Thanks for sticking around for Chapter 12! Welcome to those of you just starting to follow along, and thanks for checking out my story! Also, Happy Mother's Day to any moms who may be reading, I hope you enjoyed your day Sunday :) I am expecting my 2nd baby this July - a boy; my daughter is going to be 6 in August, so I guess I can't call her a baby anymore, but she'll always my baby lol ;)
To my Reviewers: twilight85fan, TheRealPrincessTigerLily, Laura, jace4ever, Guest, WriteAndDream23, & Guest - Thanks so much for reviewing! I appreciate your feedback! I know the whole Paul/Leah hook-up came as a huge surprise, but it was Paul's stupid way of defying Sam and he wasn't really thinking clearly as he was just told his supposed soul-mate is his neighbor who is in love with somebody else. So, while it was a dumb thing to do, this is Paul we're talking about here, and he can't be expected to use his big brain all the time ;) Hopefully all of you, and Lena, can forgive him for making such a huge mistake. Only time will tell, I suppose...
Oh, and guess what? This chapter is even longer than last chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy! :)
The Heart Wants What It Wants
12. You and Me Run the Same Course
Lena has just walked through the threshold of her bedroom and is about to slam the door shut when she hears her father's voice behind her, calling up from the bottom of the stairs, "Hey!" She stops and swivels on her feet, blinking extra fast to get rid of the moisture in her eyes. When Simon sees his daughter's face, he frowns, asking suspiciously, "What's the word, Lena-bird?"
Not in the mood to play along, Lena shakes her head and shrugs, "I don't know, Dad."
Simon starts up the stairs, commenting slowly, "I was under the impression that, by now, everybody had heard..." Lena raises her eyebrows, knowing too well what he's about to say next, "...that the bird is the word." He says it so matter-of-factly, so straight-faced, that Lena can't help but laugh for a moment, but then she catches herself and clamps her mouth shut while she frowns at her father. She doesn't want to laugh at his jokes right now. At the top of the staircase, Simon asks seriously, "What's the matter, bird?"
"Nothing," Lena denies, wondering how she could even explain what she's upset about had she wanted to talk about it in the first place. 'Oh, I'm just weirdly upset because the stupid boy next door is being super douchey lately, and even though it shouldn't matter to me I'm taking it personally. And, let's not forget, I'm also feeling barfy since I can't stop thinking about Paul fucking Leah, and that's ridiculous because it's none of my business! And I don't care anyways, not really. I just thought we were better friends than they are and he won't even talk to me but he's sleeping with Leah, who I thought he hated...' Lena shakes her head, glad she didn't say any of that out loud.
"Did something happen," Simon questions cautiously, not sure he wants to venture into this territory, since boys are more Winona's area of expertise, "between you and Embry?"
"No, nothing happened," Lena insists, "I had a great time with Embry. It wasn't him."
"What was it then?" Simon notes, "It's not often that I see you upset, and since it happens so rarely it's easy to tell when you are. Spill the beans, kid."
"I'm not upset," Lena says unconvincingly, "I'm just tired. I want to take a shower and then have a nap before dinner. Okay?" Simon raises a single eyebrow, not buying this excuse one bit. "Dad," Lena groans, "It's nothing. It's stupid. I don't want to talk about it. Can I please go take a shower?"
"All right," Simon relents with a sigh, "Go on. But Lena, if you need to talk, you know you can always come to your old man."
"I know Dad," Lena says as she waits for him to leave her bedroom doorway so she can close the door and fall face-first onto her mattress. She lays like this for a moment, attempting to regain her composure. She can't stop replaying the unexpected encounter with Paul just now, and each time that she recalls her words and behavior she feels more and more embarrassed. What was she thinking? Paul must think she's got some sort of creepy obsession with him now, accusing him of switching around his work schedule just to avoid her, and calling him out for sleeping with Leah like she did. Why did she say that? It's not like it's a shocker to anyone that Paul bagged some ass, but it is mind-boggling that said ass happens to belong to Leah Clearwater. Still, it's not Lena's business, and now she knows Paul isn't going to talk to her, because why would he want to after witnessing her freak out over something that has absolutely nothing to do with her? She's not Sera; she's not ga-ga for Paul, so why did she overreact so badly?
Eventually, Lena sits up with an elongated sigh and chooses a comfortable outfit to put on after her shower. She cracks open her door, hoping her family is otherwise occupied and won't bother her for a while, and makes a dash for the bathroom. After grabbing a fresh towel from the linen closet, she closes the bathroom door, clicking the lock into place and immediately twisting the knob on the faucet to hot as she starts up the shower. She sheds her clothes slowly, taking the time to fold them up neat before she steps into the shower's spray. Lena takes her time, enjoying the feel of the hot water on her skin since she usually rushes through her showers in the morning to avoid conflict between her siblings. When she finally emerges from the steamy bathroom, retreating to her bedroom to get dressed, she observes the time is half-past three, and she settles into her bed for a nap before she's expected downstairs for family dinner.
Lena is surprised when Maya wakes her up a few hours later to tell her that it's 6 o'clock and everyone is waiting for her so they can eat dinner. She wasn't expecting to sleep for so long. When she sits down at the table with her family and sees the salad, garlic bread, and lasagna her mother must have spent all afternoon cooking, she feels sort of bad because she has no appetite whatsoever. She nibbles on a piece of garlic bread, picks at her salad, and pushes around the lasagna on her plate while Winona interrogates her about her date last night with Embry. Lena answers all of her questions to the best of her ability, but she can't help feeling like her mom is pressing her for details on what happened after she and Embry returned from Port Angeles. She very nearly shouts across the table, 'We didn't have sex, all right?! Leave me alone!' but she refrains herself. Thankfully, her mother doesn't seem to notice her lack of appetite, and after helping to clear the table and load the dishwasher, she is free to do as she pleases.
Lena is examining her art supplies in the den when she hears Forrest ask their father, "Can I get a ride to Seth's? He said I could stay over tonight, and then we're going to go fishing tomorrow morning with Harry and Billy Black."
"I suppose I can do that," Simon agrees, after looking to his wife and getting her nod of approval. To Winona, he queries, "Anything I get for you while I'm out, my dear?"
Winona, whose stomach hasn't been feeling right the past few weeks, requests, "Maybe you could stop by the Market and bring home some ginger ale? Or maybe ginger tea?" She has a hunch she's entering the early stages of menopause, what with the queasy belly, extra fatigue, trouble sleeping, and occasional hot flash, but she's not ready to admit that out loud just yet. After all, she's not even forty for another year and a half, so she isn't ready to admit she's getting older.
Simon rises from his chair at the dining room table, where he and Winona were having a cup of coffee while they discuss next weekend's plans of back-to-school shopping for the kids, and places a kiss on his wife's forehead. "Sure thing," He replies. "Are you ready to go now, son?"
"Yup."
Lena waits until her dad and Forrest enter the hallway to voice her question, "Can I come too? I mean, not to the Clearwaters', but would you drop me off at First Beach on your way? I want to get some painting done tonight." When she and Embry had been there earlier, Lena wished she'd had her paints and a canvas because the waves crashing against the cliffs in the distance were calling to her to capture them on paper. She's sure the scene will be even more magnificent with a sunset in the background.
"Are you sure you have time?" Simon points out, "It's almost seven; it will be getting dark soon."
"Sunset is at 8:16 tonight," Lena tells him, "I already checked. So if we leave right now, I'll have about an hour and a half to paint before it gets too dark." She smiles hopefully, already having gathered her easel, paints, and a blank canvas.
"All right, Lena-bird," Simon says, happy to see his eldest daughter in a better mood than she was earlier this afternoon, "We better get going then. Will you need a ride home?"
"No," Lena shakes her head, "I can walk." It's difficult with an easel and a drying painting, but it's not impossible; she's done it before. "Or maybe I'll call Embry and see if he can get me."
.
After Lena tells him to pretend she doesn't exist and disappears inside her house, Paul is left standing in his driveway wondering what the hell just happened. First off, he wasn't anticipating Lena's anger towards him, especially since she's usually very laid-back. He honestly didn't think she'd notice his absence from her life this past week, and he's starting to believe Sam's warning that the imprint is two-sided and will affect Lena too. What other explanation is there for her to be so upset with him over switching his work schedule around a bit? He thought he'd been avoiding her smoothly; he was apparently wrong about that. Secondly, he really, really was not prepared for Lena to find out about his hasty hook-up with Leah. He was already feeling guilty about it, which is annoying since he's almost positive Lena and Embry have sex, so why does he have to feel guilty for doing the exact same thing? He imprinted on a girl with a boyfriend and now he has to remain celibate until she realizes her feelings for him? That seems highly unfair to Paul. Besides, what is Leah telling people about it for when they both agreed it was a huge mistake? He thought for sure he didn't have anything to worry about there, because Leah wouldn't want anyone to find out she slept with him, of all people. He should have known better. Lena is like the one girl Leah actually talks to somewhat civilly, and if she were going to tell anyone about what they'd done, he should have known it'd be Lena.
He's feeling pretty stupid when he finally moves his feet and goes inside to find something to eat. He might have unfinished business with the girl-next-door, but a shape-shifter still has to eat. It's too bad when he attempts to make a sandwich he discovers the lunch meat has gone bad and they're all out of mayo. To top it all off, when he checks the jar in which he and his dad keep money for groceries, he finds only a single penny. What the fuck good is one penny? Paul slams the lid on the jar and feels his body start to shake and shudder with rage. He can't count on his dad for anything. Paul succumbs to the inevitable and sheds his clothes on his way out the back door, allowing the wolf to take over once he's safely in the cover of the woods.
One of the cooler aspects of the mind link between pack-members is the ability to sense when a fellow wolf is nearby. On the same note, the mind link can be rather annoying when there's something he wishes to keep to himself, like last week when he stupidly slept with Leah, because it's practically impossible to keep something secret when his mind is connected to his pack brothers and they both found out right away. Immediately after phasing, Paul knows he's not alone in wolf-form. Jared is also trotting through the woods somewhere. He knows it's Jared and not Sam because the presence of Sam, being the alpha of the pack, is stronger than Jared's.
Where's Sam? Paul sends his question to Jared, hoping the other teen will have an answer for him since he really needs to talk to Sam.
With Emily, Jared supplies an answer pretty quick, He's showing her his dad's old place, down by Second Beach.
What's he doing over there? Paul wonders as he heads in that direction, recalling how Sam's dad walked out on him and his mom when he was pretty young. He knew Sam's mom moved them out of that house, to avoid the painful memories, but he wasn't aware the property still belonged to Sam's family.
I guess he's thinking of moving in there, Jared replies, with Emily.
Are you serious? Paul almost can't believe his ears, So he practically rips the girl's face off two weeks ago and now they're moving in together? Right, of course they are, because Sam's a fuckin' hypocrite. I haven't even done anything to Lena and I'm not allowed to go near her, but he can see Emily whenever he wants after trying to kill her.
That's not what happened, and you know it, Jared reminds Paul, Things haven't been easy for Sam. Don't make it worse.
Me? What about him? Paul scoffs, Just wait until you imprint, Jared. See how much you like it if Sam tries to keep you away from her.
He won't, Jared seems pretty smug, I know how to control myself.
Paul growls, Fuck you.
A few minutes later, Paul has caught the scent of Sam and his imprint, and he follows his nose through the woods until he comes across a brown, two-story cabin which is a bit run-down, but still in livable condition. It has a large, covered porch and massive floor-to-ceiling windows that give a great view of the surrounding woods and Second Beach, which is literally in the backyard. Paul can see why Sam would want to make a home here with Emily. He just can't believe they're taking things so quickly. Another side-effect of the imprint? Or is it because Emily lives an hour away with the Makah tribe and Sam wants her closer to him?
Almost like he can sense Paul's presence nearby, Sam steps outside a moment later and scans the backyard with his black all-knowing eyes. Paul steps out of the shadows and Sam crosses his arms over his chest once he sees him and frowns deeply. "What do you want, Paul?" He asks lowly. He's clearly still mad about the whole Leah thing. Paul was hoping he'd be over it by now, especially since they've fought in both forms more than once the past week about it. A good fight always cools Paul off. What's it going to take for Sam to get over this? Paul is sure he wouldn't be as mad if their roles were reversed. It's not like he fucked Emily or something.
To his lack of response, Sam further observes, "I see you still haven't taken my advice about tying a pair of pants around your ankle before you turn. It might sound stupid, but I think it's a little less stupid than showing up naked everywhere you go."
Paul rolls his eyes. Why else does Sam think he hasn't phased back already? He really wouldn't care if Sam saw him naked, but he's pretty sure Sam wouldn't like it if Emily did.
Sighing, Sam stomps over to his car and pulls a pair of cutoff jeans from his backseat. He has made a habit of keeping an extra pair of pants in the car, just in case something unexpected happens. "Here," He states as he tosses the pants in the grey wolf's direction, "You can borrow these. But I want them back, so don't destroy them. And make it quick...Emily and I are busy."
Paul picks up the pants with his teeth and carries them into the woods, where he phases and quickly pulls them on. When he returns, Sam is waiting for him at the bottom of the porch stairs, while he can see Emily looking out of the window inside what he can only guess is the kitchen. Her face is still pretty messed up from the accident, and it's going to take a while before it heals up completely. Paul knows from Sam that she's self-conscious of the scars, but she still sends Paul a smile and a wave, which he returns. She's tougher than she looks, that much is clear from what she's gone through with Sam and the fact that she's stuck around, but she's also a sweetheart.
"Well?" Sam prompts, "What is it?"
Paul approaches the older male slowly, demanding in what he hopes isn't a confrontational tone, "I want you to lift your dumb alpha ban on Lena."
Sam raises an eyebrow, replying coolly, "I don't think so."
"Come on, Sam," Paul argues, "It's been over a week. I've been trying to avoid her, but I told you it wouldn't be easy. She lives next door, it's not like I can move just to keep us from crossing paths. She's starting to get pissed off. Today she accused me of switching my schedule around to avoid her. She knows something's going on, and she's mad I won't give her any answers. How much longer do you think I can keep this up?"
"As long as it takes," Sam shrugs.
"Sam," Emily chides sternly from the open doorway of the cabin, "Please tell me you did not use your Alpha command to keep Paul from his imprint!"
Sam's eyes widen and he turns towards Emily slowly, "I...Emily, I had to."
"Oh, really?" Emily places her hands on her hips, reminding him, "How well did it work out for us when we tried to avoid each other? Hmm?" When Sam opens his mouth but no words come out, Emily comments, "That's right, it didn't." Her face softens as she steps closer to the man she loves, and she reaches out with one hand and softly strokes his cheek, gently advising, "Don't punish Paul for something he hasn't done yet. Give him a chance. From what you told me, he's already going to have a hard enough time as it is. Don't make things harder than they need to be."
"But what if...?" Sam trails off, not needing to voice his concern, because she already knows what his fear is.
"He won't hurt her," Emily says surely, turning her almond eyes to the younger Quileute, "Will you, Paul?"
Paul shakes his head quickly, "No. Of course not." He's shocked Emily is sticking up for him when she barely knows him, but he sure is grateful.
Inwardly, Sam groans, because he knows he can't refuse Emily. He wanted to keep Paul from Lena for a while longer, but maybe part of it is for selfish reasons. Maybe he just wants to punish the young wolf for playing with a toy that used to be his, and he knows this isn't fair. If he's going to be the alpha of the pack, which he is because there's no one else to fill the role, then he has to be a fair one. The imprint works both ways, and if Lena is suffering because of his command to keep Paul away from her, then he can't keep them apart any longer. "All right," Sam acquiesces, "Fine. Paul, you don't have to stay away from Lena anymore, but I still want you to be careful. And you can't tell her about shape-shifting or about the imprint. Not yet, anyways. Not until she's ready. Billy wants her to come to a bonfire, so she can hear the stories, he thinks it would help to put the idea in her head, so she's not to surprised when she finds out the truth. Until then, keep your mouth shut about it. Understand?"
"Yeah, sure," Paul nods, "Whatever you say. She's going to ask questions, though. What am I supposed to tell her since I can't tell her the truth?"
Sam advises rather lamely, "You're going to have to figure that out on your own."
"Gee, thanks," Paul states sarcastically, "Let me guess, it's up to me to figure out a way to get Lena to go to a bonfire too, isn't it?"
Sam cocks his head to the left as if considering this, and then shrugs, "You guessed right. Good luck, buddy. Now are we finished here? I was in the middle of giving Emily a tour of the house."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll go." Paul starts to back away, smiling to the girl standing behind his alpha, "Thanks Emily."
.
Later in the evening, after Paul returns home from the Market for the second time today, carrying along two bags of groceries which he paid for with his own money, he cooks himself half a dozen hot dogs and sits down on the couch in front of the TV to eat. He's still hungry after eating the hot dogs, but he needs the food he bought to last so he doesn't make anything else. Instead, he ponders over what exactly he's going to say to Lena when he sees her, and how he's going to get her to talk to him in the first place. He considers walking over, knocking on the door, and simply asking her to talk, but then he shoots down that idea. Lena probably won't be the one to answer the door, and if it's either of her parents, they are going to be suspicious as to why he wants to speak to their daughter. Mrs. Fawling much more so than Mr. Fawling, because she's not Paul's number one fan. In fact, he's pretty positive Mrs. Fawling dislikes him very much, not that he knows why; must be his shining reputation. Paul gets to his feet and starts pacing the floor as he thinks, but he's drawing a blank. He's never really had to pursue a girl before, they've always come to him pretty easily, but this is not the case with Lena. He's going to have to actually try with her, and that's a scary thought.
Paul is deep in thought when he hears the door to his neighbors' home open and close, but as soon as he hears Lena's voice, he is at the window in his kitchen, peering outside from behind the curtain. "Would you hurry up?" Lena is saying to Forrest, "I want to get to the beach before I lose all the light."
"I forgot my toothbrush," Forrest replies as he runs back to the house, "I'll be right back!"
Lena sighs, looking to her father, who simply smiles and shakes his head as he climbs into the drivers' seat of his silver Honda Accord. Lena opens the back door and sticks her easel, canvas and art supply bags on the seat, and then walks around to the other side of the car to climb into the back seat since she plans to get dropped off first. By the time she is settled in her seat, Forrest is back, and he jogs to the car and hops in the front seat beside his dad, announcing, "Ready."
Paul watches the car back out of the driveway and take off down the road before he allows the curtain to drop back in place, and then he glances at the clock on the wall. 6:43. What is Lena going to paint at the beach so late for? Is her father going with her? Is she meeting Embry there? Paul knows the kid lives only a couple streets away from First Beach, but Lena was just with him last night and practically all day today, so why does she need to see him again so soon? He doesn't realize at first that the bitter taste in his mouth and the burning sensation in his stomach is jealousy, since it's not an emotion he's used to feeling. Paul Lahote does not get jealous, especially not over a girl liking a scrawny wimp like Embry Call. Stupid imprinting side-effects, Paul thinks to himself, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming down before he gets angry and the wolf takes over again. Why did this have to happen to me?
By the time Paul has managed to regain control, which he thinks Sam would be pretty proud of, he hears his dad's crappy Ford truck pulling into the driveway. Paul inwardly groans, not wishing to see his dad right now because he's still annoyed with him for spending their grocery money on booze. He doesn't have to ask to know that's where the money went, because when money disappears in this house, empty bottles reappear in their place. It's too bad his dad can't find another way to cope with his miserable self. Maybe he should do what Paul does and get laid when he's angry, but instead he drowns his sorrows in alcohol. Paul shakes his head, turning on the spot and searching for the keys to his truck. He finds them on the coffee table, next to his empty plate, where he left them, and quickly scoops them up. As his dad walks in the front door, Paul is stepping into his sneakers to go out.
"Paul," Eli Lahote greets his son, attempting to hide his brown-bagged purchase from the liquor store behind his back as he steps inside the house, "You headin' out?"
"Yep," Paul replies, brushing past him as he walks outside. He rolls his eyes at his dad's predictability. Does he really think Paul doesn't see the bag, or know what's inside? Still, he does the responsible thing and lets him know, "I'll be back later."
"All right," Eli says agreeably. Before closing the door behind himself, he asks, "Did you lose your shirt?"
Paul looks down, only just realizing he never put a shirt on when he got home. He shrugs, not feeling uncomfortable due to his higher body temperature, and tells his dad, "Nope. I'm good." He doesn't feel like backtracking into the house for a shirt that he doesn't really need, and he knows the more time he spends with his dad the more likely it is he'll wind up on four furry legs with a tail. He hops down the stairs two at a time and gets behind the wheel of his truck. He doesn't know where he's going to go, just that it needs to be away from here.
Unsurprisingly, Paul heads in the direction of First Beach, knowing Lena is there. Maybe she'll be alone and he'll have a chance to talk to her. For once, it seems luck is on his side. When he parks his truck, he notes the rest of the parking lot is deserted, and the only person left on the beach is standing behind her easel, furiously painting the sunset on the canvas before her. Paul observes her from a distance for a while, not wanting to disturb her while she works since he snuck up on Lena once before when she was painting, and she screamed and streaked a line of black paint across the paper, ruining what she'd spent so much time on. That was the most angry he's ever seen Lena, except perhaps for today. He's not sure how long he's watching her for before he starts to walk over, but it's long enough for the sun to dip even lower in the sky, nearly disappearing behind the ocean far off in the distance. Lena is losing the light, and pretty quickly, too. As Paul gets closer, he realizes she's not only painting the sunset over the ocean, but the jagged cliffs that tourists are so drawn to, and the ones that he, Sam and Jared are supposed to go cliff-diving from pretty soon. Jared and Sam have done it before, but it will be Paul's first time.
Lena feels, rather than hears, someone approaching from behind her, but she's too focused on putting paint to canvas to turn around and see who it is. She knows she only has a few more minutes of good light, and she wants to finish the outline of the cliffs. She's pretty positive she can finish the rest from memory, at home, but not if she doesn't get the outline down perfectly. Faster than she's ever painted before, she dips her paintbrush in the orange and then the gray and places stroke after stroke on her canvas. She doesn't think she's stopped once to step back and take a good look at her work, but she doesn't have the time. She has to have faith the picture will come together. Otherwise she'll be back again with a new blank canvas to start all over.
Her heart rate doubles when she hears Paul's voice from directly behind her, "Looks good..."
She spins around in surprise, her eyes wide, and says sharply, "I've told you before not to sneak up on me when I'm painting." She had known someone was there, but she wasn't expecting it to be Paul, and seeing him standing only a few feet away, shirtless, is definitely a huge distraction. She diverts her eyes and wonders, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry," Paul replies, teasing her, "I didn't realize this was your own private beach."
"It's not," Lena says flatly, rolling her eyes and returning them to her canvas. She has a hard time concentrating though, now that she has an audience of one. Sighing, she asks, "Are you just going to stand there or did you come here for a reason?" She wipes her paintbrush off and places it down on the lip of the easel to dry. She's not going to be able to get anything else done tonight.
"I'm enjoying the view," Paul says, earning another look from Lena, which is exactly what he wanted. She frowns when she sees him looking at her and not the ocean or the sunset. "Am I bothering you?"
Lena has a hard time keeping her eyes on his face and not his perfectly sculpted chest and abs, and she swallows thickly as she admits, "Yes." She busies herself with putting the caps back on her paints and studying her painting for any flaws. She still has to fill in the details before it's finished, but she is happy with what she's done so far. If she can spend another hour on it tomorrow, she just may have her third art project finished, and with over a week left until school starts back up, too.
Paul shoves his hands in the front pockets of the cut-offs Sam loaned him, not sure what to say now. "So..."
"You're doing this all wrong," Lena says bluntly.
Paul frowns in confusion, "Doing what?"
"Pretending that I don't exist," Lena reminds him, "I think there's less talking involved, and more of you avoiding me." She places her paints in her art supply bag, along with her paintbrushes, and zips it closed.
"I never wanted that," Paul says as he watches her hands, "I never meant to avoid you."
"Are you bipolar?" Lena asks in frustration. He never meant to avoid her? She's pretty sure that's a load of bull crap. "If you never wanted to, why did you ignore me all week? Why did you leave work last Saturday? Why did you switch your schedule?"
He told Sam she'd have a buttload of questions for him, ones he doesn't know how to answer since they all involve his newly acquired shape-shifting skill, and the fact that he imprinted on her. "I am not bipolar," Paul says matter-of-factly, "I already told you I've been dealing with some weird shit and I can't explain it to you. But I didn't switch my schedule around to avoid you. I've been doing some work for Sam, and Saturday is when he needs me most."
"You've been working for Sam Uley?" Lena asks skeptically, one eyebrow raised.
"Yeah," Paul says slowly, "He's...moving, and I've been helping him fix up the new place." He feels bad for lying, but if Sam decides he is going to move into his dad's old place with Emily, the house probably will need to be fixed up, and if he offers to help then it won't be a lie.
"And last Saturday?" Lena inquires, hoping he'll have an explanation for running out on her then as well.
"I wasn't feeling right," Paul tells her, and this time it is the truth, "I had to get out of there. I didn't want to get you sick." Well, maybe the getting her sick part is a stretch. It's not like she can catch the shape-shifting gene; you're either born with it or you're not.
"Okay..." Lena accepts this answer, until she remembers that according to Leah he came back to work, after she left, and that's the night they had sex. "So then why'd you come back? Leah told me..."
"Yeah, I figured," Paul says, feeling frustrated, "But I wish she hadn't done that."
"Why?" Lena ignores the twisting knot in her belly as she claims, "It doesn't matter to me. I don't care what you and Leah did. I mean, good for you. But you obviously weren't that sick."
"Actually," Paul counters, "That's kind of proof I was sick, Lena. Do you really think I'd sleep with Leah if I wasn't temporarily out of my mind?"
Lena chuckles at the intensity in Paul's eyes as he expresses just how horrified he is at what occurred between him and Leah, reminding her much of how disgusted Leah was with herself when she admitted the two did the deed. "It is pretty...shocking. I mean, when Leah told me I almost didn't believe her. I guess I never thought you two were capable of getting along for long enough to, you know. But what's that saying? 'There's a fine line between love and hate', or something like that."
Paul scoffs, "I do not love Leah, so that saying is dead wrong."
For some reason, hearing him state so positively that he doesn't have feelings for Leah makes Lena feel better about the whole situation. And that is scary. That makes her wonder what the heck is wrong with her. Why does she care at all who Paul does or does not have feelings for? "Maybe," Lena shrugs.
"Still mad at me?" Paul asks hopefully. Lena shrugs again, looking up at him through her thick eyelashes, but not giving him a yes or no response. He decides she can't be too mad since she's not scowling at him any longer. "Want a ride home?"
"I don't know," Lena comments, recalling how Leah said her first mistake was allowing Paul to drive her home last weekend, "You're not going to try and kiss me, are you?"
Paul grins mischievously, "Only if you want me to."
Lena ducks her head and hopes the sky is too dark now for him to see the blush on her cheeks. "In your dreams, Lahote," She mumbles as she picks up her easel, careful not to ruin her painting, and follows him to his truck.
Author's Note: Almost finished this last night, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any typos or anything. So here's your Tuesday update, as promised. I hope you guys enjoyed it!
Please Review! Let me know what you thought. I really appreciate the feedback. I also love hearing your concerns/suggestions/anything that's on your mind. What did you think of Emily helping Paul to change Sam's mind? What do you think is going to happen next? I'll give you a hint, next chapter just may include the first day of school. I will update as soon as it's finished :)
