Note: I don't own anything you recognize...there is swearing in this story so be aware...i have pulled some direct dialogue from the movie in the later half of the story...it's my first and probably only Twilight story so please don't flame me if you don't like it...with that, Enjoy!
Switching out the cooked ribs for raw burgers and chicken, I called the guys over. The rest of the food was inside for them to dish up. I stayed to man the BBQ while they filled their plates. Conversation carried outside and I heard my name once.
"Sucks to be you, Paul. The way Mikayla called you out on the beach was hilarious. There's no way this is going to go well."
Chief Swan did eventually show up with Jacob's father Billy. They stayed inside with Sue while the army ate outside. I had just finished putting the last batch of burgers on the BBQ when I felt someone behind me. Turning around, I nearly crashed into the hard chest of Paul. Backing up from him wasn't the greatest idea since I backed up into the hot BBQ.
"Shit!"
Pulling my arm away quickly, I looked down at the burn. At my cry, the army had dashed over and Sam had begun scolding Paul. Even if the guy was a jerk, he hadn't done anything.
"Sam, it's not his fault. The burn isn't that bad. I'll put some ice on it and then wrap it up."
"I'll help. You shouldn't use ice anyways. Cold water would be better," Paul replied.
I told Emily to flip the burgers in a couple of minutes before heading inside with Paul. The adults were concerned but I shrugged them off. I stuck my arm into the sink and started the cold water. Sue brought the first aid kit for Paul and returned to her friends.
"Why did you back up?"
"You were too close. What were you doing that close anyways? Smelling my hair?"
He didn't say anything. The cold water beat down onto the burn and soothed it. It was beginning to throb so I knew pain killers would be needed later. Paul told me to stop with the cold water and handed over a clean gauze pad to dab off the moisture.
"Let me take a look at it. If it's serious, you may need to get it checked out."
This Paul was so different than the one from the beach. He hadn't called me a pale face once and was actually being nice to me.
I showed him the straight burn across my arm just below the elbow. It was bright red with several blisters and a couple dark spots near the blisters. He nodded and pulled out a couple gauze pads. Next came the tape.
"I think you should get it checked out. It's quite bad. The clinic is closed but I could drive you up to Forks. The hospital always has a doctor on call."
"Is it really that bad?" I asked, glancing down at it.
His head dipped slightly so I took that as a nod. He lightly taped the gauze to my arm, causing little shocks to radiate up my arm from his fingers. While Paul cleaned up, I went outside to tell the army. Emily was concerned but I dismissed the worry. It wasn't like my arm had been ripped out of its socket. Paul joined us and said he was ready to go.
"Oh, one more thing," I said, turning to the giant beside me.
My left hook caught his jaw but he barely winced. Instead it was me who cried out in pain. The guys were in shock at what I had done.
"That's for lying to me about the beach, Mr. This is our Beach and No Pale Face is Allowed. Sue told me the truth. Now are you still going to drive me to the hospital or should I drive myself?"
"No, I'll take you."
As we walked away, I could hear the guys laughing. I waited until we were clear from the army to apologize. I really shouldn't have punched him just for lying to me.
"I shouldn't have lied to you. I've been told I say things without thinking. What did you mean you had just as much right to the beach?"
So on the drive to the hospital, I explained the situation with finding my father. He seemed intrigued but until I received the enhanced picture, nothing could really be done. Paul filled out the paperwork since I couldn't write with a hand that I believed to be broken. I sat in the chair next to him holding both arms up in front of me.
"Jackson, Mikayla."
Paul's hot hand grabbed my good elbow and helped me up from my chair. He hesitated for a second but came with me. The nurse showed us to an examination room and said the doctor would be there momentarily. I climbed up onto the bed and swung my legs back and forth. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Paul. He seemed like he wanted to say something but his face scrunched up for a brief second instead.
"Ms. Jackson, I'm Dr. Cullen. What seems to be the problem with your arms?" the handsome doctor asked as he entered the room.
"A serious burn on one arm and a possible broken hand on the other. It's really all his fault for both injuries."
"Me? You're the one who backed up into a hot BBQ and you're the one who punched me across the jaw," Paul said.
"Yes, you. You were too close so I had to back up or else I was getting an up close view of your chest and your jaw is too damn hard. All you, buster."
Dr. Cullen chuckled before unwrapping the bandage. It had begun to stick so he had to soak it off. He classified it as a second degree burn and prescribed some cream and antibiotics to prevent infection. Next he took a look at my hand. A couple fingers looked odd and I could barely move them. A quick X-Ray showed that I had broken several fingers at the joints attached to my hand.
The cast couldn't come off for 4 weeks, which was shitty, but I was able to pick the color of the cast so I went bright green. When he suggested pink, I pretended to vomit because I hate the color that much. Once the cast was on after the fingers were put back in place, we said our goodbyes to Dr. Cullen and headed back to the rez. Paul was silent the entire trip back.
The army had stayed and helped to clean up. Sue had even saved me a plate because I hadn't had a chance to eat.
"God, Paul, you reek."
"Shut it, Embry. We were at the hospital and Mikayla was seen by Dr. Cullen."
"Ah."
I don't know why Dr. Cullen explained how Paul reeked. Although he doesn't; I caught an underlying scent of pine and wood coming from him but nothing that was unpleasant. The army stayed around to talk for a bit longer but the pain killers were getting to me so I said goodnight and headed up to bed.
The first day of being in cast was something to get used to. Leah was surprised to see me all bandaged and casted the next morning since she had been busy during dinner and couldn't make it. Then Paul showed up to help me out. He said it was his way of apologizing for everything. Leah got this look on her face that said Paul doesn't normally apologize.
Aside from little things, there wasn't much I needed done. I had postponed going to university when Mom died so I didn't have any class work. My friends were busy with school so I couldn't really call one of them up to chat. In the end, I left the decision up to Paul. He suggested a movie. It sounded great but rather than staying on the rez and watching a movie on a TV, he drove us up to Port Angeles to the theatre. Since we were there, I thought about stopping by my apartment to get some extra things.
They were showing an older released movie called Cursed. It was about a werewolf in L.A. and at points, I just had to laugh. It was cheesy but in a good cheesy way. Paul seemed quiet when we left the theatre.
"You didn't enjoy the movie?" I asked.
"It's so unrealistic."
"Well, duh. Werewolves. Don't really exist."
"But if they did, I don't think it would have been like that. I'm sure not all of them would be blood thirsty creatures."
"What? Some werewolves would just be like giant wolves who chase their tails? I guess, we'll never really know."
I gave Paul directions to the apartment and showed him the small place. When Mom had been diagnosed, we ended up selling the house to help pay for medical bills. She stayed in the one bedroom and I slept on a pull out in the living room. Towards the end, she wasn't sleeping in there much. Paul helped me pack a small bag of extra clothes into my hiking backpack. I also tossed in a few extra novels and an extra sketch pad.
"Are you any good?" he asked, nodding towards the sketch pad.
"Yeah but it'll have to wait until the cast comes off. I can show you what I have done back at Sue's."
On the drive back to La Push, we made small talk. He didn't like talking about his family so I steered the conversation away from that. If it was a different situation I would almost think that this was a date so when we reached the Clearwater house, I called him out on it.
"Paul, while I don't know you well and your first impression wasn't the greatest, did you think today was a date? That's the vibe I'm getting off of you."
His shoulders seemed to tense up and he didn't speak for a second. I undid the seatbelt and turned to face him. Paul was looking at me and something flashed across his face. A slow smile appeared before he leaned over and pulled me to him.