All characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

Chapter 11

"Are you sure you'll be back by Sunday?"

"Yes."

"Because I've already reserved a room at the library at one o'clock, and Malcolm and Tara are–."

"I know, Julian."

"Okay. Okay." He says with a chuckle over the phone. "I can already hear the exasperation in your voice. It's just you're not always punctual..."

"I'm not. But I'm coming back Saturday night to start studying for finals next week so I'll already be home." I say with a roll of my eyes, turning into Paul's driveway. I can see him waiting for me on the front steps of his home, standing up as soon as I park. "I know how important this presentation is, it's practically a third of our grade. I will be on time for the meeting on Sunday. I swear, please stop worrying."

Before I even have a chance to open my door, Paul is already there doing it for me. He picks me up out of my seat and I point for him to get the bags out of the passenger seat.

"Ok, great. I'll see you Sunday then… or tomorrow night if you're up for it?" He tacks on at the end.

My eyes nervously shift to Paul's from across the car, finding his already on me.

"Uh, maybe. Listen, I gotta go. I'll text you." I say quickly hanging up on him before he can keep talking.

I meet Paul at the front of the truck, his arms loaded with bags I just brought from the grocery store.

"Saturday?" He asks conversationally, though he's not fooling anyone. I know just how deeply interested he is in the answer.

"Uh, yeah," I say as we start walking to his front door. "Remember that presentation I've been telling you about?"

He nods slowly, placing the bags on his brand new kitchen table. A couple of weeks ago we'd online shopped for the rest of his furniture and most of his house was now fully furnished. We still had a lot of work to do but at least he had the essentials.

"It's on Monday and the group wanted to meet up on Sunday to go through a few practice runs. Plus it's finals week so it's time for some cramming sessions. I'm leaving Saturday evening."

"Oh." He says, with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Yeah, sorry. I know I usually stay for the entire weekend but I can't this time."

"No, no. It's okay. I get it." He says quickly, digging through the bags and moving to put the eggs and cheese into the fridge. "You can't skip school for me and I wouldn't ask you to either."

Since the first weekend I spent here, I've spent every weekend since then at Paul's trying to get him back to his normal self. He was almost there, at least health-wise he was perfectly fine, but Paul still hasn't been able to leave his home any further than his front lawn and he still wouldn't allow the pack to stay longer than a minute after dropping off his furniture. After pestering him a thousand times over it, he'd finally promised he would try this weekend, but with me leaving early I wasn't sure he'd keep that promise.

"Right. So… is the barbeque still on for tomorrow? I know I'm leaving early but I was hoping we could still do it, maybe just a bit earlier this time." I say cautiously, watching him for any signs of discomfort. "If you're not ready I'm sure the guys would understand."

He stops what he's doing and turns to me, coming slowly closer until there's little space between us. He reaches up and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, touching my skin the entire way.

"I'm ready." He says with conviction.

Lately I've noticed how liberal he's become with his touches. It started out small, a brush of a finger, a press of a thigh, a touch of an elbow. Continuously touching me until he'd become immune to skin contact. The wolf no longer tortured him when he did and I know it's been the biggest motivation for his recovery. I firmly believed he was ready to go back into the real world, now I just needed him to believe it too.

"Good, because I bought all this meat and I would hate for it to go to waste."

He chuckles and shakes his head, taking a hold of my hand and keeping it in between us.

"Right. Because there is no way I could eat it all by myself."

"I mean, I think it'd take you at least a few days." I say with a jovial smile, so happy that his appetite has returned back to normal, or more like his level of 'normal.'

It was a relief. I'd been so worried when he could barely manage to eat one single serving of food those first few weekends I'd spent here. I'd had a suspicion it was a direct result from keeping his wolf hidden inside for so long. Sam thought so too, he warned me to keep a look out for any other negative side-effects resulting from that decision, but so far he was doing just fine. Paul said he still felt his wolf inside, still felt his wants, needs, and emotions but they no longer overpowered his own desires. Like the wolf had conceded to giving Paul full control and had willingly taken the back seat.

I still saw him come through every once in a while, at random moments when we were having a conversation or when we were watching our now favorite trash TV on his new flat-screen. Sometimes I'd turn to him ready to make a comment and be stopped dead in my tracks, caught in the bright green gaze of his wolf. I was still unsure as to whether Paul was aware of how often his wolf appeared. I was too scared to ask, afraid it would trigger a sudden relapse if he wasn't aware. And I refused to be the cause of a setback.

"So I was thinking we should marinate the meat tonight so it'll be ready by tomorrow. Oh and remind me to text the family to let them know we're moving up the time."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." He agrees, moving to grab the necessary items we'll need. "Are Embry and Jacob leaving with you tomorrow?"

"Not sure, but probably not."

"So you'll be home alone?" He questions suspiciously.

I avoid eye contact. "Probably."

He remains quiet for an awkward moment. Just when I think he's going to drop it he asks the one question we both know he shouldn't. "So Julian's not coming over Saturday night?"

I shrug a shoulder, hands deep in meat… that sounded wrong. "Don't know yet."

My answer is followed by silence.

And yet I can still hear the disapproval.

When Paul first found out about Julian, he'd made it pretty clear he was not at all happy. He hadn't even used words to say so but after spending so much time together I could read him pretty well now. And I wasn't sure what to make of that yet. For the most part I tended to ignore it. I've always been good at deflecting and even better at ignoring my problems.

"Ok, I'm done with these. You done with the chicken?"

He doesn't answer. When I turn to look at him I quickly figure out why. His wolf was watching me again. I hold his gaze watching the vibrancy shining within, its pupils scanning my face as if looking for something. Seconds tick by, maybe minutes, until he blinks and the green disappears again.

"Should we prep the sides now or tomorrow morning?" He suddenly asks, seeming unfazed.

"Tonight." I say automatically.

He gives me an easy smile. "I thought so. That way we won't be in a rush tomorrow."

"Yeah."

He starts chatting away and I listen, smiling every so often while he catches me up on his week. Not that much has happened since I was last here, it's not like he's left his home in the past few months. Though he has been working on renovating the bar from a distance.

He's kept it open since he bought it out. Apparently the manager on staff has been good at keeping things running without the need for his presence there. Paul had big plans for it though. Initially I'd been hesitant to ask how he'd been able to not only buy a bar, but to also have enough funds to make such expensive renovations on it at the age of twenty-three. Paul however had taken it upon himself to catch me up on his life since he'd left La Push.

After his father had moved them to Utah, he'd gotten a job as a truck driver. Paul's dad had started out driving regional until he found out he could make more money taking on national routes across the U.S. By then, Paul had been old enough to stay home without parental supervision while his father worked for weeks at a time. By the time Paul was fourteen his neighbor had noticed how much time he spent alone and when he started to watch Paul getting into trouble, as teenagers tended to do with zero parental supervision, he decided to offer him a job at his auto body shop. All under the books, of course.

From then on, Paul spent most of his time after school at the shop learning the tricks of trade. He said he'd gotten pretty good at it. He and the owner had gotten very close as well, close enough to be treated like a son. The man's only biological son was older with a family already and devastatingly uninterested in his father's business.

At the age of sixteen Paul had practically emancipated himself. He'd left his father's home with not even a letter to tell him of his whereabouts. Not that Mr. Lahote had cared, Paul was pretty sure his father hadn't even noticed his absence. Either way, Paul had cut all contact with his father after that and with the money he'd earned from the body shop and with the help of the owner, he'd rented out his own apartment. He'd been taking care of himself since then.

Six months ago the man had suffered a lethal stroke and passed away, leaving Paul the sole heir to his business. The man's son had inherited his other properties along with his father's savings and life insurance, and therefore, did not care that Paul had received the business he had absolutely no interest in running himself. After his only father-figure's passing, Paul had felt it hadn't been the same. He'd found himself alone yet again, and with no one tying him down, he'd decided to sell the shop and come back to the only place he'd ever called home.

I'd asked him why he'd chosen to buy out a bar instead of opening a business he'd already had plenty of experience running, but he said he'd always dreamt of owning a bar. With the knowledge he'd learned on how to manage a business, he'd decided to try his hand at something new. He had nothing to lose after all.

Once done with the prep work we moved to the couch to watch a movie.

"Action or Horror?" He asks, pressing buttons on the controller to get to the app.

"Horror." I respond, stuffing a handful of popcorn into my mouth.

He chuckles. "Very attractive."

I turn to him with a scowl, grabbing another handful of popcorn to throw at him.

He dives and catches a couple in his mouth, the rest falling onto his chest, lap, and floor. He chews as he talks. "You're picking that up later."

"No, I'm not."

We argue about the mess and then about what movie to watch when he abruptly changes his mind, shutting the TV off.

"Oh my god, you are such a baby!" I accuse with humor in my tone.

To my surprise he abruptly stands up, extending his hand down towards mine. "Let's go."

I pause mid-laugh to frown up at him, confused as hell. "Go where?"

"The bar."

I keep the frown on my face, watching him warily.

It'd been so out of the blue. Sure he's told me about the bar and how eager he's been to see the progress for himself, but he's never once mentioned taking me to go see it with him. There was also that pesky little issue that he hasn't been unable to leave further than twenty feet from his home and had not dared to mingle with the pack either, let alone regular humans… other than I, of course.

"Uh… you do realize it's Friday night and people tend to go to the bar for some drinks to relieve the stress of an exhausting work week?" I question with an arched brow.

He rolls his eyes, a smile playing along his lips. "I know that smarty pants, but the bar is closed. Remember I told you we were closing it down for a few weeks to do the deeper repairs?"

Oh, right, he had told me that last week… I think. Honestly I couldn't remember, I've been pretty busy preparing for finals.

"They're almost done and we're opening it back up again next week. The guys have been helping by checking out the progress for me but I haven't seen it for myself. I need to do that before opening day… and I want you to come with me when I do."

There's so much honesty in his expression that it instantly warms my heart. He was finally ready to go outside and he wanted me to go with him. I figured he'd want to do that alone, so I was surprised by his sudden request. Which led me to believe Paul fully trusted me to keep him grounded while exposing himself to the outside world again. I honestly never thought our friendship would ever go this far… or this deep. I'd just met him not that long ago and it felt as though we'd been friends forever. We were different in some ways and so similar in others, and yet somehow we balanced each other out.

"Bella?"

I blink back to the present, I hadn't taken his hand when he'd first offered it, but it was still there, patiently waiting for me.

"Are you sure you're ready?" I finally ask, biting my lip in worry.

He sits back down next to me and reaches up to relieve my bottom lip from my teeth, cupping the side of my face with his hand. "I promise I'm ready." He says, ending it with a smile.

I take a moment to inspect him thoroughly. The relaxed set of his jaw, the smooth skin around his eyes, the lack of wrinkles on his forehead indicating he's completely at ease with that decision. He's not lying.

I finally smile too and wrap my fingers around his wrist. "If you say you're ready, you're ready."

He smiles wider and stands up, offering his hand again. I take it without thought this time, and he tugs me by the hand. He lets it go for a moment to help me put my coat on but grasps my hand again almost immediately. He leads me to a side door, and I see a black pick-up truck sitting in the middle.

"Is it weird that I've been in your house a bunch of times already and have not realized you had a garage, nor that you had a car?"

He purses his lips, fighting a smile. "In your defense you were taking care of a wounded wolf. I doubt the thought of exploring the garage for shits and giggles would have been on the forefront of your mind."

True… very, very true. My priorities had been set on bringing him back to life, nothing else had mattered. And to see him now so willing to leave his home as if it were nothing made everything I've done since then more than worth it. I'd do it again over and over again just to see him like this.

He opens the passenger door and ushers me inside before he takes the driver's seat.

"You sure you don't want me to drive?" I ask, worried he'd have a panic attack or something on the drive there.

"You don't know where the bar is."

"You can guide me."

He turns his body in his seat to face me. "I said I'm ready, Bella. I've got you with me and if I freak out I know you'll be there to calm me down."

I watch his sincere expression, the certainty in his eyes and body. I know where the bar is so it's not really a reason, but I've also encouraged him to take every opportunity for independence whenever he's confident enough to do it, and so I nod in acceptance without mentioning it.

He takes my hand, intertwining our fingers as he drives out onto the road.

After a while of silence I have to ask, "Is it weird that we were once mortal enemies and now I'm your best friend?"

He side-eyes me from the driver's seat, a playful smile forming on his face. "Jared is my best friend."

"Oh really? So is Jared the one who's been taking care of your sorry ass or allowed to even come within twenty feet of your property?" I ask with a smug look.

He turns his head and bites his bottom lip, trying not to let his smile widen. "Fine." He relents. "But don't tell Jared. I would hate to break his heart."

"You don't have to worry about breaking Jared's heart. I'm sure Kim will kiss it all better."

"And why did you have to make that sound so dirty?" He asks with a repellent look on his face.

"Excuse me, you're the one who took it dirty. I was just stating a simple fact."

He lightly chuckles but doesn't respond. His thumb stroking the back of my hand without a conscious thought. I'm so used to it now I barely notice too.

We drive in silence the rest of the way, not that it's all that far since La Push isn't all that big. We don't see anyone out at this time, which surprises me but also makes me thankful that Paul hadn't been forced to cross paths with anyone yet. He pulls up to the bar and I see the sign has been covered up, I'm guessing holding out for the big reveal when the bar finally opens up again.

He stays in the car for a moment. His eyes evaluating the front, cataloging the changes it's made on the outside since he'd last laid eyes on it.

I watch him for signs of distress, anything to indicate he's not as ready as he'd proclaimed to be. I see none. He looks just as calm as he always seemed to be these days. I don't say anything nor make a move to get out until he does so first.

When he finally opens his door, I do the same. He meets me on my side of the truck, quicker on his feet, and grips my hand again. I squeeze his hand as we walk together. He takes the key out and unlocks the door, guiding me in first before he enters. It's dark enough that I can't see, but I'm sure he sees it clear as day when he tells me to give him a minute before releasing my hand.

I feel his warmth slip away until it disappears completely and then the lights suddenly turn on. I blink back from the onslaught of bright lights all around me. When my vision finally adjusts I see Paul flipping the rest of the switches until all the workable ceiling light fixtures are on.

There's a few empty spots along the walls, booths not fully installed and neither is the bar top. The shelves behind said bar look unfinished and empty, but I can already see the potential of what it will soon look like. There's still quite a bit of work to do. I know most of their focus has been on getting rid of the mold they'd found on the walls behind the bar and also to building a kitchen at the back so food could start being served here.

I've been here maybe a few times before Paul bought it out, but I can still tell how much bigger it's become. How much more modern and stylish Paul has made it while also giving it a comforting vibe. A place you could go to if you wanted to have a relaxing drink after work or for a night out with your friends. Somehow this place screamed, 'Paul!'

"Woah!" I say, coming closer, letting my eyes wander around a second time, still trying to wrap my head around all the amazing changes he's made in such a short time. "How the hell did you do it all from your home?!" I question incredulously, turning to look at him.

For a split second I swear I catch a flash of green in his eyes, but it could've also been caused by the reflection of the accenting lights he'd chosen for the back of the bar. Quite appropriate if you asked me.

"Magic." He says with a smile, then chuckles and dusts off the seat of the stool in front of him with his hand and wipes it on his pants without a care, motioning for me to take a seat. "I couldn't have done it without Leah, Jared, and Kim. The other guys helped too but they're the ones who've been here almost daily when they're off of work or in Leah and Jared's case, not on patrol. They've sent pictures and videos to make sure I'm able to make choices from afar and to see the everyday progress."

I smile happily. I expected that kind of thing from Jared and Kim. They were both equally generous, a perfect pair, but Leah was the complete opposite. I mean Leah was caring in her own way, but it was mostly so deeply hidden that you'd never guess she actually cared. She rarely showed it to us who have known her practically all of our lives but for her to do that for Paul, it was a bit surprising. It was a good thing though, that meant she saw him as family too, as one of us. Had accepted him and was willing to go above and beyond to help him during his time of need.

"Well, you guys did an amazing job."

"Yeah, I think so too." He says with a humble smile. "I've hired them." He suddenly says.

"Jared and Leah?"

"And Kim." He adds. "They've helped me a lot and I know how much they've struggled to balance their work life along with their pack duties. I wanted to give them a place where they didn't have that added stress weighing so heavily on them as it does now. I've also permanently hired one other person outside of the pack in case of wolf emergencies. I'm pretty sure they can handle it with Kim here too. I've also hired Seth."

I frown at that. "He's only nineteen." I remind him, Seth couldn't possibly work at the bar legally.

Paul's eyes shine with humor, accurately deducing I was not okay with Seth working at the bar while still underage. "I've hired him as a driver. I got this idea that I could provide a rideshare type of service for people who've spent a certain amount of money at the bar. And if they haven't, I could just charge them a cheaper fee than cabs to get them home safely after a night of drinking."

"Wow, you've really thought this through."

A mischievous glint enters his eyes. "I have a confession to make."

I arch a brow in interest, signaling for him to tell me.

"The first time we met at the bar in Forks, I was really there to do some recon." He admits. "You kind of distracted me for a moment but I learned a lot from the rest of my time there. It's a shitty place. So I knew whatever I did here would be a thousand times better than that, but I also needed to find a way for people to even bother to drive all the way out to La Push instead of going to the bar in Forks that's much closer. Transportation was the biggest issue, so I figured out a way for it not to be."

I smile in pride, my eyes crinkling at the corners. "You're a genius."

He shrugs a shoulder as if it were nothing. "It's not a mind-blowing discovery, but hopefully it works out."

"I'm sure it will." I say with confidence, having no doubt whatsoever that Paul's bar would be a success. From what I've known of Paul since I met him was that he was absolutely relentless, refusing to give up until he got what he wanted no matter how difficult or impossible it seemed.

He takes me back to see the brand new kitchen and shows me the new equipment he'd already installed. Everything was stainless steel, the plastic wrap still covering most surfaces to protect them from the rest of the renovations still needing to be made. Though compared to the bar itself, this one was practically finished.

We stay for a bit longer after Paul takes me on a tour, ending it at his office to take a quick look at the backed up paperwork. Unlike the rest of the bar, this place was completely finished. He'd had it enlarged as soon as he bought the bar while keeping it open, along with adding a smaller room next door for employees to store their belongings and a chair or two to relax in during breaks. But it was much simpler than his office. He had two chairs in front of his desk as well as a very comfortable couch on one side, big enough for him to probably sleep in. It was decorated less ostentatiously than the bar, more simple and understated but still with an aura of Paul's tastes in the room. Especially when the man himself was sitting behind its desk.

For some reason he seemed older sitting there, a concentrated look on his face as he organized the mess of paperwork strewn about his desk. He curses a few times, staring at some of the pages as if he couldn't make sense of them and despite the time of day, he makes a few calls. But mostly he creates a pile of post-its on one corner of his desk to deal with later. Probably a list of people he needed to call on Monday to make sure their deliveries would come in as scheduled by opening weekend.

With nothing better else to do, I sit down on the couch and go over my section of the presentation on my phone. I had it practically memorized but the real test would be the group meet-up on Sunday, where we'd do a few run-throughs to make sure we all had our sections down. I wasn't all that nervous, though. I was surprisingly good at presentations. I might not be friendly or enjoy making idle chatter with strangers, but I wasn't afraid of speaking to them. After that's done, I lay down on his comfortable couch and leisurely go through my study notes from my other classes.

The next thing I know there's a warm caress on my cheek and I groan out tiredly, turning my head towards the warmth and opening my eyes.

Paul's there on his knees beside the couch, a guilty, apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would take me that long. I kind of lost track of time."

"S'okay." I yawn out, turning my body toward him. "What time is it?"

"Late."

"Did you at least finish?"

He releases a tired breath. "Not even close."

"We can stay longer if you need to. Your couch is very comfortable to sleep in."

A small smile stretches his lips, his hand lifting up to brush my hair soothingly. "Then I'm glad I picked this couch, but I'll come back tomorrow night after you're gone. C'mon let's head back, you want me to carry you?"

I shake my head and stretch out, another yawn accidentally slipping out. "Nah. I can walk."

He still helps me out of the couch and pulls me along with him. Locking the doors, shutting the lights, and locking the front door again. He helps me into his truck and we head back to his place.

"You good?"

"Yeah." Paul answers tersely, not at all sounding good.

"It's just Sam, Emily, and the kiddos. None of the guys are coming yet."

"I know." He says in the same manner, this time seeming just slightly peeved by my attempt at reassurance.

We were waiting out front for Sam and his family to get here. Out of everyone I figured they would be the least threatening to start with. I was hoping Kaden would work his magic, as he usually did, and help loosen Paul's tough exterior. A more relaxed Paul would have less trouble with other wolves entering his territory. He'd been isolated for so long with no other male presences, nor wolves entering his lands, that we all knew he'd have a hard time readjusting again and so we were going to expose him by stages starting with Sam and his family, Jared and Kim, Leah and Seth, and Jacob arrived alone while Embry was out patrolling. We'd wisely decided not to invite the elders.

From what I was aware of, they were all divided on Paul's decision to fight the imprint. The Clearwater's and Sam's dad were completely against it.

While, to everyone's surprise, both Billy and Tiffany along with Elder Aeteara, were all on Paul's side. All three had been an honest surprise for me. With Billy and Tiffany being Rachel's parents, I would've thought they would've been offended by Paul's rejection, but contrary to my assumptions they believed Paul was doing the right thing. According to Jacob, they didn't think Rachel would've been happy trapped here in La Push just like she had been growing up. She was thriving in California in her last year of her Masters degree with a job already lined up after graduation. They didn't want to disrupt her life nor her plans after how hard she's worked to build her future.

After the speech he had given about imprinting when we'd first welcomed Paul into the pack, I had been absolutely gobsmacked when Elder Ateara had decided to side with Paul when it came to refusing the imprint. I haven't seen him since the bonfire but I have spoken to him over the phone since then. He was aware I was the one currently helping Paul to dig himself out of the deteriorated state he'd been drowning in, and so he'd called me regularly to check up on Paul's progress. He'd also informed me he was still digging through the tribe's history records but had found nothing worth helping. I had a sneaking suspicion he'd already stopped. He hadn't said it aloud but had alluded to the fact. Making it seem as though he were trusting Paul to successfully fight the imprint on his own. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that.

It almost seemed almost as though he were testing him. To see if Paul would be strong enough to resist the pull to his imprint through his own merits, and therefore, prove himself worthy to make his own choice. It was a bit cruel, but at the same time I was sure there was probably nothing on record explaining how to get rid of the imprint anyway, and therefore, there was nothing left for anyone to do but to wait.

And that in itself was the biggest issue for me. How long would we have to wait to know Paul had been successful… How would we even test something like that to be sure?

Paul's warm, but tense, body pressing further into my side pulls me back to the present. It's then I hear the tires rolling over the gravel road nearing closer. When we spot Sam's truck at a distance Paul's hand tightens in mine.

"You're good." This time I'm not asking. I'm reassuring him, just in case he has any doubts.

He slightly nods but his eyes stay solely focused on Sam's truck.

When the truck stops about fifteen feet away from us, they remain in the car until they get the signal.

I look at Paul, lightly tugging on his hand. He blinks but doesn't look my way. He does however release a breath and says, "I'm good."

I signal for Sam and Emily to come out and they do. Sam lifting the stroller out of the back and unfastening Athena's car seat to place it onto the set up stroller. Emily takes Kaden out of the back seat but before she can even set him down completely on his feet, he wiggles out of Emily's arms and starts running toward us.

"Kaden!" Both Emily and Sam yell, but Kaden is too excited to listen as he sprints across the lawn.

"New fwiend!" He hollers excitedly.

Before any one can react Paul has already squatted down to the floor to catch Kaden's little body as he throws himself at him.

"Hey little man." Paul says softly.

Kaden's little arms wrap themselves tightly around his neck. "I miss you." He says sweetly, a look in his eyes I haven't seen before. It's soft and filled with worry, as if he were completely aware of the reasons for Paul's absence from his life.

I wouldn't doubt it. Kaden was wise beyond his years. An old soul trapped in a little boy's body.

"I missed you too." Paul whispers back, his voice sounding slightly emotional.

They stay joined together for a beat longer until Kaden's eyes turn in my direction. He wiggles out of Paul's arms and hollers, "Auntie Bewa!"

"Hey kid!" I greet cheerily, bending down to pick him up too. "I'm so glad to see you."

He leans forward and gives me a smooching kiss on my cheek, making me giggle. I return the action.

"You're so adorable."

He gives me a toothy smile, so bright and happy he could literally light up the whole world.

"Sorry, he kind of slipped through my fingers." Emily says apologetically, looking slightly uncomfortable as she cautiously eyes Paul.

"Don't worry about it." I say, stepping forward to hug her with one arm while I'm still holding Kaden. I greet Sam the same way.

Sam keeps me in his arms for a second longer, placing a gentle kiss at the top of my head. When I pull away I see the look in his eyes, the way he's silently thanking me for all that I've done. I silently nod back, though he didn't have to thank me. I'd do the same thing for any one of them.

Paul stiffly greets Emily, refraining from touching her, and it's a good thing too because Sam still looked a bit wary. It was safer to tread with caution.

"Why don't you help Sam with the grill while Emily and I get the kiddos situated?" I suggest lightly.

Paul tenses slightly, subconsciously moving his hand to touch the back of mine briefly before he agrees, "Sure."

Sam and Paul walk together and I guide Emily into the living room to set up the baby stuff.

"Wow. This place looks great." Emily compliments looking around.

"Really? That's good to hear. It's the first time I've been given free reign to decorate. So I have zero experience."

Emily's eyes stray to mine abruptly, "You decorated?"

"Yeah." I say with a shrug. "Paul wasn't feeling up to it and he told me to choose whatever I wanted. Of course, he made the final approvals… though I'm not sure he'd actually looked at anything. He never complained so I figured he liked them, either that or he was too weak to care."

"Huh." She mutters thoughtfully.

"What?" I ask her, catching the weird interest in her eyes.

"Nothing." She says reassuringly. "Just–"

"Auntie Bewa!" Kaden calls for my attention, oblivious to how rudely he'd interrupted his mother. "Look Athy. I pick her clowdes."

"You picked her clothes?" I ask for clarification.

He nods with a giant smile on his face, looking so proud.

I look at Athy who is wearing a gray onesie with ruffles at the bottom, a pink bow in the middle of her neckline and two on each hip right at the stitching of the ruffles. On her feet she's wearing white tennis shoes with a soft bottom, so tiny they look like they were made for a doll. In fact, she looked like a doll herself with a cute little headband on her head with a giant bow almost as big as her head.

"Wow. You did an amazing job. Athy looks so beautiful in the outfit you picked out for her."

He squeals in excitement, jumping up and down and running out the back door. Probably to inform his dad of what a great job I said he'd done.

I laugh as I watch him go.

"Did he really pick out that giant bow too?" I ask, turning to Emily again.

A smile appears as she nods in confirmation. "He really did. Said it was her princess crown."

I giggle and when Athy wiggles in her baby rocker I pick her up. She's much heavier than the last time I've seen her, almost able to sit up on her own with the assistance of my hand. It's truly amazing.

The door opens again and in comes Paul, trying to be discreet as he rushes to my side. I can almost audibly hear his relief as soon as he's near. He looks down at Athy and hesitates, until he trusts himself enough to touch her cheek delicately with the back of his index finger. "Hey, baby girl."

Athy practically melts under his touch, reaching her chubby little hand out for him to hold her.

Paul, not trusting himself yet, bends down low enough for his cheek to land in her hand. Athy in turn, grabs his cheek and squeezes, squealing in excitement as she does so.

He laughs too and pulls away, not even flinching when Athy accidentally leaves a scratch on his cheek. "I'm gonna get the meat." He informs me.

"Don't forget the hotlinks."

He rolls his eyes at me before heading to the kitchen.

Eventually both Emily and I head outside too when Athy refuses to be left in the rocker again. They're both cooking, quietly talking to each other about god-knows-what. Before I know it my phone dings again and I pull it out of my pocket.

Jared: Ready?

I look up at Paul to ask but find his eyes are already on me. Without me voicing the question, he nods. I text Jared he's got the all clear to head over.

Not ten minutes later, Paul suddenly moves to my side, grasping onto my hand again and practically dragging me with him to the front of his house to meet the newcomers. Seconds later Jared and Kim roll down the road.

I throw a glance at Paul who nods again. Jared sees it from there and comes out, along with Kim. Jared greets Paul enthusiastically, acting as if he'd just seen him yesterday. On the other hand, Kim greets him from afar and then I lead her to the backyard to join Emily and I, Paul and Jared moving to stand next to Sam on the grill.

Later on Leah and Seth appear, then finally Jacob until Paul's house is filled to the rim with the pack. The man of the hour was doing great so far. Every so often I'd feel Paul's anxious gaze on me as if wanting to come near but fighting it, not wanting to use me as a crutch. But eventually he can't help it for long and after an hour and a half he comes to my side again. He also makes sure there's some type of physical contact between us when he is, either by holding my hand or pressing his arm against mine.

And I wouldn't have noticed the action alone if it weren't for the curious looks everyone throws at each other every so often, making it look pretty obvious. Paul, I was sure hadn't noticed at all, too preoccupied with keeping his cool.

"Hey," Jared suddenly starts as we're all sitting at the table eating. "I stopped by the bar this morning, went into your office. Did you go see it?"

"I did." Paul confirms casually.

I swear everyone stops eating at the answer, some freezing with their forks midway to their mouths. Paul either pretends not to notice or is too busy eating his weight in food to care.

Jared gets over the shock first and says, "Cool." I'm guessing to try to move past the awkward silence.

Leah has no quarrels about it. "Alone?" She asks suspiciously, her eyes shifting to mine for a split second.

"No. Bella came with me."

"Huh." She mutters, her eyes measuring how closely we're sitting next to each other.

"I haven't seen the bar since he started making renovations." I casually say, shrugging a shoulder for effect. "It's looking good. Bigger than I remember it."

"We've only been there a couple times." Jacob comments. "I doubt you'd remember it well."

"But I've driven past it a lot. I can tell the difference. Also he added all that stuff in the back and the kitchen."

That gets Paul to start talking, more so to Jared than anyone else. "Did you hire the cooks?"

"Yeah. Devin already agreed and…"

The rest fades into nothing as I feel the weighted stares of a few people present. The guys remain, thankfully, oblivious but not the ladies. I feel their eyes analyzing Paul and I at length for the remainder of the night.

Don't know why they seemed so surprised by our closeness. I mean I've spent every weekend with him since I found out he was starving himself to death. What did they expect? Besides it was a normal type of closeness, the same friendship I had with the rest of the guys. Unfortunately, they were going to make a big deal out of it, I just knew it.

You know, this was why I tended not to make friends with women. I swear, sometimes they were too obsessed with the idea of romance. Even Leah, who much like me refused to get tangled up in a relationship, had that mischievous gleam in her eye. Though from the last time I saw her at the mall, I knew she was already suspicious of Paul and I's friendship. I was still confused as to why, and it was annoying as hell. I dreaded having to have that upcoming conversation with all three of them. Separately, I could manage it, but not all three combined. I wasn't sure exactly how I was supposed to go about convincing them nothing was going on. It was going to be impossible.

Thankfully, because the guys are all here and can't run off into the forest in wolf form like they usually did whenever we're gathered, I am granted immunity from that dreaded conversation… at least for now. Eventually everyone leaves until its Paul and I alone again.

As soon as they're all gone he immediately pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly to him. "Thank you." He whispers into my neck, having dug his face into it.

"Anytime." I say with a smile "You did good. I'm pretty sure you could have done it without me."

I feel him shaking his head in the negative. "Uh, uh. There's no way. You were my rock."

I swear my eyes tear up. I swallow the emotion away. Paul had this way about him, always able to pull forth the more emotional side of me. I had no idea what it was.

I also had no idea whether I should hate it or not. I didn't like to talk about my feelings, or to have them out in the open for people to see.

"I have to head out before it gets dark." I remind him quietly. I feel the gust of his breath as he dispels it from his lungs, ruffling my hair.

He kisses my neck, his lips lingering ever so slightly before he finally pulls away, not looking at all like he wanted to. "Right."

I resist the shiver fighting to come out and smile at him instead.

He begrudgingly lets me go and I move to gather my things. He walks me to Jacob's truck but before I can climb on he suddenly stops me, wrapping his long fingers around my bicep and tugging me back into his body.

"Bella," He starts, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in what seems to be worry, "are you going to call–?" He pauses mid-question, thinking better of it and then suddenly snaps his mouth shut, letting me go completely.

I ignore the tension resulting from the unfinished question tainting the air and climb inside the truck. "I'll see you next weekend."

He nods stiffly. His mouth flattening out into an angry line, his eyes becoming intense.

I ignore it and close the door to have it between us. I pull into the road and see the reflection of him in the rearview mirror. He stands still, so still that if I wouldn't have known it was him, I would've thought him a statue.

Before I round the corner, I see a sudden flash of green in the darkness. I continue to drive away, ignoring the sudden urge to turn back.

I was so used to spending my weekends with Paul that it felt so strange to be leaving a day earlier now. If I stayed, we'd probably be sitting on the couch together. Me studying for finals while he read a book or worked on his laptop. Something we did quite often. Everything was just different with Paul. It felt almost …natural. And so very hard to explain. Every time I was with him, I was relaxed, at peace. We didn't even have to talk just to feel that sense of companionship.

And for that same reason, I didn't want him to question me about whether I spent time with Julian or not tonight. I always felt there was something hidden behind those inquiries. A deeper meaning I was too fearful to discover. They were unsettling, it's why it was best to keep both of those relationships separate.

With that thought in mind I pull over to the side of the road. I pull out my phone and text Julian I'll be home in about an hour and a half. Seconds later I see his response appear on my screen.

Julian: Great. See you then.