Runaway

He said he would be there forever, and she beleived him. But when Paul leaves her at the alter, all Avery can do is run away from her past. So what happens when she does the unthinkable and returns to La Push with a problem bigger then the last. Avery is a wolf too, and one with a temper as bad as Paul.

Prologue

She stood there in the most beautiful wedding dress they had ever seen, waiting for the okay to move, to get things started. She was young, beautiful and in love… and yet something felt completely wrong about the day. Something felt wrong about the wedding, and whether or not they thought it was best to tell her, no one bothered to ruin it for her.

The ceremony was scheduled for two. Not to late, but not to early. Long enough that they had time for cocktail hour, for dinner, and for everything else that followed. The day had been planned out perfectly, and everyone and everything had been set to it's highest standards. The only thing they were waiting on… was the groom, a very important piece of the event.

"Taryn, maybe you should call him." Emily offered as she watched her close friend stare out aimlessly amongst the calm glass like water, waiting for her to break and beg to find Paul. Sam, her fiancé stood beside her with the best intentions, readying to walk Taryn down the isle when it was his time to do so. All her closer friends and family were either no longer around, or had lost contact, so Sam had been graciously asked to complete the task for her.

"I'm sure he's still getting ready Emily. He had to patrol late last night, he might just be a little late getting here." she answered calmly, never taking her eyes off the water. Emily had to smile a little, Taryn, to her… was like a little sister. She was strong, independent, smart and stubborn and there wasn't one thing that Taryn couldn't do. As a matter of fact, Emily used to pray that people wouldn't challenge her, because she for knew that the second the word impossible came out of someone's mouth, Taryn would see it done just to say that nothing was impossible… just to say that it could be done.

"Taryn…" Sam started as she finally turned to face him. Her electric green eyes watching him cautiously as she sensed the fuse of confusion in his voice. "I didn't give Paul a patrol last night." he said slowly, testing the idea back and forth as her eyes fell slowly and subtly. "I knew how much this day meant to you, and I wanted to make sure that everything went alright, so I ordered him to take the night off with Jared and a few of the others." he said almost too quietly.

"I don't understand." she said, her eyes slowly watering as tears threatened to break through, but never did. Kim was there in an instant, and the second she didn't have to say anything, Emily and Sam shared a look… both knowing that no matter what had happened to Paul, he would have a good explanation for not showing up at his own wedding, for coming uncannily close to hurting his own imprint beyond compare.

Kim had been Taryn's best friend ever since she arrived here. And whether or not it was because they had both connected in a way no one else understood, Emily had to keep her heart from breaking when Kim handed her the cell phone and offered her a reassuring smile. But that was Kim, she understood what Taryn wanted and didn't want better then she knew herself, and that was a rare quiality to find in someone. The ability to make sure that people got what they needed, whether they wanted it or not.

Taryn nodded towards Kim whole heartedly, and as she took the phone and stared at it as if it were alienated, Kim gave her a gentle push towards the water, motioning for her to take her time, and find out what was going on between her and Paul... that the wedding wouldn't start without it's bride and groom.

Taryn took a deep breath and stared out amongst the water, dialling his number with trembling fingers and taking a deep and solid breath as she heard the ringing echo in her ear. "Paul…" she croaked out as it stopped. Without saying hello, she knew that he was there, listening to her voice as he took a deep breath. At that moment, Taryn felt as if she were being ripped apart. He didn't need to say it, but she knew that even after everything, she wouldn't see him today, he wouldn't be there. "I love you Paul." she whispered slightly, knowing he would hear and hoping that he would say those four words that she longed to hear.

"Avery, we need to talk. Meet me on the cliffs..." he said as Taryn nodded to herself and shut the phone. Today, was not her day. Today… she would not be getting married Paul Walker. And today, would be remembered in her eyes forever.

Taryn walked back to their small tent-like set up as if she were a ghost and as she handed the phone back to Kim, Emily's heart broke for her. Taryn's eyes were the picture of agony, and as she straightened up, she turned to Sam with the strongest sense of false confidence that anyone had ever seen. "Sam, if you'd please… I'd like you to ask the guests to go home. There will be no wedding today." she said sturdily before taking a deep breath and sauntering forwards towards the edge of the tent.

"Taryn…" Emily called out, grabbing her hand as she froze up on the spot. "Maybe he's just caught cold feet, we'll get Jared to go talk to him, he's always been best friends with Paul. He'll get him here." Emily tried hopefully, not even believing the tone of her own voice as Jared stepped forwards from Kim's side.

"Taryn, I'll get him here. Just give me a little bit and I'll make sure he's standing at that alter in no time." he tried as Taryn simply straightened her shoulders and offered a small smile to Jared, relishing in his reclesness and bravery as she stepped up to Kim.

"You're my best friend Kim, I love you like a sister and you're my only reason for staying this long." she smiled as her voice came out a little over a whisper.

"You are too Taryn, but don't do this. You don't know anything for sure." she offered as she grabbed Taryn's chin and lifted it up to look at her in the eyes.

"I wanted to watch you get married Kimmy, to have kids and grow old. I wanted to watch Jared flip when you told him you were pregnant for the first time, and I wanted to be there when we saw our kids start school for the first time. I know you'll be with Jared, because that's all there is too it, and I wish you the best of luck, and hope that I can find everything you found in Jared." she said with a smile as Kim's tears began to fall. Her choaking sobs making everything that much harder for Taryn to admit the situation to herself.

"He called me Avery, Kim. No one's ever called me by my first name when it's suppose to be good news. The only time I've ever heard that name, is when the hospital or the funeral calls me with bad intentions." she said in a taunting innocence.

"Tare, you're taking this the wrong way. Maybe it was just a jinx, a fluke." Kim tried as she smiled at her other nickname.

"Tell me Kim, when you call Jared, and you tell him that you love him. What does he always respond with?" she asked as Kim looked to Jared with a small slime on her lips. Thinking back to all of the times he's told her he loved her.

"I love you too…" she said as Taryn nodded her head.

"What about you Emily?" she asked, turning to her older role model as she watched her hug Sam's side.

"The same." she whispered.

"I know things are wrong when I tell Paul that I love him… and he has nothing else to say to me." she said quietly. "I just wish this would have happened before… or hell, even after our wedding. Not the day of." Taryn sighed and walked towards the exit, turning around slightly one last time as everyone watched her. Emily and Kim staring after her carefully.

"You guys were my family… and I'll never forget you." she said with a small smile as she left the tent and walked towards the horse they had hired for the occasion. A tall, proud black quarter horse they had received from a friend.

Ripping off the just married sign on the back, Taryn used all of her exhausted strength to pull herself up on the horse and looked towards the beach front as the horse reared slightly and took off towards the sand. As his hoofs sunk in the gravelly textured dirt, the sound of his running was cut out, and as she raced towards the cliffs, she could feel herself riding further and further away from reality and more into a dream world created to taunt her.

Within minutes, she had arrived at the top of the cliffs, a place she had been many times before. Looking around at the cascading trees and shrubs, then to the shear drop of the edge, she dismounted the stallion and patted his panting body, knowing that he would feel very much like she did in a moment. Worn out and tired.

Pressing towards the edge of the cliff, Taryn remembered jumping form here for the first time. The sickening feeling of nerves, then the free feeling she had when her body had sailed through the air. The image of flying, and the idea of soaring through the air. It was all there, it was all coming back with a relishing memory of the past.

"Taryn…" his voice called out as she clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to see him, she didn't want to have to look him in the eye because she knew that she would break, and that was a situation even she didn't want to be in at this point. "Taryn look at me." he demanded in a strong voice as she willed her face void of all emotion and turned around to face him with her shoulders strong and her head struggling to seem high and mighty.

"Paul…" she said quietly as he stared at her with depressing eyes.

"Taryn, we can't get married." he said as she forced herself not to break at the words. She may have known that the fact was true, but it hurt all the more knowing that he had said the words aloud. "We can't be together." he said as Paul watched her face remain expressionless. Sometimes, he wondered if she were all really there, considering the times she was able to keep up the most composed front.

"I thought you were the one. I thought that we were meant to be together. But as I think about it, I know that you're not the one. Someday, I'll find the girl that's right for me, but she isn't you, and I don't want to waste my time with someone who isn't right for me." he said coldly, the cruel glint in his eye as Taryn felt the light leave her… as if she were surrounded in darkness.

"You're not from around here, I want someone that I know will fit in, that I know that I can be proud to show off. I want a girl that's not just a pretty face, and I think that it's best if you just go back to where you came from." he said as Taryn took a deep breath and shifted her weight slightly. She knew that she was his imprint, and he couldn't do this to her, but then again, everything felt so scarily real, so frighteningly honest.

Taryn knew she wasn't just a pretty face, and she wouldn't second guess herself even if it was Paul that said it to her. "Are you sure you want to do this Paul?" she asked as he nodded his head. "I want to hear you say it. Look me in the eye and tell me Paul, tell me out loud." she said slowly. Knowing for a fact that there was no way that she wanted to hear him say it, but having a feeling that it would be the best way to make her leave, to pull herself away.

Sure enough, his eyes blackened as he stared her directly in the eye, taking a few steps forwards until he was an arms length away. "Avery Taryn Scott, I do not love you anymore and I want you to leave and never come back. I don't care where you go, or what you do, but never come back to La Push." he glared hard as Taryn took a step back of shock. She was praying he would break, tell her he was sorry, but there was no way he would say it now.

"If that's the way you want it." she said and looked towards her horse, who had taken to eating the grass. "Then I guess that's it." she said and turned away slightly.

Suddenly, everything that had happened in the past year flooded through her head, and an uncontrollable anger shot through her. From her toes, to her very fingertips and there was no way she was able to hold it in. "Actually, that's not it." she stated, turning around to face Paul as he turned to look at her, a hidden emotion falling in his eyes as he watched her.

"I gave up everything for you Paul. I let you in when everyone else was shut out, and you promised me you'd never hurt me. I made myself believe you were different, and I changed, and changed, then tried to change back… and at the start, nothing I could do was good enough. Then you pull that u-turn and suddenly I was the center of your universe. But let me tell you something, you can sleep with as many girls as you want, and date as many people as you want… but you will never be able to replace me." she spat coldly as he walked up to her and stood only a hair away.

"I said you were unique, Taryn… Not irreplaceable."

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