I posted the chapter when I got five reviews just as promised. Three more chapters till the story ends! I'll started working on another imprint story, this one is going to be with Seth. :)
Comments:
Guest and sweetdevilgirl: Thanks for the review~
ThisIsHope: Thanks for being understanding. I actually wrote this because I wanted something different. I figure why write a story if you can't add at least something new. The same thing over and over gets boring, and I felt this was at least somewhat different if I could convey it right. Some people's characters just pull you in and the same plot doesn't matter because the character is so amazing and original, but I don't think I can do a character so well that I can re-use ideas. Maybe I should try an over-used plot to challenge myself one day. But not yet. I still have other ideas buzzing in my brain. :)
twihard104: No, but that's a good guess. She's really just an elder Quileute, and do you mean happy about the last charms meaning? I wouldn't exactly say happy, more like determined. Thanks for reviewing! 3
Paul's POV
If I had known that I would fall in love with a ghost, would I have still been willing to give Lizzy a chance?
If I knew this before I got to know her? No. I would have stayed clear of her. Avoided her like the plague. But now... how could I give this up? I didn't know it was possible to love someone you cannot touch, at least not the way I do.
I can't tell her that I love her, because knowing her she would leave. She would say it would only hurt me to feel that way and sticking around could only end in more pain for me.
So it will remain a secret, the only secret I'll ever keep from her.
I'd give anything to be with her. Sometimes it tortures me, knowing that I'll never be able to be with her the way I wish to be. It physically hurts, like a rock that sits heavy in my chest. I never believed it before when people would say someone died of heartbreak, but now I do. It hurts not to be with her, but I can't even imagine what it would feel like for her to be gone forever.
I didn't fall in love with her on purpose. One day I woke and realized, yes. I do love Lizzy. And yes, I love her more than I should. It was too late to do anything by then, and after my initial nervousness at the realization I didn't want to.
My pack are starting to believe me about Lizzy, especially when Claire sits down and has a full conversation with what seems like the armrest of a sofa. I add my comments here and there, and it seems to have alerted them that there is at least something odd going on. At first they thought maybe it was the spirit of one of our people trying to contact us, but when I told them she was white that ruined their idea. Quil and Embry believe me now, and Sam attempts to keep his comments to himself. He likes to remain impartial.
I've changed a lot in the past year, and I can attribute it all to Lizzy. She forced me to find my passion. It was by accident, but still it was all her. People don't fear me as much anymore, and in my mother's words I no longer look like a storm cloud stomping around La Push.
Lizzy keeps me happy.
When she's gone too long I worry. Even though I know nothing can hurt her I feel apprehensive about the fact that maybe one day she will just disappear.
"Mrs. Hokwat." The foreign word is awkward on Lizzy's tongue, a slight accent as she tries to pronounce the Quileute name. She continues on, "Doesn't that mean something? I remember learning it with you. I swear I do." Her utter conviction of the fact has me laughing out loud, the sound loud and boisterous. I'm on my shift at Mrs. Hokwat's. I still work for extra cash at her store.
"The word 'Hokwat' in Quileute means something like 'foreign' or 'not-Quileute'. Its direct translation is 'drifting house people' because when we first saw the pilgrims we thought they lived in the ships they sailed on."
Her eyes shift back in forth in thought, puzzling over this information. "But she's Quileute."
Her observation isn't far off. Mrs. Hokwat looks completely Quileute, from the long white braid that trails all the way to her waist to the strong nose and dark pigment of her skin.
"It's said she got that last name because long ago my people adopted a pair of young white children into our tribe, a boy and a girl. As time passed we found that the boys' soul was the same as ours. Even though he could not shift into the wolf like our warriors, the wolf spirit was in him and he became a great warrior and made our tribe proud. We named him Hokwat when we first found him, and he did not wish to change his name after because that was the name he found honor under. It's said we took them in because their family had been killed in a raid and the female was an imprint to one of our spirit warriors."
Her brows furrows as she thinks over this, before a kick from her feet dangling off the stool tells me she's finished with the thought. Before Lizzy can ask another question Embry burst through the door. Lizzy visibly jumps at the noise and I glare at him, but drop the expression immediately. It's not like Embry can see her.
"Paul, there's something wrong with Claire," he rushes out. From the corner of my eye I see Lizzy's back straighten in attention.
"Like what?"
"She passed out and wouldn't wake up. They're heading to the hospital now."
"My shift doesn't end for another hour."
"Mrs. Hokwat will understand Paul! Quil needs us." It's all that needs to be said before I hang my apron on a ring and lock up the store. The hairs on the back of my neck stands up and I strip, very aware of Lizzy's eyes on the back of my head. Quil is a mess when we get there, alternating between pacing and slumping dejectedly against a chair.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe she didn't get enough liquids," Emily whispers.
But we all know that wouldn't be it. Quil takes care of Claire better than he takes care of himself. He learned to cook so that he could feed her. Claire's mother taught him how to take care of Claire's hair. Quil barely even brushes his own. Hell, if Quil thinks she's been too active he chases her down with a drink and convinces her to drink it so there's no way that's possible.
None of us contradict her though, because even though we know it's not true we can't dare to say it out loud.
Claire's parents come soon, and they rush over to Emily and Sam and begin to quiz them in an attempt to figure out what's wrong. I block them out, my palms becoming sweaty as the time ticks by. Quil is pale, with a tinge of green. It's a color I've never seen on him. I place my hand firmly on his shoulder and we share a weighted glance. He swallows thickly before turning away.
"Maybe it's something simple, like…." Words fail him and he doesn't bother to finish the sentence. We call all fill in that blank with different horrors.
Lizzy sits in the middle of the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. People walk through her as they pass by but she doesn't seem to register it, her mind a million miles away. I decide I don't care what people think this time and kneel in the middle of the hallway with her, staring until she blinks out of it and peers at my face.
"Don't beat yourself up Lizzy, you couldn't of done anything." It's a soft reprimand, one I could tell she needed based on the guilty look she has on her face.
"Maybe I could of if I paid more attention. If I wasn't so wrapped up in-" but she doesn't finish her sentence, much like Quil. She turns away from me to stare down the hall, refusing to meet my gaze. "People are going to think you're crazier than you are, sitting in the hallway like this and talking to me," she rebukes in what I know is an attempt to change the subject.
"I don't really care about that right now Lizzy." It's the last thing on my mind.
A doctor finally comes over to us, his face not giving anything away. "I assume that you're Claire's mother and father?" It's not too hard to guess who are Claire's parents. Claire has her mother's ringlets and eyes; the ringlets Claire's mom got from her own mother, Claire's grandmother, who is foreign. Claire has her father's small nose and chin.
"Yes." It's spoken in a gasp, as if her mother didn't bother to breathe before answering. She probably didn't. It's hard to breathe right now, especially with the doctor not giving one hint away.
"Well first I have to say that Claire is in stable condition right now. We gave her an IV first thing and she's getting everything she needs from that." That doesn't sound too good. "Does your family have any known diseases?"
And there's the bomb, because now there is no doubt something is seriously wrong with Claire. Quil's hands begin to tremble, and he shakes his head no in disbelief. Tear's coat Claire's mom's eyes, before she tells the doctor that there's high blood pressure on her husband's side. The doctor frowns, staring down at the ground in thought.
"Well your daughter does not have high blood pressure, she has a type of cancer that is very hard to notice." A sob breaks out of her mother and she covers her mouth in an attempt to choke it back. Quil looks like he's in shock, his mouth slightly open and staring unseeing down the corridor. I tune in and out of the conversation still attempting to process everything. No, it's not too late for treatment. Yes, she can still make it through this. Yes, she will have to do chemo. Yes, she will probably lose her hair. The questions go on and on until I just want to block them out so I can't hear anymore. The pack has surrounded Quil, but he's still in shock. They've sat him down and are whispering to him, but he doesn't seem to hear them. I can't go up to him. There's nothing I can say that's any better than what they're saying already. I turn to Lizzy, but she's gone. My breath catches and I force myself to relax, attempting to think of reasons why she left.
There are dozens of them.
How did we not know Claire was sick? Shouldn't we have smelled it on her? Why didn't we? The spirits wouldn't do this, would they? They wouldn't give an imprint to us and then kill her. She will be okay, she has to be. Before I realize it I'm repeating the words to Quil, who finally seems to come to. He grips onto my words with a stubborn determination, before walking over to Claire's mother to give the sobbing woman a hug.
Eventually we all visit with Claire, giving her words of strength and promising everything will be okay. She's asleep for the whole thing, but that doesn't seem to deter any of us. When it's finally my turn I first notice the too large bed with the too small child laying in it; a child that has to business sleeping in a bed like that. A glimmer distracts me enough to notice Lizzy standing in the corner of the room, watching as Claire sleeps like one would envision a guardian angel of some sort would. I'd like to think that, but I know Lizzy can't help Claire no matter how much she wishes she could. As much as all of us wish she could.
"Why didn't we notice?" Quil's voice cracks, giving words to the thoughts that have been floating in all of our heads. "What use am I if I can't even notice things like this?"
For the first time I've ever seen, Lizzy attempts to touch someone. Her land floats gently to Quil's shoulder and she holds it with such frustration that it seems to suffocate her.
He doesn't feel it. Not one bit.
"The doctor said it's hard to notice," Emily murmurs.
"Yeah, but we still should have been able to smell it. We should have-" his voice breaks off and he burst into sobs, leaning onto Claire's bed and clutching the blankets in white fists. Sam ushers him out with soft words and Quil leans on him for strength. Emily wipes away tears and Claire's mother rushes over to give her a hug. They clutch to each other for strength, and Emily whisper's about how we will all be fine, and Claire will get better.
That has to be the truth. I believe the truth, because there is no other alternative.
Btw that Hokwat story is NOT real. I made it up. The word, however, is real. I don't think you guys would think it's a real story but just in case. I don't wanna mess up someone's culture or anything.