Chapter 25

How Did She Pull That Off

Kelsey

The time seems to speed by. I'm rushed to the ER again, this time with a dangerously low blood sugar, resulting from a stomach virus. I am pretty much on a first name basis with all of the hospital staff at this point.

Paul and I go out on two dates. To the mall and a roller skating rink, respectively. He's great.

I'm currently standing outside Sam and Emily's house. Paul had suggested I meet the rest of the pack, and I'd agreed. I drove over here since Paul had patrol.

My heart's pounding as I ring the doorbell. The door is answered by a beautiful woman of about twenty-one. My gaze fixes on the scars on her cheek for a second before I lock eyes with her.

"Come in." Emily's smile is contagious. "I'm making muffins. Are those okay or do you need something else? For your diabetes?"

"Muffins are fine. Would you like some help?" I smile at Emily, who smiles back.

We talk as we work. Emily's good at keeping the conversation light and easy. None of the serious shit going on right now. Just two girls baking together.

The rest of the pack slowly trickles in. Leah and Seth are first, followed by Jacob and Embry. When Sam gets in, he immediately goes over to give Emily a kiss.

Once the rest have arrived, Emily pulls out the muffins and sets them out. I go ahead and bolus, figuring that the food will still be there in fifteen minutes, which will hopefully be enough to get my blood sugar down from the 165 it's currently reading.

"You should go ahead and claim yours. Otherwise, the food disappears rather quickly." A woman by the name of Kim, who's Jared's imprint, informs with a easy smile.

"I'll grab one in a minute. I'm just waiting for my insulin to kick in."

Unfortunately for me, fifteen minutes later when I go to grab some breakfast, it's all gone. I'd bolused three units for two muffins, and now they're all gone. On top of that, I can't find a loaf of bread or something and they don't have any juice. My heartbeat picks up a bit. Dang.

I can't cancel the bolus because it just finished delivering. You can always add more insulin, you can't take it out. I study the graph on my phone, trying to think through the panic.

I grab a glass of chocolate milk and a banana. I'm surprised that stuff is even left, after seeing how the wolves eat. Oh well.

I spend a good amount at Emily's, helping her cook, laughing about stupid jokes. Kim and I become good friends, too, bonding over our similar tastes in books and movies. It's an enjoyable month.

I introduce Paul to Dad, who gives him a very stern father-boyfriend talk, which Paul passes with flying colors. As a result, we spend a good amount of time at my house, as well.

I have my first severe low in front of Paul about three weeks after I met the others. We're playing video games at my house, when I feel the telltale signs of a low, but since we're almost through with the race, I ignore it for a few minutes. It must have been dropping faster than I thought, because after the race, I'm too weak to stand and my Dexcom is beeping very loudly, the words "URGENT LOW GLUCOSE" flashing on the screen. Shit.

My blood sugar is 42. Shit. Shit shit shit. I ask Paul to check and see if we have any juice left in the fridge. Luckily, we do, and after a giant glass of the stuff and a few minutes later, I'm back to normal.

Paul signs up for a diabetes education class in Seattle the next day. He also starts carrying a juice box and glucose tabs whenever we're together.

I double-check that my blood sugar is in good range before Bella's graduation so that my Dexcom won't alert during with ceremony. Jessica Stanley is valedictorian, a fact that I find mildly amusing. If Bella hadn't gone all zombie-mode, she'd probably have usurped Jessica, but as it is, she's lucky to be graduating at all. Dad wipes his eyes a lot, determined not to cry. At least, he does until Bella grabs her diploma and I blast the air horn I bought just for this occasion.

"Are you gonna need a box of tissues when I graduate, too?" I tease, smirking.

"You know it."

I catch Bella's cap and hand it to her as soon as she's close enough. I then take a dozen pictures of Bella, Bella and Edward, Bella and Dad, Bella and Alice. Edward takes a few of Bella, me and Dad; and Bella and I together.

Bella has to leave early the next morning to help Alice decorate, so I convince Dad to go to the diner with me before he goes fishing with Billy Black. We have a nice time, just father and daughter. I've always been closer to Dad than Renee. Renee loved to compare Bella and me, which gets old after a time, believe me.

The only reason I'm going to this stupid party is because Emma practically begged me to. I'm not happy about it, though. The only reason Emma is going is because of her brother, so she didn't want to be alone. Not that Emma has to worry about that; she attracts people to her.

I stand against the wall, people watching. I watch as Mike Newton dances close with Jessica Stanley. As Lauren Mallory makes out with Eric Yorky. As Ava Smith publicly dumps Ally Carter. People watching is rather entertaining, especially when you're one of the few sober people left.

I'm just about to drive a totally hammered Emma home when Jacob, Embry, Paul and Quil arrive. I find a sober Ally Carter and get her to drive Emma. Then I walk over to the guys.

"What's going on?" I ask, stretching up to kiss Paul's cheek.

"Bella invited us." Jacob says. Of course she did; my sister just refuses to choose.

I'm about to ask Paul to dance when Bella comes over, looking troubled. I shake my head and turn to Paul. "Wanna dance?"

By the time we're back with the others, Alice and Jasper have appeared. Bella's saying something, but everybody's ignoring her; smart move. She's probably coming up with a stupid plan to get herself killed.

"What's going on?" Paul demands, taking my hand.

"There's an army of vampires coming to Forks." Jacob says.

A/n: Hi, guys! I hope you liked this chapter. If I get this thing to one hundred reviews by the end of the week, I'll upload the first chapter of my new story next Thursday. I have over 100 follows, so it's totally possible! Thanks! And I'm including the summary of my new story at the bottom under the review replies. Enjoy! Later!

Lauren.

Replies to Reviews:

LuanaMariaSwan: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'm currently working on my new story, as well as this one. I'm including the summary for it under the review replies. I love Paige as well. I hope you like this chapter, too; please review and let me know.

Loves to read books: One of the reasons I hate the original Twilight series is because Jacob's assault wasn't treated with the severity it deserved. Some of my closest friends have been raped and assaulted, and I hate how it's played as no big deal. It IS a big deal. I'm glad you liked the first date scene; I hate it when people try to force things to go too fast. That's why the relationships in here are more realistic. I hope you like this chapter too; please review and let me know.

Twilightfanjm: I'm glad you got that cycle to stop. I have a couple Harry Potter fics up, too, if you're interested. It's been awhile since I've worked on them, though. You will definitely see some more Paulsey moments. I don't end up in the hospital all the time, but a close friend of mine does. I'm pretty sure she's been admitted three times in the last month alone. That number may be off, though. I'm glad you're loving this story.

New story summary:

I don't believe in love. How can I, when I've lived with the Disstructive-Duo, formerly known as my parents? One stayed in Georgia, one booked it to a tiny-ass town in Washington named after a fucking utensil. And now, thanks to my arthritis, my mom, Beth, decided it would be a good idea to ship me across the fucking country to live with Rob, my dad. And that's when I meet Seth. And everything changes. Because Ainsley Snyder's walls are about to be tested.