The last thing that I wanted to do was go inside and into bed alone again. There was something about Embry that made it so hard to be away from him for any amount of time. For a very independent person like myself it was definitely odd to say the least. After a few minutes of staring at the forest Rachael opened the door staying silent. With her watching me it was a bit easier to walk into the house and into my room which is where the feeling came back. It was almost like depression was seeping into me as I flopped onto the bed with a had to be the worst case of puppy love known to man kind. A knock on my door sent my heart soaring in hopes that it was Embry, then it came crashing down when Rachael popped her head in my room.
"Sorry not Embry, but I bring ice cream."
It wasn't the same as Embry being here, but it would have to do for the time being. She took my small smile as a yes and hopped onto the bed handing me a spoon with her own small smile. It appeared that she was having the same problem being away from Paul that I had being away from Embry. Though I felt for Rachael the thought made me feel a little better that I wasn't alone in this. Rachael turned on the radio on my night stand and told me stories that I had missed while we ate the ice cream. Two hours later, a container of ice cream, and a number if stories later Billy came home and told us to get to bed. Rachael gave me a hug and promised it would get easier before skipping off to her own room with Billy wishing me a good night after.
With the light off, curled up in bed, staring at the time on my radio seemed to make time stretch out even longer. An hour of watching the minutes tick by had me ready to climb the walls. With a frustrated sigh I slipped out of bed and out the window praying that no one found out about this or at least wouldn't tell Billy about it. My feet carried me to a place that I still knew by heart and felt so normal. There was something about the beach at night that is just so breath taking, it's the perfect time to be alone with your thoughts. The sand was cool and comforting under my feet as I watched the waves crash against each other. The moon only lit up the water enough to see the outline of the waves as the rushed towards the shore.
It was to calming it was so easy to just close my eyes and forget everything that has gone on over the last month. There was so much that I didn't want to deal with, things that I never wanted to remember. Things were just so easy sitting in my favorite place in the world, it was easy to lose track of time. It wasn't until someone dumped my shoulder that I realized that I wasn't alone and that some time had passed. Paul sat beside me looking a little lost for words, but stayed close enough for his body heat to keep me warm. It was now that I noticed my body was shivering and how much I was thankful for the warmed.
"You've been sitting out here for an hour. What's so damn interesting?"
For all of his short tone and the swearing there was the slightest bit of worry in his voice as well. At first it confused me that he was worried about me, we hadn't even had a conversation before. Then it occurred to me that he was probably worried because he knew everyone else and they wouldn't be happy with him if he didn't take care of me. With a roll of my eyes I attempted to stand up, but my left ankle gave out on me and I didn't make it up. Paul had two hands on my shoulders to steady me as I fell back onto my butt ignoring the shooting pain in my ankle. He looked me over to try to find the probable, but couldn't find any. Instead of helping me up he kept me seated with a firm hand on my arm.
"Look I just want to make sure you're okay. You're part of the family now, so... you can come to me if you need to. I may not have the answers, but I'll do what I can." He stated shifting uncomfortable with the emotional talk.
I gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but I'll be alright."
He nodded once and helped me up. "Then lets get you inside before everyone kicks my ass for not taking better care of you."
That earned a laugh. "As if anyone is out right now...or are they at work?"
The question had been more of an out loud thought, but Paul confirmed it by the panic that flashed over his face. Work really did mean shape shifter stuff and that was all the I needed to know at the moment. When Embry was ready or more likely thought I was ready he would tell me what I needed to know. The walk home was silent, but not awkward like I thought that it would have been with Paul walking me home. Once at the house he stopped at the front door, but I walked around to my window and climbed in. I waved at Paul to make sure that he knew I was okay and he rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'like your sister'. On an off thought I stuck my head out the window to thank Paul for walking me home and saw him sneak into Rachael's window. With a giggle I laid in bed hoping that sooner rather than later Embry would pick up that habit from Paul.
A/N: Just a cute moment between Alec and Paul. Wanted to show the start of a brother/sister relatioship between the two since he helps Alec out a lot later in the story. R&R
