Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 19

"Okay," I nodded moving a hand up Paul's back, silently telling him to let me go. His grip lessened as he gave me a sad look.

"He can listen too," Rosalie waved a hand at him. "I don't know where to start."

"Do you want to go inside?"

"No, but you might want to sit down," she moved toward the steps as Paul and I sat down.

"Okay what's wrong?"

"There's two things, but I don't know which one to start with. I can't ask you if you want the good news or the bad news first because I don't know how you'll take one of them. The other one is definitely bad though."

"What other thing? What else did you do?" Paul asked accusingly.

"Nothing, it was a coincidence – I don't know how it happened."

"What is it?" I frowned confused.

"I'm Carol…" she sighed, giving me a nervous look.

"Who?" Paul shrugged his shoulders as my mind went blank.

"Huh?" She didn't mean my Carol, right? Not my best friend – my best friend couldn't be…

"I don't know!" Rosalie paced. "I don't like connecting with humans unless I'm keeping in touch with one of the girls I helped. But almost everything I told you was true…"

"Not your name," I said dumbly.

"I couldn't tell you that so none of that gets back to my family. It's like how you told me that they had played a joke on you…"

"What's the other thing?" I asked feeling Paul's arm tighten around me.

"I… it was an… I didn't know he was yours. I was doing it to annoy Paul. I generally feed off deer and moose and-"

"What?"

"I'm so sorry – I killed Van Gogh…"

"What?" my stomach dropped to my feet.

"We were hunting and Paul was following us to make sure we didn't go onto the reservation, and I saw the wolf and I did it to annoy him. I'm so so sorry…." she stopped pacing and watched me nervously. "Are you okay?"

"I need some time…" I spoke slowly, trying to keep the tears away.

"Alright, you know where to find me," she smiled sadly.

As soon as Paul pulled me inside and Rosalie disappeared, I started to bawl.

…

I woke up to the smell of bacon – and to the sound of loud chewing.

"Goodnight," Paul smiled as I peeked up at him.

"Don't eat in my bed," I snuggled back into the sheets instead of his warm body. Even through the sheets I could feel it as he laid propped up on his side.

"This is my bed," he smirked.

"It was mine first," I grumbled.

"Mmm are you sure?"

"Um," I blinked around me. I had no idea where I was. It was dark, but I could tell I wasn't in my old room or my house. "Where are we?"

"My house."

"You have a house?"

"Uh yeah, remember real estate guy?"

"Oh right… I guess I just thought you stayed at Dad's."

"I did sometimes. Seth usually stays with him. Lately I've been staying over there so I could be near you…"

"I hardly know you," I looked away from his intense stare.

"You may know more than you think."

"What do you mean?" I looked back up at him.

"What's my favorite color?"

"Green," I answered, surprised that I knew it.

"Right and yours is red."

"Yeah, but you don't really know me," I shook my head.

"I know you're beautiful. You love your family, and you feel guilty about not spending enough time with them. You love your job – taking care of anyone who needs help. You curse like a dork, and you're stubborn like me – maybe even more.

"So I think that you think you're just thinking you don't know me but really you do. Maybe you're a little nervous and completely stressed out and you're not ready to jump into a new relationship…" he finished with a sweet smile.

I blinked at him. Everything that he just said should have been confusing, but it made perfect sense to me. Maybe I knew more about Paul than I thought I did…

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, stirring me from my thoughts. "Who the hell is Carol?"

"Two years ago I met Carol on a domestic violence forum-" I started as he inhaled sharply. "I was there to give advice and support. We replied back and forth for a while and then we started IM-ing and emailing. I told her everything – I even went to her about Doug before Rebecca…

"But I'm not sure what to believe anymore. My best friend ate my dog."

"Wow… she didn't do this to hurt you. She couldn't have known – It's just an insane coincidence. And knowing Rosalie, I know nothing about her. I'm sure she told you more than she'd told anyone before. "

"More lies," I pouted.

"Yeah about the necessary stuff like where she lives and what her name is, but as a … person," he wrinkled his nose. I'm sure she was honest, and honesty is one of Rosalie's strong points."

"I thought you hated her. Why are trying to make everything better?"

"Because she was obviously upset so I know she was being truthful and I'd do anything to make you happy. And you being friends with Carol made you happy."

"Hmm, what time is it?" I changed the subject as I glanced out the window.

"About one o'clock…"

"In the morning? Why are you eating this late?"

"I was hungry – I hadn't had dinner and neither have you. You want pancakes?"

"Please," I smiled as he rolled off the bed.

…

"Thanks for driving me – why did you even bring me out here?"

"I didn't want you to break down in front of Billy and Seth again…"

"Oh thanks… I guess," I shrugged.

"…and I wanted you to see that I actually live and function in my own house," he grinned.

"And that it's in the middle of nowhere," I laughed watching the rows of trees pass us.

"I like my privacy…"

"Is that why you were always so quiet as a kid?"

"Kinda, and I was still upset over my parents' divorce and I'd get so frustrated with myself and then I'd let it out on someone or they were just being annoying… It was just easier."

"Hmm…" I nodded.

"Looks like you've got company," he smiled as he parked in my driveway. "I'll come by later with the dog."

I climbed out of Paul's truck with a goodbye and more thank you's. I'd called Emily earlier this morning and he volunteered to pick him up for me. My stomach felt heavy as he pulled away – either I was sad to see him go or I was really anxious about talking with Jake and Nessie again.

"Hi guys," I waved at them as they gently swayed on the porch swing. "Sorry I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

"No, it's nice sitting out here. You have a beautiful home," Nessie smiled.

"Thank you..." I smiled back weakly as I unlocked the door. "Come on in."

I still felt uneasy around them, and the guilt for abandoning Jake was overwhelming.

"So what are you studying at Dartmouth?" I looked to Nessie as we settled in the living room.

"I haven't decided yet. There's too much to choose from. I want to do everything."

"And do you take any classes?" I asked Jake.

"Nah, after I got my GED, I called it quits with school. It was never my thing," he shrugged with a smile. "But I work at a small mechanic shop - it gives me something to do."

"Oh... that's good. It's good to find something that you enjoy doing," I nodded as we fell into silence. They just sat there happily staring at me. "How long are you guys staying here before you have to go back?"

"We leave in two days," Jake frowned.

"You can stay longer, you know. That would help Rose," Nessie suggested, rubbing his arm.

"Is there something wrong with her?" I asked, worried.

"No," he shook his head. "She wants to stay here longer for some reason. She only comes for Nessie, but I have to get back to work - and we don't want to cut it close."

"Cut what close?"

"We don't want Rosalie's and Emmett's presence to cause any more kids to phase. We don't know the exact time limit, but we don't wanna risk it."

"Oh so… you don't affect them either? That's good right?" I asked with another small smile at Nessie.

"Well we don't think so because she's my imprint, but is she did it would take much longer…"

"We think," Nessie smiled as Jake nudged her with his elbow. They grinned at each other as my brain started to whirl, thinking about that word.

Imprint.

AN: so i know you're all dying for when paul tells her so im trying to hurry up.

Thanks for Reading!