Chapter 15: The truth comes out
I stood there staring at the woman confusion clear in my face. I met Leah's eyes who was just as confused as I was. My mouth kept opening and closing as I tried to think of something to say.
"It's been so long-"
"Sue!" Billy Black cut her off as he motioned for her to join the Elders. Sue paused before she walked over to me and gently brushed her hand across my cheek.
"You look so much like her." Sue's voice was barley a whisper. "But after this we'll talk more, I promise." I continued to stare at Sue as she took a seat by Billy.
"I'm so sorry" Leah looked embarrassed as she approached me. "I don't know what's gotten in my mom lately."
"It's-I just wasn't expecting that." The words fumbled out of my mouth as I glanced back towards Sue. A hand brushed my arm pulling my attention away from Sue and I turned around to see Paul standing there.
"We should probably go sit, before Old Quil makes a scene." Paul said with his brow furrowed before he lead me towards the rest of the pack. I sat down resting my back against a log and pulled out the now crumpled piece of paper from my pocket as I felt Paul sit beside me. "What's that?" He whispered low enough so Old Quil wouldn't hear.
"Just something my brothers what to know." I shrugged before slowly unfolding the paper before scrunching it back up last second. Billy had begun to talk after Old Quil and I started to tune out the usual stories that seemed to be told every time. I stared at the paper in my hands wondering when the best time to interrupt would be when Billy said something that caught my attention.
"—Samual Colt"
"Hold up." I interrupt Billy and stood up making my presence known. "Can you repeat that."
"Well maybe if you would pay attention more you would of heard it the first time." Old Quil pipped up annoyed that I interrupted.
"I was saying," Billy said sounding slightly annoyed, "that about 180 years ago we made a deal with a man by the name of Samual Colt who offered to help us protect our tribe," Billy said his voice louder than before. "About a year after the agreement Samual Colt came back with a gun-that he claimed would kill anything-including the Cold On-"
"The Colt." I said sounding confused, all the times I heard the story the Quileutes had never been mentioned.
"How do you know that." Old Quil said sounding suspicious from my outburst as Sue had raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"But there were only 13 bullets made for it, how could it have possibly helped-"
"It's a legend- a tale that has been passed down for generations, no one had seen or heard of the Colt since 1886 when Samual Colt left."
"But still there were only 13 bullets. What was it used for if-" " I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I kept rattling on.
"It's just a story." Sue said interrupting me, she stood up and placed her hand on Old Quil's shoulder calming him down. "I forgot how detailed your parents were when they told that story to your brothers." I crumpled the paper in my hands taking Sue's cue to not say anything else. My mind was flying through all sorts of possibly scenarios on the Colt that I ended up missing most of what Billy Black had said.
"No one knows or has heard of the Colt as it's mystery lies with the fate of time." Billy's voice trailed off as he slowly cast his gaze around the campfire. There was a long silence that followed as I assumed that most hadn't heard it before. I stared down at the crumpled paper in my hands until a hot hand snapped my attention away from it.
"Come on, everyone's getting ready to go." Paul said low enough for me to hear before offering his hand to help me up.
"Alexis!" I turned towards Sue as she slowly made her way towards us, just stopping a few feet away. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you for a bit."
"Mom," Leah said sounding annoyed, "just leave her alone."
"Leah." Sue said curtly, "aren't you supposed to be going on patrol here soon?" Leah rolled her eyes before brushing past Paul and I muttering under her breath as she stormed off.
"Um, yeah." I coughed a little clearing my voice. "You don't mind, Paul?"
"We can talk later." Paul said with a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes; he placed a quick kiss on my forehead before he made his way to the rest of the pack. "
"Come, this way." Sue held out one of her slim hands before looping her arm through mine and lead us away from the fire. The walk to her house was silent as I wracked my brain about the Colt. Sue didn't seem to mind the silence as her mind was still processing that she hadn't seen a ghost when her eyes first landed on Alexis. We slowly made our way to a small red house as Sue released my arm and opened the door waiting for me to follow. Her house smelled of sage and lavender as the scent hit my nose, it was a really pleasant smell. I cautiously watched as Sue rummaged through the small closet in the living room before she pulled out a dusty box and motioned for me to join her on the couch.
"I'm so sorry that I sprung up on you like that." Sue said as she opened the box before pulling out another small, long box, covered in pale dusty flowers. "I-I just wasn't expecting you to look exactly like your mother did." Her voice faltered as she quickly glanced up at me before going through the second box.
"It's okay. It's not every day I get to meet someone who knew my mom." My voice had a twinge if sadness in it.
"Here," Sue brushed off a photo before passing it to me, "your mother and I when we were about 16." Sue had a small smile on her lips as she glanced between the picture and me. I held the picture cautiously before lightly tracing my finger over it. Leah looked a lot like Sue did and- I could feel my throat tightening up as I looked at my mom, I guess it made more sense when people told me I was her spitting image. Same hair color, same facial features-save the smile, eyes...
"I-sorry" a sniffle escaped me as I wiped the stray tears away with my free hand. "It's just that-" my voice cracked, "Dad.. he never showed me any pictures of her-he said it was too much for him." Sue gently placed her arm around my shoulders giving me a tight squeeze before she took her free hand and wiped a tear away.
"I know." She said softly. "There's something else I want to show you too." She sat up and began rummaging through the box. "That photo was taken on my 16th birthday, Mary begged her parents to drive her up to surprise me." Sue paused when she pulled out an envelope. "Her and John had just started to see each other and she was so star struck-I just knew then that they'd get married." Sue paused again as she passed me another photo. I could feel my brow furrow as I made out the people in the picture. Dean, Sammy...and me? I couldn't have been more than a month or two old, if that. My mom was holding Dean and Sammy in both arms as Sue was holding me.
"So-"
"So where and when was this?" Sue finished my sentence as she passed me another photo. "You were 3 weeks old, I was still pregnant with Leah, and Mary made John drive all the way up here so I could meet you." Sue said with a small smile. "She was so happy to finally have a girl, it was her dream that you and Leah would grow up together." I broke eye contact with Sue as I looked at the next photo. I was in a sunflower shirt with overall shorts on; I stood out with my lightly tanned skin compared to the russet skin of the other kids in the photo. The girl by me was wearing the same outfit..Leah maybe? Sue let out a big sigh as she looked at the photo.
"This was about 2, almost 3 years after Mary passed. John started dropping you off weeks at a time to stay with me. But that's Leah there, you mom bought those outfits when we found out we were having girls, there's Jacob Black, Kim, Embry Call, Caitlyn, and," she pointed to the boy who had his arms wrapped around me with a cheesy smile, "Paul Lahote." I felt my heart rate increase when she said his name and looked back at the picture, they were like me before they were forced to grow up and see the world for what it really was.
"Wait.." I glanced back at Sue confused on what she said earlier. "You said dad would drop me off here for weeks at a time?" I watched as Sue eyes turned hard as she sat up straighter.
"I begged him to let you and your brothers live here with us." Sue cleared her voice before she continued. "When he'd go on his hunting trips, I knew your mother didn't want that for any of you-"
"You know?" My brow furrowed even more. "I-" Sue let out a sigh she had been holding.
"Yes, I've known-"
"Did mom know about it, she had to of right?" I cut sue off again. Sue froze as she locked eye with me now confused.
"Alexis.." Sue almost sounded pained. "Your dad was never a hunter-until Mary passed." She paused debating on what to say next. "It was you mom."
"What no." I said sounding offended. "My mom would of never ever done any of this." I flung my arms open staring at Sue in disbelief.
"It was Samual and Deanna Campbell-your grandparents-that how I met Mary and Charlie-my parents worked cases with their's." Sue said as she waited for my reaction.
"But dad-"
"He didn't want you or your brothers to know-he had no idea about it until the night Mary-" Sue stopped herself before wiping a stray tear away. "That's why he brought you and your brothers here for a few months-your Uncle Charlie was just as bent on revenge as John. That was around the same time Renee left Charlie. Renee thought he was cheating on her until-"
"Until?" I felt my head swirling with all of this new information.
"Charlie and John were at the station going over things, Renee was at home with Bella, who was about a year old maybe 2 at the time. When Charlie got a frantic call from Renee saying that someone was in Bella's room, a man with yellow eyes." I felt my heart drop into my stomach as I stared at Sue. "Knowing this was the same thing that killed Mary, Charlie and John rushed back to the house when they found Renee pinned to the wall, John took his shot but the second the pulled the trigger he vanished." I could feel my hands shaking as I gripped them together, so ol' yellow eyes got Bella too.. "Renee was hysterical when she packed up and left that night with Bella-she refused to listen-and swore Bella would have nothing to do with Charlie and that side of the family ever again." Sue stopped as she squeezed my arm. "I'm sorry for loading this all on you-but it's time that you knew the truth." I continued to stare at Sue and the pictures I still held in my hand.
"I-can I keep these?" I felt another tear run down my face as I tried processing what she had said.
"Of course." Sue put the lid back on the box. "You're welcome here any time Alexis, if you want to talk more my door is always open." I shakily stood up as I shoved the pictures into my pocket.
"I shou-should go." I stuttered as I wrapped my arms around myself. "Paul's probably waiting on me still." I saw a small smile play on Sue's lips.
"I should of known you two would of imprinted on each other, he was always attached to your hip when you two were little." I paused by the door when the word imprint was thrown in my direction again.
"I- thanks Sue." I gave her a small smile. "I'll be back, I just need-"
"I understand, it was a lot to take in."
I slowly left the porch as I made my way towards First Beach, it was almost too quiet outside, the only noise was from the waves hitting the shore. It was one of those strange nights where it wasn't raining for once but why was I feeling rain droplets? I raised one of my shakey hands to my face before I realized that tears were freely flowing down my face. I slowly made my way to one of the fallen logs trying to brush the tears away before sinking into the sand and wrapping my arms around my legs, letting the tears flow faster. I wasn't sure how long I was there, all I knew was that I had no more tears left and my eyes felt tired and swollen. I felt a body sink into the sand by me and two large hands pulling me into an even hotter body. I didn't need to look up as I knew it was Paul.
"Shh, it'll be okay Lex." He whispered huskily in my ear as he pulled me tighter into his chest. It was as if on cue the tears started running down my face once again as Paul traced circles on my back as he continued to whisper in my ear. I turned my head and listened to the steady thumping of his heart. Everything Sue had said ran through my mind, from Mom being the hunter all the way to Bella now being involved with yellow eyes and of course everything in between.
"Hey Paul?" My voice cracked as it was still heavy with tears.
"Hmm?" I felt his chest hum as he placed his chin on the top of my head.
"What's an imprint?" I asked a little louder, I felt his body instantly tense up before he let out a rather loud sigh.
"Let's head back to my place." Paul mutter as he hooked his arm under my legs.
"Paul, this is at least the third time I've heard someone say that I'm your-" My words were cut off as Paul sprang to his feet effortlessly carrying me bridal style. "Paul! Put me down. I'm too heavy." My arms instantly wrapped around his neck trying to steady myself from the sudden movement. Paul let out another snort as he sped walked across the beach and towards his house.
"You're lighter than a feather." He said in an off tone. With his freakishly long legs it took mere seconds it felt like to get to the front porch of his house where he slowly sat me back down on my feet.
"You coming or what?" His voice snapped me out of my trance as he waited by door for me. I slowly made my way in and followed him up the stairs and to his room. His room, like always, had clothes thrown all around it and the bed was unmade with movies and more clothes on top of it. "Sorry, Sam's been having us all double up on patrols lately, so" Paul scratched the back of his head as he looked around his room. "Sorry about the mess." He walked over to his bed before he threw a few things in my direction. "You can wear those if you want, the shorts might be too big."
I looked at the maroon hoodie that had a school logo on it and the black shorts he threw in my direction before giving him a small smile and started to change into them. My cheeks flushed red as I could feel his eyes watching me as I took off my jeans and t-shirt and put the shorts on. I grabbed the hoodie when I felt his long finger trace one of the many scars on my back, before his finger moved to another rather long scar. I turned to face him as his face had no emotions when he started tracing another scar that went from my left collar bone and across my chest before it disappeared.
"Paul?" My voice was barley a whisper. His eyes were still glued to the scars that littered my body as I interlocked my hand with his trying to get his attention away from them.
"How.." Paul said with his brow furrowed. "Why didn't I notice these before?" He said more to himself than to me.
"Well, I think we had other things on our minds last time you saw me like this." I said lightheartedly. Paul's eyes were a mixture of pained and stony when he met mine.
"Who..?" Paul took a deep breath in trying to calm himself. Who did this to me... he didn't have to say the words as I knew what he meant.
"Paul." My voice sounded just as pained as his did. "I promise I'll tell you everything- it's just that.." I released my hands from his before gripping his forearms that had small trembles running through them. "After talking to Sue-I just need to clear my head before I tell you. Please Paul. I just need some time before I do." I looked back up at his eyes that were still pained before he let out a big breath he had been holding in.
"Okay. I understand." Paul said sounding like he was trying to convince himself. He reached down and picked the sweatshirt back up before handing it to my and giving me a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. I gingerly took it from his hands and watched him get on his bed before I threw it on.
"Your brothers texted you." Paul said as he held my phone out to me as I slowly made my way on his bed.
Is it over? Do we need to come get you? -Sammy
I'm going to stay the night at Leah's tonight. I'll catch a ride back to Uncle Charlie's in the morning. I texted Sammy back before turning my phone off and curling myself into Paul's side.
"So.." I said after a long silence as Paul was flipping through Netflix trying to find something to turn on. "About an imprint?"
"You know, if you'd actually pay attention at the bonfires you'd know what that means by know." Paul said as he reached over and turned the light off.
"Well I've heard it being said but it's that people keep saying I'm your imprint." I rolled so that I was half way on him and rested my chin on his chest looking up at him.
"I just don't want this to change how you feel about me." Paul was glaring at the ceiling as he placed a hand on my back almost like he was scared I'd run off.
"Why would I do that?"
"It-it just complicates things." Paul said sounding frustrated. "Not only that but it usually freaks people out when they hear about it, unless you're Kim of course." He muttered the last part before turning his head to look down at me.
"I'm good with weird, trust me." Paul started down at me for a long moment before turning his gaze back to the ceiling.
"Remember when we first met, when Embry and Quil drug you to the bonfire and not long into it they kept asking if you were alright and how you looked like you saw a ghost."
"Um yeah..you wouldn't stop staring at me but I guess I was staring at you too.." I trailed not sure where this was going.
"It was like there was no one else there, just us, but it felt like everything made sense." Paul tightening his grip on my back before he shifted his body so we were laying side by side facing each other. "No one else mattered, it was almost like we were in our own world for a few moments." He slowly reach up brushing a stray hair behind my ear. I furrowed my brow as I looked at him, how did he know exactly how I felt then..? "So I guess what you could say was that we imprinted then." Paul said cautiously gauging my reaction.
"But what does that even mean?" I asked now even more confused. Paul let out another sigh debating on what to say next.
"Do you believe in soulmates?" Paul said sounding unsure.
"I mean I guess, yeah, my parents I've heard were the definition of soulmates." I felt a rock sink into my stomach as I realized where Paul was going with this. I couldn't-we couldn't-my mind started racing a million miles a minute picturing how this would end-horribly that is. When Sue's words flew into my head I should of know you two would have imprinted on each other..
"The elders say it's to make sure the pack stays strong.." Paul trailed as he noticed my panicked expression. "I mean-it's not love at first sight or anything like that. I-it's I'll be whatever you want me to be, a friend, protector..." Paul trailed off now unsure of what else to say. I could feel that my eyes were wide with fear of the unknown as Paul stared back with regret in his eyes. "I knew I should of waited to tell you-but I guess it's better that you hear it from me.." He trailed off again and his eyes traced my face waiting for a response. "Lex, come on, say something please.."
"I-" I paused there were so many things I wanted to say or even just leave so I could have space to think. "It's been a long day Paul.. maybe we should try and get some sleep." I finished lamely, wishing desperately that I was any where but here at the moment.
"Um yeah, okay." Paul said wearily. I gave him a tight a tight smile before I rolled over, my back now facing him when he ever so tentatively placed his arm around my waist. I just was not destined to live a normal life I guess. I continued staring at the wall running through all the thoughts that now plagued my head until I finally gave in to a fitful sleep.