AN: Sorry about the wait everyone, I've had another story stuck in my head and I had to get it out so I didn't mess this one up. I've posted the other one if any of you would like to read it. It's called Love Em All. It's a Bella/Pack story. Anyway, without further delay I give you…
~**Chapter 12: Bella's POV**~
I quickly roll down the window before covering my mouth with my hand when I see the blood coming from Sam's nose. He wipes at it quickly and charges after Paul slamming him up against the truck. Paul starts throwing punches alternating between Sam's ribs and face. Sam is swinging but hitting mostly air since Paul is too quick for him. Sam keeps backing up further until he hits the car next to us.
Paul grabs Sam by the front of his shirt and presses him further into the car. "If you ever touch or disrespect my girl again I'll make you wish I'd only beat your ass. Stay the fuck away from us!" Paul threatens.
He goes to the driver side and hops in looking me over. "You okay baby?" he asks grabbing my hand.
I shrug my shoulders and urge him to get out of here. After a few minutes, we arrive back to his house and I slowly climb out of the truck. Paul grabs the groceries and we make into the house going straight for the kitchen.
"Paul, are you okay? How are your hands? Do you want me to ice them?" I ask walking close to him.
Paul shakes his head but grabs my hands and pulls me towards the stairs. I let him lead me to his bedroom and locks the door. He gently touches my arms and then lifts my sweater over my head. I hear him curse under his breath making me follow his eyes to my left arm. I quickly glance at my right and notice two very large hand prints form. "Damnit! I'm fucking sick of being man handled and having fucking bruises from fucking douchebags!" I shout angrily.
Paul takes a step back and looks down. "I'm sorry Bella, all of it is my fault," he says quietly.
"No Paul, don't think that. Edward was my fault and I mouthed off to Sam so that's my fault too. Crazy shit happens babe but you can't blame yourself for the actions of others," I tell him touching his back gently.
"You wouldn't have been in those situations if it wasn't for me," he tries to reason.
"Paul, Edward cheated on me. He was trying to get me back and I turned him down and the result was him getting violent towards me. You defended me. Sam was mad because I punched Leah and he grabbed me for a slick comment I made. You also defended me. If anyone is to blame for this it's me. I could get you in serious trouble Paul," I stop talking at my realization.
I could really mess up Paul's life and he ever got arrested for fighting. I need to pull my head out of my ass. The world doesn't revolve around me yet I act like rules don't apply to me. Is that why the girls at school hate me? Do I really come off that way? I know I can be selfish but I didn't think I was that bad.
I blindly reach for my sweater and pull it back on before grabbing my keys. "What are you doing? Are you actually leaving?" he asks.
"Why shouldn't I? I keep doing dumb shit that could get us in trouble, mainly you. I'm not gonna do that to you Paul. We should just quit while we're ahead," I say staring into his eyes tearing up.
"Bella, I make my own choices," he responds.
"Yeah but I'm influencing them. I'm selfish, I have no filter, and I'm impulsive. You don't want someone like me," I tell him.
He walks up to me and grabs my face. "Bella, you're right, I don't want someone like you. I need someone like you. I love that you're impulsive and have no filter. You're not selfish. Yeah, you think of yourself but who doesn't? You always think of your friends and since we've met you've thought of me and mine as well," he then kisses me.
I let the tears I've been holding in fall down my cheeks. "I don't know. I don't want this to be over but I can't handle any more negative shit right now. I don't want you to get into trouble for me. Maybe I should work on myself before getting with you," I try to reason taking a step back.
"Absolutely not, you're fine the way you are baby. I don't want you to be any other way. I don't want this to be over either so let's not go down that road. I'm in it for the long haul babe, only with you. Now let's quit this heavy shit and go make some food okay?" he says kissing my forehead.
I wrap my arms around his waist holding on tightly because I just feel a little harder for him. I do tend to overthink things and I almost gave up one of the best things in my life right now over some petty bullshit. I really like him and I just need to do better. I've always let shit get to me and I really need to stop.
"Take your sweater back off for a minute. We have to take pictures of those marks just in case," he tells me.
I nod as I take of my sweater allowing him to take the pictures. I hope no situation arises that would have me needing to actually use the pictures but it's definitely smart to have them. We don't need any more rumors floating around town about us.
A little while later while dinner is cooking, Jake calls Paul asking about what happened. I wince but try to remain calm as Paul tells him what happens. I hear Jake explode into the phone and pray he doesn't tell his dad or else mine will know shortly following. I tell Paul to remind him of that fact and he calms down slightly. Paul has to convince him not to come over because we've got the place to ourselves for a while. Paul tells Jake that we're just going to spend time alone but he'd have me call him when I got home.
While we wait for our food we go into the living room to watch some TV. An hour and 3 calls later, Paul's phone rings again. He takes a look at it and pales a little bit. "What's wrong?" I ask.
"It's Emily," he says simply.
I reach my hand out for his phone and he instantly sets it in my palm. I quickly swipe to answer and put it on speaker phone. "Hello?" I answer.
"Uh… hello? I'm sorry. I think I might have the wrong number," she says.
"Well who are you looking for?" I try to keep my voice polite.
"I'm looking for Paul, Paul Lahote," she responds.
"You have the right number but I'm going to ask that you don't use it anymore." I tell her.
"And who are you to suggest such a thing?" she gets mouthy.
"I'm Bella, Paul's girlfriend. I asked nicely before but if you attempt to contact him again you won't get such a pleasant reaction," I say calmly.
"I think Paul should decide that for himself," Emily gripes.
"Oh by all means," I say to her. "Baby?" I say looking at him.
"Emily, I don't know why you're calling now nor do I care. I don't want to hear from you. Do not call me, text me, or try to contact me in anyway. I'm happy with Bella," Paul says kissing my hand.
"Whatever Paul. I've heard about this Bella bitch. What she did to Leah, what you did to Sam. This isn't like you; you never fought when you were with me. That girl sounds like trouble." Emily notes.
"I never fought when I was with you because I didn't feel a need to. With Bella, I fight for her because I care about her. She makes me feel things no one has especially you. We're done with the conversation. Have a good life," Paul responds before ending the call.
We look at each other and bust out laughing. What a fucking day this has been. I just realize that I haven't checked my phone at all since I've got here because I left it in my Jeep. I ask Paul to check on dinner while I run and grab it. As I open the door I notice that it's ringing at the moment and I answer it quickly.
"Hey Ren, what's up?" I answer.
"What's up?! I've only been trying to call you for over an hour! What the hell are you doing?" she yells into the phone.
I let out a laugh. "If only you knew. First, just so you know, I left my phone in my Jeep when I got to Paul's. And then we… uh… well you know. After that we went to the store and fucking Sam, Leah's boyfriend, snatched me up and then Paul beat his ass. Since then we've been at his house," I rush out.
"Yeah I heard about that. That's why I've been calling. Ang has been calling too. I'll add her on this call really quick," she says a lot calmer.
I wait until she confirms that Ang is on the phone and explain what happened again. Ang was worried about me and then asked about Sam. I honestly don't know how Sam is so that's what I tell them. Ren wanted to talk to Paul and thank him for being "such a badass."
I quickly tell them some of my fears and they tell me not to stress so much. After a few minutes of chatting I hang up and make my way back inside so I can check my texts and the rest of my missed calls. My mom has called twice, sent a text message and left a voicemail. The voicemail and the text both say the same thing. "Call me when you get this."
Surprisingly, I have a text from Jasper apologizing for not saying something sooner and being glad that I didn't hurt Alice. I text him back and let him know it was okay and that I really didn't want to hurt Alice even though she hurt me. I have a few texts from both Ang and Ren but we've already talked so they're pointless to respond to.
I shoot my mom a text back letting her know that I was having dinner with Paul and that we'd talk when I got home. I'm sure she's heard about what happened with Alice and wants to talk about it. Hopefully she hasn't heard what happened with Sam. Even though I have pictures of what he didn't and Paul took care of it, my dad would probably want the law to get involved. There's no way that's happening because then Paul would get in some type of trouble and I won't allow that.
I set my phone down and venture into the kitchen to check on Paul. "How's it going in here?" I ask hopping up on the counter.
"Good, good. Still a while until it's done though. You get your phone?" He asks.
"Yeah a few missed calls and some texts. Of course Ren and Ang called, they heard about what happened with Sam," I begin before I launch into their millions of questions.
"They really care about you," he states.
"Yeah, they do," I agree.
"I do too Bella. I hope you know that," he says quietly.
"I do. And I really care about you too," I respond getting up and walking towards him.
I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss the center of his back. He turns around and places a kiss to my forehead. I press my nose into his chest and we stand like this for a few moments until he breaks the silence.
"So have you thought of any tattoo ideas?" he asks.
"Uhm, kind of. I know where I want it. Right at the base of my neck but something small," I say.
"Good, a place on your body is usually a difficult part of the process. That's a good place. Easily hidden by all of that hair," Paul says touching it.
I shiver slightly before turning and kissing his wrist. "I'm thinking of getting a peace and love tattoo there," I say finally.
"Let's go look at some ideas. I'll send Chuck an e-mail and let him know what you'd like and have him draw something up. Saturday is coming up quickly. Are you ready babe?" he asks me.
I nod excitedly. I've been thinking about the tattoo for a while and asking people who have them what it's like. I've got an okay pain tolerance but I think that location might hurt a little more than if I were to choose a fattier area. I guess only time will tell.
Paul and I look at tattoo ideas online for about half an hour before we found one kind of similar to the style and placement of what I want and he e-mailed it to Chuck just like he said. Chuck e-mails right back and says he'd start working on it and send a couple of options for me to choose from.
Finally, dinner is done so we go into his kitchen and eat together. Shortly following his Grams comes home and she makes a fuss over me. She heard about the incident with Sam and lets me know that my dad does in fact know and is waiting until I get home to talk to me. I let my head fall to the counter and let out a long sigh.
I stay and chat with them for a while before deciding to head home and face the music. Paul walks me out and tells me to call him when I get a chance. After some long kisses, I finally leave but give Jake a call. He doesn't answer so I just hang up and keep driving home.
For once I keep my radio off and just focus on my thoughts. I try to keep myself calm so I don't stress myself out over some small conversation. I pull into the driveway, grab my phone, and run inside. I find my parents in the kitchen finishing up some ice cream.
"Hey Mom, hi Dad," I say plopping down next to them.
"Hi honey. How are you?" my mom asks worriedly.
"I've had better days," I say honestly.
"Yeah Bells, I've been hearing some crazy things. Care to enlighten us?" my dad asks getting into cop mode.
I sigh but nod and begin my story anyway. I tell them all about Alice and Edward before going back a little ways and admitting what happened with Leah. My dad tries to interrupt me but I cut him off so I can get back to the present and the stuff with Sam. I let him know about how Sam went to Paul's job and threatened him and then how he approached me at the store. When I get to the part about him grabbing me my dad loses it for a moment. I have to scream at him to calm down so I can tell him about Paul beat him down.
My dad smirks slightly and admits that Paul is really growing on him and my mom agrees. It makes my heart swell. I'm excited that my parents like the guy I really care about. When my dad asks if Sam left any marks I decided to show him the pictures instead of removing my sweater. My mom wants to press charges but my dad kindly reminds her that there's a chance Paul could get in trouble too even though he was defending me.
I told them I didn't want to do either because I definitely didn't want Paul to get into trouble. My dad asks when Paul will be over again and I tell him probably soon which pleases him. A car pulls up in front of the house a moment before the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it," my dad says getting up. He walks over to the door and opens it quickly. I sneak over and creep behind the wall so I can hear who is coming. "Paul, what a surprise. What brings you over?" my dad asks.
"Good evening Sir, Bella left her bag at my house, I just wanted to bring it over to her before she freaked out," he says with a chuckle.
"Well, come on in. She's in the kitchen but before you go, let me just say a quick word. I really appreciate you defending my daughter. This is twice you've beat up the guys disrespecting her and that means so very much to me. Just stay good to her," my dad says.
I rush back to the table and try to act like I wasn't eavesdropping while my mom laughs at me. "Stop it!" I mutter to her.
My two favorite men walk into the room and I can't help but smile at them both. My mom and Paul speak to each other briefly while I stare him down. "Hey, long time no see," I say getting up to hug him.
"I know, it's been forever. You left your bag at my place. I figured you might need it," he says once he releases me.
"You're right, thank you for coming. You could've called and I would've at least met you or something," I reason.
"I wanted to surprise you and bring you some more pulled pork," he answers.
"I'm a real big fan of yours you know," I say randomly.
"I know, I'm quite the super hero. I should get back home and let you finish your talk. I'll call you when I get there okay?" he says.
I nod my response and he leans down to kiss my forehead. "Goodbye baby," he whispers.
"Let me at least walk you to the door," I say remembering that my parents are literally staring us down.
"Goodnight Mr. and Mrs. Swan," Paul says waving to them as I push him towards the door.
"Give me a real kiss," I demand.
He glances over my shoulder and then leans down and kisses me deeply. "Don't forget to call me when you get home, okay?" I ask.
"Of course baby, bye for now," he kisses me quickly and then turns and walks to his truck.
I tell my parents that I'm going to get around for bed. I give them both hugs and kisses before I go upstairs. I decide to take a quick shower so I don't have to leave my room again once I get off of the phone with Paul.
