Chapter 29
Finally, finally, things were normal again.
Months had passed since all the excitement of vampires and no new trails or scents had been picked up. It meant that the pack was actually getting time to relax. I could also finally relax. My senior year was over and I was done with high school. Amazingly, I actually managed to pass every subject which was a point of great hilarity for the pack who had taken bets on which subjects I would fail. Naturally, I had set Paul on anyone who made the bet. Pretty sure Quil got a broken rib but refused any help because he didn't want to make it obvious that he'd been part of the bet.
Things were mostly going well with everyone in the pack. Sam and Jared were now the only officially 'retired' wolves as they had stopped phasing and therefore took over proper ownership of a garage, forcing all the other wolves to train in some way so that they could all get by once they stopped phasing. Sadie spent most of her time round with Embry, not surprising considering her proposed properly towards the end of June. I did not want to be in the same house as my brother while he was getting it on with his imprint so I had all but moved in with Paul and I couldn't be happier.
Luckily, due to the lack of vampires, no one else had phased. Toby and Red had completely settled into the pack dynamic along with Andrea and Rachelle and everything was just perfect. There we go, I've jinxed everything! Yep, jinxed, something is bound to go wrong. There'll be some crazy vampire attack and the whole world will be abducted by aliens and turned into bright purple slugs. Well, what happened wasn't quite like that, but let me move on and explain.
I woke up to the bright sun streaming through the window. Neither me or Paul had really been prioritising shutting the curtains when we fell into bed with each other the last night. I now regret that small oversight as I couldn't move to even get away from the blinding beam of light. Paul is going through a protective streak, yes, more than usual, so was currently practically squashing me under his body, an arm and leg thrown over me completely thwarting any attempt to move.
"Paul", I groaned, wriggling uselessly. I felt my imprint start to shift but all he did was drag me further under him and grunt before going back to sleep. Now I was seriously squashed.
"Paul, if you don't move in the next five seconds you are actually going to kill me", I wheezed as his body squished the air out of my lungs. I nearly burst out laughing the way he flung himself off me.
"Are you ok? I'm so sorry! I didn't realise I was squashing you" Paul's voice was full of an adorable combination of sleep and panic.
I just laughed as I crawled off the bed to shut the curtains and check the clock. It was half 8, plenty of time before we needed to be up. I look back at Paul who had propped himself up on his elbows and was shamelessly staring at me. I smirked and then tripped over my suitcase as I made my way back to bed. Paul just laughed at me! I huffed and got back up before making my way to the door. I could practically set a timer by how many seconds it would take Paul to try and stop me. 3... 2... 1...
"Wait"
Bingo!
"Don't go, please, just come back to bed" he pleaded, kneeling on the edge of the bed, exposing everything, and holding his hand out to me.
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Fine, but only because I love you" I said, poking him in the chest and flopping back into the bed, laughing as Paul just rolled back on top of me, his lips finding that sensitive spot on my neck straight away.
An hour later, the alarm went off and both Paul and I groaned. I was just too comfy even if we were now just a sweaty tangle of limbs.
"Come on, I do actually have to get up this time" I mumbled, climbing off the bed and grabbing a towel.
"It's not fair, I don't want you to go" whined Paul, trotting down the hall after me. I span round and blocked him from entering the bathroom.
"Stop your complaining and go and make some breakfast" I sighed, pushing him towards the stairs, "you knew today was happening and it has been agreed with Jake so you need to stop"
I rubbed my hand over my face as I locked myself in the bathroom. Paul had been getting progressively more clingy and whiny as this day had approached. But he was not going to ruin this for me. I was going to go on holiday with my friends and he wasn't going to stop me. I knew it would hurt to be away from him but I had been looking forward to this for months.
After a shower and a breakfast that definitely shouldn't have taken that long to eat (thank you Paul for constantly distracting me) I was finally ready to go. All of the last minute checks had been done, toothbrush and pyjamas were packed, Paul had wanted me to take a full length nightdress with long sleeves but I had just laughed and punched him in the arm as I packed my sleep shorts and tank top.
"Who do you think is going to see me? I hardly think Andrea or Rachelle will start hitting on me if they see some skin" I joked, zipping up the suitcase and wheeling it to the front door, "look, it's only one week. You'll hardly notice that I've gone and when I'm back I promise to spend every minute of the day with you"
I could see Paul was having trouble holding onto any control of his emotions so I was glad when Jake pulled up in his truck, Andrea and Rachelle already strapped in with over excited looks on their faces. I did feel somewhat guilty that I was leaving Paul so waved at Jake before shoving Paul back into the house with me and closing the door.
"I'm going to miss you" whispered Paul, his eyes shining with tears as his hands stroked down my arms.
"I'll miss you too" I said softly, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder.
"Can I call you?" asked Paul, his arms tightening around me and I felt soft kisses on my neck.
"Yeah, you can call me" I said with a pathetic laugh, tears springing to my eyes as we parted.
With all the excitement, it was finally hitting me that I was going to be away from Paul for a week. Quite possibly the longest time we had ever spent apart. I wiped my eyes and went to open the door but Paul's fingers linked with mine and he pulled me back to him. I sighed and reached up, pulling his face down to mine and giving him a gentle kiss.
"I love you" I whispered, opening the door and flinging my case in the back of Jake's truck.
I slid into the spare seat next to Rachelle and smiled weakly at her.
"It's just a week" she whispered into my ear as she gave me a one armed hug.
I nodded and looked back at Paul who was gripping the door frame tightly and trying to smile. I waved at him as Jake started the engine and sighed as we sped away from the house.
One week. I could do this.
Hi! So I know it's been ages since I last updated this story but recently I have felt the need to continue the story and so here we go. I haven't written for a long time (probably since I wrote the last chapter of this) so everything is a bit rusty and I have to get used to the characters again.
I hope you enjoy and can stay with me as I finish this story!
