Chapter Ten: This is going to be good.
Normally on Sunday mornings, Zane would swing by and we would go out for breakfast. This morning, when Zane swings by, it's to ask me if we could sit inside, and talk. My stomach growls loudly, but I nod, and let him sit beside me on the couch. Part of me felt like I should hold him until he fell asleep, another part wondered if I should kiss him. What would it be like, I wonder, to date someone like Zane. The relationship we had wasn't really much different than a romantic one. Besides the kissing, and the sex, and then seriously talks about our feelings, we had everything that constituted a functional relationship.
"I don't know how you feel," He begins, making a point to sit on the opposite side of the couch. "And how I feel…. I just want you to know that I'll love you and protect you no matter what." He says, and I'd never seen him so serious.
"Zane, what's going on?" I ask. I was asking that a lot lately, wasn't I?
"Paul's going to talk to you today. He has something important to tell you. That's why I told you what I did yesterday. Nelly, I want you to know, I want you to have all the options on the table." He says, his eyes boring into mine as if he's pleading with me.
I squint at him, really hard, wondering what on Earth he could be talking about. Did he think I liked Paul? Did Paul like me? I stand up so quickly that he jumps.
"Sorry." I mumble, and then walk towards the door. He follows. "Zane." I say, as I pull the door open and he steps outside, turning to face me. "I love you." I say, and he looks like he's about to cry. And I guess he knows me so well that he sees the next part coming. "But it doesn't feel right." I say, as if I'm this big believer in destiny or anything like that.
"Think about it." He nods at me, though all hope has left his eyes. He starts to walk away, and looks back at me as he makes his way into the trees. I close the door behind me, breathing out a deep sigh before flicking on the computer in the kitchen, and microwaving myself a bowl of popcorn.
My mother walks in and stops short. "You're home." She states the obvious as I pull the popcorn out of the microwave and into a large bowl. "It's Sunday morning. Where's Zane?" She asks, regaining her wits and moving around me to get some coffee. I walk back to the computer, sparing her a glance.
"I really don't want to talk about it." I say a bit to hostile, and she leaves the room with her coffee. I pull up the first search engine that appears because I can't be bothered to type in Google, and type the only thing that's on my mind.
It's an interesting thing, researching the La Push legends. Mostly because all you can find for pages is shit about monsters. And to think of Zane as anything like a monster just wasn't settling right with me. My hand flies to the stitches on my side and I wonder if I'm being one of those stupid girls that would do something dangerous just for the thrill. Like be blinded by a monster.
When I stumble upon a site dedicated completely to the complete tales, I know I've found something. Shape shifters. Wolves. Protectors. But this much I knew already. I dug into some of the tales associated with the shifters, and right away I knew what Zane meant.
This was why Paul had stayed in the hospital with me, why Zane was talking about him with such hate, why he was always staring at me, why when I was close to him it just felt right, ad why kissing Zane felt so wrong. Imprinting. I could feel my chest rise and fall with the word. Was I being silly? Just a stupid girl, to make such assumptions? There was really only one way to find out.
I don't know exactly when I'd gotten into my mother's car, but as I entered La Push, I caught a flash of silver fur racing next to the car inside the trees. I felt like stopping, shouting out for Zane, or whoever else it might have been, but I couldn't stop now. I didn't want to talk to anyone else right now.
My tires skidded to a stop outside of Emily's, and I spotted Paul walking out of the forest, his chest huffing as he stared at me- and I know in an instant it was him running next to the car. I rush over to him, feeling awkward and calling up all my confidence.
"Well? I demand, stopping too close to him, "Did you imprint on me?"