A/N: Sorry for the wait, and the length of this chapter. Life is just beating me down right now.
"This book holds all of the schedule repairs and whatnot. Today, for instance, says we have a oil change for Henson's blue Toyota Tacoma, and two tire changes with alignment. One is a Chevy Cobalt, and the other is a Honda Accord." Mr. Martin says, pointing at the big book laying open on the desk. "Got it, son?"
I nod my head slowly, taking everything in. It's not a difficult job really, not with the small experience and training I've had. Besides, it's not like I am immediately going to be head mechanic or anything. More training will come.
"I think I do, sir." He looks at me and huffs a little at the title.
"Alright, do you have any homework? Mary will have my hide if I didn't let you finish it." He jokes. I think its a joke anyways.
I nod my head. "I have a history paper to finish, but that's all. Shouldn't take long." Was he worried about that? If I speed through it, would he be happy?
He waves a hand at me. "It's fine, take your time. Use the desk in here, and come find me when you get done." He smiles and walks out. Before he's gone completely, he turns back around. "Oh, and if the phone rings, could you answer it for me. Tell them to wait and come get me."
I nod at him. "No problem, sir."
He smiles at me. "Thanks." With that, he leaves me alone in the office.
I hope with my entire being that that phone doesn't ring.
I sit down at the desk and pull my history work out of my bag. Finishing it doesn't take long, just under thirty minutes. Luckily, the phone I have been guarding, doesn't ring.
Shoving the work back into my bag, I set my bag in the corner of the room and leave the office. It doesn't take long to find Mr. Martin under the hood of a car, pouring in some fresh oil.
He spots me quickly. "Homework all done?" He asks.
"Yes, sir. I hope I wasn't too long." He doesn't appear angry, but I've seen that before.
"I don't care if it took you hours to finish it. What matters is that you finished it." He says, as he shuts the hood. "Alright, ready to learn how to change some tires?" He asks with a small smile.
"Yes, sir." His smile grows.
"Okay, here's the keys to the Cobalt, drive it in here after I back out the Tacoma, okay?" I nod my understanding.
The rest of the shift was spent helping Mr. Martin out with little things, and just learning from him. And once we finish with the Honda, it's going to be time to go back to their house. Tightening up the lug nuts on the last tire, a car pulls up outside the shop. A nice car, a red convertible it looks like.
Mr. Martin walks towards the car, when the door opens, and the blonde Cullen girl gets out.
Rosalie. My mind supplies for me.
She's beautiful, her blonde waves slightly blowing in he breeze. A light blue sweater clashes with her pale skin amazingly well.
Finishing with the tire, I walk towards the two of them as they speak. I wonder what I need to do so we can close up and leave. I'm hungry, and Mrs. Martin said she was going to be making a roast tonight.
"It'll take me some time to get the parts, and to make sure it looks good. So, if you can go a week without your car, I think I can help you." Mr. Martin smiles kindly at the girl.
"Oh, that will be no problem. Actually, if you have to, I can go longer without it, so no rush." She smiles back, handing the keys over to him.
He looks to me as I approach. "Everything is tight and ready to go." I say, looking between them.
"Good, good, we can lock up now. But, Ms. Hale's car is going to be out of commission for a few days, and I was wondering if you could take her home before you leave?" He asks me.
That catches me off guard. Looking between them, I see two very different expressions. A look of questioning from Mr. Martin, like I have a choice in the matter. And a look of... hope, I think, from Rosalie.
"Oh, umm, sure. Let me just grab my bag from the office." I tell her, and smiles widely at me.
Even her teeth are perfect. I haven't found one single thing about any of the Cullens that are bad. Everything about them is just... perfect. It's creepy, in a way. But maybe I am just jealous.
Grabbing my bag, and heading to my car, I see Rosalie standing by the passenger door, smile still in place as she stares at me. It's a bit uncomfortable to have her watch me walk.
"Got everything?" I ask, looking back to her car.
She nods. "Yeah, I cleaned it out before I brought it up here."
"Okay, let's get going then." Opening up my car door, she follows suit.
Her smile hasn't left.
His smell is intoxicating. It's almost like a mixture of lavender and chocolate, I could surround myself with that scent for the rest of my long life. If it wasn't for his amazing gift, I don't know if I would be able to control myself around him.
Especially being in a contained space like his car, which is surprisingly clean. I thought there would be some trash, but aside from his bag, there's nothing in here. It's just clean.
After a few minutes of riding in silence, I realize that I will have to start the conversation with him. I wish he trusted me a bit more, more comfortable around me.
"So, thank you." I start out, slowly. He looks towards me for a second with a questioning look. "For driving me home, I mean. You didn't have to, but I'm glad you did." I smile at him.
"It's not a problem." He says simply.
That's it. He's done speaking. I sigh lightly. I have to remind myself that I have to form a foundation with him. But, still, it hurts.
"Well, thank you, Declan. I appreciate it." I look back towards the road.
I hear him take a light breath. "Are you okay?" He asks.
I frown slightly. Why wouldn't I be okay? Oh, right, the car. I forgot about it really.
Wait, he asked about my health. Oh my God, he cares about me. It could be just a small amount, but it's there. He cares.
I can't stop the smile from reaching my eyes. "I'm fine, luckily. It was just the car that got damaged." He looks at me.
"Well, that's good. I'm glad you're okay." I think my unbeating heart just fluttered. "What did you hit exactly?" He has a pensive look.
"A deer."
"Rose, you sure this is a good idea?" Emmett is leaning over the island in the kitchen, looking at me.
I scoff. "Of course it is. He's working in mechanic shop, and I don't trust anyone but me to actually fix one of my cars, so body work is perfect."
"It would be so much easier just to mess with something easy to fix instead of totalling the car." He responds.
"I need to not have a car for an extended time period, so I can hitch rides from Declan. A simple fix is not long enough, idiot."
Esme smiles at us bickering back and forth. "Emmett, be a dear, and help your sister."
He turns to her with a scandalous expression. "She should be able to figure it out herself."
I grab the keys off the island, and turn to walk outside. "I have figured it out, now quit being a baby, and let me hit you with my car."
"A big deer." My voice high and happy as I remember.
He huffs lightly. "Did it die?"
"I don't think so, he jumped up and ran off into the woods." He chuckles at that, the sound echoing through my head.
"They sure are some tough creatures." He has a small smile when he says that.
He's so beautiful when he smiles. It's like his face lights up and shows his true self. I want it to stay on his face forever. I want to be the reason it's there.
Keep the conversation going, I think to myself. "So how did you like your first day?"
He looks at me weird for a second. "It was fine, didn't really do too much."
"Boring day is easy money, right?" I joke.
"I don't even think I'm getting paid. I think it's kind of like an internship type of job." I nod along to his words.
"Boo, that's no fun." I tease.
He huffs a breath. "That's life, right? Some jobs suck, and some don't pay you. But if you can't get paid, hopefully you can still enjoy the job."
He likes cars, I could surprise him with a new one on our first anniversary. He'd like that, right? We could have matching BMWs, it would amazing. But that will have to wait until he realises that we are supposed to be together. But for now, I have to nudge him in that direction. He should get the hint if I'm open about it.
I have to get him to understand that I like him. And quickly, he's turning onto our driveway.
"Do you work tomorrow?" I ask.
Declan shakes his head. "No, it's only three days a week. I won't work again until Saturday."
Trusting me with his schedule makes me feel warm inside. I can't help the smile from forming on my face.
"So, when are you and Jasper working on your reports again?" Throw out the bait.
He glances to me. "Umm, I'm not really sure. Maybe Wednesday."
Hook him. "Wednesday can't come soon enough."
Putting the car in park, he looks at me fully. "Why is that?" He questions.
Reel him in. Smiling widely, I reach over and grab his arm. "Because I really like having you around, Declan." Tighten my grip slightly, and release. "See you at lunch." Got him.
Don't look back, let him stare at me while I walk away. Closing the door behind me, I see him still staring at me. I wake at him and walk out of his sight.
My heart aches slightly when I hear his tires moving back down the driveway. I can't wait until he doesn't leave me to go to another home.
Emmett and Jasper are stting on the floor playing video games, with Esme and Carlisle watching from the couch. Edward and Alice must be hunting.
Emmett has big goofy grin on his face when he sees me. "Did you two kiss? If not, I'm gonna be pissed that you hit me with a car."
"Shut up, Emmett. We will kiss when he's ready to." I head upstairs to my room.
I hear the snickering from the living room. It doesn't matter what they say, I will not push Declan. Just nudge him, lovingly, until he makes the move and then we'll be together forever.
Forever.
The thought sickens me, I'll have to turn him for that. That's the only way for us to be together. Sure, maybe another mate comes along 100 years from now, but I don't want another mate. I want Declan.
Forever won't be terrible, so long as we are together for it.