Take Me Home
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT SERIES. ALL THE RIGHTS BELONG TO STEPHANIE MEYER. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT AND OC'S IN THIS STORY.
CHAPTER TEN
Paul looked down at the address scribbled on the folded napkin, then back up at the house. It was the right address, but it was definitely a little more than a fixer upper. In its day it would have been a stunning house but it's day was over thirty years ago. It was a large two-level house from what Paul could see. Half of the house was covered in vines, all the windows looked cracked or completely smashed. There was a large stone chimney at the back of the house. A small porch at the front door wrapped around to the right side of the house.
Paul climbed out of his truck and went to the front door. It was wide open, and Paul could see the inside of the house was an even bigger mess. It wasn't just missing floorboards it was missing the whole floor, only beams remained otherwise it was a two-foot drop to dirt.
"Hello," Paul called into the house.
"I'm out the back, come around the side!" Addison called back a moment later. Paul followed the porch around to the back of the house. He felt like he would fall through the floor at one point when a board buckled under his weight, but he managed to get the whole way without damage. Paul wasn't sure what surprised him more. Addison dressed in shorts and a plain black jacket, her prosthetic leg on full display. Or that the back half of the house was fully missing, no back wall, nothing.
"I wasn't sure this was the right place." Paul said. His eyes flicking back to the house for a second.
"Nope, this is it," Addison smiled. He watched her legs as she walked closer. It wasn't the prosthetic that held his attention, it was the number of tattoos on her remaining leg. The skin was fully covered in black ink, from the hem of her pants to the top of her sock. He could see skulls, dead flowers, and even snakes. Not what he expected to find under those colourful skirts. Not that he expected to ever be under one of those skirts in any way, but that didn't mean his mind didn't wonder. "My idea was start at the bottom and work up," Addison said gesturing to the pile of old floorboards on the ground behind her.
"Yeah, that would work fine as long as the top half of the house doesn't fall down on you in the process. You want my professional opinion?" Paul asked looking back at the house. With the back all missing Paul could see into the top floor of the house where it looked like all the walls had been ripped back to beams. Tarps covered the part of the missing roof protecting whatever was left up there from the elements but other than that it was fully gutted except for the outside walls.
"Of course." Addison had a smile on her face, looking at the house with beaming eyes.
"It's a great spot, bulldoze the house and start new." Paul could hear waves crashing not far away and could smell the salt water. The house was surrounded by thick forest but with a little bit of clearing there was sure to be ocean views.
"I want to restore it, not bulldoze." Addison said, her smile not wavering.
"It would cost more to fix then it will be worth, everything needs replacing and re building." Paul explained.
"Money isn't a problem," Addison assured him. "Paul if you don't want the work that's fine, I'll find someone willing to do it though. I know it's going to cost more than it's worth, but I don't care. This place will be amazing once it's complete." There was a solid look of dedication in her eyes.
"Okay. Let's take a closer look."
"Thank you." Addison smiled moving towards the house. Paul already knew the house would not get any better the closer he looked at it, but he followed anyway.
...
"How big is the job?" Sam asked looking across the dinner table at Paul.
"Huge, the house is falling down. I'll be lucky to find a single plank of wood we can re-use," Paul said before taking another sip of his beer.
"And you made that clear to her?" Sam asked.
"Yes. She said money wasn't an issue. I even quoted extra trying to scare her off, but she didn't flinch." Even though Paul needed the work he was hoping Addison would have rejected his quote. He felt guilty agreeing to take her money knowing very well she would never make it back. "She doesn't even have a job. How can she afford it?" Paul asked trying to work out why she had agreed to his ridiculous quote.
"At the end of the day it's her money she can spend it however she likes. As long as you have told her the costing you can't do any more than that." Sam said. "Just make sure to get money up front for things."
"I guess," Paul sighed taking another drink of his beer.
"Sounds like you would need everyone's help for a job that big." Sam said.
"Yeah, but I'm guessing Quil won't be interested." Paul said, thinking about how many people he had to work with.
"Did Addison mention anything else about what's happening between them?" Sam asked.
"Nothing, I didn't ask either." Paul said not really caring what Quil's problem was.
"I think I actually miss the mind link; it was annoying but at least everyone's drama was out in the open. If Quil would just say what's going on maybe someone could help him through it." Sam may not have been the Alpha anymore but that didn't stop him from trying to help the pack. Jacob was the current Alpha since Sam stopped phasing, but he had left with the Cullen's. No one had stepped up to replace Jake after he left but it wasn't like they had any big issues to solve once the Cullen's left and took all their drama away. The younger pack members listened to the older ones and the system was working fine.
"He'll tell someone when he's ready," Emily said from the kitchen where she prepared dinner. Sky stood on a chair next to the sink peeling carrots. Paul watched her with an amused smile. She concentrated on the carrot like it was the last one in the world and one wrong move would destroy it. Tyler sat next to Sky a board look on his face as he looked through a comic book.
"I want to start the job Monday. At least clean the last of the place out and start working out what to order in. Are you going to be free?" Paul asked Sam.
"I have a booking Monday morning after that I can come straight over. Don't have much on at the moment." Since he had stopped phasing Sam had started his own small plumbing business much like Paul who went into building and Embry who went into a mechanic shop. When work was slow at one business, they would go help at another. The pack still worked together, their bond was solid, and they still relied on one another. They were not just a pack, they were family. Family, helped family.
"I'll text Collin, Seth, and Brandon, see if they are available. Jared already said he's in. The younger pups are still in school I'll see if they want weekend work, I don't think Embry has much for them to do at the moment," Paul said pulling out his phone to text the guys.
"Yeah, sounds good. Who's doing patrols currently?" Sam enquired.
"The pups do the weekends and the odd day after school. Collin, Seth, Brandon and Quil swap the other days between themselves. Jared fills in on the odd day, I haven't done any in a while though. It seems kind of pointless. If cold ones were coming back, they would have done it by now."
"There's a council meeting next weekend. I was thinking of asking if they were comfortable with patrols being stopped all together. The pups need to just be kids again. Jared is over it, you're over it, Seth still enjoys it, but that kid enjoys everything. Quil is only phasing to freeze his age until Claire is older, but he doesn't have to patrol to phase."
"We had a good run. Hopefully the kids don't have to go through the same thing one day." Paul wasn't sure how they had all survived the crazy stuff they had to do. Regardless of the inconvenience it was on their lives, Paul was sure all the pack was grateful they were able to be shifters.
"At least if they do, they will have fathers to show them how to deal with it." Emily smiled reassuringly.
"Someone who knew what was going on would have been a big help. Much easier then working off old legends."
"Yeah, that would have definitely made things easier." Paul mused as he remembered back to the first time he phased. He could tell Sam was doing the same thing.
Auther Notes:
Hi?
Anyone still there?
It has been over three years since my last update on the 9th of September 2019 (now 25th October 2022). Crazy to think there has literally been a pandemic in that time. This story was first posted on the 6th of April 2017, so in five years I have only been able to publish 10 chapters which really upsets me. I have no idea when this story will be finished but I hope everyone lives long enough to see it. I know how this story ends. I want you too as well. What happens between now and the end I'm not 100% sure but I want to know just as much as you do. Please hang in there and don't give up on me.
The number of times I look at these stories and all the ones I have yet to publish is crazy compared to the amount you guys get to see. I have gone over the whole story with "Read Aloud" feature on word and hopefully it reads a lot better now without some of those horrible spelling mistakes. Please review any feedback, good, bad, ugly, I want to hear it all.
I will post again one day. It could be next week or five years from now, I really don't know. Same goes for all my stories, I'm still here, I'm still trying.
My World Doesn't End.