Telling the Truth

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

A/N-Well here is part two...I don't think it's that great to be honest. I am not very good at capturing Paul's character, but I tried my best! Nikki :(

Part Two

Paul waited for her to come out of school. She was surrounded by two girls and a blonde haired boy. He was leaning against her truck, arms crossed, showing off his muscular arms to their best effect. When she saw him her eyes opened wide and she stopped in her tracks. Her two female companions looked over at him and their mouths dropped open. The one with the curly black hair gave him a wide smile and winked. The blonde haired boy appeared confused. He whispered in Bella's ear, but Paul heard every word with his enhanced hearing.

"Who is that Bella? He looks pretty intimidating. Is he one your friend Jacob's mates?"

"Sort of..." Bella murmured, not really noticing anything around her but Paul. Why was he here?

Mike leaned closer again and placed a hand on the small of her back. Bella watched Paul's eyes narrow as he pushed himself away from the side of her truck and started to stroll casually toward her. He winked back at the black haired girl, who giggled. She stepped in front of Bella as he approached.

"Hey handsome...haven't seen you around here before...I'm Jessica by the way." The girl held out her hand and gave him what she thought was a sexy smile.

"Nice to meet you Jessica. Would you mind moving your ass out of the way? I am here to pick up Bella..." Paul laughed as he watched the girls face turn red with embarrassment.

"I am going nowhere with you..." Bella finally spoke for the first time.

Mike stepped closer to Bella protectively. "You heard her...she doesn't..."

Paul walked right up to them both and glared at the boy. Mike staggered back as he took in the tall, muscular figure in front of him. Bella sighed and gazed at Paul. "Cut it out Paul, I'm coming alright."

"You know it makes sense darlin' get a move on..." Paul laughed again as he saw Mike and the other two girls stare at Bella as she willingly followed him to the truck.

"Bella are you sure about this?" The other girl asked, worry etched all over her face.

"I'm fine Angela don't worry. I will see you all tomorrow..." Bella gave them a small smile and she opened the door to the driver's side and slipped in the cab of her truck.

Paul hurriedly sprinted round to the passenger side and yanked the door open as Bella started the loud engine. It made an unearthly banging noise as she shoved it into gear and started to back out of the parking space. Paul glanced out of the side window and saw Bella's three hapless friends standing there, looking dumbfounded. He gave them a wave and then the finger. He chuckled as he saw the blonde haired boy's mouth drop open again.

Bella glared at Paul and he stopped laughing when he realised how pissed off she was. A tense silence ensued as they both stared ahead, refusing to look at each other. The trucks loud engine was getting on Paul's nerves. He glanced to the side and looked over at Bella. Her face was flushed and her eyes were shooting sparks. Yeah, she was royally pissed.

"Why are you here?" Bella asked eventually.

Paul frowned and gripped the edges of the bench seat as he heard the angry tone of her voice. He refused to answer.

"Well? For god's sake..." Bella suddenly swerved to the side of the road and parked the truck. "Get out..."

Paul's head turned toward her and he just sat back and gave her a smug smile. "No..."

Bella banged her hands on the steering wheel in frustration. "What do you want from me?"

"An explanation..."

"For what?" Bella gritted her teeth as she saw Paul lean in closer.

"Why you ran off to bloody Italy and placed yourself in danger after I risked my own sorry ass to save yours after you jumped off that freakin cliff?" Paul shifted his body so that he was very much in Bella's personal space."And then you come back reunited with that freak of nature Cullen and tear Jake's heart to shreds...so yeah I think I deserve an explanation..."

Bella shrank back in her seat after hearing his harsh assessment of her actions. She dropped her gaze to her lap and focused on her hands as she twisted them nervously."I didn't want to hurt Jacob..."

Paul took a deep breath to calm himself down. He watched her twisting her hands and he grabbed one of them in his own. "Stop that...it's annoying."

Bella tried to yank her hand back, but Paul kept a firm hold of it. "Well I'm waiting..."

"I had no choice but to go..." Bella whispered. "Edward thought I was dead and he went to the Volturi to ask that they end his life. When Alice turned up and begged me to go...I had to."

"So let me get this straight...your leech runs off to the head vamps, begs them to end his life and this causes you to go running to save him. Don't you see something wrong with this picture?" Paul stated sarcastically.

Bella's brow furrowed and she looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean if he thought you were dead he didn't need to run off to Italy, I am sure a lighter would have done the job just fine..."

"How dare you?" Bella snapped at him.

"You are so naive...he was never going to kill himself. He was testing you to see if you would go to him and you fell for it..." Paul declared coldly.

Bella snatched her hand back as his words penetrated her mind. Thoughts of Italy and what had happened there ran through her brain like a horror movie. Once again she heard the screams of the innocent tourists as they were led to slaughter. Her arms wound round her stomach and she leaned over, suddenly feeling sick. Her breathing became erratic as she began to hyperventilate. Paul stared at her in alarm as she started to rock back and forth on her seat, obviously going into a full blown panic attack.

"Bloody hell," Paul cursed under his breath. He hadn't expected this and once again he wondered why he had been so determined to confront her.

Paul watched her silently for a moment hoping that she would calm down on her own but she seemed to be getting worse. Reluctantly he put his arm around her and pulled her against his side. Bella, feeling the sudden warmth and being reminded of Jake, cuddled into his side and buried her head in his chest. Without realising what he was doing, Paul's other arm curled round her and he found himself embracing her tightly as she continued to cry.

After another few moments, Bella's breathing slowed and she collapsed against Paul, mental exhaustion making her feel weak. "I'm sorry," she mumbled into his chest.

Paul stroked her hair away from her flushed face. All his anger toward her had burnt itself out. "What happened out there?"

Bella's bottom lip trembled as all the pent up emotions and fear that she had been hiding for the past few weeks came tumbling out. "It was horrible...when I reached Edward, the Volturi guard had already found out about us and we were taken to see the leaders...we were surrounded. It was only Edwards fast talking that got us out of there. The worst part was seeing all those innocent people they had rounded up for the...the... There were innocent children there Paul...children! I was so scared...I'm still scared. Jake won't talk to me...I can't speak to Edward about it..."

All through her babbled explanation, Paul sat quietly stroking her hair. He had closed his eyes as he counted in his head. He needed to keep calm, but her words pierced his soul as she described what the filthy leeches had done to those innocent people. When she stopped speaking they sat in silence for another few minutes.

"I'm sorry..." Bella mumbled as she finally pulled away from Paul, embarrassed that she had shown how terrified she was to him of all people. He hated her.

"No...I'm sorry I should never have pushed you..." Paul rarely apologised to anyone and he was finding it difficult. He changed tack abruptly. "Swap places and let me drive you home. You are in no fit state to drive yourself."

Bella did not reply. She opened the driver's door and allowed Paul to slide over into the driver's seat. She walked round and took her place in the passenger side as Paul turned the key and the loud engine roared to life. They did not speak again on the drive back to her house.

XXXXXX

Paul put the truck into park and slumped back in his seat. Turning his head he glanced at Bella. Her face was wet with tears. He reached out and wiped them away gently with his fingers. Bella gazed at him, a confused look on her face. The tension in the air was palpable as they both just sat there staring at each other. The loud ringing of Bella's cell phone made them jump. She fumbled in her coat pocket and pulled it out. It was Edward.

"Don't answer it..." Paul blurted out.

Bella hit the call reject button and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She studied her hands nervously, not having the courage to look back at Paul. "Are you hungry?" She suddenly asked.

"I'm a wolf...I am always hungry...why?"

"I can make you something to eat...I mean I do owe you after all." Bella's voice trailed off as she waited for him to refuse her offer.

"Yeah you do actually...owe me I mean. What about the leech, what if he puts in an appearance?" Paul challenged her.

Bella pointed up at the hazy sunshine that had been showing through the clouds for most of the day. "The sun is out, that's why he wasn't at school. He won't take a chance until much later. It's up to you...I am going inside now. You can come in or not...your choice."

Paul watched as she climbed out of the passenger seat and headed toward the front door, not once glancing back. He hesitated for a moment, debating with himself. He was beside her before she had the key in the door...

A/N-Please let me know what you think, thanks.