Chapter 6

A/N: A quick update to not leave you hanging for too long! It's nice to know people are reading and interested. Lots of twists are turns here and maybe a few red herrings. And more to come!


Baby?! Twilight Kim was Captain Crabby's "baby"?? Who treated their "baby" like he had been treating me?? He was my foil, right?! I mean he had to be the most irritable person I'd ever met. But wasn't that his character's general shtick?

"Paul, I…"

"I know, I know," he relented begrudgingly. "You're not my 'baby' anymore. You've made that very clear over the past few days, Kim."

I stared at Paul bug-eyed with my mouth slightly agape. He didn't seem to notice and continued manically brooding.

"I was really fucking worried about you. Do you know how hard it was for me to see you on the ground like that and then let Sam scoop you up in his arms? And I couldn't say a damn thing!? I still care about you, Kim. You can't just shut that shit off! Even if you are done with me."

Well, holy smokes.

Clearly there was more going on with Twilight Kim than the books let on.

Paul turned to face me. "And, Jesus. What did I walk in on? Were you really about to fucking kiss Jared, Kim?!" This fueled some deep indignation inside him. He paced angrily, but there was something else in his tone. Was that dejection?

"He said he didn't imprint on you! You said this whole thing has nothing to do with him." Paul waved his hands frantically, trying to make some point.

My face crinkled as he looked at me expectantly. He waited for me to speak or offer him something. For me to say anything to him, but I was completely tangled up in his words. In this whole mess.

What was he talking about? What "whole thing" had nothing to do with Jared?

Since I opened my eyes in the woods Paul had been nothing but an ornery and incensed asshole, and a colossal one at that. I raked my mind over our interactions. His pinched face when he sneered that I was 'still hung up on Jared'. His furry and accusatory tone when I said the word 'imprinting'. His shock when I snapped back at him.

"And why, for fucks sake, were you that far up in the woods? I know it's more than what you've been rattling off. I smelled your bluff all through the woods, so you better fucking spill."

Were these the words and actions of a lover? Most definitely not. Was all that ire directed at something that happened between Paul and Twilight Kim??

I rubbed my temples. None of the other mentioned or implied anything about something romantic with Paul. But there was clearly something.

Was it all some big secret?

"You wanted to hide it. Our…relationship," creaked out of me, mostly a question in my mind but I knew it had to be received as a statement.

Paul placed his hands on his hips, his hazel eyes wide and glittered at me.

"Kim, I told you… I just don't want them in all my business, ok? I just wanted one god damn thing that's just for me. And it's so fucking hard for me to keep it secret, you have no fucking clue, Kim." His voice bounced around the room.

All I could do was close my eyes. I still had no idea what this even was, if not a dream. Jared and the weird almost glow kiss, and now Paul who I may or may not be in some sort of secret toxic relationship with. And he was so, so harsh.

"Why… why are you so mean? You said you cared about me, but all you do is…"

I let my head hang down, my hands catching it as of it was the heaviest weight in the world. And then something inside me finally broke as streams fell from my eyes.

I couldn't see Paul but I felt his heavy footsteps as they moved toward me, realizing my state.

"Ah, fuck," he let out in a breath so close to my body. He laid a hot and heavy hand on my shoulder and crouched down.

"Don't cry, Kim. I… I'm just really worried here and confused. I mean you ended things with me and then winded up delirious in the woods, and now waking in on you and Jared..."

I popped my head up, my face was surly a red and sweaty mess.

"We weren't… I don't know what that was Paul. I don't know what any of this is." Well if that wasn't the God's honest truth. He examined my whole face, studying me like a map for a long moment and then seemingly decided that I was telling the truth. He leaned in closer.

"Can, I…" He trailed off and lifted his arms, insinuating he wanted to… hug me? "I know we're not together anymore, but I just want to confront you right now. For old times sake?"

My face tightened. Who was this person knelt down beside me? Not the angry man in the woods. The Paul before me was emotional and… was that tender? My mother always said people weren't just one thing, and that certainly seemed true for Paul. I silently nodded and in an instant he picked me up as if I weighed nothing and then plopped over to my bed with me perched in his lap. His lap! I had never, NEVER been in such an intimate position — but this seemed old hat to him. My muscles went rigid at the notion of what was happening, but Paul ignored it and enveloped me in his warm embrace. Just for a second I let him melt into me and… and it felt… nice. Shockingly so. He felt it too.

"God, Kim. You feel so good. Doesn't this feel so good, baby? You in my arms?"

How could I answer that shit? I guess it did, in a way. Like putting on an old sweater, even though you knew it was full of holes. No one had ever held me so close. If I opened my eyes I could probably see every inch of his unfairly beautiful face. Not to be a dribbling girl about it, but he was ridiculously attractive with his tree trunk like arms and legs. But what I mostly felt being held in his arms was bewilderment and guilt. Twilight Kim clearly didn't think any of this was good enough to deal with Paul and his anxiety disorder that went quick to anger.

Whatever happened or was happening, she, Twilight Kim, had already made a decision. That confident girl in the pictures cut things off with this beautiful and certifiable boy/man. I was't her, but I decided to trust her instincts.

I gulped and he sensed a shift in me, meeting my eyes.

"Paul, I think In just need some time alone right now. Ok? What we decided before, I think we should just stick with that. This is probably not easy to hear, but I… I don't think I'm the one for you."

He peered at me, ruminating in turmoil. I expected him to explode again, but he just took one long exhausted breath. He tapped my thighs, motioning for me to get up. I slid off of him and smoothed out my clothes as he took a long breath. There was a long, excruciatingly long, silence before he spoke.

"Alright, Kim. I can't just turn away here and I'm not gonna lie and say your googly eyed moment with Jared didn't piss me the fuck of, but I'll… I'll stand down. If that's what you want. Even if we are both walking away from unbelievable fucking sex."

My eyes shot up at that. Twilight Kim wasn't a virgin?! And she had "unbelievable" sex as a teenager? Her life was definitely a work of fiction. My cheeks reddened and I tried to look a way, but he grabbed my hand as he got serious again.

"But be just be honest with me, okay? You said the word imprint at the hospital… do you know what that means?"

I couldn't be evasive anymore, so I just let out what I remembered.

"It's like…soulmates, right?"

"Sort of. How do you know that word?"

I was too exhausted to spin lies. I had to go for honesty again. At least partial honesty.

"Uh, I heard it in a movie."

"A movie?!"

He looked at me in disbelief that morphed into relief as he let out an awkward chuckle. Sam will be relived to hear that. Man." He wiped his brow and then stood, looking and me and assessing what was sure to be my fatigue. "I'll let you get some rest, ok?"

I nodded, relieved he seemed to accept my words about "imprinting" and that he chalked it all up to some weird misunderstanding. Then, as mysteriously as he enter, he left.

My whole body wilted on to the bed.

Twilight Kim actually dated the grumpy hot werwolf and had the balls to break it off with him? And apparently had hot sex with him!!

So she didn't just pine after Jared. I needed more info if was going to navigate this whole thing and try and find a way back to my actual life. But there was no guide for me here. So road map, whatsoever.

Unless…

I shot up remembering what I had seen on the desk earlier. I scurried over to the stack of various sized journals. I opened the first one and ran my hand over page after page of details all written by Twilight Kim.

She wasn't there, but she could still help me.


A/N: the speed at which I wrote this chapter was firmly linked to the reviews and feedback I got after chapter 5. Let me know what you think!!