I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA
A/N: Hey guys! So, I just want to put that there is a poll up on my profile asking what you guys think the sex of Autumn's baby should be. Please go vote.
Autumn's P.O.V.
The next day, after a long day at school, I decide to go to the small café that's on the edge of Forks and just outside of La Push. I bring my laptop and decide to look for jobs. After all, I'm gonna have a baby sooner or later and I need to be able to do my part. When I get there, I order a small decaf coffee and two cannolis—which I've been craving more than anything—and sit down at a table.
I search the internet for what seems like hours, scrolling through website after website. But one cup of coffee and two cannolis later I find that the only places that are hiring are in Port Angeles or Seattle. What is up with this place? I know it's a small town, but geez! I can't believe there's no one hiring. I slam my laptop shut and rub my face in frustration. I can't believe there aren't any postings. I just need a break from this. Maybe…
"Hey," a male's voice greets. I look up to see a guy I've never seen before. He's obviously from the Quileute tribe. He's enormously tall with tan skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Is he one of Embry's friends?
"Uh… hi," I greet him, not really sure what else to say. I'm not sure if I should ask his name. I don't want to seem rude. Luckily, I don't need to, as he reads the look on my face.
"Paul. I'm Embry's friend." My face lights up in recognition.
"Right, the guy who doesn't really like me." His face turns confused at my comment, like he doesn't remember what happened last week. "In the woods. When Embry told me about—." Recognition crosses his face and he looks down, ashamed.
"Look, I'm sorry about the other day," he says after a moment of hesitation. He looks me in the eyes and I can see that he means what he's saying. "I was a huge ass." I shake my head and let out a breath.
"Look, I get it. This is a huge thing that you guys are… a part of. And if you tell the wrong person and it gets out… then bad things could happen." He shakes his head.
"But still. You're…pregnant with Embry's baby." He stutters on the word pregnant, like he's choking on the word. I'm not sure why, though. I would understand why Embry would have a hard time saying it. But I don't know Paul, and he doesn't know me or have any connection to me. it doesn't make sense. "You need to know something like that. Especially if there's a baby involved." I look at him for a moment. He does seem genuine. Plus, he's kinda cute, and he apologized. So I can't stay mad at him.
"Apology accepted. Thank you." I give him a small smile as I pack my laptop into my bag and zip it up.
"So, what were you doing on the computer?" he questions. I run a hand through my hair and sigh.
"Trying to look for a job. I figured that if I'm gonna have a kid soon, I have to start as early as possible to save up money."
"Any luck?" He looks interested, though I'm not sure why. Who finds job searches interesting? No one. I shake my head and lean back in my chair.
"Nope. Apparently every position between here and Port Angeles is taken. Which is just wonderful." Sarcasm is practically dripping out of my mouth on the last part.
"Why not get a job here?" he asks. I raise my eyebrows at him in surprise. I look around at the small café. The dinner rush is just starting and I see a few people who probably come here on a regular basis to eat during their work break or directly after their shift.
"Are you serious?" I ask him. He shrugs, looks around, and then when he spots a middle-aged woman with tan skin, black hair piled on the top of her head, and an apron on, he calls out to her.
"Hey, Mom," he calls. The woman looks up, and when she sees him, she smiles. She walks over from where she was behind the counter, and kisses him on the top of his head. His mom? Wait… what's happening?
"Hey, Honey," she greets. He smiles up at her, and I can see he loves her. Normally a guy his age wouldn't be caught dead around his mother when he was with his friends or a girl. I respect him for that.
"Mom, this is Autumn, the girl I was talking about." I raise my eyebrows and give him a look. What did he just say? A smile crosses my face.
"You told your mom about me?" I tease him. I kind of find that weird. But then again, if I could tell my mom about the whole wolf thing, I probably would. I'd tell her about Paul, too, and how he didn't think that I should know that secret. "All good things, I hope." Paul gives me a small smile and shakes his head.
"Autumn, this is my mom, Eleanor," he finishes his introduction. Eleanor smiles over at me, her beautiful face beaming. Paul looks a lot like her. The same square face and wide nose that looks better on him.
"Please, call me Elle. It's nice to meet you, Autumn." I smile at her.
"It's nice to meet you, too."
"Mom, I was wondering if you could hire Autumn as a waitress." I cough in surprise. What is he doing?
"No, you don't need to do that. I am capable of finding a job on my own," I tell her. I shoot Paul a look, trying to make him stop talking. I don't want pity. I don't need it. And I don't want to be hired because my baby daddy's friend asked his mom to.
"Why not? I'm hiring," Elle tells me. "I just don't like to post things online because you don't know what kind of people you could get." She sees me hesitate. "Look, if you'd like, I'll interview you. But if you want the job, it's yours. I could use the help ever since I had let go my last afternoon shift waiter."
"But aren't you worried that I won't be good at it?" I one-hundred percent know how to be a waitress. I started waitressing at Denny's the moment I turned sixteen. But Elle doesn't need to know that. Elle shrugs.
"I don't expect you to know how to do everything on your first day. I'll have someone train you." My conscious thinks this is a good idea. It's not that far from my house and it'd be a good job. But my mouth has to be a cunt and self-sabotage.
"I'm also pregnant. Do you really want a pregnant teen as a waitress?" She gives me a sly look. She knows what I'm up to.
"In that case, it'll be a good thing that I hire you. You can start making money before the baby comes. This way I get my good karma and you get the money that you need. It's a win-win." I sigh heavily and shoot a look over at Paul, who's watching the two of us, amused.
"Okay. You've got yourself a new employee," I finally give in. Elle cheers and sticks out her hand. I put my hand in hers and give it a squeeze.
"I'll get you the paper work to fill out and then I can get you on the schedule!" As she walks away, I kick Paul's shin.
"Hey!" he laughs. "What was that for?" I narrow my eyes at him.
"You know very well what it was for. I can't believe you put me on the spot like that."
"You were having trouble looking for a job, so I fixed it."
"I don't need you to fix things for me. I'm a big girl. I can do things for myself." He deflates in disappointment. I can tell he thought he was doing a good thing. And I guess he was, but I don't like that he put me on the spot like that. "In any case, thank you. Your methods might not have been ideal, but you did solve my problem." He gives me a knowing smile. "But don't think I've forgotten how you put me on the spot like that. It wasn't very nice."
"Well, how can I make it up to you?" he asks. And even though I know he's only joking, I take him up on it. And fifteen minutes later we're strolling through the aisles of the local grocery store. I have a list in my hand while Paul pushes the cart beside me.
"Ya know, I didn't have this in mind," Paul says as I put some tomatoes in one of those clear plastic bags and place it into the cart. I smile at him.
"I know. But you're the one who offered," I remind him. We go through the rest of the fresh fruit and vegetable section and I pick up cucumbers, celery, carrots, a bag of onions, a bag of both jalapeño and bell peppers, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, squash. For fruits, I got apples, bananas, two cantaloupes, blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, and peaches (I've been craving fruit like crazy. I'll go through the two entire cartons of strawberries by Sunday).
Then as we go through the aisles, and I am throwing in the stuff that's on my list, Paul and I just… talk. It's weird, but for some reason, I feel at ease with him. I don't know why.
"I dunno," I say as I put a carton of eggs into the cart. "I love my mom, ya know? But sometimes it felt like I was the mom, not the other way around."
"How so?" Paul wonders.
"There were times when she'd go out at night and wouldn't go back home until I was getting ready for school the next morning. And then I'd have to sit there and almost miss my bus because I was scolding her. That's not something that a ten-year-old should have to do. And yes, I get it. She was still in her twenties, a time when a lot of people are still on their own and still able to do their own thing."
"It can be hard to let go of your childhood, especially when you've had to grow up so fast." I nod.
"I know that. I just wish that she would have been the responsible one so that I didn't have to be." Paul takes a breath as we turn into another aisle and get more stuff.
"Let's talk about something happy," he finally breaks the silence as I put in a bag of Oreos (my favorite cookie of all time). I think about it, and automatically think of something.
"When I was thirteen, my great-grandparents passed away," I start. Paul frowns in confusion.
"How is that happy?" he asks, truly confused. I snort.
"Let me finish. My great-grandparents passed away and my grandma's sisters were having their funeral in China. My mom convinced my grandma to get over whatever grudge she held against her parents, and we all flew to China for the funeral. We were there for a week, and had five free days after my great-grandparents were buried to do whatever. And we did every touristy thing you could think of. We visited museums, we saw shows, we went to see the Great Wall of China. We took so many pictures and ate so much good food that by the time the week ended, none of us wanted to leave. It's the best memory of my mom and grandma that I have." I find that I'm smiling as we come to a stop behind a person waiting in line at the register. And when I look at Paul, he's also smiling warmly at me.
"What about you?" I question him. "What's your best memory?"
"My best memory was when I was nine. I was at school and it was recess time. A boy in my class had dared me to climb up a tree. Wanting to seem cool, I did it, and of course I slipped and fell out of the tree and broke my arm. My mom was so mad at me while I was getting my cast on; she kept on going about how I was old enough to know better and that I shouldn't have given in to peer pressure. But after we left the hospital, we went to see a movie and got ice cream. Then we stayed up late playing Monopoly."
"That's really sweet," I say as we pile the stuff onto the belt and the cashier starts to scan them. He shrugs.
"It wasn't as good as yours." I roll my eyes.
"Paul, it's not a competition. You had a nice day with your mom. And that's what matters. There must be a reason why you love that day."
"I think it's because that was the first time I saw my mom truly happy after her and my dad got divorced. Before that day, she was always so sad and buried herself in her work. I think that it was the day she finally moved on from my dad." I smile.
"You see? That's a very special moment. There's nothing wrong with it." Paul nods.
"I know." And he smiles. I pay for the groceries, put the stuff in my car, and then Paul rides in my car to my house, where he helps me bring the stuff in. Nana is on another date with Bruce and Mom is working late tonight. So I turn on some Britney Spears, and jam out while Paul and I put the groceries away and clean up all of the bags. And when we're done, and I find that it's getting late—meaning that Nana will be home soon—I escort Paul to the front door.
"So hey," he says as he steps onto the front porch and turns to face me. "I really enjoyed going shopping with you." I bite my lip to keep myself from smiling.
"I did too. Thank you, by the way. I know you didn't have to, but it was really cool that you did." And it's true. I'm grateful for not only his help, but his company. He's just a good person to talk to.
"No problem. But… I was wondering if you'd like to do something sometime. Maybe go out to dinner or something." He looks hopeful, but something in my gut and my heart tells me to say no. There's just so much going on in my life right now. I just found out I'm pregnant with his friend's baby. And I have so many things to figure out. I have no room in my life for a relationship right now.
"I'm sorry, Paul," I say. "But I'm not looking to be in a romantic relationship right now." His face falls instantly and my heart automatically reaches out to him. "I just have a lot going on with the baby and stuff. Plus, I'm not really ready to be in a relationship. I have to get my own life together before I add a boyfriend to the mix. Ya know?" He nods.
"I understand. Of course. I forgot everything going on with the baby for a minute." I laugh.
"You're lucky. I wish I could forget about it for a few minutes." I sigh and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I can't leave him with nothing. Not with how nice he was to me today. "But even though I don't want to go on a date… maybe we could do something together as friends?" Paul's face lights up a little. But still looks disappointed.
"Okay," he agrees. "I'd like that." I give him my phone and he puts his number in my contacts.
"I'll call you and we can work out a time to hang out."
"That sounds great."
"But anyway," I tuck my phone back into my pocket. And smooth down my sweater. "I'm starving, so I'm gonna go make myself something for dinner. I'll talk to you later?" He nods as he slowly makes his way down the stairs.
"Yeah. And I've gotta get home and finish my homework. If I don't I'll never hear the end of it." I smile and shake my head.
"Don't study too hard." He snorts.
"Trust me, I won't." Laughing, I shut the door and lock it. Damn. What did I just get myself into?
A/N: What did you guys think? So, I figured that I'd post a longer chapter to make up for not posting in a little while. I hope you guys like it. Also, this will most likely be the last chapter I'll be able to get up before Christmas because I'm working everyday up until Christmas day. So happy holidays everyone! Please review!
~Gina