I am so sorry for the long wait! I took a Biology class in the first session of summer school and I had a test every week, taking up all my time! Thankfully that's over now and I just have a few labs which don't take up much time at home. I tried to get this out earlier but it just wasn't happening. Hope all the Americans had a good 4th of July, and the rest of you had a good weekend! I watched my boyfriend's band play and saw some fireworks so it was a good night. (: Hope you enjoy this chapter! I apologize if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes...
Enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen
The sky outside was almost completely black by the time Adele stirred in Paul's arms. She'd been asleep for over three hours. Paul hadn't moved a muscle. The rest of her nap was peaceful as far as he could tell. She hadn't had another 'episode'.
Paul dozed off and on during her nap but, wasn't able to fully rest. He was too worried about what would happen when she woke up. It was way too soon to bring up the fact that he could shape-shift. He knew she was still worried over their earlier encounter due to the fact that she mumbled 'wolf' on more than one occasion in her sleep. That talk would definitely have to wait for later.
Paul leaned his head left and right, stretching out all the kinks that had settled in during her nap. One loud 'pop' made her jolt and open her eyes. He smiled sheepishly down at her, still holding her tight in his arms. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her hands were pressed up against his chest.
"Mmm...hi." The infamous blush appeared along her cheekbones. Her voice was husky from sleep and he repressed the urge to ravish her right then and there.
Paul didn't answer right away; instead he took advantage of her just woken-up state and let his eyes roam over her face. Even with red, blotchy cheeks she made his heart pound.
Eventually their eyes met and he let the side of his mouth quirk up into a small smirk. "Good evening." Paul tried to ignore how he sounded like Count Dracula enticing his prey. Inwardly he gave a sigh of relief when she snickered at his accidental impression.
He watched as she took a deep breath, finally adjusting into awake mode. "Did I ask you to stay?" Her words were timid as if she feared his response.
Paul shook his head slightly. Was it normal for people to leave after witnessing a panic attack? He wasn't sure what he would do if she wasn't his soul-mate. However, that point was moot anyways because she was his soul-mate, and there was no way he could leave her after that.
"You didn't have to stay." She pushed herself up, her face only a couple of inches from his. Paul hoped she didn't catch any whiffs of his breath. All of a sudden he couldn't remember why he didn't brush his teeth that morning.
"I wanted to. Plus, you fell asleep on my shoulder. You would've woken up if I'd moved you."
"Why are you so nice?" Adele asked suddenly. Her eyes cut to his.
"I'm not nice."
She shook her head slightly, glancing away towards the back door. Paul briefly wondered if she was still afraid his shape-shifting form would burst in at any moment. He would have to somehow ease her fears without releasing his secret.
"What's wrong?" He asked, breaking the brief silent spell between them. Adele's eyes were avoiding his at all costs. Paul slowly released his arms from around her body. Like a limp doll she fell back slightly, before coming back to life and pushing herself off of him. For a brief moment Paul wished that she was normal.
They could meet in a normal way, without her thinking he was mentally unstable. He would ask her out and they would go on the hike. They would kiss without being awkward and things would progress naturally from there. Unfortunately it seemed like they had just gone backwards from the kiss. She'd pushed and cut him out of her life because she was scared of something. That much was obvious.
They sat awkwardly for a moment before she coughed. With her peripherals at work, Adele glanced at Paul. He looked frustrated and she knew it was her fault. She didn't even blame him.
"I'm pretty different from other girls, hm?" She laughed stiffly, folding her hands in her lap. Paul didn't answer so she continued to talk.
"My dad died not too long ago. He was the only family I really had." Adele pushed the statement out before she could stop herself. Her vision stayed implanted on the floor beneath her. She didn't want to see a look of pity on his face.
"I haven't taken to his loss very well." Her words were coming out artlessly. "I have panic attacks sometimes. I try not to let it bother me too much, but besides my one friend in Portland... he's all I had. How can that not bother me?" The question was rhetorical, so she didn't expect an answer. She glanced up at him anyways. He had his head in his hands.
"I won't mind if you don't want to mess with me. I wouldn't want to bother with me." Although Adele wasn't sure if she'd give up on Paul if he was screwed up like her. She felt a strange urge to take care of him. Logically, she knew that he really didn't need anyone to take care of him. One look at his muscles would tell you that.
A large hand appeared in front of her and she flinched suddenly. It lowered onto her folded hands and squeezed lightly.
"I'm not giving up on you." He said softly.
"This is crazy." Adele murmured quietly. "You barely even know me. What is it that you see in me?"
The whole situation was, after all, extremely surreal. How had she managed to find this man who already cared so much for her. It couldn't be true. All of her life lessons told her that. Never trust a man unless you've seen all sides of him. She'd only known Paul for two weeks- give or take.
"It's not what I see." Paul answered. "It's what I feel.. for you." He winced apologetically at the sappy words. But there was no other way to describe what was going on. With any other girl, he wouldn't stay with her while she slept. He wouldn't watch the way her lips moved as she dreamed. He definitely wouldn't put this much effort into making her feel safe or...loved. But she wasn't just any other girl.
"Obviously, I don't understand." Adele was perched on the edge of the couch. Her eyes halted, unwaveringly, on his face.
Paul sighed, running his hands over his short hair. The whole imprinting thing was so far-fetched that there was no way she would believe him right now. He would have to wait until she really loved him to explain it all. She would have to feel it all before she could know technically what it was.
He almost felt physical pain at not being able to tell her that she was the one. She was his forever, no matter what happened. But, it was too soon.
Adele watched Paul as he wrestled over something in his mind. He was obviously trying to get something across to her without actually saying something. Unfortunately Adele wasn't very good at mind-reading.
She knew what he was talking about when he said he felt things for her. She felt the strangest things towards him. Emotions in her rushed when she saw him. Things she had never even dreamed of bubbled to the surface when he was around. It was subtle, but it was there. But, in Adele's mind, it still wasn't okay. She wanted something solid, something to depend on. Feelings weren't solid. They could change in a split second. What did she want?
"I want to be friends." She blurted out. Friends were good. Friends were solid and dependable. You didn't have to worry about not seeing them because they would always be there. Boyfriends were not solid or dependable. They could break you or run away.
She chanced a look in his direction and found him staring at her, open-mouthed. Suddenly she felt the blatant need to defend herself.
"I barely know you-" He tried to cut in, but she stopped him. "Seriously, I barely know you.. and you don't know me either. You just found out my dad died and that's the biggest part of my life right now. I can't be in a relationship." She held her hands to her forehead in frustration.
"Don't you feel this?" Paul's hands were gripping hers tightly, his eyes locking on hers.
"We have chemistry Paul... people have chemistry." She was floundering for an excuse for the bubbling inside of her. He could tell.
"You know it's more than that. I don't want to push you Adele. God knows you don't need anyone pushing you. But, I won't let you just shut me out again. I care about you." His frustration was apparent in the furrowed forehead and his tight lips.
"I'm not pushing you out." Adele pouted a bit, knowing he was referring to the last time she had thought she would just 'be friends' with him. That hadn't turned out well.
"I seriously just want to be friends. We can still hang out as friends, can't we?"
Paul sighed deeply, falling back into the couch. Of course he could go back to being friends with her. He would do anything for her- be anything for her. He just didn't really want to.
"Yeah, we can hang out as friends." He tried to plaster a fake smile on his face, but it was hard. He wasn't really very good at doing things he didn't want to do. In fact, he was very bull-headed when it came to getting things his way. All of that changed when Adele had walked onto the La Push beach that day.
"Thank you." She breathed out a sigh of relief. Her hand jumped to his, almost instinctively. She squeezed it gently, feeling the roughness of his knuckles.
"What do we do now?" Paul asked, feeling awkward for the first time around her. He was in uncharted territory. He'd never really just been friends with a girl, except for Emily. He didn't really count Leah.
"Are you hungry?" Adele asked, her hands both tucked in her lap. She'd been actively keeping her stomach from grumbling since she woke up.
"I guess." Paul answered. He stood suddenly, sticking his hands into the pockets of his black basketball shorts.
"Why are you standing?" Adele smiled slightly, glancing up at his tall frame.
Paul held out his palm for her to grab and pulled her to her feet.
"So we can make dinner."
The two of them whipped up some grilled cheeses after a twenty minute debate on what to eat. Paul had griped about three sandwiches not being enough for him, but Adele was set on a grilled cheese. It wasn't too heavy, and not too light.
"Admit it, this is good." Adele grinned at him from across the kitchen table. Paul stuffed his mouth full in response, making her giggle out loud.
"You're kind of gross."
"You're gross."
"Nice comeback."
The smile hadn't left her face since Paul had decided to show her his 'killer sandwich-making skills'. Two sandwiches had burned before he finally got one right.
"I'm known for my witty retorts." Paul's bright white teeth gleamed at her. She tried to ignore the goosebumps on her arms from the sight of his smile.
When he left that night, he kissed her cheek and gave her a hug.
"Be careful. I'll see you soon." He winked at her and jogged towards the street.
"Where are you going? Where's your car?" Adele had to cup her hands around her mouth to get her voice loud enough for him to hear her. He ran so damn fast.
"I ran here!" He laughed at the look on her face.
"You're crazy! I'll drive you home!" She offered, but he quickly waved her off.
"I'll be fine. Go to sleep!" With that, he was gone.
Adele closed her door immediately and locked it. Her paranoia was still in the forefront of her mind. She jogged to the couch where her phone lay unattended and picked it up. Paul had put in his phone number as she watched the sandwiches heat up on the stove.
She typed out a text telling Paul to let her know when he got home. She wasn't even sure if he had his phone on him. But sure enough, ten minutes later, she got a text from him.
'Go to sleep, beautiful. C u 2morrow.' Adele winced with a smile at his text speak, and responded within a moment.
'Who said I wanted to see you tomorrow? Maybe I have better things to do...'
Adele bit her lip. She was staring at her phone in wait of his response. Being honest with herself, she felt a little bit pathetic. But, that didn't stop her when her phone beeped a minute later. She quickly opened up his text and failed at not smiling.
'Ur better things should include me, smart ass. Be safe.'
Adele tossed her phone on her bed as she walked into her room. The house felt too big for her she realized as she was brushing her teeth in the bathroom. She felt like the only mouse in the mansion. Maybe she would feel better if Sierra did come down sooner rather than later. Sierra had mentioned it in one of her phone calls, after all.
As Adele rinsed out her mouth, she heard her phone beep in the other room. Instantly excited that Paul might have texted her again, she jogged over to her bed.
'Hey Adele, it's Emily. I haven't seen you in a while. You should come to the house tomorrow and hang out with me while Sam's busy! I'm thinking about baking cookies for the boys anyways. Let me know!'
Adele felt a bit of disappointment when she didn't see Paul's name. But, Emily was almost as good. She did miss Emily's positivity and friendliness. She made Adele feel like part of the family almost immediately.
'Sure, Emily. I'd love to come. When should I head over?'
By the time Emily responded, Adele had already showered and changed into her pajamas. Adele set her alarm for eleven so she could be ready to be at Emily's house by twelve.
By the time Adele finally clambered into bed, she was exhausted. Even though she'd had a three hour nap, she still felt like she'd run two marathons.
For the first time in weeks, Adele slept through the night without waking up. She chalked it up to being really tired from her emotional outburst. But, in the back of her mind she had a feeling it was Paul.
Review if you please! Hopefully another chapter coming soon!
-A Lesson Before Dying