Troubleshoot

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

The Last Straw

Feeling extremely perturbed by Rachel's strange behavior, Paul parked the VW Rabbit outside the Black's little redwood house and switched off the engine. The resulting silence inside the car was deafening.

Paul twisted in the drivers to seat to look at his imprint. Rachel's skin was flushed, her dark, almond-shaped eyes feverish with excitement. Her hand was already on the passenger door handle, ready to swing it open so she could alight out of the vehicle.

"I'm not happy about this, Rach." Paul said, finally plucking up the courage to voice his doubts about the unplanned escapade. "Jake is gonna be pissed that we stole his car."

Irritation clouded Rachel's pretty face for a second, before she managed to smooth out her expression. "Choose your words carefully, Paul." She chided him. "We didn't steal it. We borrowed it. I'm his sister. He wont mind."

Paul stared at Rachel in disbelief, amazed at her mindset. She was clearly convinced that it was no big deal, that taking off in her brother's precious car without his permission was just another everyday occurrence. Her justification was dubious at best.

"Look, Rach, I get it, okay. Jake can be full on. They all can. And with Bella trash-talking you all the time, I get you don't want to face them right now. But we can't keep avoiding them. They are gonna catch up with us some time. Maybe its best if we go back and have it out – "

"No!" Rachel cut in sharply, her eyes burning with anger. "They don't deserve one bit of my time or forgiveness. Just whose side are you on, Paul?"

Paul bit back his retort. He didn't want to upset her even further. He had to tread carefully. She was just feeling vulnerable, he told himself, that's why she was lashing out.

"I'm on your side of course, Rach." He said carefully. "You know that."

Rachel scrutinized his face for a moment, as if searching for some sign that he was telling the truth. Paul kept his expression neutral under the heat of her critical gaze. Eventually she nodded, seeming satisfied that he was no longer a threat to her future plans.

"Right, I'm headed inside." She said, finally exiting the car.

Paul quickly followed suit. "What do you want in there?" He asked as his curious eyes swept the house. "I thought you said you were done with the place."

"Not quite yet." Rachel's lips curled into a sardonic smile. "You wait here." She said casually. "There's no need for you to come in with me. I just need to pick up a few of my things. I won't be long."

Paul hesitated, glancing again toward the small wooden place with the narrow windows. Since moving back in Paul could see that Jacob had touched up the dull red paint, which made it resemble a tiny barn. Turning his head he caught a glimpse of the garage, which was located around the side of the house. Normally hidden from view by a thick band of trees and shrubbery, all this vegetation had been cut back by Jacob, a new coat of paint adorning the metallic walls of his workspace.

Not one to get emotional, Paul found a lump finding its way into his throat, a prick of guilt finally setting in. Jacob had only been back a short while and had already tended to the house, making sure it stayed habitable, doing those jobs that had been neglected during his absence, jobs that Paul could have been doing when he stayed over.

While he was experiencing his little wobble, Rachel had left him, gaining access to the house by using the spare key Billy kept under the plant pot on the front porch. As soon as she stepped inside, she made her way through the tiny living room, bypassing the kitchen, instead heading straight for Billy's room at the rear of the house. She had one mission in mind, to rifle through her father's few valuables so she could pawn them. She knew where he kept his secret stash of money to pay the household bills. It was the first of the month, he would have received his new disability check.

Rachel went about her task methodically without feeling an iota of guilt. Other people may call it theft, she thought of it as ethical redistribution. It wasn't like she was breaking into someone's house, beating up old ladies or pulling knives or anything– she just did her thing, flowing along, taking the stuff that she thought was hers by right.

After emptying Billy's money pot, she accidentally came across a tiny wooden jewelry box. The wood was a reddish-brown color, there was no other adornment.

Rachel opened it eagerly, upending it and spilling the contents into her hand. A thin gold wedding band, along with a delicate gold solitaire engagement ring - the one stone the main focal point -the diamond glittered in the weak light as Rachel moved it around her palm.

She immediately recognized the set as belonging to her late mother. She was taken aback at the sight of them, the first glimmer of unease finding its way into the pit of her stomach, as a fuzzy image of Sarah Black filled her mind. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself to think about her mother. Sarah had been gone so long it felt like she had never existed at all.

Feeling weirded out by the sight of them, Rachel stuffed the rings in her back pocket so she didn't have to look at them anymore. They would fetch a good price. It didn't do to get too sentimental about these things. Anyway, she was only taking her rightful inheritance. It was no big deal.

The rest of Rachel's search proved fruitless. Aggravated that she had found nothing of great value, she decided to check out Jacob's room, knowing her brother he probably had some money squirreled away somewhere for emergencies.

She was just in the middle of turning out his wardrobe when Paul caught up with her. He had come looking for her, getting impatient as he waited for her to come back outside. As more time passed, he decided to go and see what was holding her up, also to suggest again that they return the Rabbit to Jacob, and present a united front while they confronted him and Bella together.

Moving silently was a shapeshifters natural gift, Rachel had no prior warning of his approach. She had found her brother's savings, hidden in an old tin money box. He hadn't even locked it away. What an idiot! It was his own fault if his hard-earned money went missing. If he was naïve enough not to stash it somewhere more secure, then that was on him.

Gleefully Rachel began to count the roll of dollar bills, the usual forbidden thrill making her eyes gleam with excitement. That's when Paul walked in, taking her completely by surprise.

Paul stood frozen in the doorway of Jacob's room, staring at his imprint kneeling on the floor, the stolen cash gripped tightly in her eager little fist. It was like his whole world went into slow motion, like he was having an out of body experience: there was the trickle of surprise on Rachel's face as she stared up at him in abject horror, followed by a quick recovery, the harsh grating of her voice yelling at him, excuse after excuse rolling off her serpent tongue as she tried to justify what she was doing.

"Don't you dare stand there with that damn judgmental look on your face! I'm only taking what I'm owed."

Paul didn't respond. He couldn't find the words. Disappointment, heartache, despair bled from his eyes, from his countenance.

The leech lover had been right all along. Rachel Black - the girl he loved, his imprint, his reason for being - was nothing but a petty thief after all. If she could do this, steal from her own family, her family who were barely getting by, then she would have no qualms about doing the other things she had been accused of. He could no longer justify it to himself, to believe the lies, the pathetic vindications.

No, not anymore, he had reached his limit.

When Paul was feeling triggered, the world and everyone in it seemed behind fifty feet of glass. The normal loving bonds became inaccessible. Even in the midst of his despair he wished he could stop the triggering. With the cursed imprint still tugging at what was left of his heart, urging him to protect his treacherous imprint, he went into survival mode, his cold and indifferent emotions overriding the strength of the pull. Yet even during the intensity of his distress, he remained cognizant of his morality. It was time to make good choices, to do the right thing.

Paul imagined what the better version of him would want to do and then he immediately carried that out. He couldn't undo the trauma Rachel had inflicted on him, on everybody, but he was determined to adapt and overcome. She would not break him.

"PAUL, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Rachel screamed as he bent down and dragged her up into a standing position by the collar of her shirt.

"I LOVED YOU!" Paul roared, putting his face close to hers, his hot breath singed her skin. She quailed in front of him, her legs feeling weak. "I REALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE SPECIAL, THE PERFECT WOMAN, MY SOULMATE. I DEFENDED YOU TO EVERYONE! BUT YOU'VE BEEN USING ME. HAVEN'T YOU? HAVEN'T YOU?"

Rachel shook her head frantically in denial, shaken to the core by the ferocity of his anger. She hadn't seen Paul lose his temper like this, especially not with her. She had witnessed his fights with Jacob, but that seemed minor compared to the way he was reacting now with such hot fury.

"Paul, let me go!" She whimpered.

"What? So, you can run away again?" Paul jeered. "Not this time, sweetheart. I'm going to see you pay for what you've done. And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

"Paul, no, you can't!" Rachel pleaded, her whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I'm your imprint, remember? You love me. It's your duty to protect me. I'm begging you to do that now" She held up one trembling hand, intending to caress his face, to try her best to pull him back into her emotional web, thinking she just needed to touch, to draw him in again, to use the power of their connection to get him back onside.

Paul's face contorted in agony for a second; his will weakened by the weight of the imprint, her pleading tone managing to find its way to stab him where it hurt the most, right in the broken shards of his heart.

"No." He whispered roughly, closing his eyes, and shaking his head. "I won't let you manipulate me anymore. I am done with you, Rachel Black."

Realizing he meant what he said, Rachel began to fight him. She cursed him to hell, spitting like an angry viper as she kicked and flailed about, forcing Paul to reverse his grip on her, imprisoning her within his strong arms, her back against his chest.

"Its pointless to resist." Paul said close to her ear. "I'm taking you to Jacob and Bella. You are going to confess to them all the despicable things that you've done. I'll leave it up to them to decide what happens next. I'll expect they'll hand you over to the cops. Get used to color orange, baby, because that's the only color you'll be wearing inside."

Rachel let out a piercing scream of rage and frustration as Paul threw her none-too-gently over his shoulder and carried her outside to the waiting car.

A/N-thanks for reading!