Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Yada, yada, yada.
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and now I understand what I was doing wrong. Thank you for pointing that out to me. Here is the next chapter, the story is coming to an end soon and I'm not so sure how to feel about that. Since it's been more than a year since I ever published this story and look at it now. I'm so proud ;D Anyway, no more yapping, here it is :) Enjoy and let me know your thoughts.
P.S I published a new Twilight story. Wretched, Look At Me. It's quite a heavy story with a heavy topic, but if you're into Bella/Edward (AH) you might like it :) Check it out, if you can.
With Eight Seconds Left In Overtime
I was shaking. Like earthquake shaking, my hands, my knees, my lips, everything was shaking. I felt my clammy hands grasp each other desperately while I tried to get hold of my body and move to the car, as Paul had told me to do. But it wasn't as easy to do as I thought, as I wanted it to. Once paralyzed with fear it's like my whole system is failing. I couldn't breathe, and my eyes were moving to every corner of my sight to find something, see something that didn't belong. I couldn't though, I didn't see. I just felt it by the way Paul tensed up behind me. His muscles tightening, I could see it by the way his jaw clamped shut.
"Julie, go!" Paul persisted and I found myself paralyzed to reply.
"She's not moving Paul." Seth warned and I felt Paul's hot hand on my arm, shaking me out of it.
"Jules, baby. Just go! Why aren't you moving?" It wasn't a question that needed to be responded to so I finally pushed my feet to move. Just take it easy and focus on the car. The car was my end destination.
Slowly I moved towards the car finding myself look at Summer who looked clueless. I could see her mouth words to me or Seth who was behind me, demanding an explanation when suddenly something red moved in my peripheral vision. I knew that it wasn't common to see something as red as that so it was only natural that my eyes snapped to the unknown colour, only to be confronted by the sight of one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen.
Her pale skin almost glittered, even though we lacked sunlight, her crimson red hair was waving in slight breeze. She was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. The unusual part though, her eyes. They weren't the colour I expected. Hell they weren't even the colour that was humanly possible. And that was exactly the thing that made her terrifying at the same time. Her blood red eyes that stared at me with a certain hunger made me want to run.
I blinked and in a second she was gone, I swallowed the panic down when I realized she was in front of me. And then I suppose hell broke loose.
In a split second I felt someone push me down to the ground as I heard the sound of clothes ripping. My head slammed to the concrete with a dull thud that seemed to reverberate in my head, echoing only one thing, pain. The sharp knives that stabbed themselves in my head made it impossible for me to think clearly.
The thick strawberry pie like fog made the world look like it was dully pink. The cold concrete chilled me down to my bones and as I spluttered a faint sound I heard the screams of Summer as the car door slammed shut with so much force I knew Paul was going to kill her. But where was Paul? I couldn't see him.
The panic struck. Like a big truck it struck me and I blindly struggled when I felt something grab my foot. His sharp teeth bore right into my skin and I screamed when I felt it was dragging me over the ground. In my hazy vision I saw Summer run towards me and suddenly the teeth were gone. Nothing was dragging me anymore. In fact, I was on the damp grass facing the sky as I let the waves of pain crash over me.
"Julie! Oh God, Julie, are you alright?" Summer shook me and I grabbed her arm as she pulled me into a sitting position. I clutched her arm as she did the same and both of us stumbled to get on our feet. I didn't know it was going to hurt as much as I thought it would. But apparently whatever had grabbed me, and I had a faint idea who, broke through my skin and I felt the cool blood stick to my jeans. As I put my weight on the foot I cried out. The pain stabbed right through my whole leg, spreading as it went, and I let go of Summer dropping to my knees in the grass.
"That idiot!" Summer cursed. "I don't understand why he pulled you over like this." Summer was angry as she put her arm around my waist and helped me to get upright again. But her small stature wouldn't be able to hold me up and both of us went tumbling to the ground again, me taking her with me.
I heard Summer cuss again and I realized that either Seth or Paul had pulled me away from the road. My money was on Paul because I knew that in his blind panic he'd do something like that. I bit back a curse as I felt the cool ground underneath me again and I pushed myself off the ground on my knees again. I glanced at the car that seemed so far away when I heard the growls and howls. I inhaled a breath looking at the gray wolf who seemed to be running towards us.
Even now, I can't admit that this form of Paul terrified me somewhat, even though I knew I was safer with him than with anyone else. And this little situation didn't count. Because even Paul has cracks in his armour. Suddenly a sandy wolf, much smaller than Paul, joined him in his run and I saw them race towards me and Summer.
"Oh God." Summer gasped as she watched the two wolves. Their pace uncommonly fast, they were like blurs. My panic ebbed away slowly and I stood up too fast again sinking slowly through my knees when I felt the pain. The gray wolf stood in front of me, nudging me slowly with his nose. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying out and I slowly put my hands in front of me on the grass.
"What happened?" I demanded in a frenzy. "Who was that? Is she gone?" Summer, who was on her feet, glanced around her in a frenzy.
"That was Victoria, right?" The sandy wolf made an agreeing kind of sound and Summer gulped visibly.
So that was Victoria. The one vampire the pack couldn't get hold of. I blinked away the tears that appeared in the panic that slammed back into me again. I looked at the gray wolf as he ran to the car and disappeared behind it. A fair few seconds later he appeared back as Paul, only clothed in cut off pants.
I couldn't explain how good it felt to see him back in his human form. But the panic on his handsome face was enough to make my heart sink through my stomach. "We have to get you two out of here." I was nodding before he even finished his sentence.
He bend his knees and looked at me with concern. His hot hands moving over my body, as if checking if I was still intact. He pulled me to my feet in a few seconds, putting weight to my feet. I closed my eyes and cried out in pain. Paul's hands grabbed my waist in an instant and he hauled me up, his one arm holding my weight. I grasped his shoulder with my other arm as he moved to Summer pulling her with us.
"Seth, go to Sam! Tell him we're coming!" Paul ordered as he practically ran towards the car. As I turned to look behind us I saw Seth's sandy form disappear in the woods. The thick trees hiding any sign of him.
The second we reached the car he pushed Summer to backseat, silently ordering her to get in as quickly as she could and he put me in the front seat as gently as he could. That obviously wasn't gentle enough because I could feel my foot hit the door first. I put my fist in my mouth to refrain myself from crying out. I could hear him curse.
"Shit, shit, shit." He murmured as he looked at me quickly before he slammed the door and moved to the driver's seat. We were off so soon that I barely realized what was going on.
"Julie? Julie!" I shook out of my temporary paralysation and saw Summer and Paul look at me. "You're leg." Summer said as if talking to a little kid. "How's your leg, Jules." I swallowed thickly and I quickly bended down and pulled at the dirty, wet denim. Pulling it away to reveal the red blood.
"It's bleeding." Summer said. While driving Paul bended over me with his one arm and pulled at the seat so it would slide backwards. "Thanks." Summer said and she picked my hands away with her cold ones and ordered me to bring my leg towards her.
With much trouble and a lot of swearing later I had managed to put my foot in Summer's lap. She pulled off my shoe and her skilful hands brushed over the red skin. I could see the faint imprint of the teeth and the blood rushing. It was less than before but it didn't make it less painful. I hissed as Summer pressed on the wound.
"We need to wrap this up quickly." Summer said and she looked at Paul urgently. Paul almost immediately pressed in the gas pedal, urging his car to go faster.
"Fuck, I'm so sorry Jules." Paul brought out through his teeth. I could see the guilt in his eyes and I felt sorry for all of the things I had called him only a few minutes before. That so much could happen in only a matter of time.
"It's okay, Paul. Just don't do that again." Paul didn't reply and stared at the road ahead of him, his focus solely on the fact we need to get home.
"Ouch!" I gasped and glared at Summer. The pain got worse and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Sorry." Summer said and she gave me a small smile that seemed forced.
"We're almost there." Paul said and I looked at him. His eyes were on the road but I knew that his other senses were tracking down the red head Victoria. My mind immediately moved to the dream I had a few weeks ago. The night I had fallen asleep on Paul's couch. The night he told me about the fact that there was a vampire they couldn't catch.
In my dream the vampire didn't look like her at all. The only thing that was similar was her hair. Her crimson hair. I immediately hated the colour now, the way the colour stood out on her pale face. The way it moved in the wind. The way it would stand out in the neutral colour that surrounded us. And the way it was so similar to her terrifying inhuman eyes. I felt the nausea creep up on me and I grabbed the edges of the seat blindly.
"Julie?" Summer saying my name pulled me out of my stupor and I glanced at her with panic written all over my face. "You look like you're going to be sick."
"I-I." I stuttered. "I-uhh, I don't feel..." I blinked and put a hand to my head, the panic was now closing in on me as the realisation struck me. I had dreamt about this Victoria before I even knew she existed, before I even knew how she looked like, yet I managed to get the one crucial thing right. Her hair.
"Honey, it's okay." Summer tried to soothe and she put her hand on my shoulder. "It's just the blood loss that's making you a bit woozy." I nodded, knowing she was right but still I couldn't shake the dream away.
"Baby, we're here, don't worry. We're gonna be fine. I promise." Paul said and his deep voice conveyed nothing but the honest truth. The sincerity that rung in his voice reassured me but it could also be because he wanted to convince himself.
As Emily and Sam's cottage appeared and Paul parked the car in front of the door I moved myself so I was sitting properly again. I opened the door and welcomed the cool air. Everything was so stifling in the car and the cold breeze made thinking clearly much easier. I took a shaky breath and let Paul pull me out of the car. He slammed the door shut with his foot as he carried me to the cottage. Summer had opened the door and I could hear her frantic explanations to Emily who stood in the doorway with worried eyes.
"What happened to her?" Emily demanded as she looked at my leg.
"I bit her." Paul admitted, ignoring the look Emily gave him. "I tried to pull her away but accidentally bit her too hard." I sighed as Paul eased me on the couch.
"Maybe I should go to a hospital?" I proposed. I wasn't sure what they had to do but wasn't I need in of a shot?
"I don't think that's necessary." Emily said as she took hold of my leg and inspected it with careful fingers. I hissed as she reached a rather sore spot. "I'll wrap it up, you'll have to be careful for a few days, but I think that'll do." Emily looked at Summer. "Can you get the first aid kit out of the bathroom? It's in the medicine cabinet." Summer nodded and moved to the stairs.
"Paul, get some warm water." She ordered him and he glanced at me hesitantly before moving. I couldn't even make myself smile at him to reassure him.
"Does it hurt?" Emily asked me and I nodded.
"Yeah, it's mostly sore though and the pain comes and goes." I told her and she nodded. "Where are Sam and Seth?" I asked.
"Seth came here and took Sam. I think they're trying to track her down." I immediately knew who they meant. I felt my jaw tremble with anxiety. "Sweetie, maybe you should take off your pants. It'll be easier to do it now." I frowned, great. I knew it was only Emily and Summer, not to mention Paul, but he had seen me in less so it wasn't a big deal. But somehow I didn't feel as comfortable with this.
"Don't worry, it's just us." Emily soothed as if she had read my mind.
"O-ohkay." I breathed out. Paul came back with a cloth and some warm water when Emily ordered him to hoist me up. As I stood on my feet awkwardly I unbuttoned my jeans, the sudden change of equilibrium made me slightly dizzy but Paul held me up and as he sat me down again, he pulled off my jeans as carefully as he could.
So here I was, in my pink cotton panties while Paul held on to my jeans with his cheeks slightly flushed as he looked at me legs. I felt my own cheeks redden. Emily tried to rub off the blood when Summer returned. She looked at our awkward standings and grinned at me. I glared at her, warning her silently to shut up. Emily never said a thing while she patched me up however couldn't resist saying something to Paul.
"You really did a number on her Paul." She glanced at him for a small second before turning her attention on my leg again.
"Yeah." Paul rubbed the back of his neck, his guilt sprawled over his face for all of us to see. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it, and pulled him next to me on the couch.
"It's alright, these things happen." I murmured hoping it would be enough to make people stop talking about this but somehow I had a feeling that it wasn't enough.
"Not an excuse, Jules." Paul responded and his warm eyes suddenly appeared distant. He pulled his hand out of mine and I tried to ignore the stab of rejection I felt when he stood up and moved to the other side of the room. I glanced at Emily as she bandaged my foot and stood up the second she was done.
Maybe that wasn't such a good idea because not only wasn't I able to put any weight on that foot, I still felt a bit vertigo and I slowly fell over as the room spun and tilted on its own. Several hands grabbed me and steadied me. Paul stood behind me, his arm around my waist underneath my chest, and his other on my hip holding me upright.
"Not so fast Julie." Emily chastised slightly as she held on to my arm. "You got her?" She asked Paul and he murmured a yes. I shivered and realized I felt cold without my jeans. Goose bumps danced on the surface of my russet skin and Paul pulled me on the couch. Me on his lap.
"You're leg isn't fixed yet Jules. Take it easy." I sighed.
"I know, I wasn't really thinking when I stood up." I admitted and I heard Paul sigh, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck. His warm hands were running up and down my upper legs, as to warm them. "What are we going to do now?"
"You aren't going to do anything." Paul said pointedly and I rolled my eyes. "I on the other hand am going to phase, figure out whether they need some help." I nodded and Paul slowly pulled me off of him and seated me on the couch. I glanced at Emily and Summer who stood in the kitchen talking in hushed voices. I could see the faint tremors Summer's body radiated and I took a shaky breath. The whole incident slowly hitting me.
"I can't believe I actually saw her." I murmured and Paul crouched down in front of me. His hands holding my face. "I mean, I-I... I can't b-believe you guys deal with this, on a daily basis."
"We're built for that." Paul answered and I felt like he was referring to himself like some kind of robot. "You on the other hand won't ever be confronted with this again. I can assure you that." I shrugged lazily and wrapped my arms around his neck pulling his close to me. It felt good to bury my face in his neck. I felt safe, like I was in a cocoon. Paul's warm hands were running up and down my back.
"I'm sorry about before." I apologized. "I-I understand now." Paul pulled away slightly putting his forehead against mine.
"Don't apologize." Paul told me. "Although next time we're arguing, you could go easy on my car." I let out a small laugh and moved my lips closer to his.
"You seem so sure they're is going to be a next time." I told him and I felt him shrug, his hot breath fanning my lips.
"There is always a next time Jules. You being so damn stubborn." He said and I opened my mouth to protest when his hot lips were on mine. Crushing every form of protest. I smiled into the kiss and pulled his closer to me, running my hands through his hair. Paul's lips always made me feel good. His lips could be compared to chocolate, to anything pleasurable actually and the fun part. I had him all for myself, I didn't have to share.
^&^
"And?" I demanded as I stumbled on my feet. The pack had returned and most of them had thunderous expressions on their faces. Worst of all was Paul's face. I could see the glare Seth sent him and I hated the fact that Seth and Paul couldn't get along. The worst part, Paul was glaring himself and the way he carried himself just betrayed the fact he was furious.
"How is your foot?" Sam asked kindly as he grabbed my arm and steered me to a chair. "I heard what happened."
"My foot is fine." I said quickly. "Did you get her though?" Sam shook his head.
"She got away." He said calmly and I felt unease settle in my stomach. I glanced at Paul who wasn't looking in my direction on purpose. His fists were clenched on either side of him and I gave him a worried look.
"Again. She got away again." Seth repeated and I looked at him and saw him scowl as he held Summer's hand. "How long is this going to go on?" He demanded and I realized he was really angry. In my whole life I've only seen Seth like this a handful of times. Which isn't a lot.
"We've had this conversation before Seth." Sam said sternly. The way he said it gave me chills. Sam had so much control over himself and the pack that sometimes he had this strange vibe. Scary vibe, but maybe it was just because he was so big. Bigger than Paul and Seth and I thought they were huge.
Seth murmured something incoherently but Paul's head snapped to him. The anger in his eyes surprised me and I wished I had the good hearing like the werewolves in the living room right now.
"Care to repeat that?" Paul hissed as he moved towards Seth. Seth pushed Summer away and took a few steps closer to Paul. I ignored the throbbing in my foot and hobbled towards them. I was glad Emily had given me some flannel pants to cover myself up.
"Stop!" I yelled pushing Paul away from Seth. He let himself being pushed and I felt relieved because that meant he didn't really want it. "Stop behaving like three-year-olds." I said out loud. "Unattractive." I murmured under my breath and I turned to Paul glaring at him. "Stop it." I said firmly again.
"Whatever." Paul grunted and he grabbed my arm. "Let's get you home." And he started to pull me towards the door. No protest could delay our departure.
"Call me when you need me." Paul said to Sam and I couldn't even see his response because we were outside again. Paul lifted me up again and moved to the car.
Once settled in the car I turned to my dark Quileute boyfriend. My eyes narrowed and my arms crossed over my chest. He had some serious explaining to do for the little stunt he pulled just a second ago.
"Care to tell me what the hell that was?" I demanded as Paul started the car.
"Not now Jules." I glared at him. His response didn't really make things easier to understand. Darn idiot.
A/N: Thank you for reading :) Love to hear from you :)