She Will Be Loved
The rain pours down on us as Paul and I make a run for the front door of my house. Our shoes make loud sloshing noises as they land in puddle after puddle. The air is cold but I am able to find some comfort in the small amount of warmth that Paul's hand clutching mine gives me. The alcove above the front door offers us a dry place to stand.
Paul stands in front of me, his chest nearly touching mine. He looks down at me with an easy grin on his face, "I told you that Mimsie would like you. You had nothing to worry about."
"I'm glad," I grin back at him, "I really am."
"I'll call you tomorrow when I get off of work," Paul tells me before somewhat hesitantly adding, "If that's alright with you?"
I smile as I nod at him, "Yeah, that's fine."
He smiles back at me as he cups the sides of my face with his hands. He leans down and places a small kiss on my lips. After a moment, he pulls away and his eyes meet mine.
"Bye, Rory." He smiles at me.
"Bye, Paul." I smile back before standing up on my tip toes to place a small kiss on his left cheek.
I'm rewarded with a genuine smile and a soft kiss on my forehead before he goes back out into the rain. I watch as he cranks his truck, and I send him a final wave before he backs out of the driveway before I make my way into the house.
I hear voices on the TV as I walk into the living room where I see Dad sitting a little too casually. He's reclined in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. The swinging cords on the blinds that cover the window next to his chair make me believe that he was probably spying on me. The thought makes me want to cover my face with my hands in embarrassment which I somehow manage to restrain from doing.
"I'm home, Dad." I say as I lean against the back of the couch and look at him.
"Oh! Rory, I didn't hear you come in," His eyebrows raise as he looks at me trying to look like he's surprised. "How'd it go?"
I decide to ignore the fact that we both know that he knew I was here from the moment Paul's headlights shined into the driveway. I instead give him a smile, "It was fun. Mimsie is quite a character."
"Yeah, she's definitely something else." He laughs, his cheeks taking on light pink hue.
That's interesting.
"Yeah," I give a small laugh as I glance around, "So… Where's Bella?"
"Upstairs doing homework," He informs me with a frown, "I don't know why those teachers give you guys homework on the weekends. It's like you never have time to just be kids."
"Yeah, the school must be run by sadists." I nod my head agreeing with him, "They like to watch younger people suffer."
He gives me a weird look but chuckles none-the-less.
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" He questions as his hand comes up to scratch the back of his neck, "I'm going fishing with some guys from the station. I can stay home and we could hang out if you wanted me to."
I smile knowing that Dad really does enjoy spending time with us. It warms my heart to know that he's willing to give up hanging with the boys to hang with his girls.
"No, Dad." I say as I make a swatting motion with my hand, "Go have fun. Catch a big one for me. Bella and I will be able to find something to keep us preoccupied."
He shoots me a doubtful look, "She plans on being in and out of the house. Doing grocery shopping and laundry."
My face scrunches up in disgust, "What's wrong with that girl?"
He lets out a small laugh and shrugs, "Your sister is just very mature and responsible for her age."
I frown slightly. Then what does that say about me? I shake my head deciding not to dwell on the thought too much.
"I'll figure out something to do. Don't worry about me. You just go show the guys at the station how it's done." I grin at him.
"I always do." He grins back at me and winks.
I quickly make my way up the stairs beyond ready to share all of the details of the night with my twin. Barging into our room, I had expected to find Bella awake and reading. Instead, I find her completely knocked out with Chopin's nocturnes playing quietly on the radio.
I let out a disappointed sigh realizing that telling her about my night with Paul and Mimsie will obviously have to wait.
Saturday morning I wake up and realize that Bella isn't even at home. I decide that I will just shoot Mom an email about my day yesterday. I'm overflowing with excitement and I'm afraid that I might spontaneously combust if I don't tell somebody.
I decide to get a shower after sending my email to Mom. I bring the CD player into the bathroom and set it on the closed toilet seat. I'm thankful that the power cord is long enough to reach to the plug in next to the sink. I put my Maroon 5 Songs about Jane cd in and press play.
I spend a good hour in the shower having my own mini concert. By the time I step out of the shower the bathroom is engulfed in steam and the mirror is so fogged up that I can't even see myself in it. I quickly brush my teeth before making my way to my room to get dressed.
I bound down the stairs dressed in jeans and a white sweatshirt, my hair thrown haphazardly in a bun on the top of my head. I notice that Bella still isn't home. I don't know what could be taking her so long when the only place that Dad said she was going is to the grocery store. I shrug my shoulders and head into the kitchen to find some food.
Four hours later, I find myself sprawled out on the couch watching a marathon of Friends. I'm surrounded by various snack wrappers and lone pieces of popcorn that I've accidently dropped but haven't picked up yet.
The phone ringing startles me. I grin when I remember that Paul is supposed to call when he gets off of work. I jump over the back of the couch and quickly make my way to the phone hoping that it's him.
"Hello?" I answer as lean against the wall, twirling the phone cord between my fingers absentmindedly.
"Hey, Rory." I hear Paul's voice respond back to me causing me to smile.
"How was your day, Paul?" I ask as I slide down the wall to sit on the floor with my legs crossed in front of me.
"It was good." He tells me, "So have you eaten anything yet?"
I pause as I remember the toaster strudel, hot pocket, corn dog, and all of the snacks that I recently pigged out on, "Uh… no. Not really."
"Are you hungry?" He questions, "Me and my friends were planning on going to Clearwater's Café. It would be cool if you came."
"Sounds great, but I would need a ride." I say as I stand up, "Bella has the truck and I haven't seen her today."
"That's fine," He informs me as I hear the sound of keys clinking in the background, "I'll be there in about 20 minutes, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye, Rory."
I smile, "Bye, Paul."
For a moment, I panic as nerves hit me in a tidal wave. I'm going to meet Paul's friends. That's another group of people that I am now worried about what kind of impression that I am going to make. I give myself a moment to freak out before taking a deep breath. I was able to meet Mimsie and make a good impression on her… if I can survive meeting his grandmother, then surely, I will survive meeting his friends.
I grab all of my trash that surrounds the couch and throw it away before making my way to my room. I take the ponytail out of my hair and quickly run a brush through it before putting it back up. I pull on my boots and make my way back downstairs. I decide that it would probably be a good idea to leave Dad a note so that he will know where I am. As I write up the note explaining where I will be and with who, I wonder for what seems like the millionth time today just where exactly my dear sister has been.
Before I know it, I hear the sound of Paul's truck pulling into the driveway. I grin to myself as I make my way out the door. I quickly lock the door using the spare key. I'm beyond grateful that it isn't raining even though the sky is an unattractive shade of grey.
As I turn away from the door, I nearly bump into Paul who is staring down at me an amused smile gracing his lips. He is wearing dark jeans and a blue t-shirt layered on top of a white long sleeve.
"You ready?" I ask as I smile back up at him.
"Almost," He says as he brings his warm hands up to gently hold my neck causing goosebumps to spread over me. The tips of his thumbs tilt my chin up and in an instant his soft, warm lips are on mine. The smell of pine and cologne surrounds me like a comforting blanket. I raise my hands up, they trail slowly up his neck before resting on either sides of his face. I feel him shiver and I can't help but smile into the kiss. He pulls away after a moment, before placing one more quick kiss onto my lips.
He grins at me as he takes my hand, "Now I'm ready."
I grin like a dork as he leads me to the truck feeling confident that as long as he is next to me, I will be able to make it through meeting his friends without any problems. For once, I feel like I've got this.
Author's Note:
First off, I am so sorry that it has been 2 years since the last update. The past two years have been crazy. My family is in a better place and we were blessed to add a baby boy to our family this past June. Thank you so much to everyone has have favorited, followed, and reviewed.
Dunced Goofball, FlowerChild23, Nya Pearl, WinterLunarKitten, Drealla, Kalel 18, chickeyd, Booklover345 and Guest thank you all for your kind words. You all have such beautiful hearts and you helped me during a tough time in my life. I don't think I could express just how thankful that I am.
Secondly, please let me know what you think!
Crystal-WolfGuardain-967: I'm so glad that you love it! I hope you will continue to enjoy!
chickeyd: I absolutely love how in depth your review is. I am so relieved that you are able to see the relationships that I had set out to make. I worry a lot about making them all as real, believable, and relatable as possible. I'm excited that you picked up on those details that I put in… I'm doing my best to keep everything set in the 2005 timeline that the book is written about. I'm just beyond glad that you are loving it. I hope that you will continue to enjoy the story!
ImSoSirius: This is the first story that I have written, you must be mistaken me for someone else.
Guest: I'm glad that you are enjoying the story!
Kalel 18: I'm glad that you love the story, I hope you will continue to enjoy it!
Drealla: I'm glad that you like it and I hope that you will continue to enjoy!
Pr1nc3ss K3nny: I am glad that you like the story and I hope that you will continue to enjoy it!
Dunced Goofball: I am glad you are enjoying the story and that you find it delicious lol. I hope that you will continue to enjoy it!
Lady of Sign: I'm so glad that you like the story and I hope that you will enjoy what comes next.
Loves to read books: I love your in depth review! I can understand you dislike of Edward... A lot of things that he does is completely unhealthy in a relationship. I am glad that you are seeing Rory break away some and coming into her own person. It makes me happy that you are able to understand her personality. I'm glad that you love the story and I hope that you will continue to enjoy.
FizzWizz2011: I'm glad that you love the story, I hope that you will continue to enjoy!
Elle Ryder: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Mrs. Manansala: Thank you for your review. I will see what I can do and then hopefully you will be able to enjoy the story.
surugasasa: I'm glad that you find it interesting! I hope that you will continue to enjoy!
Mickey-Moo: I'm glad that you loved the chapter! I hope that you will enjoy more as they come!
time-twilight: Thank you for your review! We shall see what happens! I hope that you will continue to enjoy the story!
Jenny Morgan: I'm glad that you love Paul and Rory! Bella definitely keeps secrets from her. We will have to wait and see how it turns out!
Fictionaldemon: I'm glad that you love it! I hope you will continue loving it!
Booklover345: I hope you will continue loving it!
Bluerose921: I hope that you will continue enjoy the story!
SuferInSilence44: I hope that you will continue to enjoy the story!
mNmcswain: I love that you were using a Hershey's wrapper as a book mark for your Harry Potter book! That is awesome! Lol. I'm glad that you enjoyed that chapter and I hope that you will continue to enjoy!
: I'm glad that you love it! I hope that you will continue to love it!