Chapter Six
Anger
Paul
I'm already pissed that I have to give a book Paige borrowed back to Jacob because she forgot to do it at school. And that's before I notice the girl sitting on the stoop, amongst a huge pile of origami and paper lanterns. My imprint.
I force myself to ignore the urge to talk to her, and instead, head to where I know Jacob is. He grabs the book from me without a word; seems our dislike for each other is mutual, then. Good.
"You didn't put any poison in it, did you?" Jacob asks. "Something that can be transmitted through the skin?"
"As a matter of fact, I didn't have to. You're fucked up enough." I exit the garage.
"Hey! What the hell does that mean?" Jacob yells after me.
"Figure it out!" I call over my shoulder.
"What if I don't wanna figure it out?" Jacob calls back, just to be annoying.
"Then don't." I snap, rounding the house.
My eyes seek her out. She's now sporting a huge band-aid on her hand. It takes everything in me not to run over and inspect the damage. To make sure she's alright.
She blows a few strands of dark brown wavy hair out of her face before returning her full attention to the circle she's cutting out of construction paper with a knife. I walk away without her ever knowing I've been there.
"Are you okay?" Paige asks. She levels a look at me from over the top of her glass of ginger ale.
"Yeah." I lie. she doesn't need to worry about this shit.
"Liar." Paige says before dropping her now empty glass in the sink. "You've been like this for months. Someday, dude, I'm gonna get the truth out of you."
"Good luck with that." I say. As far as I'm concerned, my little sister will never have to worry about why I've been such a shitty person recently. "Hunger Games marathon?" I ask to distract her.
The next time I see my imprint, she's helping Emma Monroe hang streamers. She's balancing precariously on a ladder while Emma holds it steady.
"Please don't fall." Emma says.
"I won't. Damn." The girl on the ladder shakes her head, rolling her eyes.
I drop off the pizza I'd been asked to deliver from the Dominos downtown and leave just as quickly.
It bothers me that I don't even know her name. I don't know what she's into. I don't know if she even knows I exist.
Jacob phases. I was hoping it would never happen. I hate the creep and now I have to spend some time with him sharing minds. Yay.
He's currently thinking, "I wish I could have Bella. So beautiful. She should just kiss me already."
"Arrogant asshole." I send back.
"What was that?" Jacob asks, tilting his head.
"Did I mutter?" I demand, feeling my hold on my temper lessen. I've done what I could not to go off on Black before he phased, but now he's fair game.
"No. It's just hard listening to all that stupid." Black retorts. And then we're fighting.
I'm reminded of that song that I love, Jekyll and Hyde, by Five Finger Death Punch. How it says that the singer has so much anger inside and that he wants to be Jekyll but he has to fight Hyde. Or, at least, that's what I think about after Sam's done giving us an ear full for getting into it.
In the privacy of my bedroom, I blast the song as loud as I can. I never thought one song could describe me so well. I don't want to be a dick, but it's such an ingrained reaction by now. My temper is my defense.
"Hey!" Paige shouts over the music, sticking her head in my room. "Can you turn that down? Like, a lot? I'm trying and failing to do algebra."
And just like that, my mood eases off a little. My little sister can do that to me; make me smile with one stupid one-liner. That's a Paige Lahote specialty right there.
"Sure, little sister." I drawl, reaching over to turn my music down.
"I'm not little." Paige retorts, glaring at me. Actually she is. Paige is four foot eleven in her bare feet.
"You sure about that, Shorty?" I tease. She flips me off and I laugh.
"Go fuck yourself." she says before leaving my room. Unfortunately for her, Mom's actually home tonight. I damn near had a heart attack when I saw her sitting in the kitchen.
"Matilda Paige Lahote!" Mom then goes on a full twenty minute lecture about the inappropriateness of the word fuck. Mom is one of those people who doesn't cuss. Paige and I, on the other hand...
I watch some late night TV in a futile effort to go back to sleep. I'd woken up having my nightmare; the one where I lost control and hurt everyone I cared about. It happens sometimes. It happened with Sam and Emily.
I don't know if I could ever forgive myself if I hurt my sister. Or my imprint, even though I don't know her name. I really do need to get the balls to go talk to her. I'm already over pretending that nothing's there. It's as hopeless as me getting back to sleep is.
Paige wakes the next day with a fever. I freak out and stay home with her for the next three days, keeping a careful eye on her. A higher body temperature is one of the signs you're about to phase for the first time.
Luckily, Dr. Hunter is able to determine that it's just the flu. But still, that was a close call.
My biggest fear is that my little sister will phase one day. That she'll go from being my fun loving sixteen-year-old ray of sunshine to someone I don't recognize. It happened with Sam, Embri, countless others. I don't want that for her. Not for Paige; never for her. But I can't protect my little sister from this.
That's a bitter pill to swallow. Since Dad walked out, I've been protecting Paige. Paige can take care of herself, I know that, but I am one hundred and ten percent the overprotective big brother. I'd told her which teachers to avoid, held her when she cried over our dog's death, tended to her endless cuts and scrapes while she learned to skateboard, ate chocolate ice cream and watched endless sappy movies after she had her first break up. But I can't protect from this; the reality that one day she might phase. The reality that she may, one day, become one of us.
A/n: Poor Paul! I have my plans for Paige, but you'll have to wait to find out what they are. (Insert evil laugh here.) I'm still so overwhelmed when I see my story stats paige. (Ha! Paige. Yeah, I know, I'm corny AF.) The support for this fic is absolutely AMAZING! Thank you guys so much!
Question : Should I try to update three times a week instead of just twice? Review your answer. Thanks!
Later!
Lauren.
Reply To Review:
Twilightfanjm: I glad you liked this chapter. Kelsey's OCD is loosely based off of mine. I'm compulsive when it comes to germs; I wash my hands and use more hand sanitizer than any other college student I know. I also do the checking thing; I double back rather repeatedly to make sure the door's locked, I actually turned the light off, whatever. Although I'm not as bad about that one as I am with the germs. And you're 100% right: intrusive thoughts suck! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too. Please review and let me know.