Hello, darlings. Here is another chapter of these two lovebirds. I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday, I didn't have inspiration for this chapter until this morning, and it still didn't turn out as I wanted.

I hope you like this nonetheless. We're close to figuring out what was in the note that Billy Black sent Charlie, and why it upset him so much.

Until then, stay safe, review, alert, read Red Moon, review it, alert it, and enjoy!

SILVER.

Chapter 23: Yes.

Charlie was away for the week for a seminar or something like that. He hadn't been too keen on leaving Bella alone at home, but she laughed softly at this and told him she would be fine, and in any case, she would probably stay at Paul's. Charlie wasn't sure what he wasn't the least keen on, leaving her alone at home or she spending the week at Paul's. It wasn't because he thought she was irresponsible, but because she was growing up too fast. He could see her getting married to him, having children, moving away. She was his little girl. But he knew he couldn't stop those things. She would always be his little girl.

He promised to keep in touch for the week to let her know everything was ok, and she appreciated it. She liked how close she had gotten to Charlie. There was still a secret there, but it wasn't as dooming as the 'I'm dating a vampire' kind of secret.

She stayed with Paul the entire week, not wanting to be alone in the house, as she had told Charlie. She enjoyed the company of people now more than ever. Paul had more time off now that the patrols were back to a regular schedule, and they had more time to spend together. They had gotten out on dates, to the movies, dinner, lunch, brunch, etc. It had been a very nice couple of weeks.

She hadn't received any news from Seattle University yet, and she feared the worse.

She didn't wait too much, though, because when she next checked her email, she saw that the admissions office had sent her an email. She tossed her phone at Paul, who frowned at her, confused. He hadn't done anything. Why was she throwing things at him?

"You read it." She said, too nervous to look for herself.

Paul took the phone with a solemn expression, understanding immediately what she was talking about. He opened the message and started reading out loud after a few seconds. "Dear, Ms. Isabella Marie Swan, at Seattle University, we regret to inform you…" her eyes started filling with tears, and her heart sank. She hadn't gotten in. However, she forced herself to listen to Paul's words. Maybe she just had been waitlisted. "That you will have to rescind your place of residence in Forks, Washington to be eligible for housing at the university. Likewise, you will have to leave the comfort of your boyfriend's bed and your father's house to sleep in a smelly dorm room for the next four years." He finished with a serious expression.

"What?" She knew he was teasing her, but she wasn't sure what percentage of the original message was conveyed in his teasing. Did she get in, or not?

Paul nodded solemnly. "It says in here that you'll be leaving me for Seattle." He was so proud of her and everything she's achieved. He would miss her like crazy, but he would work his ass off to be a good and supportive boyfriend. He could visit her during the weekends and vice versa.

"So, I got in?"

Paul abandoned all pretenses and smiled like he had wanted to do when he first read the original words of the message. "You got in." Bella wiped the few tears that had escaped and laughed incredulously. "Not only did got get in, but they're also offering you a scholarship. They say that with your work at the Newton's, your volunteer work, and your grades, you're eligible for a scholarship. You just need to reply to this message and confirm you want the scholarship, and they'll send the appropriate documents."

She was still in shock. Her nerves hadn't left her body yet, and the adrenaline was kicking in, which resulted in a weird cocktail of emotions that made her laugh hysterically for a few minutes. Paul watched her with a mixture of amusement and worry.

When she finished laughing, Paul handed her back her phone so that she could read the original message, which, surprisingly, wasn't that different from what he had said. She put her phone down and saw a smirking Paul.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

He shrugged, not sure why.

"Are you upset?" It was hard not to ask about it. Unfortunately, despite knowing that Edward and Paul were two completely different people, she sometimes had trust issues. It wasn't directly an issue regarding Paul, but some secondary effects dating Edward left on her. While she trusted that Edward never had any bad intentions when doing what he did during their relationship, it still left some scars on her.

It's not as if she was mistreated by Edward, but objectively she had been in a toxic relationship.

"Why would I be upset?" He asked, tilting his head sideways like a lost puppy.

"I'm going to be away." She answered, shrugging. She didn't want anything to change between them, at least if it wasn't for the better.

Paul scooted closer to her on the couch and grabbed her hands in his, looking her seriously in the eyes. "I'm so proud of you. I'm upset in the way that I will miss you like hell, but I want you to go, to grow, to find yourself, and become what you want. I will be here, by your side, holding the fort and holding you." He winked at her, to which she smiled. "I love you."

Bella leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing heavily but happily.

…

…

…

"Marry me." He said, going down on one knee and pulling out his mother's ring.

He did have enough money to buy her a pretty ring, but Bella was more of a sentimental person, so he thought his mother's ring was a perfect choice.

Bella turned around, putting down the wooden spoon she had been using to cook and let out a gasp. Her eyes welled with tears. It wasn't a romantic proposal at all, and it came entirely out of the blue (much like their imprint), but it fit their relationship.

"Yes." She accompanied her words with enthusiastic nods.

Paul grinned and stood up, gathering her in his arms and putting the ring on her finger. It would need a slight adjustment, but he had been right with his decision to give her his mother's ring.

When he let her go, she stood apart to turn off the stove; then, she walked back into his arms, kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

He grabbed her legs, helping her wrap them around his waist, and walked to the room.

"No, not the bed." She whispered in his ear.

He liked where this was going. "Where?"

"Against the wall." Hell yes.

He removed her shirt and was about to remove her bra when her phone rang insistently on the kitchen island.

She was inclining towards ignoring it, but there could be an emergency.

"This is not over." She growled impatiently, getting down and walking to her phone.

"Like hell it is." He felt like killing whoever dared interrupt this. He was about to get the best sex of his life, and now he was forced to think unpleasant things to get rid of his raging erection.

She answered immediately, seeing that it was her dad.

"Bells. I need you, Paul, and Embry to come to the house now." He didn't say hello, or give any other greeting, jumping directly to business, with a voice so serious that confirmed Bella's thoughts of an emergency.

"Why?" Charlie didn't answer. "Dad, you're freaking me out. Is everything alright?"

Charlie sighed so heavily that Bella's happy heart sank to her stomach. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. She didn't wait for her dad's response; instead, she told him they would be there as soon as possible and hung up the phone.

Paul had gotten dressed again while she was speaking with her dad. "Embry's going to meet us at your dad's house. Let's go." If the situation weren't so severe, she would have caught the exact words that Paul had said and the exact meaning behind them.