TADAAAA! I LOVE THE REACTIONS FROM THE LAST CHAPTER! I LOVE DOING THIS, I'M GONNA DISLCAIM AND THEN SHUT UP. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY, EXCEPT THE COMPUTER I TYPE ON…
Paul bites his lip as Embry looks at him with a blank look, something he had never seen. He had always been smirking until the accident, even then there were emotions, but when Embry looked at him, he went completely numb. He starts to regret his choice; he had raced to Embry's apartment when he saw the video, also not willing to hear Leah's ranting at Sam. He had gone with Sam to the Clearwater's to pick up harry for practice, told to stay in the car. But he had walked in anyway, needing to use the bathroom and had walked in on Leah marching over to Sam.
He had glanced at the video and saw Embry. Without thinking he ran out the door and towards Embry's apartment building. He sucks in a breath as Embry finally speaks again.
"Aren't you going to come in?" his voice was low with something, he wasn't sure. He tries to smile and slowly walks past Embry, into the small apartment he had spent a lot of time in years ago. He stands awkwardly, the silence eating at him. He closes his eyes trying so very hard to keep his emotions in check. The dim living room looks the same as it had three years ago. He rubs his face as flashes of so many nights drinking and joking flashed before him.
"Why are you here?" he turns to see Embry leaned against the door frame, his scars thinner, his pale eye holding more emotions than the other, or was that his imagination. He notices that he has his haircut neatly, he just looks…better, he wonders who broke him, who got past the wall that he and the team had built.
He swallows as he feels a lump grow, what had he been thinking? Hiding away from Embry, acting like he wasn't' affected at all, like he didn't go crazy on the team the fateful day of cutting him, like it didn't hurt every day to know how badly he hurt his friend…if he could even call him that anymore. He takes in a deep breath and looks Embry right in the eyes. Embry felt a familiar feeling looking into Paul's eyes, memories flooding his head. Paul opens his mouth, only for it to shut. He did this for about ten minutes, only managing to get I's and small noises out.
Embry cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. It looks almost sinister the way he does it, especially with his scars.
"Just spit it out Paul." Paul walks closer until he just a foot from Embry. He grips his shoulder so tightly Embry's tempted to shrug it off. He looks to see Paul shaking, tears in his eyes. He lets a sob break through his throat, his friend looking confused. He grips Embry's head, letting the tears fall freely. He has never let anyone see him cry, but seeing Embry broke the dam, all the years of biting back emotions he was sure would get him teased. He was breaking down.
"I'm sorry." Embry's eyes widen and feels something he only felt when he met Bella.
Hope.
Xx
Leah pouts on the couch while glaring at a bruised Sam, Jacob's arm wrapped around her more as a restrictor than comfort. But that's what happens when she goes ape crazy. Sam had walked in probably picking up harry for practice, when he saw the video he had gotten a disturbing look in his eyes, so Leah had gotten up and yelled at him. He had sneered and told her to leave men to men business. She had shrieked and jumped on him just like when they had kicked Embry off the team, god they were all afraid at that moment.
Flashback
It was just another practice, except Paul was even angrier than usual, snapping at anyone who asked him a question, so they steered clear of him. They were doing drills when Leah stomped through the doors, her eyes wild, obviously in sister mode.
"Leah what are you-"
"Stuff it dad." He huffed, but watched his daughter march on the ice until she was in front of Sam. He glared at her.
"what do you want Leah?" she punched him square in the face, knocking him to ground and giving her access to jump on his back and continue her assault. Screaming and yelling filled the rink as the team tried to pull Leah off their captain. Paul snuck up and gripped her waist, hoisting her off of him. She screamed at him, but stopped when she saw the dead look in his eyes. He dropped his hands and went back to his drills. Sam got off the floor, holding his nose.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" She hissed at Quil, who took a step toward her. She poked Sam in the chest as she yelled.
"I FOUND EMBRY THROWING UP AND CRYING AT HIS APARTMENT, MUMBLING HOW HE WAS NO GOOD! I KNOW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS ULEY AND YOU BETTER BE HONEST OR I'LL SHOVE MY WINTER BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, WHEN YOU BURP IT'S SMELL LIKE RUBBER." Sam paled.
"We kicked him off the team."
WHAT!" Leah shrieked like she was being attacked. The team winced except Paul, who was barely listening. She started to rant.
"This isn't one of your damn twisted ankles or bruises, the ice LITTERALLY sliced him! He needs the fucking support of his friends!" Quil rolls his eyes, as he speaks.
"Relax chick, it's not our fault, the dude's just not cut out for the team anymore." She gives Quil a deadly glare. He cowers and the team snickers, but it disappears as Leah grabs Sam's shirt.
"You listen and you listen good, fucker, if you cause him any more pain that he's already in, I'll make you a woman, and that's a promise." She stomps out, telling dad that they were packing for New York, not before she screamed one more thing.
"I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL, ULEY!"
They cancelled practice early that day.
End of flashback
Sam rubs his jaw where Leah had slapped him. Harry cleared his throat. There was so much tension, that Seth was fidgeting like mad, he dealt with enough awkward stuff living with Collin.
"Well, Sam, I am sorry for that little situation." Leah growls. Sam glares back before he feels his headache go away a little. God the chick could hit!
"What was that video?"
"None of your damn business!" Leah stands up, her voice full of venom. Sam stands up, but winces as his head throbs.
"I'll tell what my business is and what's not!" Leah charges, but Seth grabs her waist from behind, making sure to have a good grip.
"You can't tell me what to do you fucking dick!" she screams at the top of her lungs. Seth struggles to keep control over his sister.
"Jake, a little help would be nice." Jacob gets up and pulls Leah into his arms, rocking her. Harry pinches the bridge of his nose.
"The video was of Embry and a friend of his." He scoffs.
"That couldn't be Embry, the guy never smiles anymore." Leah crosses her arms, feeling so much anger she felt like her baby was angry.
"That was him; a friend of his was persistent enough to work with him and broke him free, unlike you and your clones!"
"Leah." Harry scolded.
"Tell me where he lives!" Sam demanded.
"No!" he smirks.
"Paul knows where he lives, he'll tell me." Paul had become such a zombie he followed nearly an order, mumbling his answer. He turned around to the front door, but froze when he didn't see Paul sitting in the passenger seat. He curses, where the hell did that boy go?
Xx
Paul breaths in and out of his nose as Embry pats his back in comfort. His break down had gone over the line to the point everything was blurry and his heart was feeling like it was at humming bird speed. He had slipped down the wall, still crying. Embry sat next to him and took his cries of pleas in a breeze.
Embry gets up and walks into the kitchen, getting Paul a glass of water. He drinks nearly the entire thing in a few seconds. He rests his head against the wall and looks at his friend with remorse. Would he accept his apology? He wouldn't blame him if he didn't.
"I'm sorry, Em." Embry surprises him by smiling and sitting next to him again. He gently nudges him with his shoulder, like he used to do when they hung out. It made a warm feeling settle in him, the little gesture meaning so much.
"It may sound crazy, after all this time, but I forgive you. " He looks at the scarred man with shock, making him chuckle.
"How? How can you forgive me so easily after three years of…?" Embry hushes him by pushing his head in a joking matter.
"c'mon; you're Paul Meraz! My brother from another mother, I couldn't stay mad…besides, it wasn't your fault." He looks in his friends bright green eyes that reminded him of apples, silently telling him he truly was honest. Paul swallows and gently pushes his friend back.
"You're gonna make me blush, Call." They sit in silence for a moment, the hard carpeted floor making their butts numb. Paul sighs. He feels horrible ignoring Embry, and now that he had him back it was hard to imagine doing it again.
"Paul, I have one question."
"Shoot."
"What made you decide to finally come over?" he hesitates.
"…I was visiting the Clearwater's to pick up Harry," he saw Embry wince slightly. "And when I got there they were watching a video. It was of you smiling and laughing and when I saw it I…I realized how long it's been and I just ran over here, hoping you were home. It wasn't right what I did; I didn't defend you when they were discussing it. I was so disgusted that I actually forgot why I was so pissed until you didn't come to practice the next day. Sam told me and I…I just couldn't find the courage to say anything to you." Paul felt the sting of tears, but Embry gave him a hug, not an awkward bro hug but a full hug, holding his friend tightly, the moment so touching it's almost out of a movie.
"Well, I'm glad you did come. I missed your sick jokes." Paul chuckles and squeezes Embry back. He pulls back with a grin.
"By the way, who's the pretty girl with you in the video?" Embry opens his mouth, but curses, his cheeks darkening. Paul laughs as Embry starts to stutter.
"B-Bella, she's err…m-my friend!" he smirks
"There's more." He sighs and leans his head against the wall.
"For me there is, but I'm not sure how she feels…Leah helped me with a way to tell her but, I know I'll mess up." Paul shakes his head, typical Embry, confident around guys, a complete fool around girls. He jokingly pushes his friend once more.
"I don't know, the way you two were all cozy makes me think different." Embry punches his shoulder as he snickers.
"I know it's crazy, but I'd like to meet her…though she might punch me first." The scarred friend runs a hand through his hair, a smile twitching at his lips.
"Nah, she's only dangerous in little sister mode. I've heard her, it's scary."
"So, is she as shy as you are?"
Shyer, actually." The two chuckle and Paul's stomach growls. Embry shakes his head and goes to the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a box. He drops back on the ground and they start eating the cold pizza.
Xx
Sam curses under his breath as him and harry sit in his old truck to the rink. Harry keeps giving him sideways looks.
"I'm sure Paul just got bored, he's probably at the rink." Sam sighs.
"You know he's not that predictable harry." When they reach the rink, everyone's there except Paul. Sam curses again, getting the attention of the team. The new guy, Alex who replaced Embry raises an eyebrow.
"What's up with you?" he growls and slips on his skates.
"Paul's missing." Quil scoffs.
"You're joking! He's Paul, he's always late." Sam shakes his head.
"He was with me when I went to get harry, when I went out, he was gone." Quil rolls his eyes and looks at Eric. He shrugs, not really caring. Sam waits nearly the entire practice. When it was over, there was still no sign of Paul. He growls and waits until the team is in the locker rooms before he punches the fenced walls, feeling frustration towards the stubborn teammate. Where was he! The guy was left alone for maybe ten minutes! He's a fast runner so who knows where he went! He could have gone anywhere! He curses and yells for about five minutes before he gives up and walks out the door to wait for harry. He would deal with Paul some other time.
Xx
"Okay, now just a little to the right." Emmett scooted the tree.
"Perfect." Bella gives her brother a cookie with a grateful smile. He sticks the entire thing in his mouth and starts to chew. She rolls her eyes and goes back to the kitchen to finish making dinner. While she's stirring the soup, her phone rings. She sticks it between her ear and shoulder to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hellooooo" the person on the other line is trying to contain their amusement. Bella frowns.
"Ummm."
"Is this Bella?"
"Yes…" this guy was creeping her out, and then she heard a familiar voice.
"What the fuck are you doing with my phone Paul?" Paul laughed and what sounded like tripped on something.
"Sorry, man."
"No more beer." Bella listens to them jokingly argue before Paul hands Embry the phone.
"Well, that was interesting." Bella smiles.
"It's my fault, Paul and I got talking and I lost track of how many beers he had, he gets…mischievous when he has a few too many." Bella chuckles, but is not sure who Paul is.
"Well, I'll see you later em, I have to get back to dinner, keep you phone out of his reach." Embry chuckle.
"Don't worry, I will, bye Bella, I'll see you soon." They hang up and Bella scoops up soup for her and Emmett. She's curious about that Paul character, but if Embry's hanging out with him she's sure he's fine.
Xx
Embry shakes his head as Paul trips over his own feet.
"You know, the more you walk the more I'm going to force you to stay the night." Paul stick sticks his tongue out before he drops down on the couch. Embry rolls his eyes and gets some sheets for Paul.
"Why do you care about me?" the question surprises Embry. He sits next to Paul's foot.
"Because you're my best friend." Paul looks at him with a scolding look.
"Why are you so forgiving?" he sighs.
"I'm not a forgiving person to those who meant what they did; Paul, I know you didn't want to be involved. You were the only one to comfort me in the hospital, you pushed me to try out for the team with you in high school; I forgive you because you are my friend, my brother. You remember that blood pact we made?" Paul nods remembering the summer he spent with Embry in their last year of middle school.
After chugging several energy drinks and three bag of candy, they were talking about ridiculous things. Paul had thrown another can out the window of their little tree house and looked at Embry before saying; "we should make a blood pact." So, Paul took out his knife, they sliced their hands and clutched them together tightly, vowing to be each other's sides.
Of course sue went crazy and called Paul's parents, they had both been grounded a week, being told it wasn't something to play with, that it was foolish but to be honest; it had always been a serious thing to them, they knew they hadn't made a mistake.
"Of course I remember, people started calling us the 'dumb brother's' for three weeks." Embry chuckles and clutches Paul's hand.
"Through thick & thin, through tough & easy, or big scary guys, we stick to each other's sides for we are brothers no matter what the issue," Paul sits up, all signs of alcohol gone and finishes their pact.
"Never caring what others say, or do." They lounge on the couch talking about the years they spent together, Paul falling asleep quickly, thanks to the beer. Embry sighs and looks at Paul, who's seems to be fully relaxed, lightly snoring.
He has a friend back.
Embry call was drifting even father into healing, all thanks to a shy ice skater that he loved…yes, loved.
I HOPE THAT WAS TOUCHING, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED. REVIEW, AND SMALL REMINDOR, I'M KEEPING THE POLL ON MY PROFILE UP UNTIL FRIDAY, SO FAR 'IT TAKES 2 TO TANGO' IS WINNING, IF YOU WANT INFO ON THE STORIES, JUST GIVE ME A SHOUTOUT, FAREWELL. PEACE, LOVE, EMBRY! XD