Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga.
I had to sleep on the couch that afternoon.
I'd found the bedrooms. All five of them. But they all seemed too...Luxurious for me.
All the beds were too fluffy, the windows were too big, and they let in too much light. I didn't like the heat on my face as I slept. The living room couch seemed to be the coolest place in the house. Apart from the basement, but the door that would let me down there scared me on its own. Who knew what would actually be down there?
Harry on the other hand found all the rooms amazing. In fact, since it was just the two of us, he claimed two of the rooms for himself. Not that he slept at all. I could hear him doing laps around the pool for the first two hours we'd been here.
The house was fully furnished. And it looked like someone had been hired to take care of the place too, up until recently.
Every room in the house was almost spotless. Every window was crystal clear. I could see my reflection on almost every surface. The only thing I'd have to do was stock the fridge, and until my car came, we'd be ordering out anyway.
But, no matter how hard I tried to tell myself how perfect everything was, there was always doubt. A part of me kept saying that there was something missing from my perfect picture. Or someone...
I had nightmares for the four hours I forced myself to sleep through. I couldn't really call them nightmares though; there was nothing in them that would frighten anyone else. But they scared me.
We were in the airport. Harry and I. Except, it wasn't us leaving, it was Paul.
"You're leaving?" I said, gripping Harry's hand even tighter. The airport seemed to lurch as the words left my mouth, depicting what my life would be without Paul perfectly.
Paul smirked.
"Sorry Kell, I gotta go." He shrugged, backing away from us. I stumbled forward on pure instinct, already tearing up. The airport faded from behind him, and was replaced with what looked like trees. We were in a forest.
"Paul," I choked out, pulling against Harry's hold on me. Paul smiled, backing up. The shadow of the trees seemed to be swallowing him up. I watched helplessly with teary eyes as he started to disappear.
"I thought you'd be happy, this was you wanted, right?" I couldn't help but notice the dark sarcasm in his voice. Even my subconscious was mocking me. "Now you and Embry can be together. You'll never hear about this imprinting stuff again." He continued moving back.
"Paul, I didn't mean any of that. Please, don't go. I…" He stopped, staring at me.
"You what?" Harry let go of me and I fell forward. Paul caught me readily and I sobbed into his shoulder.
"I love you! Please don't go!" My perspective warped again, and suddenly it was Paul with tears in his eyes while I tried to escape. Harry was tugging on my hand again.
"Come on Kells, we have to go." I glanced back at him, confused. Go?
"Kelly, please don't leave me. What am I supposed to do without you?" He pleaded with me. I opened my mouth to tell him I would stay, that I would never leave him. But no words would come out of my mouth. I tried desperately to tell him, but his expression was already changing.
His eyes hardened and he took a step away from me, he started to look distinctively canine.
"Paul," I muttered, my voice finally returning. But it was too late. He was fading. The shadows that had been consuming him were now eating at me. I felt like clawing at my eyes to get rid of the black fog around the edges.
"Don't bother Kelly." And then he was gone, a huge silver wolf in his place. I gasped, and Harry pulled me back again.
"Kelly, let's go." I didn't answer, but I let him pull me back. The wolf watched as we walked away.
The wolf howled a long and sorrowful howl. My heart clenched and everything faded to black.
Then I woke up, gasping and covered in sweat. I wasn't sure what was more frightening. The wolf, or the fact that I was capable of loving someone I'd only known for a month.
And I'd known it from the second they announced we were leaving Washington. I'd felt like my heart was being torn in two.
Part of me had to stay with my brother, if I was being realistic; he was the only thing I had left. The other half was trying to stay in La Push, because now, there was someone there that I loved too. I knew it was because of the imprint, every cell in my body was aware of that. But that didn't make it any less real. The pain I felt that whole plane ride, even though I'd never admit it, was the reason why I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I'd see Paul's betrayed expression...
I finally decided to face the music, and I ended up with this.
I sighed pulling myself off the couch.
I was still wearing the clothes I had left La Push in. They were full of wrinkles now, and looked, well, slept in.
"Harry?" He came running from the back yard. His skin had become prune like after all the swimming. I frowned. "How long have you been out there?" He smiled sheepishly.
"I don't know, a couple hours?" I shook my head at him, but I was too tired to yell. Besides, it was a good thing he was getting some sun. I noticed earlier how sickly his skin seemed to look in California.
"Hey Kells, guess what?" He followed me into the kitchen, still hyper from the amount of sugar he had inhaled in the limo.
"What?" My voice sounded dead by comparison. I opened one of the cupboards and stared at the glasses skeptically. I picked one out, shrugging. If they weren't clean, I guess I'd find out the hard way…
"Our neighbor came over earlier. You were sleeping. It's this old guy."
"Harry," I muttered, attempting to scold him.
"Sorry, elderly man." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, no one lives in the other house and that house is his vacation home. He'll be gone in a couple of months." I nodded, only partially interested. "He brought cookies." I perked up a little bit. I hadn't eaten in two days. I still wasn't sure if I could eat now, but I felt empty.
I noticed the woven basket on the kitchen island, and my stomach turned at the thought of waiting. I walked past them to the sink, filling the glass with water. I chugged it down, before filling the glass and turning to face Harry.
He looked worried.
"What's wrong?" He looked startled.
"Hm? Oh, nothing. I just, thought I saw something in the bushes, but I don't want you to worry. It's fine." He smiled, shrugging it off. But I frowned, my protective instincts taking over.
"When? Where? Why didn't you come get me Harry?" He frowned at me. I could just imagine what I looked like. My hair was probably a mess; there were probably red splotches all over my face... I bet I looked horrible.
"I didn't want to wake you up. And you worry to much already Kells. I mean, he stayed in the bushes. He didn't even talk to me..." His voice trailed off as he took in my expression. "Kells?"
"He?" I put the glass down on the counter behind me before I dropped it.
Harry's face fell, and he started backing away from me.
"Oops, did I say he?" My eyes narrowed.
"Who were you talking to Harold?" He winced, holding his hands up.
"Come on Kells, did you just expect me to ignore him?" I glared at him and he continued quickly. "We kinda ditched him in La Push. And I told you, I kinda liked having Paul around. Other than school, there aren't very many guys hanging around..." I stiffened.
Paul? Paul was here?
My reaction was irrational. I should have called the police. I should have locked all the doors and windows. I mean, there was a werewolf stalking me.
But I walked out the still open back door, scanning the vegetation around the pool.
"Paul?" I hissed. No answer. I squinted at the bushes again. He was here, I could feel it. And that scared me.
I shuddered, backing towards the door.
I kept my eyes on the leaves though, watching for the eyes I knew were watching me.
I stood at the glass door for a second, still watching, before I took a hold of the handle, closing the door slowly.
Something moved by the Jacuzzi, my eyes zeroed in immediately.
I saw a flash of grey and then it disappeared.
I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Again, an irrational reaction.
A giant wolf stalking my home should not have made me smile. But it made me feel safe, and whole, having Paul around. Even if he wouldn't talk to me.
I slid the door closed, locking it. Maybe I'd spend some time by the pool tomorrow...
"So, did you see him?" I paused, before shaking my head at Harry.
"No. Go take a shower Harry. And please try to sleep off some of that sugar." He grinned.
"I'll try... Night Kells." He gave me a half hug before running up the stairs. I sighed, watching him to make sure he didn't slip on the steps.
I glanced behind me out the glass doors. I smiled.
"Good night," I muttered, feeling like a complete psycho.
The responding howl came five minutes later, and almost gave me a heart attack as I was climbing the steps, but I knew it was meant for me.
I couldn't stop smiling as I crawled into one the too big beds in one of the rooms Harry hadn't claimed.
Maybe I could warm up to Malibu after all.
1h2a34: Apparently so... Silly, silly Paul. And he is. I decided he needed a break. He did try and chase a plane... Thanks for the review (:
scigeekgirl: She hasn't really seen him yet, but she kind of did... Thanks for your review!(:
Epoch95: Thank you so much! Thanks for your review(:
I'm still taking interview questions if anyone still wanted to do that...
Review ?(:
