Chapter 14 - Lyin Eyes

You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes

Ryvre POV

Leah sent me the text just as I'd gotten home from school. 'The psychic vamp says Victoria and her newborns are coming. The battle happens tonight.'

I stared at my phone for a few minutes trying to formulate a reply. 'Good luck.' I finally wrote. No one was home so I went to my room and turned on Netflix. There was a knock at the front door. With a sigh, I paused my show and went to answer the door. I tried not to frown when I realized it was Paul.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"We're fighting the newborns tonight," he said, unfazed my by brusque greeting.

"I know, Leah texted me."

"Oh." He shifted from one foot to the other.

"Did you want something else? You don't normally show up at my door to awkwardly stare at me."

"Just to make sure you were okay," he said, shrugging.

I softened a little. "I'm fine."

"That's good."

"Do you even really care or did Sam make you come here?"

The anger flashed in his eyes and he opened his mouth to tell me off but stopped. I saw him take two deep breaths. "I care."

That response pulled the rug right out from under me and I just stood there staring at him for a minute. Collin came up the steps behind him, saving me from having to respond for the moment.

"It's happening tonight," he said. He looked at Paul. "I guess you know that already." He moved past me to come in the house. "Can we shut the door? You're letting all the heat out."

I started to tell Paul to piss off but he came inside before I could say a word. With a huff, I shut the door and followed the boys into the living room.

"Sam wants us to come over before dark to prepare," Paul told my little brother.

"I know," Collin said with a sigh. He looked down at the coffee table and I could swear he looked ten years older.

The fear started to set in my stomach. I looked at Paul. "You can go anytime now. I'd like some time with my brother."

Collin looked at me. "Don't you want some time with Paul too?" He made a kissy face at me. I threw a pillow at his head which only made him laugh.

"She hates me enough already, do you have to make it worse?" Paul said. He was grinning as if it were a joke. There was a hint of pain in his eyes though.

"She doesn't hate you, she's just afraid," Collin replied simply.

Paul looked over at me. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing," I snapped. "Are you two done talking about me?"

"I am," Collin said as he stood up. "Emily has Claire and Olivia so I'm going over there for a while." He looked at me. "Emily says you're invited to come over until the battle is over. Kim and Hannah are going to be there as well."

"Okay," I said. He turned and left then, leaving me alone with Paul. "Why are you still here?"

"Because here you have nowhere to run."

"Why are you tormenting me?"

"Because apparently it's the only way to get you to talk."

I almost screamed. "You are just as against this imprint as I am, why are you suddenly so interested in me?"

"Why are you so afraid of the imprint?" he countered.

"I want my choice!"

He rolled his eyes. "Your choice, your choice. Well, what exactly do you want?"

I snapped. "I want Joey!" Tears sprang to my eyes and flowed down my face before I could stop them. I backed up until my legs hit the couch and I sat down. Paul shoved a box of tissues in my hand then stood back and let me cry. When I had calmed down I told him everything. "We started dating when I was fifteen. He was my first love. We were together almost two years. Last year we got into this big fight because this girl in class kept texting him and I thought something was going on when there wasn't. He swore that it was all her. I called him a liar and hung up on him. That was the last thing I ever said to him. He texted me that his mom was going to drive him over to my house so we could talk in person. I never answered him. Then he never showed up. Which only made me more angry at him. I sent him some pretty nasty texts about lying to me then I went to bed. The next day I found out a drunk driver hit them. He and his mom were both killed." I wiped my eyes again.

"The last thing I ever said to him was he was a liar. If I had just answered my phone and talked to him he wouldn't have tried to come to my house and he would still be alive."

At some point, Paul had sat down next to me and was awkwardly rubbing my back. I had to admit his presence was comforting. The tears had stopped but I was still sniffling.

"Is that what you're afraid of? Giving someone else a chance to get close to you? Having them ripped away so suddenly?" he finally asked. "None of that was your fault. It's a horrible coincidence but it wasn't your fault. All of our cards are marked in advance."

I didn't say anything, just enjoyed the warmth of his hand on my back. "We were supposed to go to prom together, that's why I didn't go. Then we were going to graduate together. Go to school together in North Carolina. I was going to go for pathology. He was going to be pre-med. But I didn't believe him. He loved me enough to want to talk to me in person and instead it got him killed."

Paul reached out and wiped a tear from my cheek. "That's an enormous amount of guilt you've been carrying around," he said quietly.

In all honesty, I did feel like a huge weight had lifted off my chest. I looked out the window to see the sun was setting. Something about seeing the outside made me very aware of what I'd just confessed to Paul, how vulnerable I was. "You should go. It's almost time for you to meet up with the others." I could see how badly he wanted to stay with me.

"Are you going to wait with Emily and the others?" he asked softly.

I shrugged. "I don't know if I can handle the waiting game. I wish I could just go to sleep until it's all over."

Paul squeezed my shoulder and stood up. "I'll see you after." He hovered for a minute like he wasn't sure if he wanted to say something else or not. Finally he just waved and went out the front door. For a long time I just sat there, in disbelief that I had actually told him about Joey. My dad was the only person that I talked about him with. After a while I went up to shower and change clothes. By the time I came down my parents were home. I told them I was going to stay the night at Emily's, which mom accepted without question.

Dad was in his office, looking over some paperwork when I entered.

"My little Ryvre. Is something happening tonight?" he asked, looking up at me.

"The psychic vamp says they're coming tonight. There's going to be a battle so Emily asked the imprints to come over and wait it out together."

"And you agreed?" he asked, his eyes widening. "Did something happen between you and Paul that I don't know about?"

"I'm going because of Collin," I replied. "I can't sit here all night wondering if my baby brother is okay."

"Right," dad agreed, looking back at his work.

"I told Paul about Joey," I said quietly, looking away. When I looked up dad was staring at me.

"I have to admit I'm surprised by that. That's a big step for you. I'm proud of you for opening up," dad said with a smile.

"Do you think I did the right thing? Telling him about Joey, that is."

"I do. Now he knows what you've been through. I don't think he would treat you like a doll but at least he knows you have a soft side. Kind of like an M&M. Hard on the outside, soft on the inside. And he knows you trusted him with something private. It shows trust in the relationship."

I crossed my arms. "There is no relationship. I'm not over Joey."

"Not yet, I know. It only happened seven months ago. But you will move on. And I know this month is especially hard on you with prom and graduation, since I know you planned on doing both of those things together, but it will get easier. You're eighteen, Ryvre. You've got a lot of growing to do." Dad smiled at me.

Finally I smiled and went around his desk to hug him. "I'm heading over to Emily's. I'll call or text when I know something."

"Okay, sweetie. I love you. Be careful."

"Always am. I love you, too, dad."

Paul POV

The other guys were waiting behind Sam's house when I got there. Sam glanced at me. "You're late," he said sternly.

"Sorry," I replied absently.

Jared and Embry looked at me and then each other. I think it was the first time I'd ever apologized.

Collin was glaring at me, knowing he had left me alone with his sister. "Is my sister okay?"

"She's fine," I replied defensively. "She, uh, she told me about Joey."

The other guys looked confused but Collin's jaw dropped. "She did? Wow."

Sam got our attention then to go over the plan for tonight. When it was time we phased and went to meet the Cullen family.

Ryvre POV

All the lights in Emily's house were burning. I could almost feel the anxiety coming from the girls inside. I stood on the sidewalk for at least a full five minutes trying to decide if I were mentally ready for this. Emily let me in with a pained smile. Kim was a wreck, pacing back and forth in the living room. Hannah was seated in a chair, staring absently at the wall. They were all a hot damn mess.

"Okay, ladies," I said loudly, clapping my hands together. "It's going to be a long night. The guys are going to be out there in wolf form for hours so you know what that means."

"I'm going to cry a river of anxious tears?" Kim said, clutching a tissue to her chest. Her eyes were already red and puffy.

"No, it means we have to bake. We need food."

"How much food?" Hannah asked absently.

"Well, there's seventeen of them now," Emily chimed in, understanding what I was trying to do.

"So, we need a shit ton. Emily, empty the freezer," I said.

Emily immediately jumped into action. She began ordering us around and placing us in charge of different areas of the kitchen. I tried to keep the conversation going so no one's thoughts wandered. Emily was chattering away about something Claire and Olivia had done that day when a loud, pained howl cut her off.

Kim dropped the piping bag. "That was Jared, I just know it."

"You don't know that," I told her firmly. I walked over and shoved the bag back into her hands. "Finish icing those cupcakes. Do that one over, that flower looks like shit."

Hannah and Emily turned back to their own tasks, trying not to think about what that howl could mean. When the sun started peeking over the trees, Emily went back to the fridge. "Let's make breakfast," she said. It wasn't long before every inch of Emily's countertops were covered with food. Sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits, pancakes and hash browns were set on the table. Various flavors of bread, cupcakes, muffins and cookies were stacked on the counters.

"I hope this is over soon," Emily said quietly to me. "I'm out of flour."

"What can we make without it?" I pulled out my phone to google flourless cakes.

"There's always pudding," Hannah chimed in.

"Oh, good idea," I agreed.

"Let's go ahead and have breakfast before it gets cold," Emily said, handing out plates. The four of us sat down together and helped ourselves to the mountain of food.

"So, Ryvre," Kim started. "Have you warmed up to this imprinting thing yet?"

"Kim!" Emily scolded, smacking her arm.

"No," I said, looking at her. "I never will either."

"Isn't that why you're here?" Kim wondered. "To be here when Paul comes back safe."

"I'm here for my brother," I reminded her.

"So she says," Kim half whispered to Hannah.

I ignored her. They continued to laugh but I wasn't listening. My ears picked up the sound of shouting from the backyard. I stood up quickly and nearly ran to the back door. The other girls on my heels. Sam was the one shouting. He, Jared and Quil were carrying someone across the yard. Emily pushed back inside to get her first aid kit. Kim followed her to help, now that she had seen Jared was just fine. Seth came out of the trees and I could feel Hannah relax next to me. She went down the steps and met him halfway.

When the guys reached the porch, I held the door open. It was only then I saw it was Jacob that was injured. I hated the relief that flooded me. I looked around and realized the others were all in the yard, slowly making their way toward the house. Collin gave me a half hug when he reached the porch.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"There was a vamp that almost attacked Leah. Jake jumped in front of it. Smashed a bunch of bones. That vamp doctor is coming to fix him up," Collin told me.

"Everything else was okay?" I looked up and locked eyes with Paul. He had a scratch along his chest but other wise looked okay.

"Yeah, we took care of it. Working with the Cullens wasn't even that bad. And Paul kicked ass too, he didn't get hurt so you can stop staring now."

I looked at my brother and elbowed his ribs. "Are you hungry? We needed something to pass the time so we made a shit ton and a half of food."

Behind me I heard Brady whisper, "How much is a shit ton and a half?"

Collin followed me inside and sat at the table. I took the seat next to him to finish my own breakfast.

"Paul said you told him about Joey," Collin said quietly.

"Yeah, I did," I said.

"That's cool." My brother grinned at me.

The rest of the pack filed in and started filling up plates of their own. Paul sat next to me but didn't say anything. The guys were relatively quiet. Seth started telling everyone what happened during the final battle. How Bella had cut her arm to distract Riley to give Edward a chance to attack.

"Bella was there?" I interrupted. "Seriously?"

"She insisted," Seth informed me.

"Of course she did." I rolled my eyes. "Because she's an idiot and couldn't stand not being in the center of the action."

"Well, if it weren't for her distracting Riley, Paul wouldn't have been able to take him out," Seth defended.

"If she wouldn't have been out there in the first place, Edward wouldn't have needed to get her out of there so there wouldn't have been a confrontation away from the others," I pointed out.

Seth shrugged in agreement.

"It's her fault Jake is hurt," Collin said. He then told me about the conversation Jake and Edward had in the tent and how Bella had kissed him. I felt disgusted.

"It's not enough for her to date a vampire that she has to have Jake fawning over her as well? I'm not saying I like Edward but that's not fair to him either," I stated. Jake's screams of pain interrupted our conversation.

Emily came into the kitchen then. "They're having to re-break a lot of his bones to set them right. He's healing so quickly they're healing wrong. It may be best if you guys go on home. Sam wants you to get some rest."

No one moved until there was a light knock on the door. Everyone looked around at each other wondering who it could be. I stood up. "I'll go get that." When I opened the door, I grimaced. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

"Can I see Jake?" Bella asked softly, trying to look around me.

"Haven't you done enough damage?" I snapped at her.

"Ryvre," Emily said behind me. "It's okay." She looked at Bella. "You can see him for a few minutes but that's all. He needs to rest."

I crossed my arms and refused to move from my spot. Bella slid in the door sideways to get around me. A few of the guys then filed out of the kitchen, following Sam's order to go home. Paul came to the front door, lingering a moment.

"I'm glad you're okay," I said softly, not really looking at him.

"Thanks," he replied.

I followed my little brother out the door and got into my car. Our parents were waiting up when we got home. Mom hugged Collin, tearfully declared how proud she was then went to bed. Dad wanted details. We sat down and Collin began telling him what had happened.

"I think Victoria started to realize she was losing," he said. "She took off. Edward went after her but she led him into a trap. Riley was waiting for him. Well, Paul had his sights on Riley from the jump." He glanced at me when he said this. "Edward was trying to talk Riley down, convincing him Victoria was just using him. It was working until Paul came out of the trees. Riley gets this weird look on his face and just stares at Paul. I think he could smell Ryvre's scent on him. That's when Bella cut her arm to distract Victoria. Edward took his chance and killed her while Paul went after Riley. After that Carlisle tried to convince the other newborns to stand down. Didn't work, though."

Hearing that Paul was the one who had killed Riley surprised me a little. A strange emotion settled in my chest. Satisfaction, maybe? I'd heard all I wanted to hear so I bid them good night and went to my room.