Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Thirteen: Busybodies and Know-it-alls
The next morning, I woke up late with a sense of dread. I wasn't completely sure of the pack's Bella Watch schedule, but I had this sinking feeling that if the routine of the past few days held up, today meant that Embry was my babysitter, and I wasn't sure how long I could actually avoid him. After getting out of bed after ten to an empty house, I moved to the upstairs window, searching the tree line for any sign of him, but my attention was grabbed by something entirely different. Paul was standing on the sidewalk – fully dressed, for once, and talking to Mrs Ableman, one of my elderly neighbours from down the street. She was a well-known gossip and busybody around Forks, and I'd been the subject of some of her more inventive rumours when I started dating Edward. Something told me that if she knew the truth about that relationship, her blue-rinsed perm would stand straight out on her head.
It looked she had been walking her Yorkshire terrier, Henry, but had evidently been flagged down by him for reasons unknown. I could see something balled up in his hand – a small piece of material, it looked like, and he was alternating his gestures between it and the house as he engaged her in conversation. My blood ran cold – whatever he was up to, I was one hundred per cent sure I would not like it.
I'd realised soon after Paul's hasty departure last night that I'd probably ended up making so much worse for myself – if nothing else, Paul was competitive and cocky, and it would only be a matter of time before setting my armed father on him would come back to bite me in the ass. What I hadn't anticipated, though, was retaliation the very next morning. The guy was up to no good – the half-smirk on his face as he turned on the charm on old Beatrice told me that much.
Pulling on a pair of sweats and a hooded shirt, I rushed down the stairs and almost tore the front door off its hinges. It was time for damage control, and lots of it. Both heads turned in my direction once the bang of the door rang out, and Paul's smirk turned into a full-fledged, beaming smile as soon as he laid eyes on me.
"Baby!" he called enthusiastically. "I'm so psyched to see you!"
He ran straight up to me, picked me up off the ground and planted a firm – overly tongued - kiss on my mouth. I was so shocked by the whole gesture that I just stiffly waited for him to finish, my mind going completely blank with the unexpectedness of it all. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled away, before briefly nuzzling my nose in an Eskimo kiss as he held me aloft in his iron grip. I was at a loss; my mouth gaped open and closed like a dying trout and I just stared speechlessly at him until he put me down.
" I was just telling Beatrice here all about us," he said sweetly, swinging a rock-hard arm around my shoulders and hugging me close. "You know, about our little heated encounter the other night, and how you gave me these to help me find you..."
My heart stopped as he held up a pair of lacy red panties, and proceeded to swing them around one finger as he raised an eyebrow. I had no words. Seriously. For the second, non-vampire related time in my life, the English language failed me.
He kissed my forehead and laid his head on top of mine shooting a smile right back at Mrs Ableman, who was looking at me with such disapproval, I had no problem understanding why her son, Bobby, had skipped town soon after coming out. That stare could cut a person in two.
"She's like a modern day Cinderella," he sighed, chuckling light-heartedly. "I know I wasn't her first – far from it, but she told me I was special." Every ounce of me was itching to punch him right in his stupid smug face, but flashes of the pain I'd endured when I'd done just that to Jacob, and the desire not to give any more fodder to the rumour mill stopped me. I pulled away to smile back at Paul, even though my face was practically sizzling with humiliation. The guy was an evil genius, and I was way out of my depth.
As if things couldn't get any worse, Embry appeared from the side of the house, dressed only in a pair of basketball shorts with a thunderous expression on his face. He came to a stop several feet away, his stare boring a hole in Paul's face.
"What's going on, guys?" he said through clenched teeth, and his tone was far from friendly. Paul puffed up his chest proudly and turned us both to face him.
"So glad you're here, Call. I was just sharing my joy with Beatrice here about the new woman in my life. Looks like fate finally brought me a good one," he said, waving the offending panties around in the air as he spoke. Embry's gaze zeroed in on them and an angry frown darkened his features.
"Taking my advice a little too literally, Bella, don't you think?" he replied evenly, refusing to meet my pleading gaze. How the hell could he possibly believe any of this crap?
"Embry, I-" I started, not sure how I could possibly finish that sentence with our audience present. I'd spent the last few days convincing myself that I didn't care what he thought, but the look of disgust in his expression had me straining to set the record straight. Mrs Ableman was staring with rapturous interest, as her dog strained on his leash.
"Don't let me interrupt, darling," she said, holding up a hand in surrender. She clearly now believed that I was involved with both men, and there was some kind of showdown about to take place.
"I really think we should take this inside, don't you, honey?" I said, looking up at Paul nervously, and afraid that attempting to regain control of the situation would only encourage him. "Embry, can you..." I jerked my head back towards the house urgently, but he still wouldn't meet my eye.
"I wouldn't want to interrupt something," he said sarcastically, he said, taking a step backwards. "I'm sure I'll get the rundown of events later." With that, he about-turned, and all but jogged back to his hiding place, his shoulders tensed with something I couldn't quite place.
I sighed heavily, grabbing Paul's hand and tugging it as hard as I could towards the front steps. "Come on, sweetpea, let's talk in here," I urged, feigning affection. Paul leisurely waved goodbye to Beatrice just before I slammed the door behind us.
"What the fuck was that?" I snarled as soon as I turned to face him, which prompted him to descend into fits of laughter, shaking his body so violently that he doubled over and clutched at his stomach.
"Oh man, you should have seen your face!" he spluttered, reaching up to wipe a tear of mirth from his eye. I grabbed a cushion off the couch and proceeded to start beating him over the head with it, but it only served to increase his laughter.
"Where the hell did you even get these?" I screeched, pulling the panties out of his hand and holding them up to his face. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sometimes the chicks I bang like to make sure I don't forget about 'em," he said matter-of-factly. My face contorted in horror and I threw thew underwear back at him.
"That is- You're- EW!" I spluttered, barely able to fully convey the depth of my disgust. Not only had he humiliated me in front of one of the nosiest women in town, made Embry think I was using Paul for rebound-sex, but now I was standing in my living room holding some skank's panties.
He started chuckling obnoxiously once again and I scoffed, turning back around and stomping away. I needed to get as far from him as possible at that moment – I was failing to see how Paul's list of conquests was so long. The guy was abhorrent.
"You're like... there should be a public service announcement about you!" I snapped, looking back to catch the vainglorious look on his face.
"Don't hate the player, hate the game," he replied arrogantly. "Don't act like you don't want a piece."
"I can safely say you're not on my Christmas list," I sneered. "It beats the hell out of me how Leah even stooped that low." A look I couldn't distinguish passed over his features for a second before he laughed off my insult.
"She wasn't exactly hard to persuade," he said, shrugging . "Not that it's any of your business."
Something about his posture screamed defensive, and I found myself taking a step closer to him, cocking my head inquisitively. Maybe I couldn't out-shame Paul Lahote, but I could probably out-scheme him. "What is it with you and Leah anyway?" I enquired. His eyes snapped back to mine and he furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean? It's old news."
"Could've fooled me," I shot back. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that it was a little more than a one-night-stand. For you, anyway." His posture stiffened and he stuck out his jaw defiantly.
"Please," he scoffed. "It'd take one hell of a chick to get under my skin."
"But Leah's not just any 'chick', is she?" I asked knowingly. I took another step toward him. "She got to you."
Paul shook his head. "You're deluded, Swan. Been reading too many flouncy romance novels, it messed with your head," he said twirling his finger in a circle by his temple. I folded my arms and smirked.
"If you say so, but just remember, if you're having trouble figuring her thoughts out, you might want to keep the people she confides in a little closer." He looked at me thoughtfully for a beat before speaking again.
"You'd do that, for me?" he asked disbelievingly. I shrugged.
"For a price," I replied. He raised an eyebrow and folded his own arms.
"What are we talking?"
"No more humiliation, no more naked strutting around, and no more destroying what's left of my reputation."
He chuckled darkly. "I don't think there's much of that left," he muttered. I shot him a withering look and his face straightened out again. "Alright, I'll bite. What will you do for me?"
"Get Leah talking, maybe see what her thoughts are about you now. I'll report back as long as you promise to keep up your own end of the bargain, and try not to let her, or anyone else see, " I said warningly. "Try to keep any memories of this or any future talks out of your head while phased, as well as our little war-games. She'd kill me if she knew I'd gone double-agent."
He mulled this over for a few moments before smiling and holding out a hand. "As long as you do the same. Doesn't sound too hard, we've all learned a thing-or-two about keeping the private stuff private from that little Embry wiener. Deal," he said.
I smiled back, smugly pleased with myself. Maybe Paul thought he was getting what he wanted, but it didn't mean he was getting off scot-free for what he'd pulled this morning. I'd made sure he couldn't retaliate without compromising our deal, but I'd made no such promise. I was going to have to think of something pretty good to pay him back for this.
Paul left soon after our peaceful negotiations, and I found it was time to start getting ready for work. After taking a quick shower and picking out some clothes that didn't scream I-have-one-night-stands-with-manwhores, I locked up the house and made my way outside. I knew Embry had to still be around, and I took my time getting to the cab door, squinting into the tree-line for any sign of him. He was there, still, managing to look pissed off, even as a wolf.
"Embry," I hissed, looking around for passers-by. "Can I talk to you?" He disappeared farther into the trees upon the sound of my voice, and I felt my heart sink. I wasn't sure why I valued his opinion so much, but I had to try and defend myself. I was about to turn back to the truck when his voice startled me, coming out of a copse of trees to my left.
"What about?" he said dejectedly, emerging from the foliage re-dressed and stand-offish. I frowned at him; I knew why I was feeling shitty right then, but what was his excuse?
"What do you think?" I shot back. "You know Paul was full of shit this morning, right?"
He met my gaze for the first time all day and raised an eyebrow. "He was?"
"Of course," I sighed. "You really think I'm the type to go handing my panties out, and to someone like him?"
A smirk tugged at his full lips before he pressed them together. "Guess not, they didn't look like something you'd wear. Although what you do with your panties is none of my business, clearly," he muttered, before looking back at me, his eyes widening at shock at what he'd just said. "I mean, they're your panties, if you want to keep 'em on... Wait! That's not what I..." he trailed off, cringing.
For once, I wasn't the only person in the conversation whose face was lighting up like a Christmas tree.
"Can you stop talking about my panties, Em?" I said bashfully, looking anywhere but at him and chewing on my bottom lip. This was definitely not the direction I'd envisioned this conversation going.
"Yeah... I'll just stop talking," he said, dropping his face into his palm and scrubbing his hand roughly over his features. I nodded in agreement, still refusing to look at him directly. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and toed the ground awkwardly. "So... what was it all about?" he asked. I opened my mouth to reply, but the memory of my talk with Paul, and the promise we'd made to keep our little prank war and the arrangement we had a secret filtered into my mind. I closed my lips again and frowned.
"I... can't tell you," I said apologetically. His face hardened again and he sighed.
"Figures," he said frustratedly. "But just do me a favour, if you're so hell-bent on becoming this whole different person, do the rebounding with someone who I don't have to share a mind with. It's crappy enough seeing you turn into... this," he said, gesturing haphazardly towards me, "without getting to see the high-lights."
A ball of anger curled in my stomach and I took a step back from him. "I had no idea you had such a low opinion of me, Embry," I snapped, shaking my head and looking at him in betrayal. I should have known they all shared the same thoughts about me and how I'd handled everything lately.
"Actually, my opinion of you is pretty high... of the real you, anyway. This, Bella? It's not you. "
"Good!" I retorted. "That's just about the best thing you could say to me right now. I don't want to be the same as I was, and I sure as hell don't want to be someone who lets people pass judgement on me."
His jaw clenched and he shook his head, raking an hand through his hair; it was growing out still from his pack-scalping, and it seemed like he was still getting used to it. I wondered how I still had the wherewithal to speculate about Embry's hair when we were in the midst of an argument.
"What I do with my life is of no concern of yours, or any of the Pack's, so when I want your opinion, I'll ask you for it. I'm never going to be the same again, Embry, too much has happened to me. If you're waiting for the old me to make a reappearance, then you'll be waiting a long time," I said, digging my fingers into my chest. "This is who I am now, get used to it." Fuming, I turned on my heel and sighed, redoubling my effort s to reach my truck. I had been leaving the house early to get to work, but if I stayed here and listened to this any longer I was going to be late. I started walking forward, hell bent on storming off, when I heard Embry speak one again from behind me.
"I didn't think there was anything wrong with you in the first place," he said.
A/N: So, that was a little explosive, eh? Everything's building up slowly, but if you'll bear with me, I think you guys will really enjoy what's to come.
I'd love to know what you think. Personally, Embry can talk about my panties all he wants...