I'll be losing my laptop for a few days as it is getting repaired, so here are a bunch of chapters to get you through the week (hopefully). Enjoy!~
Chapter 25
Fortunately, Maylene left the air mattress when she moved to her apartment, so Paul is currently laying on it. He gave his bed to Dawn because that's what Ghost Reggie would want. The storm is still blowing hard, and Dawn had called her staff to cancel work tomorrow since the storm doesn't look like it'll let up any time soon. Paul and Dawn hadn't really talked except to decide sleeping arrangements.
"Paul."
The man has his eyes closed as he tries to sleep. He doesn't trust Dawn, but it'd be on his conscience if she got hurt in this storm. "Hm." He finally responds.
"Thanks for letting me stay."
"You own the building." he nonchalantly responds.
Dawn giggles as she remembers using that excuse a lot a year ago. After a few more minutes of silence, Dawn says, "Paul."
He inwardly groans. Gosh, she's annoying. He's been having a lot of peace without her bothering him these past few months. But he has been a little lonely. Paul shakes the thought from his mind. He's Paul Shinji. Stone cold heart Paul Shinji.
"Why don't you trust me?"
Paul sighs. "Why would I tell you that?"
"So I can prove you wrong."
As much as Paul would like to tell her about his suspicions, if she is the spy, then that'd just make it worse for him. She could kill him now. Or she could convince him to trust her again while spying on him. Paul closes his eyes in frustration. "C'mon, Ghost Reggie. Give me a sign," he thinks.
"Fine." Dawn sits up on the side of the bed and faces him. "I'll go first, Paul." She firmly says. "I only met with Cyrus here because he threatened to kill you if I didn't."
Still laying down, Paul looks over at her in surprise. But then again, Cyrus could've told her to say that to him. An unlocked phone is tossed next to him.
"Check my phone."
Paul groans and tosses the phone back. "Go to sleep." He tells her.
"No! Because I have been absolutely honest with you since the first day we met, and you don't trust me!"
"I'm mean! I'm rude! There's nothing about me to like, so just leave me alone!" Paul exclaims angrily. He is now sitting up on his bed too.
"Well, I like you, Paul!" Dawn shouts back. She blushes at her confession and looks away.
"Don't." Paul firmly says while laying down on the inflatable mattress.
"Paul…"
He closes his eyes. Why does his left side hurt when his wound is on the right? Gosh. Everything hurts. "Are you working for Cyrus?" Paul is surprised he finally asked the question. Maybe a part of him really wants to know, and he just blurted out the question without thinking.
"Why would you think that?" Dawn sounds hurt, but Paul keeps his eyes closed.
"Someone knew I was at the Veilstone harbor the day Cyrus was there."
There's some silence, and then Paul hears, "Is that how you got shot?"
He nods, but remembers she can't see it in the dark room. "Yeah."
"What makes you think I told Cyrus?" Dawn asks in a quiet voice.
Paul sighs. "Because you're the only person who knew about the harbor and whose intentions I don't understand."
To his surprise, she chuckles. "I don't understand you, Paul."
He looks over at her. "I'm being serious."
"I know. I just found it funny how you can't understand me when I thought I was an open book. I can never understand you." She gives him a soft smile.
He sits up on the mattress again and runs his hand through his hair. "Why did you tell me about this place?"
"What?"
"Why did you tell me about this apartment? The day you met me, I'm not anyone's first choice for a tenant."
Dawn sucks in one side of her cheek in frustration. She already told him this. "Paul, you've seen my place. I already told you back then. And why would I be living there if I worked for Cyrus?"
"He could pay you after the job is done." Paul shrugs.
"Fine, Paul!" Dawn says defeatedly. "I felt bad for you, okay? I know you hate pity and sympathy and shit, but I felt bad the day I saw you! You just looked so alone and I know what it feels like to be alone. So I wanted to talk to you, but then I noticed you were looking at motels and before I knew it, here we are."
After a couple of silent minutes, Paul speaks, "Is that also why you kept bothering me after I moved in? Because I'm sure I made it clear that I didn't want anything to do with you?"
The bluenette sighs. "No. I was trying to annoy you enough to terminate the contract. Then you'd pay me, and you'd leave early. I hated your attitude." She chuckles at the thought of their early weeks together.
Everything she is saying sounds so genuine. Paul wants to believe her, but he has trouble trusting people. She is right, though. She has never lied to him. He looks up at her and, in the moonlit blizzard, grey meets blue. "Can I trust you, Dawn?"
She smiles at him. "I'll make sure you never question me again."
Paul is silent. Can he really trust her? Does he want to trust her? He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Yeah. He'll trust her. If it turns out she's a spy, he'll deal with that later. "Okay, Troublesome."
Dawn had been watching him curiously since he hadn't responded, but now she's grinning from ear to ear. "My name is Dawn." She laughs and Paul lays back down on the air mattress. Dawn follows his lead as she lays on his bed. She lets out a breath and says, "I missed this, Paul."
Paul doesn't respond as he tries to sleep, but he finds himself mentally agreeing with the bluenette. He feels less pained by the world now. This troublesome landlord is worth the risk. He sighs and turns over to face away from her before drifting to sleep.