Chapter 37 - Paul
It's amazing how things can change in a short amount of time. When I'd first phased and learned that imprinting was real, I didn't want it. Even when I saw Sam's imprint on Emily, I still didn't want it. When Jared imprinted on Bells…I thought he was crazy. It didn't even have anything to do with the fact that she used to willingly associate with Vampires. It was just the fact that I believed that imprinting was just a bunch of Hocus Pocus. It wasn't until I imprinted on Rach that everything changed. It truly was one of those things that you had to go through it to fully believe it. Another thing that changed that night, was my loyalty to Bella. Before that night, sure I was cordial to her…mainly because she was my best friend's imprint and she was a friend to the pack, but she truly helped me that night. She'd managed to somehow convince Rach to accept the imprint. I would be eternally grateful to her for that. And now two more of my brothers had imprinted. Jake had imprinted on Leah. And Quil had imprinted on Bella's best friend from Forks, Angela Webber. We were beginning to think that imprinting wasn't as rare as the Elders originally thought. Maybe it was something that Bella could look into when she and Jared got back from their trip.
"What'cha thinking about?" Sam asked me as we sat on my front porch.
"I was just thinking about how much things have changed in such a short time." I told him. He nodded. "Do you think that imprinting is more common than the Elders originally thought?" I asked him.
Sam shrugged. "Maybe. I guess it's something that we could ask Bella to look into." He said. I nodded. "Old Quil told me today…when they get back, he's gonna start teaching Bella how to commune with the spirits in the in-between." Sam said.
"Is that even possible?" I asked him.
"I don't know. He seems to think that since she's been there and that she's the Omega, that she has a stronger connection with the spirits than the rest of us do." He told me.
"Makes sense I guess." I said.
"I guess we'll see." He said and I nodded.
A little while later, we heard footsteps coming up my driveway. We both turned to see who it was. I was surprised to see my imprint. I didn't think she'd be done with the girls yet. "Hey, everything okay?" I asked her.
She nodded. "The girls and I are trying to plan something special for Bella and Leah had the best idea, but now we have a dilemma." She said.
Sam and I both looked at her confused. "What's the dilemma?" He asked her.
"Does anyone happen to have a spare key to Bella and Jared's house?" She asked us.
"I have one. Jared gave to me in case he somehow managed to lock himself out." I told her.
Suddenly, she had the biggest grin on her face. "We're gonna need it." She said.
"Okay…why?" I asked.
"We're gonna build Bella her own personal library. Will you guys help?" She asked.
Sam and I looked at each other and we both nodded. I turned back to Rachel. "Of course. We'll gather the rest of the guys and meet you at Sam's. We have a lot to plan." I told her and she nodded.
"This is gonna be perfect." She smiled.
By the time Sam and I got back to his house with the rest of the guys, the girls had the kitchen table covered in notebooks, paint color samples, hardwood samples, and furniture colors. When the hell did they have time to get that shit? It's not like it had been that long since Rachel had been by my house and Sam and I had gone to fetch the others. "When did ya'll have time to get all of this?" I asked the girls.
"Found most of it in Sam's office." Emily said.
"Uh-huh." I said. I looked over at Sam and he just shrugged.
"So what's the plan?" Sam asked.
Emily looked up at us with a huge smile on her face. "We want to build Bella a library. Floor to ceiling bookshelves…a reading nook…just her own personal sanctuary." Emily said.
We looked over at Jacob. Other than Leah and Rachel, he'd known Bella the longest. "What do you think?" Sam asked him.
Jacob stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I think it's perfect. Definitely screams Bella." He said.
"Great. Let's get started on the plans." Sam said.
About an hour into designing the plans for Bella's library, a thought occurred to me. "Hey Sam?" He looked up at me. "When are they coming back?" I asked him.
"Next week." He said.
"Can we get it done in time?" I asked.
"We should, but it's gonna take all of us. Maybe we should get Charlie involved too?" He said.
I nodded. "I'll head up there and talk to him." I said and Sam nodded.
I walked over to Rachel, kissing the top of her head and tell her that I'll be back in a little bit. She smiles at me and tells me to be safe.
I run back to my house and grab the keys to my truck. Jumping into my truck, I head towards Forks. Not knowing where Charlie would be this time of day, I try his house first. Fortunately, his car is in the driveway. I park my truck and make my way to the front door. When I knock on the front door, it doesn't take Charlie long to answer. "Hi Charlie…uh Chief Swan. I'm Paul Lahote, I'm a friend of Jared and Bella's." I said.
Suddenly he looks worried. "Is Bella okay?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, absolutely. She and Jared are still on their trip. Actually, Sam sent me. Can I come in?" I ask.
He nods, opening the door so that I can walk in. He leads me into the living room and he turns the tv off. "What can I do for you Paul?" He asks.
"Well, you see, the girls…Emily, Rachel, Kim and Leah…decided that since Bella does so much for everyone else that they wanted to do something for her. They decided that they want to build Bella her own library at her and Jared's house. Now, Jared gave me a spare key, but we were wondering if you'd like to help us? We're trying to get it done before they get back." I said.
He sits there and looks stunned for a minute. "Your building Bella a library?" He asks me.
I nod. "Yes, sir. She done so much for all of us. See, we know that she feeds you and Billy as well as make sure that your houses are clean. She's helping Emily with the pack gatherings. She helped Leah not be so angry all the time. She helps Old Quil a couple times a week. She's been a support system for the three younger wolves. Hell, she's even helped me with Rachel, my own imprint. We all just wanna do something for Bella so that she knows how much we all care about her and appreciate her." I said. I'm sure that it was probably more than he really needed to know, but I couldn't help it…we were all very thankful for Bella.
All of a sudden, Charlie got this big grin on his face. "What can I do?"
I smiled back at Charlie. I told him everything that we'd decided so far. I told him that Sam was currently working on the design plans. I told him that we, wolves would be taking care of all of the construction and that the girls would be decorating and filling the bookshelves. I told him to come down tomorrow and meet us at Jared and Bella's and we'd get started. He happily agreed before walking me to the front door. "Paul?" He said and I turned to look at him. "I'm glad that Bella has you guys for friends. It's nice to see that she has people looking after her." Charlie said.
I smiled at him. "We're happy to." I said, before I walked out and headed back to my truck.
