Mio Amore (Caius Volturi)

New Bestie

The next few days went on the same, Ximena talking to a comatose Bella, Zain warning her of her possible crushed heart from putting her everything into someone not worth it, and Ximena brushing off his concern and reassuring him she would be fine. Sometimes Bella was in a chatty mood and would give five word answers instead of her usual "yes", "no", or "I don't know". But slowly but surely she began chipping at her Berlin Wall. Bella had even agreed to go to Ximena's house so discuss their English Essay. Ximena couldn't help but think that Bella only agreed because she didn't want to be home alone due to her father's overtime hours with the sudden string of disappearances and animal attacks in the forest. But she paid that no mind and was glad that she got her to come to her house in the first place.

"Dad?" Ximena asked into the house with a timid and socially awkward Bella trailing behind her.

"Yeah?" Her dad called out in response, he had been recently been working from home in his office because they were moving offices. The company had expanded quicker than he had imagined and had to move to a larger office that offered bigger training rooms for his employees. He was excited at the new program he would be offering later this year after he found the right trainers and was excited to share the news with his youngest child.

"I just got home, I brought a friend." Ximena said sliding her shoes off at the entrance as seeing she had pieces of grass on her combat boots. Despite the time now moving from fall into spring, it didn't seem like it with the constant dark skies, which was the signature weather in Forks. Maybe that's why the Cullen's moved here, so they could win at hide n' seek with the sun, Ximena commented to herself.

"Who is it?" He asked as he got up from his office chair and walked to the foyer.

"Bella Swan, you know Chief Swan's daughter?" She said placing her coat on the coatrack and offering Bella to do the same.

"Oh yeah," He said finally emerging to see the girls. "How are you Bella?" He asked politely.

"I'm okay." She responded and asked him the same to not seem rude.

"I'm doing alright, can't complain." He said feeling pity for her but not showing. Only flashing his award-winning smile but internally he grimaced noticing the similarities between her and the empty caramel eyes his daughter once carried.

"So what's up?" Ximena asked her dad as the trio moved to the kitchen when she offered Bella an after-school snack.

"Well I had an idea to run by you." He started off and continued when his daughter glanced at him curiously. "How many people do think would sign up for women's self-defense classes at the new training facility?"

"Honestly, a lot considering the situation right now. There are so many women scared to go to late-night classes because they don't wanna get raped."

"Because I was thinking of having classes like those in the afternoon's at the training facility. A friend of mine, she was in the FBI with me years ago and wants out. She worked as a training instructor for the FBI like me. I was thinking of offering her the opportunity. Also, Johnson is a good candidate for it too. He worked at a domestic abuse facility. He gave women some tips on self-defense in case they ran into their attackers meanwhile they got a restraining order."

"I think that would be something great, dad. What about you Bella?" Ximena asked trying to get her to get out of her shell.

"Um, I know that a lot of my friends are scared to go to Port Angeles late at night. I think many people would feel safer if they could protect themselves." Bella answered not even knowing she could formulate a proper sentence anymore. But it was something about Ximena's dad that made her feel at ease. He reminded her of her dad, only without the worry of disappointing him.

"I'll give 'em a call then. Nice meeting you Bella. Tell you dad that he's got this and everything will chill out soon enough. Poor man probably sees the victims of the animal attacks as his own kids. Gotta be hard feeling responsible for all those people's deaths." And with that he walked upstairs back to his office and called his friends with the good news. They would begin working when they finished up with the new office building which would give them time to get ready to move closer to the new building.

"Your dad's really nice." Bella said as she watched him leave.

"Yeah, he is. He's the best." Ximena said smiling that Bella was seeming to open up more.

"Are there your brothers?" Bella asked as they were about to walk by the hallway that had all their pictures.

"Yeah, that's Adonis, he's the outdoorsy one, he's 25 he started his own company of guard dogs, he trains them and then sells them. He got a double major in animal psychology and business at the University of Washington. Then that's Xavier, he's the nerd, he's at UC Berkeley studying chemical engineering, he's a junior. And that's Zain, you probably recognize him. He's the athletic one, there isn't a sport he isn't good at. It's kind of annoying. And then their yours truly."

"What are you?" Bella asked when she didn't label herself.

"Excuse me, what do you mean? I'm the fabulous one, they're peasants in comparison to me." Ximena said with sass and lead Bella to her bedroom.

Bella couldn't help but notice it was very Ximena-ish. It was a full sized bed near the bedroom window with lilac and grey comforter. A white bed frame with a bookshelf attached full of nick-nacks to match the white faux leather ottoman at the foot of the bed. A white nightstand with all her chargers and various cups she never washed. A white desk/vanity was in the right corner of the room with color coordinated post-its on the wall. Fairy lights followed the crease between the ceiling and the walls. The wall in which the window was covered in pictures of herself and her siblings and parents. They were her world. She didn't necessarily have any friends of her own, not being able to open up to others given her trust-issues.

"Don't worry you can get your picture on my wall, although there is strict criteria to achieve such an honor." Ximena teased and Bella smiled in response.

"So, let's get to it." Ximena said pulls out her copy of Frankenstein and grabbing her laptop.

"Why did you come up to me at the cafeteria that one day?" Bella randomly asked as they were discussing their essay ideas.

"You looked so sad and I know what it's like to be that sad. Except I had all my family to help me through it. And although your dad may try to help, at the end of the day he might not know what it's like to be come out of a toxic relationship." With those last two words, it seemed as if Ximena had slapped Bella across the face.

"I was not in a toxic relationship. Edward loved me and he treated me right. And he's gonna come back. He has to. He's going to come back for me." Bella said that gathering her stuff to leave.

"When?" Ximena's question made Bella pause in her movements. "Because from where I'm standing he left you. He didn't give a shit about you last time I checked. He left you to rot in that damn forest and didn't care if you got out alive." Bella has previously confessed in the manner in which Edward had broken off their relationship. "Why do you defend him despite everything he has put you through. Him and his family. Tell me, has Alice responded to your daily emails?" Ximena asked angrily at the fact Bella was so blind at the torture he had put her through without thinking back about her pain.

But Bella couldn't see this because she was still so in love with Edward, so deeply in love she felt like he took her will to live with him as well. How could Ximena not see that she loved him more than anything? How she loved him more than herself?

Bella ignoring the truth to her words stalked off angry at her accusations of the Cullens. They would come back. All she needed to do was make them understand that her life was better with them in it. She just needed to find out how she could do that.

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