Next chapter! Thanks for all the nice reviews. i'm glad you guys like the story. Please read and review this chapter.
"You know, I remember the days when we went to bars once a year. These days it seems like I live in this place."
I rolled my eyes and fought not to shoot Jacob a dirty look. His latest girlfriend had broken up with him this morning, due to his lack of commitment to the relationship, and he had been in a sour mood since; despite the fact that he hadn't even really liked the chick. Sometimes I was sure Jacob just liked the sound of his own voice yapping.
"Shut up, Jake." Jared sighed. "I have to work and Paul wants to meet Abby. No one dragged you here against your will. You could have stayed in La Push and moped, like you have done every night for the past thousand years."
Jacob rolled his eyes at Jared and strode towards the only empty booth in the bar; a dark table in the far corner of the bar with a perfect view of the stage. I grinned and scanned the bar; looking for the recently dyed dark red hair. She was no where to be seen, again, and I followed Jacob towards the table. She had text me earlier and said she might be a little late arriving, since she had been dragged to a dinner party hosted by her step mom and she couldn't get out of it. I was impressed that she had actually text. Normally she just showed up late with a bright smile and without apologies.
"So, what's Abby like?" Embry asked as we sat down. Jared had gone to start work but had sent one of the guys who picked up glasses over to the table with a tray of beers and I lifted one from the middle of the table, gulping half of it down with one swallow.
"She's amazing." I said simply with a shrug. Embry and Jacob rolled their eyes but Quil, at least, nodded at me to show he understood. Amazing was an understatement but it was the closest word I knew that described Abby. She was perfection wrapped up in a beautiful, sarcastic and sometimes insane package and I loved her. I hadn't told her I loved her yet; it had only been a few weeks and the last thing I wanted was to scare her away, but I would tell her soon.
"Give us some details, dude. We want to know that this chick is at least worth us coming out here and spending all our money." Embry groused again.
"I didn't ask you to come." I retorted and he rolled his eyes at me.
"Like you'd have come by yourself?"
I didn't reply, knowing that Embry was merely looking for an excuse to mock me and that I would end up angry and Jacob and Quil would drag me back to La Push without seeing Abby. I knew why they were here; I always knew why I was rarely allowed to venture out of La Push alone. Sam feared that one day my anger would over take my common sense and I would phase in front of someone; exposing the entire group to unwanted attention. Although my anger was as much a part of me as my wolf side was, I hated it. I hated the fact that I had such weak control over my emotions and that I was seen as the weak link in the pack, even more so than the younger wolves. But there was nothing I could do about it. My temper and bad attitude was always there, just under the surface, and nothing could quell it.
But the pack had little to fear. I may be an angry person but I'm not stupid and I would never risk exposure. Instead, when I get angry, I run away from whatever has angered me so that I can phase in privacy and with no risk. It was why I had run from the café, from Abby, last week.
I could still hear her casual voice, explaining to me that Alex was her 'friend with benefits' and I felt my hands shaking slightly at the memory and quickly placed them on my legs, away from the eyes of the rest of the pack. Jacob and Embry were busy checking out the girls in the bar and Quil had gone up to get us more drinks. I couldn't stand the thought of Alex anywhere near my Abby, let alone in her bed. My lip curled up in disgust at the thought of him touching her and kissing her. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself, focusing on the fact that it was me, not Alex, who kissed Abby and who touched Abby. It was me she send flirty messages to, who was on the receiving end of her most stunning smile and who she often kept up to after two in the morning, talking on the phone about the most random topics she could come up with. I smiled at the thought. She had an amazing mind, my Abby, and it moved at the speed of light.
"Isn't that your girl?" I looked up at the sound of Jacob's voice and glanced towards the door of the bar, where the band had just entered, Alex leading the way, his hand pulling Abby along with him. I felt the anger flood my system suddenly and I tried to focus on the two supportive hands on my shoulders.
"Relax, dude. I doubt it means anything." Embry tried to sooth me but there was no point. I watched silently as Abby stumbled slightly and the drummer, Mark, caught her easily. The motion caused Alex to drop her arm and he turned quickly to pick it up again but there was a brief exchange of words between him and Mark before he scowled and stormed off, leaving Mark to lead Abby. I was suddenly worried as she stumbled again and I shrugged off the hands on my shoulder, quickly making my way towards her. Mark spotted me first and smiled, nodding in acknowledgement as I came to a stop before him. Abby spun on the spot, loosing her balance and almost falling with a giggle.
"I'm such a klutz today." She giggled, steadying herself by placing both arms on my biceps. "Wow, nice muscles."
She looked up at me and smiled and I caught a sudden whiff of stale alcohol on her breath and winced. Her eyes were blurred and unfocused as she looked at me and her smile had a vagueness about it that was unsettling.
"Dude, she is so far drunk it's not funny." The bassist, Dave, handed Abby a glass of water with a shake of his head. "Will she be okay to sing?"
"I'll be fine." Abby protested. "I'm just a little tipply."
I had stood in silence until then, letting Abby's cold hands rest on my warm skin and reassuring myself that Alex holding her hand had meant nothing but my curiosity and worry got the better of me.
"Are you okay?" I asked softly, leaning down until we were eye level. Her eyes, unfocused, caught mine and she shot me a huge smile.
"You're so pretty Paul." She told me seriously. "I wish I had eyelashes like yours, they're immense."
I stared at her, taken back by her nonsensical words, before turning to look at Mark, Dave and the newly arrived and scowling Alex.
"Why is she so drunk?" The question was soft but I tried to put as much anger into as possible without over doing it. I knew it worked when Dave gulped and glanced at his bandmates before looking back at me.
"She went for dinner at her parents house." He said it as if it explained everything and I growled slightly.
"And? Did they eat vodka?"
"Apparently the little Indian doesn't know everything about our fair Abby." Alex retorted viciously, a smirk now replacing the scowl. He stroked the back of Abby's arm, pulling her hands of my arms. Her nails bit into my skin suddenly as she turned to glare at him.
"Back off dude." She told him. She turned back to me, her face paler than usual suddenly and I slid my hands to her hips, holding her steady. "I think I need to sit down, Paul."
I nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards a dark, secluded table in the corner and settling her into a chair. She rested her elbows on the table, taking no notice of the fact that there was spilt beer where her left one sat, and leant her head on her hands, staring at me calmly as I took a seat across from her. It was how we spent so much of our time, sitting across tables from each other, than it was second nature by now. She always sat on the left and I on the right.
"Why are you so drunk?" I asked her quietly. Mark had followed us over and he placed the pint of water on the table, pressing his fist against my shoulder as he passed with a reassuring smile. It was good to know that at least one of her band mates could take care of her. She sipped the water slowly, still staring at me.
"You're really good looking, Paul. I mean it. Why the hell are you so intent on someone that looks like me?"
It came as such a surprise to hear the normally confident voice soft with self derision and uncertainty that I openly balked at the question.
"What do you mean, looks like you? Abby, you're the most beautiful woman in the world." I replied honestly, reaching over to take on of her small hands. It was cold against the heated skin of mine and I sighed as her fingers curled and uncurled against my large palm, her nails skimming the skin every so often and sending a shiver down my back.
"Paul, if you want to get into my pants, all you have to do is ask. And maybe buy me another drink." Her voice was no longer quiet. Her words were slurred and she burped softly, making me wince. My sense of smell was so acute that I could smell the unpleasant alcohol from where I sat. She winked at me and I sighed.
"Maybe I should take you home." I suggested. She was in no condition to get on stage, she would end up falling and breaking her neck and then I would have to hurt someone. Alex seemed like a good target, I mused silently as I moved towards Mark.
"I'm taking her home." I told him, making sure that my voice left no room for argument. He nodded, and clapped me on the back once more.
"Look after her for me, man." He told me. "I'll cancel the show."
I nodded and walked towards my friends. They had been joined by four scantily clad women and while Embry and Jacob looked as if they were having enormous fun, Quil looked as though he was dieing of boredom.
"I'm taking Abby home." I told Quil softly, ignoring the irritatingly high pitched giggles of the group of girls. He nodded glumly and told me to be careful. I nodded towards Jared, behind the bar, before making my way back towards Abby.
"Ready to go?" I asked her. She nodded at me, a smile on her lips that suggested she was trying to be coy but failing because of her drunkness. I chuckled and helped her up, wrapping my arm around her small body.
"How far is your apartment from here?" I asked softly, stroking her hair back from her face. She scrunched up her face in thought and I sighed inwardly at how adorably young she suddenly looked.
"Fifteen minute walk… that way!" She had turned in three full circles, her finger pointed in the distance, before stopping and pointing east. I sighed, unsure if she was being truthful, before setting off in that direction, supporting her weight the whole time.
She was silent as we walked and I was relieved to see that her guess had been accurate. Her apartment block was dark as we stood at the door, Abby slowly going through the contents of her bag to find the key. I sighed and tried to pull the bag away from her but she clutched it to her chest, glaring at me through thick lashes.
"A woman's bag is extremely private, Paul." She scolded me. "A man should never look in it without permission."
"I'm sorry." I mock apologised, getting impatient. I had never dealt with a drunk person before and I found it extremely annoying. The pack was so hot that we automatically sweated off any alcohol we drank and neither Kim or Emily were big drinkers. I had seen, in the time that I had known her, that Abby liked to drink a lot but she had never been more than a little tipsy in my presence and I found myself wondering exactly how much alcohol she had consumed to leave her like this.
Once inside the building, I helped her up the stairs and towards her own apartment, gently taking the keys out of her hand once we reached the door and guiding her inside.
"Go get some water." I ordered her. She complied silently, heading towards the kitchen in a slow, uneven stumble. I threw her bag and coat onto a chair in the living room and switched her radio on, knowing that it was the first thing Abby did when she came home. She was singing along to the song playing when she returned, still swaying slightly on her feet, and I moved to lower her down into a chair before she fell and hurt herself. I wanted desperately to know what her parents had done or said to make her want to drown her sorrows so much but it would be easier to get a straight answer out of a stone. She stared at me as I kneeled in front of her, her face suddenly serious.
"You never answered me." She commented softly. I stared at her for a few seconds, wondering how she could possibly be so stupid as to think that she wasn't the most perfect, beautiful human being on the face of the planet.
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Be my baby
Oh, oh, oh
I'll look after you
"You're so beautiful." I assured her, running my fingers through her dark red hair. She sighed, settling her cheek against my palm and closing her eyes.
"What are you doing to me, Paul?" She barely whispered the sentence but I heard it and I sighed. I moved closer to her, pulling her up and settling her on my lap, wrapping my arms around her and burying my nose against the soft skin of her neck as she sighed again.
"You are the single most beautiful thing in this world." I told her.
If ever there was a doubt
My love she leans into me
This most assuredly counts
She says most assuredly
"I don't know how to do this." She told me after a few seconds of silence, her listening to the music and me listening to her unsteady heartbeat. I looked at her in surprise when she spoke, reaching my hand to her hair again and stroking the silken strands.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't do relationships well; I always mess them up." She spoke bitterly and refused to look at me when I tried to turn her to face me. "I always push people away, usually within a week or so. Why are you still here?"
"You haven't tried to push me away." I reminded her softly.
"I know!" She exclaimed, trying to pull out of my embrace. She stood unsteadily on her feet for a few seconds before she began pacing, moving her hands as she spoke. "And I don't know why! I can't explain why I don't want to push you away! It would be so much easier if you had just wanted to fuck me and then leave. I can deal with that. It's normal, comfortable. It's what I expect from guys that approach me now. This whole thing, between me and you, it's too intense, too… too deep. I don't know what I'm doing anymore." She stopped and stared at me, her eyes now focused and alert.
"Why can't I push you away Paul?"
I stared at her in surprise, unsure of how to react to this outpour. I was ecstatic that she felt something for me, something deep in her heart that refused to let her ruin our budding relationship but there was a part of me that was saddened and angry thats he wanted me to be interested only in a physical relationship. I wanted her, more than I had ever wanted anything in my life, but more than that I wanted her to mine. I wanted to be able to claim her; to say that she was mine and that she was never going to leave me.
"You don't want to push me away, Abby." I reminded her. She shot me an angry look and threw herself on to my lap again, her slim arms slipping around my neck. Her breath was cool against the hot skin there and I closed my eyes at the sensation.
"I know." She sighed. I felt her breath fan against my neck, uneven for a few minutes before it evened out and I realised that she was asleep. I smiled and lifted her easily, carrying her into the bedroom. I stripped her out of her clothes, focusing on getting her into the short set I found instead of on the expanse of exposed white skin, covered with beautifully coloured ink designs.
"I'm not going anywhere." I assured her as I settled her against the pillows and turning out the lights. In the darkness I made my way to the door, to turn out the lights in the hallway before climbing in behind her and settling my arm over her body.
Disclaimer: i don't own anyone but the band and Abby. The characters you recognise belong to Stephanie Meyer and the song belongs to The Fray