Disclaimer: I own nothing but some shirtless pics of Alex Meraz that clog up the memory on my phone. SM owns all.
Chapter 18
Charlie POV
That boy was hiding something. I could see it in his eyes. I didn't work my way up through the police force by being unobservant, and I could usually tell when someone was lying. The look of panic that crossed Paul's face when I asked him about his father let me know there was something he didn't want me to know.
I'd been asking around the past few months, trying to see where Tommy was spending his time. The bars he usually frequented were now Paul's territory, and since his old dealer had left town we hadn't seen much drug activity in the area. I had a sneaking suspicion that Tommy Lahote had left town.
"Uh, he's… um–" Paul was clearly caught off guard by my question, and his obvious discomfort answered for him.
I stepped closer and rested my hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly when he slumped a bit in defeat. "He's gone, isn't he." It was more of a statement than a question, but Paul gave a barely noticeable nod anyway.
As I took a step back, Paul looked up at me with something like fear on his face. "Charlie, please! You can't say anything. I've got a good thing going here—I go to school, and I'm working with Sam so I have money for food and shit. I don't need him here. I never needed him here!"
He was shaking a bit when he finally stopped talking, his teeth clenched as tightly as his fists. I started to reach for him again, but he shook his head and stepped further back, so I reluctantly gave him his space. When he looked back at me, he was wearing the same pleading look he'd had as a scared little seven-year-old boy. "Please," he whispered, and I dropped my shoulders in defeat.
"Paul, it's not that simple," I told him. "This is my job we're talking about here. I can't just look the other way on something this serious."
I watched his breathing increase rapidly as he began to panic at my words. I guess he thought he'd keep this a secret for the next year and a half until he turned eighteen. I just couldn't let him do that. "No, Charlie! You don't understand! Billy knows he's gone! He said I could stay here! He and Harry check in on me, and Sam's grandpa does too. I'm doing fine!"
His words made me pause. I would need to check with Billy because if the tribe had given him some form of emancipation, my hands would be tied. I just didn't understand why he hadn't said anything to me before if this was true. He knew how I felt about Paul.
Looking around at the neatly-kept yard, I had to admit that the place looked better without Tommy there. "Why don't you let me look around inside, and then I'll go talk things over with Billy. You could come with me if you want—Bella and Embry are over there."
I didn't miss the way his eyes lit up at Bella's name, but he looked away quickly and shook his head. "No, that's okay. I've got some stuff to do around here. But you can come in the house for a few minutes."
I followed him up the porch steps, noticing that the loose board on the second step had been firmly nailed down. The porch railing looked new, and the front door had a fresh coat of paint on it. I ran my hand over the deep color and gave Paul a questioning look.
He ducked his head a bit as he shrugged and said, "Sam lets me bring home leftover materials when we finish a job. I've been doing a little bit here and there, trying to fix up the house some. Dad wasn't big on home maintenance."
We shared a wry smile at the thought. Tommy was many things, but a responsible homeowner was not one of them.
As we walked into the kitchen, I remembered the package that Tiffany had sent, and I ran outside to grab it and bring it in. Paul actually blushed as I pulled out food, and I laughed as I heard his stomach let out a rather ferocious growl.
"I'll let you dig in while the food's still warm," I offered, putting my hat back on as I walked toward the door. "And Paul? For the record, I'm glad you're staying out of trouble. Keep it up."
~oOo~oOo~oOo~
Bella POV
The rest of the week passed much the same way Tuesday had, and by Friday it appeared that my novelty was finally beginning to wear off. The people at my lunch table made plans to go to First Beach on Saturday, and I barely held in my laughter when they "invited" me along.
I wasn't too surprised when Embry decided to tag along, but I was surprised when he followed me down to the beach instead of hiking over to Jacob's. I caught his eye and smiled when he looked down and blushed. I caught him glancing toward Angela, and I was pretty sure I'd found his motivation for hanging around with the Forks kids.
Mike and Tyler got a bonfire going, and I sat down to watch the flames as the others all talked and played around. I felt someone watching me at one point and looked up to see Sam Uley standing a little ways down the beach. I lifted my hand and smiled at him, but he just kept the same stoic look on his face and gave me a short nod.
I was surprised to see him there. I thought he would have gone off to college with Leah when they graduated, and I couldn't think of a polite way to ask him why he hadn't. I'd have to ask Embry for the gossip later.
Speaking of my brother, I couldn't hold back a laugh when I saw Quil and Jacob coming through the sand toward our group. Embry spotted them about the same time I did, and he ducked his head and sighed, coming over to sit by me.
I glanced back at Quil and noticed that Sam was standing a bit closer now, and he was staring at the boys with a very strange look. Jacob looked his way and I was surprised to see him stand up taller and stare Sam down as Quil ducked around him to come and scoop me up off the log.
Quil commanded attention, just like his father—our father—always had. His boisterous laugh made me giggle as he spun me around, and I held on just a little bit longer because I realized how much I'd missed him that week. I'd always been closer to Embry, but finding out that Quil was more than just my cousin had given us a deeper bond than we'd shared before.
He was still coming to terms with everything, but he accepted me and Embry. His relationship with our grandfather was nowhere near what it once was, however. I didn't want to come between them, but it was something that would take some time to work through.
I stumbled a bit when Quil finally set me down, and I managed to side step a hug from Jake. He was becoming bolder in his actions toward me since I moved back, and he wasn't taking the hint that I still only liked him as a friend—and he was on thin ice with that.
Jessica Stanley gave me an unexpected reprieve when she showed up at my side. "Bella! Aren't you going to introduce us to your…friends?" She was cutting her eyes toward Quil, but Jacob hadn't escaped her notice either.
I smiled and introduced them. I stumbled over my relationship to Quil, but Embry jumped in and in introduced him as his brother. I didn't like the way Lauren was suddenly looking at them, but luckily Tyler didn't either and he came to sit beside her.
"So, Bella. How come your new stalker friend didn't follow you out here?" Lauren's snotty voice cut through the crowd and I rolled my eyes at her.
Quil looked down at me in concern, but I waved him off. I didn't want Edward's actions to get back to Billy and cause trouble between him and Charlie again. Of course, Jessica had other plans. "Yeah, I've never seen Edward Cullen so interested in anyone before. It's really weird."
I shocked when I felt a rush of heat at my back. It was eerily similar to how Paul felt, but I knew it wasn't him behind him. Sam's hand rested on my shoulder as his low voice cut through the circle with a strange sound of authority. "The Cullens don't come here."
~oOo~oOo~oOo~
Paul POV
I tried to ignore just how disappointed I was to show up at the Swan house today and find Bella missing. She and Embry were at First Beach with a bunch of Forks kids. Just my luck.
Charlie had asked me to come over and do some repairs on his roof and porch. It was easy work, but maintaining my cover made it that much more tedious. I preferred the job sites out of town where we could use our full strength and speed to get the work done faster.
I had just tacked down the last shingle when I heard Bella's truck rumbling down the road. My heart sped at the thought of seeing her again, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to avoid the temptation to be close to her.
I'd kept an eye on her all week, making sure the leeches stuck to their word and avoided my mate. Every time I saw her I just wanted to fall at her feet and surrender. I wasn't sure anymore what was holding me back. It just seemed too good to be true.
I was so lost in thought that I dropped from the roof at the same time she stepped out of her truck. There was no avoiding her. "Paul!" she called out, smiling so big that it almost hurt to look at her. "What are you doing here?"
I set my tools down and half-heartedly wiped my hands on my jeans. I remembered too late that I wasn't wearing a shirt, and the way Bella was staring at my chest had my wolf on full alert.
"Charlie asked me to fix a few things," I told her, looking down at my hands as I picked at the dirt and tar staining them. I froze when her small white hand covered mine, and the differences made me realize just how inadequate I was. She was innocent, pure, and I was dirty from the day I was born. There was no world where I deserved her.
Knowing I needed to put some distance between us, I shot her glare that made my wolf growl at me inside. He just didn't understand—it was better this way. If I didn't get close to her, I couldn't hurt her—or Charlie—and she couldn't hurt me.
That thought hit me like a sledgehammer. That's why I was holding back. That's why I kept Sam and the pack at arm's length. That's why I bounced from woman to woman, never looking for anything deeper. Everyone who I had ever cared about had left me. Even Charlie let me down. I couldn't bear it if I got close to Bella, only to have her pull away, too.
Despite the increase in her heartbeat, she didn't show an outward reaction to my show of hostility. Instead, she inadvertently challenged my wolf by lifting her pretty little head and staring me straight in the eye, letting me know she had no intention of backing down. Her soft fingers tightened where they gripped my own rough hands.
Instead of rising to the challenge, my traitor wolf was fucking purring at the show of spirit from our 'perfect mate.' Wonderful. Just one more part of me that was taken in by a Swan.
"Paul?" She took another step toward me, walking carefully as if she were approaching a wild animal. I couldn't hold back a snort of laughter at the mental comparison.
"Paul, please." I was frozen between the pleading look in her eyes and the achingly soft comfort of her hand on mine. When she looked down at my lips, my wolf took control and leaned in.
I knew I had to be gentle—this was my whole world, my most precious cherished treasure. I lifted my free hand to tangle in her hair, unable to the keep my fingers from combing through the silken strands I'd been dreaming of for weeks.
My head tilted to the right and hers turned to mirror me in a move so synchronized it seemed choreographed. She sucked in a quiet breath of anticipation just before my lips touched hers.
It took all my patience to press my lips against hers softly, gently, not pressing her for more until she opened her mouth enough to slip my tongue carefully through. I moaned in ecstasy as her unique flavor filled my senses, and I pulled her body tight against me as her hands worked frantically at my arms and back.
She moaned my name, whimpering softly in pleasure, and I didn't think anything could come between us in that moment. Nothing except for Charlie's voice.
"Paul? Bella? What the hell is going on here?"
AN: If Paul's pov sounds familiar, I took a lot of it straight from the second drabble I wrote- Too Late (chapter 35 in Wolf Drabbles). Slightly different ending though ;)