Hello, darlings. Thank you SO MUCH, for your reviews, your alerts, and even for silently reading this story. It makes me so happy that you like it and are enjoying it!
This chapter is also a little bit transitional. Some down time for everyone, getting ready for the big fight.
Some of you asked what did Billy sent Charlie in the envelope, I'm still unsure about that, but I have an idea, but I'm reluctant to use it. We'll see.
In the meantime, stay safe, enjoy, and review :)
SILVER
Chapter 17: Down time.
At some point in the early afternoon, she heard a soft knock on the threshold of her bedroom door as she saw Paul coming in. "Your dad very kindly told me you were here, and I could come up, as long as the door stays open." The tilt of his mouth let Bella know how kindly her dad had been.
"Sorry about that. He's cranky when he's sick."
Paul shook his head. "It was hilarious. Don't worry about that." Bella shook her head this time. She wondered if all guys were this cranky when sick. Having no other male relative to compare it to, and the time Jake had been ill had been his change, she didn't have enough evidence to gather a conclusion.
He pecked her lips but didn't stay on the bed where she was sitting against the headboard. He roamed her room. She let him, focusing on what Seth had sent her regarding his literature course.
"Wow, these are good colleges." He said when he noticed the envelopes that she planned on shredding that day. "And very far away too."
She lifted her head to see him examining each envelope. She could see the tension of his body from her position.
"I'm not going to any of those places." She clarified, anticipating any question. No need to get his imagination run wild; it was cruel.
He sagged in relief and walked to the bed, finally sitting beside her. "Why not?" If she had gotten in, she must have wanted to go in the first place, right?
Bella sighed, shaking her head and relayed the same story she had told Charlie the day before when he'd handed her the damned things. The difference this time was that she shared every little detail, including the possible corrupt admissions office that most surely had accepted a bribe, or in any case, the university had accepted a high sum for whatever equipment they needed in exchange for her admission. Paul couldn't believe what she was telling him. Not only he'd made her fill papers for a very far-away university, to which she didn't want to go in the first place, but he'd also forged her signature and bribed people? Did these people even have morals? Leeches or not, there must be a moral code to follow, right? Otherwise, there was no line between order and chaos.
Bella shrugged, seemingly knowing what he was thinking. "I'm starting to think that they have no boundaries." It was sad to discover how many things were wrong with someone you had once held in such high esteem. More than sad, it was disappointing.
Paul bumped her shoulder with his, getting a small smile from her. It was always hard on her when something like this came up. He knew she had cared and loved for each one of them, she didn't see them as leeches, the same way she didn't see the pack as wolves. To her, they were just people. He was glad she didn't close up when they came up in a conversation. He appreciated how she talked about them with him, instead.
"Do you have any college plans?" He was curious because she was a very intuitive person, but she was also smart, as in book smart and street smart. It was hard to put her in a labeled box of one career.
Bella smiled softly, appreciating the change of topic. "I do. I applied to Seattle University for the psychology program."
She explained the details of the program and her plans for her professional future. He almost jumped her at that moment. He saw a future with her, but as their relationship was still relatively new, he didn't want to ask if she saw a future with him. She did see a future with him.
It didn't bother Paul at all that she was thinking of Seattle because, honestly, it was the best option and the best scenario. She could have chosen a faraway university and left for those three years, with regular visits, and he would have sucked it up, but it would have sucked to be away from her for so long.
Seattle, he could handle.
…
…
…
"I didn't ask. What are you doing here?" Bella said, putting down the book for a moment.
Paul frowned mockingly. "Do you want me to leave?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
He shrugged. "Sam and Emily are away for the day, and Jared is with Kim. I thought I could pay you a visit." In other words, he was bored on his day off, and all his friends were busy.
She didn't take offense at being the last option today. It was actually hilarious. "I'm surprised you didn't go to Embry directly." She teased, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
Paul snorted but smiled. "Am I ever going to leave that down?"
Bella shook her head. "Probably not."
Paul took her laptop and put it on her desk. For what he had planned, her laptop could suffer damages.
When he returned to the bed, he got on top of her, straddling her legs. "Say that again." He demanded huskily.
She smiled, amused and aroused. "What? That you have a secret-not-so-secret boyfriend?"
His smile was predatory, mischievous and his eyes were full of glee. In an unexpected move that drained all of Bella's lust, Paul started tickling her sides.
She yelled with laughter and desperation at being tortured to tears with tickles in her sides and her belly. It was almost unbearable. He didn't stop his torture until she hiccupped a few times.
"Funny little mate." That was all he said when he got off her.
"Mate?" She asked, startled by the word and the force behind it.
Paul nodded, not sure what it was he saw on her face. "Yes. My mate, my girl, my imprint. It's all the same." He answered in that tone you would use when speaking to a child.
"Oh." Was all she could eloquently say.
"Are you ok? Is it too much?" He asked worriedly.
Bella took a few seconds to analyze her state to give an honest answer to Paul. "It's not too much, but it is a bit overwhelming." What did it mean to be someone's mate? Was it the same as being his imprint? It didn't seem so, despite him saying it was.
"Overwhelming good or bad?"
She softened her expression. "A little bit of both. It's hard sometimes to get used to everything." She clarified.
He understood. It was overwhelming for him, too, sometimes.
"What are you doing anyway?" He changed the subject, pointing to the books Bella had on her night table.
"I'm helping a friend with his literature course in school." She was purposely vague.
He frowned suspiciously and a little jealous. "He?"
She nodded, unwilling to reveal anything else.
"Who is he?" He pressed.
"He's a friend. He needed my help, and I volunteered to help him." That was the truth, either way, and she had promised Seth not to say anything.
"Do I know this friend of yours?"
She didn't like his tone or his interrogation. She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow, daring him to keep the interrogation. She had come a long way from the submissive girl that had dated Edward. She was not afraid to kick his ass.
"Just asking. No need to give me that look." He ceded, raising his arms in surrender and giving her a childish smile.
Good.
She uncrossed her arms and smiled back.
"When he passes his exams, I will tell you about him. For now, I will keep it a secret." He could live with that. Besides, he had more important things to worry about than Bella helping a male friend. He could be jealous, but he was not an idiot; he was not going to pick up a fight with her over something so silly. He had nothing to worry about in that department. Bella was incapable of being a bad person.
In two days, they would fight Victoria and get rid of her and her army of newly converted leeches. Sam had relaxed the patrol shifts, wanting everyone to get as much sleep and rest as possible. He had issued an Alpha command, ordering everyone to be sharp as a knife the day of the fight. He didn't want any accidents caused by tiredness.
Paul was now bored, with a lot of free time on his hands. It was Friday; he was off work and had the entire weekend to sleep and rest and be sharp on Sunday morning. There was no more training to do. They've learned as much as they could to this point. Anything else was overkill (pun intended).