grinned down at her. He was bold enough to give her a tight hug instead of his usual half-hearted back pats.
"Hey kiddo, how was the trip?" Charlie asked her, only hesitating slightly before releasing her and looking at Bella.
Bella looked at the both of them with wide eyes, somehow shocked at the daddy-daughter performance that was happening. Mia stuck her tongue out at her and gestured for Bella to give the man a hug. Maybe there was another reason for Bella's lack of theatre roles. Mia had done the same damn act every single summer. Pretending that she thought of Charlie as a father, pretending that he was family to her despite his constant absence and lack of spine.
Her sister caught the hint and Mia was witness to possibly the most awkward hug in existence. Both participants did their best impressions of aliens who had never heard of physical affection before. It was painful to watch, so after a short greeting and some pleasantries, Mia urged them both into the fucking cruiser. August would—
He wouldn't. He couldn't. He was gone and never coming back and left her all alon—
"Shotgun!" Bella claimed with the fakest smile in the world, shoulder checking Mia on her way to the passenger door.
Mia took a deep breath, counting to ten like the books Bella shoved at her recommended, and prepared herself for three hours of what promised to be very awkward conversation.
It took around five minutes of silent driving before Charlie broke. Mia would've timed it but Bella sacrificed herself to the front seat, so she decided to be merciful.
"Your hair is longer…" Was Charlie's attempt at coaxing a stiff Bella into talking.
"I cut it since the last time you visited," And Mia's sister decided to shoot the poor man down. She stifled a giggle, not well enough since Bella gave her a scorching glare, and decided to come to the rescue.
"But I didn't!" Mia announced, leaning forward and shaking her curls at Charlie to demonstrate. He gave her a grateful smile, aware of his own awkwardness. She grabbed a frizz filled curl and stretched it out, "Almost to the middle of my back without the shrinkage."
Charlie glanced at Bella, mouthing the word 'shrinkage' with a raised brow. Bella gave him a small but genuine smile before shrugging and giving him zero help.
"That's…good?" He guessed and Mia nodded, curls bouncing with the motion.
"It's better than good, considering it was chopped to my ears less than two years ago."
Bella scowled at Mia, "I tried my best. I'm not exactly a hairdresser and you knew that before I grabbed the scissors." She just grinned at her, all teeth and unrepentant. Mia didn't actually mind the haircut, messy mop that it was. But Bella did. She had caught Bella glaring at the uneven layers for weeks, downright hissing like a pissed off cat at the sight.
"Bella did your haircut? The—" He took a hand off the wheel to gesture around his head, "fluffy short one?" He looked surprised, as he should be since—
"No, I did not," Bells corrected sharply before continuing with visible irritation, "That haircut was done by an actual hairdresser. I had to drag Mia there."
"I thought Bella had done a wonderful job and I didn't want to erase all her hard work," Mia expertly dodged Bella's arm as she tried to reach around the seat to pinch her.
"It was awful. You just liked the way it annoyed me," Bella corrected with a huff, pointedly turning back around to face the road with her arms crossed.
Sensing an opening between the bickering, Charlie launched the next topic with the grace of a man with all thumbs and not a single finger.
"How's your mom?" He asked and the barely disguised longing in his voice made Mia ill.
The car was silent for a beat. Mia resolutely kept her mouth shut.
"...Good," Bella tried, "Happy."
She turned to look out the window, watching the blur of trees going past. Hiding the sneer she was wearing. Happy. Yeah, Mia bet she was. No Mia, no Bella, and a handsome young man waiting on her hand and feet.
"Is…Phil…good to her?" A scowl screwed up his face and the threat was clear as he asked, "He good to you?"
Mia watched his fingers twitch and tighten on the wheel, like he was resisting the urge to grab his gun. It was a remarkable level of protectiveness from a man who couldn't even stand up to Renée.
Bella looked confused, "He's fine—
"He's twenty-fucking-three," Mia cut in, making her disgust very clear.
"He's nice to mom! And he hasn't been weird or anything. He takes care of her," Bella did a bad job of hiding her bitterness at the last point.
"He's barely five years older than I am," Mia told Charlie, having had this argument with Bella before.
Charlie grimaced.
Mia was filled with vindication. It was weird and, frankly, a little fucking gross how close in age he was to her and Bella.
"That's…" He reached for words, "Well, that's—I mean—"
He floundered for a moment, at a loss for words.
"How about some music!" Charlie suggested with the desperation of a drowning man latching onto a buoy before cranking on his old radio. The sound of country music, a good two decades out of date, started playing. After listening for a moment, Mia had to restrain herself from cackling as the singer crooned about his wife leaving him for a younger man. Bella sank deeper into her seat and attempted to become one with the cracked leather.
Mia spent the rest of the drive slowly losing her mind. She thought that the music would save them all from forcing conversation. Instead, the radio host for Classic Country 1490 appeared to be Charlie's nemesis. Every single song for the entire three hour drive was about a woman leaving her man, a woman cheating on her man, a woman replacing her man, etc.. Every. Single. Song. Mia hadn't realized there were enough 'classic' country songs about spurned men to fill a CD, let alone an entire three hours. They didn't even do a commercial break. Just a continuous stream of 'she took my car, she took my house, she took my dog'.
She had broken after the first thirty minutes and asked Charlie if he knew the host because it couldn't be a coincidence. After needling the man, Mia got the vaguest explanation of 'That's Dan, I arrested him once' with an exhausted sigh.
Dan was Mia's new role model. She spent the rest of the drive puzzling out his scheme and then sitting in awe of it. Forks was a small town and Charlie was as gossipy as a PTA mom. A large part of the entertainment of Charlie's visits in the summer was hearing about all the drama. Mia figured that everyone from small children to the old folks on their deathbed knew exactly what day and what time Charlie was picking up his girls. Dan must've stockpiled every song he could find that applied to Charlie and Renee's messy relationship and then waited. She fully intended on tracking the man down once she had a spare moment. Mia needed to shake his hand.
Of course, the fun had to come to the end as they pulled up to Charlie's house. It looked the same, to the surprise of no one. Bought about fifty years ago by Grandpa Swan and not a single change from the day he got the deed. The white shingles desperately needed a good cleaning and the leaf-less trees looked spooky as ever.
"Well folks, we've come to the end of our non-stop music marathon," Charlie stared at the radio with dead eyes, "Just one final word before we cut to our lovely sponsors—
"Time to go!" Charlie declared as he reached for the ignition, but Mia was faster. Grabbing his arm and stopping him as she leaned forward between the seats.
"Don't you dare," Mia warned him as she waited for the finale.
"As I'm sure everyone knows, Chief Swan's little ladies are now residents of Folks as of," Dan paused as if he was checking the clock, "right now! Let's all show them a warm welcome!"
The house was exactly the same, inside and out, from the last time they visited. The living room was filled with photographs of Mia, Bella, and Renée. Photos that, somehow, hadn't been replaced despite them being divorced for over a decade. The room was an unsettling monument to a marriage that didn't last long enough for the couch's warranty to expire. Yet here Charlie was, still clinging to a woman who literally ran off with his kids. Dan might've been trying to do the guy a favor, surely the resentment and anger of those country songs was better than…whatever this was.
Mia glanced at Bella.
She was clearly feeling just as weirded out. Bella had zero poker face. Well, someone had to say something.
"So…maybe time to swap out some photos?" Mia suggested casually.
"What's wrong with 'em?" Charlie sounded confused as he hung his holster on a coat hook, not bothering to remove the fucking gun from it. That seemed safe. Really a secure situation happening with a weapon she'd put money on being loaded.
"You don't find it a little weird you have like," She looked around, counting, "at least fifteen different photos of your remarried ex-wife hanging on the walls?"
Charlie stood up, finished unlacing and removing his boots, with hands resting on his belt as he looked around the room. It was interesting watching him, somehow only now registering the ghosts haunting his walls. Bella came by her open-book face honestly, so Mia got to watch his entire thought process.
"Oh…" The realization hit him with a grimace, "I'll uh—" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, "I'll take them down."
"You don't have to do that," Bella interrupted, polite to a fault, "It's your house after all."
The lines around Charlie's eyes seemed to get deeper as he looked at Bella.
"It's your house too," He insisted.
Mia didn't know what to do with the melancholy in his voice. He could've fought for custody, he could've fought for more visitation, he could've fought for anything. But he didn't.
What right did he have to feel upset that they didn't view his house as a home?
She swallowed her resentment and smiled encouragingly at him, giving him a thumbs up.
"Why don't you replace them with some photos of your friends?" Mia suggested, "I'm sure Billy has a bunch of photos just collecting dust."
"That's a fine idea," He smiled ruefully, "Should've thought of that myself years ago, huh?" Charlie's expression brightened, "It's good that I have you girls around to point out the obvious."
"And we're certainly happy to do so," Mia responded cheekily, deftly avoiding the slap Bella aimed at her.
Charlie gave a hearty chuckle, shaking his head.
"Now, not much has changed around here since your last visit," An Understatement, "But, I did make some changes to your rooms."
"Oh?" Bella sounded pleasantly surprised and he shrugged sheepishly.
"Thought it was probably time, you're not little girls anymore," He seemed disappointed by that, "But, enough of your old man's jabbering. Go take a look," Charlie gestured to the stairs, regaining his good spirit.
Mia immediately went for the stairs, intrigued to see the changes. Bella trailed behind her. She took the time to thank Charlie while also making it very clear that she expected nothing of him. Poor man. He was finally trying his hand at being a father and Bella treats him like a stranger she's inconveniencing with her presence.
Well, nothing Mia could do to fix that. Bella would either genuinely warm up to the man and stop treating him like an acquaintance or she wouldn't. Best to focus on pretending to be his loveable rogue of a daughter to make up for her sister being ice cold.
She saddled up to her bedroom door, Mia having carved her name into the wood on their first visit to Forks. For her own amusement, she opened the door as slowly as possible to really draw out the suspense.
Standing in the doorframe, she looked around the small bedroom.
Charlie had swapped out the original twin bed for a full, a thrilling upgrade in Mia's opinion. Now she had room to fully starfish flop onto the bed. Which she immediately attempted, grinning as she sunk into the plaid comforter. It was all new, clean, and hers.
She rolled herself to one side of the bed, hand propping up her chin. He had put in a desk too. It was vintage and a bit scuffed, with a fuzzy orange chair. On it, there was a computer that looked like it came straight from the police station. Mia wondered if Charlie had bothered to clear the computer's memory or if she was in for a surprise later.
Mia rotated herself like a rotisserie chicken, ending up on the opposite side of the bed. Gleefully enjoying the room to fuck around. The bedroom's closet had its doors wide open where she could see that Charlie had hung up her shirts. He even carefully folded and stacked the rest of her clothes on the shelves. A smaller dresser sat on the floor of the closet, holding her unmentionables. She took a moment to imagine Charlie's face while unpacking those and snickered. That poor poor man.
And poor Bella if he did the same for her. She was probably dying of embarrassment in the room next to her.
Mia moved onto her back and stared at the popcorn ceiling above her.
Charlie was trying.
Charlie was trying and it practically screamed with every action. He redid her room. Got her a bigger bed, a more adult bedspread, a desk for homework, and even organized and unpacked all her belongings. Mia imagined he did similar for Bella, not one for playing favorites unlike some people.
He wanted them to feel at home here. To feel like they belonged, that they were welcome in his life.
It…hurt.
What was Mia meant to do with this? Charlie was showing her more care, more consideration, than any adult had since being forced to move to Phoenix. It would've meant the world to a younger Mia. It meant a lot to Mia now. Yet…
He could've done this years ago. Could've stepped up as a father and chosen them over doing whatever Renee wanted. And here he was, finally putting in more effort than just visiting.
When Mia was eighteen, already legally an adult and outgrown the need for a parent to do the bare minimum. When Bella was seventeen, already in her Junior year and outgrown her need to play perfect daughter.
Where was this years ago? Where was he when—
A loud car horn interrupted her spiraling.
Mia took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Counting to ten before exhaling to the same count. She dragged a hand down her face. The lingering smell of her maybe-last cigarette on her fingers making her groan. Surely there was a way to keep smoking without having to deal with a lecture, it's not like it was illegal. Just a quick walk to a gas station and—
Nope!
Mia yanked herself out of bed and left the room, making her way to the stairs. Whatever was happening outside was bound to be more interesting than sulking about the past.
What was happening outside was Bella falling in love with a giant orange abomination brought by Billy Black, in all his wheeled glory. Mia stumbled into the scene, tripping slightly on the uneven sidewalk. Bella was chatting to Billy's chauffeur, heart eyes glued to the heavy machinery masquerading as a truck. Charlie was standing nearby, hands on his hips looking quietly smug at the scene. And Billy, who immediately raised a critical brow in Mia's direction.
She beamed at Billy and made a beeline directly to him. The Blacks and La Push had been her favorite part of their visits to Forks. Bella and her only visited a few times, once they were old enough to be trusted with air travel and before Bella made her opinion of Forks clear. But Mia loved it.
Charlie's solution to having a pair of constantly bickering pre-teen girls in his home was to make it Billy's problem. She swore they spent nearly every afternoon in La Push during those days. Bella, grumpily sitting in the shade with a book and generally disgusted by the nature around her. Mia, running around with a pack of boys older than her and causing as much mayhem as possible.
And Billy Black was a big part of that joy. Where Charlie constantly floundered around them, Billy had them well in hand. Permanently sick and tired of their nonsense, but with a glimmer in his eye that betrayed him. He had stuck Bella with his older girls, Rachel and Rebecca absorbing quiet and polite Bella without a blink. And Mia? She was either glued to Billy's side, helping roll him around while listening to his spectacular bitching, or running wild with the Elders keeping an eye out for any true trouble.
It was all the joys of a paternal figure that liked her with none of the resentment of abandonment.
"Hey there, Billy Boy," Mia waggled her brows at him as she got closer, "Still looking as youthful as ever. What birthday is it this year, the big 'ol three zero?"
"You ain't foolin' no one, brat," Billy held out his arms, "Now get over here."
Mia launched herself into his arms with zero hesitation, practically sitting on the poor man.
"Jesus Christ, kid," He groaned, but tightened his arms around her, "What've they been feeding ya, bricks?"
"Nah, I moved onto cinderblocks," She bared her teeth, "Better for the gums, ya know?"
"Yeah yeah, you're a real comedian. Now, get off," Despite the gruff tone, he was careful as he pushed her off, "Let me face ya sister with some dignity now."
"What dignity?" She chirped, but moved out of Billy's way. Swapping positions with Bella, who obediently trotted up to Billy. Mia focused on the lanky long-haired teen leaning against the truck while Charlie moved to join Bella and Billy.
Mia narrowed her eyes at the boy while Bella awkwardly pretended to remember Billy, fooling no one. He looked familiar, but not too familiar. None of his features were ringing a bell. He had a sweet puppish look to him, not helped by his excited fidgeting. Clearly waiting for his opportunity to say hi and impatient with it. Mia could confidently say he was younger than her, probably younger than Bella unless he was afflicted with the dreaded baby-face curse. But she wasn't able to pin him, bringing a furrow to her brow.
"Show me your teeth," Mia demanded, hands on her hips.
She was met with wide brown eyes and silence.
"Teeth. Now."
The kid sent a panicked look to Billy. Billy, pretending to not notice, continued chatting with Bella. Turning back to her, with a healthy amount of concern in his eyes, he gave her a lopsided and awkward smile.
A smile filled with brilliant white teeth. And not a single tooth missing.
Mia sighed, a bit disappointed. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the name of the kid whose tooth she still had. She had gotten into numerous scuffles with the boys in La Push, enjoying the chance to roughhouse without being scolded for it. But in the most memorable one, she knocked a kid's tooth out with her first real punch. And the other kid laughed after seeing his tooth on the ground. It made them immediate best friends and she kept the tooth as a memento. Of course, after going back to Phoenix, she forgot his name. When deciding to move to Forks, Mia resigned herself to starting a very strange, tooth-themed, Cinderella-style investigation. A hunt to find the smile that fit the tooth she still had. Which was already pretty weird of her to keep, but even weirder when she couldn't remember whose tooth it was.
"Well," She stared at the boy, "I shouldn't have expected to find Cinderella immediately," It was her fault for being disappointed, even Prince Charming took a few days to find his pretty princess. And she was no Prince Charming.
The boy looked utterly confused and a bit scared.
"You know how it is," She told him with a shrug, mostly to see his expression that screamed 'no, actually, he did not know how it is'. "Who are you, then?" He wasn't Cinderella, leaving Mia at a loss when it came to placing him.
"Uh," The kid once again looked to Billy for help. A fool's errand if there ever was one. Billy got a kick out of watching people struggle, claiming it kept him young, "Jacob?"
"Ya asking or telling?" Mia couldn't help herself.
"Mia, stop being a jerk," Bella scolded and Mia stuck her tongue out at her before turning back to 'Jacob'. Who was staring at Bella the same way Bella was looking at the truck.
Young love, how sweet. Mia hadn't expected her little sister's first experience in romance to be a love triangle between a truck, herself, and a boy younger than her. But perhaps she should have, 'hidden depths' was practically Bella's motto.
Mia decided to give Jacob a break, doomed to unrequited love that he was.
"Billy's son, right? Ate a lot of Bella's mud pies?" And here the kid was, looking ready to eat literal dirt again, if only Bella batted her eyes.
"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?" Jacob whined, cringing a bit in embarrassment but smiling.
"You ate like three of them," Looking back, Mia thought it was impressive he didn't end up in the hospital, "Nobody is letting you live that down."
Jacob glanced at the ground, his cheeks and ears turning red, but still grinning. A good sport, Mia appreciated that. She didn't remember spending much time with him as a kid, had no plans to change that now, but it was nice to see Billy's son all grown-up. Or mostly grown-up. Mia had no idea how old he was other than 'younger than Bella'.
"Leave 'im alone, you hellion," Billy saved Jacob from any further teasing, "He's the one who rebuilt that truck for you and Bella," He tilted his head towards the 'truck'.
Mia blinked, "For me and Bella?"
Billy rolled his dark eyes at her, gesturing to Charlie to explain. Charlie scratched at his cheek for a moment, avoiding looking at Mia. The embarrassed flush across his cheeks was way more obvious on his pasty skin than Jacob's.
"I figured you girls would appreciate not having to ride in your old man's cruiser all the time," Charlie got them a truck. The truck was for them, both of them, "Plus, Forks ain't like Phoenix. There's only a few buses and the closest store is a good thirty minute walk…" He continued explaining while Mia stared at him.
She physically shook off her shock and strode up to Charlie, grabbing him by the shoulders and staring him dead in the eyes.
"Thank you," Mia told him, actually meaning it.
He grinned, that smug look from earlier back on his face, as she hugged him tightly before letting go.
"We better put it in Bella's name, though," Bella tore her gaze from the truck to look at Mia, an eyebrow raised, "Don't give me that look, you know I don't have a license."
"You don't?" Charlie looked surprised, "I thought Renee told me you guys did Drivers' Ed last year?"
Mia snorted while Bella abruptly went blank faced.
"Yeah," She confirmed, "Bella did Driver's Ed last year. Renee wouldn't sign the permission slip for me," Billy caught Mia's eye, but she covertly shook her head. No reason to get into it in front of two of Renée's biggest supporters, though Bella had been wising up.
"It's fine though," Mia reassured a frowning Charlie, "I'm not a fan of driving and I'm very happy to let Bella do it for me." She grinned at Bella, pleased at seeing a tiny smile replace her stony expression.
"Sureeee," Bella rolled her eyes, "Make me do all the work, as usual." She attempted to joke and Charlie seemed to buy it, laughing. But Mia knew her sister and knew a dig when she heard one.
"I'm 'friad we'll have to miss the rest of the comedy routine," Billy interjected dryly, "We only planned to stop by to drop off the truck and welcome ya back home.”
Mia swung towards the man, making sure to make her eyes as wide as possible. She even added a bit of lip quiver to the performance.
“You’re leaving already,” She pouted at Billy. Who then callously rolled his eyes at her poor wretched self.
“Oh, don’t give me none of that,” He shook his head, “You’ll see me plenty now that you aren’t stuck in that damn desert,” Brown eyes met her own, “In fact, I better see you in my kitchen before the week is up. You understand me?”
Their audience looked a bit confused, but Mia caught the hint and nodded, serious for once. Billy has not bought what she was selling. Which was wise of him, since it was all bullshit. And she’d have to pay the piper. At least she had a week, maybe two, before she risked him wheeling into her ankles.
She gave him a snappy salute, refusing to dwell on the upcoming interrogation. Bella was eying her and Charlie seemed flummoxed, but they would let it pass. Too awkward to start an uncomfortable conversation unless it was life or death, bless ‘em.
Bella stared at her menu with an unwarranted amount of distrust while they waited for the waitress. Mia didn't get what the struggle was. It was diner food. Diner food was diner food, no matter where you went.
After Billy left, they had taken one look at Charlie's bare cupboards and fridge full of fish and beer before deciding to go to the local diner. He promised to go grocery shopping tomorrow with them both, but Bella swiftly judged him unfit for such a difficult task. She immediately offered to take care of the grocery shopping and cooking. Mia nearly stopped her since Charlie was a grown-ass man who could do it himself. But she had seen the state of his kitchen and could only eat so much fish before wishing for death. She did stop Bella before she could frame it as repaying the man for room and board. There was only so many times she could treat him as an inconvenienced host before his ego kicked in. And Mia did not want to eat fish all the damn time.
"The burgers are really good?" Charlie suggested, a fellow witness to Bella struggling to find something appetizing on The Lodge's menu.
"Can't go wrong with a burger," Mia backed him up, only to receive a skeptical stare from her sister.
Mia ignored the side-eye, enjoying the opportunity to fuck with the various townspeople who kept staring at their little table. They were too polite to actually come up and interrupt their dinner, but it didn't stop them from constantly glancing over. They were prime entertainment for the small town and Mia thought it was only fair if she got some fun out of it too.
This resulted in a game in which Mia would wait for a person to look over and then immediately try to make eye contact. She made sure to smile at them while doing so to add onto their awkward shame. It had resulted in at least seven embarrassed flushes and two awkward waves. Waves that Mia returned with glee.
A viciously sharp elbow dug into her ribs just as she made eye contact with a floral garbed elderly woman.
Mia whipped her head to the side to see her assaulter, her own flesh and blood sister. She let out a comically loud gasp at the betrayal and was quickly slapped with Bella's sticky menu.
"Knock it off," Bella chided her while Charlie watched on, his face red with a laugh he was fighting to keep in.
"I'm just being friendly!"
"You're just being annoying," Bella corrected, "Can't you at least pretend to be normal?"
"Can't you finally decide what you want to eat?" The waitress was not stealthy at all and she kept looking over, obviously waiting for Bella to make a decision. "It's not hard, the menu is literally one page! Are you trying to find the meaning of life in their appetizer section or what?"
Bella slapped the sticky menu down onto the tacky table, throwing her arms up in frustration at Mia's antics.
"Fine!" She yelled and immediately blushed at the stares she gained in response. Bella bravely ignored them to take a deep breath, visibly calming herself down. Mia, meanwhile, took the opportunity to make the onlookers embarrassed of themselves via unashamed eye contact.
"Fine…" Bella repeated evenly through gritted teeth, "I'll get a garden burger."
In a moment of comedy that could not be replicated for it was pure kismet, both Mia and Charlie made the same exact grimace.
"Really?" She asked in exasperation, "What on earth is wrong with a garden burger?"
Mia looked over at Charlie.
Charlie looked over at Mia.
They mutually and telepathically decided to just be happy Bella picked something.
"Nothing—
"It's perfect—
They spoke at the same time, completely in sync even as they both quickly shut up. Bella looked at them with pure horror.
"Oh god…" Her eyes were wide, "You're the same person." She pronounced their fate like a doctor giving the news that it's terminal.
Mia, confronted with the idea that she was even a little similar to either of her parents, wished it was terminal.
Thankfully, before the psychic damage could sink in, the waitress materialized at their booth like an angel sent from the heavens. Bella ordered her 'burger' while Mia and Charlie ended up ordering the same thing as each other. Mia, deciding to be 'kind to her mind', distracted herself by asking Charlie about his most recent fishing trip. The droning on and on about tackle and lures being a more pleasant experience than any potential self-awareness.
They ate their dinner while trading stories. The burgers were typical diner fare, tasting like heart disease and happiness. Mia decided to end her shame game with the nosy onlookers. She wanted Bella to have a relaxing dinner since she had already wound her up once.
The drive back to the house was uneventful, Mia carefully noting the turns Charlie took. The Lodge had tasty food and she saw herself walking to the spot often. Any place that made onion rings that good deserved what little money she had.
Then they were home and left to their own devices, Charlie urging them to relax after such a long day. Bella had immediately gone to her room, utterly done with people for the day. Probably organizing her books for fun, the dork.
Mia was left to her own thoughts as she lay splayed across her full bed with a full stomach.
She wasn't sure what to think about the day other than that it was long.
There was the moment of joy getting onto the plane, leaving behind a sobbing Renée held in the arms of Phil. The sign of her distraught face was burned into Mia's brain, surrounded with imaginary sparkles and flowers. Mia's glee had been a bit dampened by Bella barely keeping back her own sobs, but nothing could truly ruin that moment.
Mia was free.
Free of Phoenix. Free of Renee. Free of all the constant reminders of August.
This was a moment she'd been working towards for months. All the groundwork she laid with Charlie. The constant encouragement she gave Bella that 'yes, Renée will survive without you' and 'no, you don't have to worry, she has Phil'. Even the annoying paperwork she helped Bella arrange for their transfer, for school and custody both.
Mia let out a sigh, sinking deeper into the comforter as she stared blankly at nothing.
It had even gone better than she would've ever expected!
Charlie was surprisingly welcoming, not viewing them as a burden thrust upon him by his unreliable ex-wife. Instead, he seemed to genuinely want them there. Them. Not just Bella, but Mia too. The truck, the bedrooms, the constant awkward attempts to show affection and learn about them both. It was a better result than Mia could've hoped for!
Her jaw clenched as tapped her fingers against the bed.
How long would it last?
That was the question hovering over Mia like a specter. Because it was crystal clear that Renee had been leaving information out when speaking to Charlie. His surprise at finding out she didn't have a license made that apparent. Which meant that Renee likely didn't tell him anything about Mia.
Was she grateful for that?
Should she be grateful?
Mia planned to finish off her Senior year and the repeat classes over the summer with minimal drama. Spend the next six months in Forks getting a diploma and then moving in with Bridgette in California once Bella started her Senior year. She had no plans on starting trouble or getting into fights. Mia was determined to stay clean and sober during it all, a promise she made Bella after…after everything.
But she wasn't blind to her own flaws either.
She moved to Phoenix with the intention of being the worst kid possible to make Renée regret forcing her to leave her home with Bridgette. And Mia was proud to say that she fulfilled her goal and then some. Maybe not in regards to failing classes she was going to make up this summer, but that was more to do with…
Mia sat up in bed. Hunching over her crossed legs as she dug her fingers into her curls. The pressure and pain from tugging at the strands a relief in comparison to the end of that thought.
Either way, she thought, habits die hard and Mia doubted she'd remain out of trouble for very long. It would be good to have a plan on what to do if Charlie reacts…poorly. Hopefully Bella would be settled in before everything goes to shit, but she could handle herself if it did. It wouldn't be the first time Mia left her to take care of herself…
God, Mia truly was such a shit—
A knock jolted Mia out of her thoughts. She lifted her head, and seeing Bella standing in the open door, didn't bother to pretend to be okay. Bella had seen far worse than Mia pulling at her hair.
Bella leaned against the door frame, arms crossed and clad in matching flannel pajamas. She took in Mia's state with a frown. Mia was in a ratty band tee, filled with holes and painful memories. She had stolen it from August after he let her borrow it, claiming it as her own. Her dark brown curls just barely touched her shoulders, the tugging adding to the frizz and snarls and general mess of it. Mia stared emptied-eyed at her sister, her dark circles and weariness no longer hidden by pasted on cheer and energy. She let Bella see her as she was. Tired and worn and sinking.
"Have you called Bridgette?" Mia's sister asked softly.
She scoffed, "And tell her what?"
"I don't know," Bella scowled, "Maybe that you arrived in Forks safely? That Charlie is nice and trying and that things are better here? Or literally anything?"
"Are things better here?" Mia asked in a hollow tone.
Bella rolled her eyes while marching her way into the bedroom. Shoving Mia over once she was close enough and climbing onto the bed next to her. She pressed her shoulder into Mia's and stared straight ahead.
The warmth of her sister pressed against her had Mia slowly loosening her jaw. She leaned into the pressure and stared at the same blank wall.
"Is it?" Bella spoke the quiet question to the room, "Is it better here?"
Mia was silent for a moment,
"I don't know," She answered truthfully. Mia knew that if she said the word, Bella would flee back to Phoenix with her. Zero hesitation and Bella would likely be happier for it. But for Mia…going back to that place may very well kill her.
"That's okay, you know?" Bella told her, "It's okay to not know."
"It's been over a year," It would be two years this summer…two years of her chest cracking open and leaking. Dripping misery through her veins.
Bella nudged Mia's shoulder with her own.
"Grief isn't a straight line," The platitude made Mia snort and Bella cracked a smile.
"Jesus, did you memorize the damn books?"
"Somebody had to," Bella joked with an eyeroll, leaning her head against Mia's shoulder. Her long brown hair immediately got into Mia's face and she resisted the urge to push Bella off, allowing the moment and ignoring the hair sticking to her.
"I'll…I'll call Bridgette," She gave in and Bella fully slumped into her side. Mia made no attempt to catch them from tipping over, instead falling back onto the bed with her little sister plastered to her. She tucked an arm around Bella and pulled her closer, breathing in the comforting smell of her strawberry shampoo. Life was…life was hard, but Mia was committed to continue on with it. How could Mia do anything else when her irritating, nosy, little sister was doing everything she could to help?
