*Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable; all those rights go to Stephenie Meyer. All song rights go to the listed artist. I only own any original characters.

A/N

make sure you backtrack to 32 as I don't believe I uploaded that one or maybe I did… definitely not use to uploading anymore. If it's old feel free to come on back to 33 if not! Give a look before you come back to 33.

Anyway Not to sure how many are still holding out for a continuation… but here's another chapter. Hoping to get this fully done to give closure. This will be Paul and Bella's bonding time and will be that for a bit as we suture, old wounds for our main character. Promise Jacob stuff is coming just finished working on a chapter to start the mending of those character's strained gap. Till then enjoy and promise some big surprises to come that I've already written.

When I see your smile

Tears run down my face. I can't replace

And now that I'm strong, I have figured out

How this world turns cold, and it breaks through my soul

And I know I'll find deep inside me I can be the one

I will never let you fall (let you fall)

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all (through it all)

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

Song ~ Your Guardian Angel

Artist ~ Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Her green eyes darted between the two glistening memorials that sparkled in the moonlight.

This left Bella feeling like she was on replay as she read the delicately carved adorations again. Each stone adorned 'with words was chosen by whom? Her brother, the tribe, and maybe even Joshua?' passed through her thoughts as her eyes narrowed from the course of anger that again rose up and ignited a fire in her veins.

She didn't understand why these women deserved this type of affection and how they were viewed differently from how she saw them. How and why was their selfishness and abandonment of her overlooked, especially by her sibling? The thought of her brother pulled the image of his face to the forefront of her mind's eye. The expression that marred it radiated his disappointment and disgust at her, causing her jaw to clench as her eyes slammed shut, trying desperately to fight the image of that look away.

Bella couldn't count how often she used to come face to face with that look of contempt as it lured over her curled-up form before striking out in rage. A gasp escaped as her eyes opened when, all too sudden, the blows didn't feel like the ghost of a memory; they felt all too real.

Trying to steady her breathing, she pulled desperately for calming breaths to chase away an image and feeling she never wanted to have or see again. Still, today, Bella saw that expression again, triggering this reaction as her past unraveled and for Sam's face to morph into Joshua's. Watching her brother's emotions play out across his face, she could clearly see that Samuel was their father's doppelgänger.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, Bella shook her head, hoping to chase away the ghosts that haunted her, only again for her gaze to take in the stones, flowers, and trinkets that lay before her.

As if an autopilot switch flipped on, her right hand reached for the silvery frame whose reflection seemed to dance in the moonlight's rays. As the tips of her fingers brushed the cool metal, a sharp pain caused her to recoil instantly. Bella pulled her outstretched hand back to cradle the prone hand she had tucked protectively to her stomach. A soft groan fell from her lips as she adjusted her shattered hand, 'I just had to go Joe Frazier on a sheet of rock,' she grumbled at herself as another surge of pain pulsed through her.

Gritting her teeth, Bella swallowed the cry of pain that danced on the tip of her tongue as her peridot eyes dropped to her midsection as she attempted to readjust her broken hand. Bella couldn't contain the amused snort that escaped her. 'Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame' echoed through her mind in Cruz's smooth tone. She had heard him recite Ben Franklin's quote many times when he was in trouble with Manny, hoping it would show his remorse at whatever stunt he had pulled.

What she hated right now was that he was right, and she could feel that hint of embarrassment inside of her for lashing out. Manny and her uncles had told her so many times that lashing out in anger only led to impaired judgment and regret. Bella didn't regret how she felt about these women, but she did regret allowing herself to lose control of her temper, resulting in a broken hand after striking out at the granite stone that held her mother's name.

Driven by an unconscious act, her right-hand fingers began pressing and shifting the bones in her limp hand, causing a hiss of discomfort to flow through her taunt lips.

With a deep breath to soothe the pain coursing through her nerves, the motions ceased. Bella's head fell back in defeat, and her eyes locked onto the stars that now shone brightly.

She didn't know how to repair this, and Bella knew it needed to be reset soon as her freakish healing would expedite the process, and without a proper alignment, it would leave her hand deformed. Her medical knowledge peaked at the opening and tearing off the tabs of a band-aide before placing it over the wound. She was a car doctor, not a human one 'but Sue was.' Bella almost laughed out loud at the irony of having to crawl back and ask someone she had rebuked, learning anything from every day to set her shattered hand. 'The T. rex was mighty; maybe having a T. rex hand isn't so bad,' she mused. With a deep breath in, Bella leveled her head as she again attempted to set her fractured bones, only for her to wince and her jaw to tighten as she fought off a pain-filled groan.

"Looks painful"

The deep voice caused Bella to jump and fall from her knees onto her rear. Her eyes acted like second nature, staying low and taking in her intruder's bare feet. At the same time, she instinctively dug her hands and feet into the earth under her as she scooted back to create space for an escape, only to feel her stomach lurch from the pulsing in her left hand as the appendage buckled under the pressure applied to its fragile form causing a sharp cry to rise and break free allowing tears to slip past her well-placed mask and slide down her contorted face. Bella hated looking weak, but she couldn't contain it. The pain was too intense; sniffling as a grimace took hold of her features, Bella pulled her shattered hand back into her core.

A quick movement in her peripheral vision reminded her she was no longer alone. Bella desperately tried to push past the foggy feeling the pain had created to focus. Trying to bring her senses to the forefront, she began to try and decode that voice; it was deep and mature that knowledge alone instantly ruled out Sam, Embry, Seth, and Jacob as the owner 'no self-righteousness or condescending tone, so rules out Old Quil' sniped through her racing thoughts.

Keeping her vision low as if the soggy earth under her had become the most exciting thing in the world, Bella's vagabond ways debated her fight-or-flight options. The deep stabbing pain from her hand, plus her lack of knowledge about the area, chose for her. The night's darkness and the injury would leave her more vulnerable and more likely to make a mistake.

Her instincts had chosen fight, yet she still felt tentative about embracing the feeling. Taking an extra long pause to find her strength, Bella raised her gaze in hopes of decoding her visitor through her lashes, the maneuver still leaving her blind to the mystery man outside his grey sweat pants, which were now kneeling before her.

Bella swallowed hard as she fought her instincts from years on the streets that were so deeply ingrained into every fiber of her being that they urged her to keep her submissive position while assessing any possible way to escape.

As much as fleeing appealed to her, a growing feeling gnawed away, causing her to feel compelled to stay. Something deep inside her started to stir as if somehow it recognized the presence perched in front of her, almost feeling akin to whoever was with her.

With her resolve finally set, Bella drew in a shaky breath to calm herself as her chin began to lift her gaze upward, yet the coward in her still kept her eyes trained elsewhere. With the release of the trapped air from her lungs, her gaze snapped forward, resulting in peridot eyes meeting a pair of golden ones that Bella wasn't sure until now that she didn't imagine.

"You… you're real," whispered out as she felt shock and relief all at once.

A lopsided smirk took hold of his lips as a chuckle escaped. "Yeah… That or you have one hell of an imagination". His mirth was cut short as he watched for the briefest second as a grimace pulled at her face, making his eyes drop instantly to her cradled hand before rising to again meet hers. "I want to say I'd hate to see the other guy, but I'd have to admit by the looks of that hand you lost, and badly," his face grimacing as he got a closer look at the prone and deformed limb.

Shaking her head to try and wake herself from the daze at the reality before her, Bella desperately began pulling at her memory to piece his words together before a snort of amusement, or maybe annoyance, left her "more like a what, not a who" her cryptic words causing the man adjacent from her to arch his right brow showing he was intrigued and hoping she'd elaborate.

"I punched the tombstone, so yeah, I'd say I lost big time," she sighed as her chin jerked toward the stones, as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Scoob and the gang too busy to take this one on? Leaving you to tackle the occult solo? Now, I'm no expert, but I heard some salt and a match to burn the corpse of unwanted spectators works better than a southpaw jab," his mirth playing on each word as his amusement played out in his expression.

"I'm not fighting the occult; I'm not Nancy Drew."

A small chuckle escaped as his smile grew. "Nancy Drew solves mysteries, not the occult."

Bella's face showed annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "Thanks for clearing that up for me," she bit out before becoming still. She reflected on her actions before shifting her gaze downward in shame. "I let my anger get the best of me," she sighed.

"So that's what that scream was about?" His tone showed relief at that information as her head nodded in confirmation. "So Balboa want help setting that hand?"

"So you're offering to be my Mick?" The playful tone and the smile on her face caused Paul to laugh wholeheartedly

"Hell yeah, I am. I warn you, though, I'm a ruthless trainer," his mirth unable to overcome his mock seriousness. "Now, how about a look at that hand? I can't have my best fighter out of commission."

Bella's smile fell as she fidgeted awkwardly with her fragile hand. "So you're a doctor?"

"Thought we agreed on a trainer?" He joked as his tone grew more serious. "Doctor? No. Think more like a field medic". Slowly, he reached his hand out to her. "I might not have a medical license, but I have set my fair share of broken bones in my day."

Bella eyed him curiously as she mulled over his words. She didn't know him; he was a stranger, making that deep-rooted survival instinct she carried hesitate at the offer. Yet a stronger pull to trust him reminded her of that night in the warehouse yard. Even amidst the chaos of that night, she felt a pull to his presence, as if something deep inside her recognized him. Bella felt her teeth taking purchase in her lip, nibbling at it as she battled her deep-rooted instincts. Looking up and into the golden orbs staring at her, Bella did something she never thought she'd so quickly do again; She trusted him. Nodding her head in consent to his offer, Bella inched forward, settling in closer to the enigma before her; slowly and gently, she placed her hand into his open one, causing a gasp to escape from both as their skin connected and for everything to seem as if it paused for the briefest of moments before in unison their eyes rose to meet.

Bella could feel her heart rate increasing as their eyes held onto each other. The intensity in them subconsciously pulled her in closer; his eyes were no longer golden, and they had faded into a pair of emerald green eyes. "Your eyes," whispered in wonder and confusion from her.

His head cocked to the side for a brief moment before straightening as his tongue darted out to moisten his lips in a nervous tick. "Yeah," his voice cracked as his shock rendered him speechless. Shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs, "Guess they are like my own built-in mood ring." he snickered as her eyebrow rose in question. "Think of it like the Hulk. An angry hulk equals green, and a calm hulk is Bruce Banner. With me, though, it's the opposite; gold equals the Hulk while emerald equals Bruce Banner," his mouth pulling at a shy smile as a twitch in his palm reminded him of his task. Clearing his throat to steady his voice. "Won't lie, this will hurt, but I'll be as quick as possible. You're gonna take a deep breath when I say two and on three, let that breath out all while your eyes stay on anything but your hand, okay?"

A shaky breath escaped as she anticipated the pain before nodding, "Okay."

He hoped his face showed the reassurance he couldn't say, "Ready?" A hesitant nod from the girl was all he needed. "One…. Two… Three"

With that last word uttered, Bella let out the breath she was holding. A sharp yet muffled whimper followed with the first big pop, causing Paul's eyes to dart up to gauge her tolerance as he paused his ministrations. Bella felt her teeth biting into her lip as she took a calming breath before nodding her reassurance that she could do this with a matching look. Paul lowered his gaze to continue to help save her broken hand from the impending deformity.

Trying to focus on anything but her hand, Bella couldn't help but find herself starting to observe her would-be medic.

His skin was the same tone as hers, copper but lighter, showing he wasn't a pure-blood native. His hair wasn't like the other boys around the tribe. While it was inky black, it was cut short yet shaggy on top. 'a mermaid cut' flashed through her thoughts as a memory of the term being coined by the surfers she'd see with the same style lounged on the pier and sands in California. Her eyes mainly lingered on his intense face. As she studied him, she could tell while young, possibly eighteen, maybe nineteen, he was somehow more mature and wiser by how he presented himself. His strong jaw sat in concentration, and his lips were pulled into a tight line as he focused. Bella felt a tinge of heat flood her cheeks as she appraised him and found herself liking what she saw, causing embarrassment to grow and the hue to darken on her cheeks, making her eyes lower to see the reddish sweatshirt he wore and the white letters across the front… La Push~Fork varsity Track "You run track?" Involuntarily poured from her mouth

Paul's brow furrowed as he pondered her words while still trying to align a set of tricky bones that had already begun trying to knit themselves together.

"It's just… your shirt. It says La Push~Forks Track."

A small chuckle escaped. "Didn't even notice what it said. But No, I do not run for the track team," Paul's tone holding a hint of amusement as his eyes glanced upward to her puzzled expression. "I guess you can say it's borrowed. I'm not from around here."

"So you're visiting family for the holidays?"

Paul's eyes rose once again, locking with the bright green ones before him. "I suppose it's something like that," his infamous lopsided smile took hold as he watched her cheeks darken. With a slight shake of his head, Paul returned to his task as he looked down. "Names Paul, just in case you were wondering."

"Only slightly," her voice showed curiosity. "Bella."

Nodding his head, "Nice to officially meet you, Bella."

His brow furrowed slightly for a second as he pondered something. "So I'm about done, but this next part will hurt like a bitch. So just like before, a deep breath at two and release on three."

Bella grimaced but nodded as Paul started his countdown. When he hit two, she breathed in, and on three, their eyes locked as she breathed out, his gaze hypnotizing her and filtering out any pain as her medic popped the last bone back into place.

Clearing his throat and pulling his gaze away, he sat back. "Not as good as new yet…. But give it what a few days; for you, right?"

Bella fought herself to hold her expression at his words. "Pretty sure you mean a few weeks," she sputtered, trying to rebuke his suspicion.

"Nope. I meant days… at least for now," Paul's tone was coy, while a knowing smirk pulled at his mouth as he shrugged his indifference.

Bella's eyes narrowed as she picked at his words; what did he know? And how would he know anything like that about her?

"So why'd ya go and punch the stone anyway? Figured since rock beat scissors, you'd try to see if wrecking ball would beat rock?"

"Really? Wrecking Ball? Funny." His odd choice of words distracted her from her previous worries.

"Got another name for that move?" He quipped

A small chortle escaped. "Nope."

"See," Paul smiled as he shrugged. "What made you swing that wrecking ball at a defenseless monument?"

"Hardly, defenseless," Bella snorted with a roll of her eyes. "Like I said before, I got mad and lashed out," her tone taking a clipped edge as she again felt her anger from before bubble at his, poking the embers of her inner fire.

Paul's right brow lifted in response but said nothing as he mulled over her tone. As they sat in silence, he could see her features pull taunt as she glared at the cold, wet stones while she warred with the demons that tormented her.

If there was one thing, Paul understood, it was battling the inner demons that clawed and gnawed away at your mind.

He had a horrible childhood and a neglectful father that caused him irrefutable damage that morphed into a wave of festering anger that seeped through him like an infection. Its toxicity poisoned him, letting him lose sight of the greater good and what mattered most. Paul turned his gaze to the petite dark-haired girl next to him. 'almost too late to save you,' his voice aching with shame as it coursed through his head, causing him to wince from the guilt of nearly failing his clan, pack but most of all her.

Paul took a raggedy breath to cleanse himself and took in the dainty girl beside him. This was his first time seeing her without being soaked in ash, blood and Abrasion-free. She was, in his book, still a pup with her more petite build, but he had seen her at her worst yet at the same time at her best as she fought off that scum of a mortal; she wasn't entirely a wolf, but make no mistake she was mighty and a force to reckon with when pushed.

Her age was a mere eleven, but it didn't show. While still smaller and frailer than his own, her body wasn't that of a young child. She looked as if she was entering her early teens. He could see the results of early exposure to Blondie and her coven, as the wolf genetics were forced to the forefront, strengthening, healing, and maturing her body for the drastic changes to come.

A movement from the object of his focus pulled his attention to see her pushing the wet strands she used to curtain her face behind her ear.

The sight of her tiny hand shifted his thoughts to that moment when their hands connected. At that moment, when skin met skin, he felt an electric pulse course through him. The result made his thoughts erase, and static consumed his mind. He could only relate it to a television station with poor reception, where it was blurred, yet if you looked hard enough, you could see colors and shapes and hear the words encased in the unclean image. Amongst the chaos in his mind, Paul had a moment of brief clarity; in it, he could see her much younger self in front of a broken mirror, sad, bleeding, and crying, before it blurred again, leaving him to try again to see the story through the fog. While no visual came through, he could feel betrayal, anger, torment, and loneliness. He knew this turmoil of emotions wasn't his own. Suddenly, the static thinned, becoming clear as he felt anger surge while a feral scream rang out as a fist lunged forward, striking the offending stone before the anger faded as a pulse of nauseating pain pulsed through his left hand.

It all happened in just a few seconds before the static, visions, and feelings started fading, leaving a pathway for his thoughts to filter back in and for him to gasp as he raised his eyes to connect to the peridot ones as he wondered what had just happened.

Paul couldn't remember the last time he had experienced something new and unexplained. Cocking his head slightly, he again studied the mystery of the girl before him. Those sights, sensations, and feelings weren't of his on Volition; they belonged to her. In all his years amongst his pack, he had never experienced anything like this. Paul could feel his pack mates through their mental link in wolf form but never in human skin.

With a few hard blinks and a soft shake of his head to clear his train of thought, he could see that her attention remained on the stones.

Her resolute focus and the anger that surged when they touched filled him with a desire to know who exactly lay here and elicit such a feeling.

Turning his attention to the Inscription, he felt his breath hitch in shock at who rested under them.

"Renee," sputtered out as his head whipped to his right to see the broken and angry girl who glared at the resting place of their alpha.

"My mother," her voice harsh, "and I use that term loosely."

Paul felt unable to fully process her demeanor and how the strong alpha he had heard so much about was now laid to rest in nothing but a pauper's grave.

She was an alpha and ruler. Paul had heard all the tales of accomplishments, battles won, a true leader and warrior who protected her pack and clan. Yet here she lay in a beggar's grave with no proper memorial to mark the resting place of such an important protector.

Paul's thoughts flickered to how this came to be; what or who could take down such a skilled warrior and earn such hatred from her daughter.

"How?" Was all he could muster to whisper

Bella snorted, "self-inflicted," her voice dripping with anger.

Her words caused Paul to jerk his head towards her as disbelief took hold. There was no way this warrior and leader could ever do something like that. The alpha he had heard so much about would never abandon the mission and leave them willingly.

"You're wrong," harshly muttered from his lips as he still reeled from the shock.

"Because you know what happened?" Bella spat as anger took hold of her features while the smoldering embers of rage in her veins were reignited

"SHE WOULDN'T….She couldn't," Paul's voice started fiercely, only to soften as he trailed off, "She wouldn't leave us like that."

"US? There is no us in this! You didn't know her!" Bella bit out in her frustration

"Neither did you!" Spat from Paul in retort

Bella's eyes widened at his words; while true, it didn't make them sting any less. Paul instantly regretted his retort; he knew it was a low blow.

Bella's gaze dropped as she looked away, her head dropping in defeat or thought; Paul wasn't sure.

"You're right. I didn't know my mother. That doesn't mean I didn't spend all my life not wanting to. But that wasn't my choice to make. It was her choice. She decided that I wouldn't get to know her, and she would never get to know me." Bella's voice shaking with raw emotion.

"I wanted to know her so bad that I made up this voice in my head that I believed was her. I wanted to believe she cared so much about me that she'd find a way to stay with me, guide me, and watch out for me. When the truth is, I twisted my subconscious into filling a motherly void. I now know the truth… I know now it was all a little girl's fantasy to believe something so ridiculous," Bella whispered as she cocked her head slightly. "Did you ever meet her, Paul?"

Swallowing hard, he found his voice. "No. I only heard stories."

Bella chuckled as she looked up to the stars. "We have that in common," she sighed. "we both heard and believed the fairytale of Renee Uley. The thing is, we both never got to make our own unbiased observations on those fairytales," taking a deep breath, she lowered her gaze from the stars and turned her eyes to him. "I know you want to believe what you heard, and I don't know where you heard it from, but like it or not, Paul, she did exactly what I said."

"You're grandfather. That's who I heard it from."

Bella recoiled slightly at his words. She never thought of a grandparent outside of Allison. Somehow, it never occurred to Bella that her mother had her own side of the family, 'just another set of people that didn't want me,' bitterly snapped in her head as a low chuckle escaped. "I'm sure they gave an unbiased opinion," she muttered as she shifted her body to turn back squarely to the memorials. "They obviously didn't know her either. Because she did kill herself trying to rid herself of her pregnancy when she was carrying me."

This time, Paul found himself recoiling in shock at her words.

"I spent years believing all those stories my brother would paint of her," she gritted out as anger again flickered. "I felt like such a mistake taking someone so wonderful away from my father, brother, and this earth that I spent every day trying to pay penance for taking her away. With every hateful word, every smack and choke, I felt like it was the least I could do to help my father through his grief and my brother through his loss, so I took it," her voice breaking now from the memories of the pain.

"Thing is, in the end, I didn't cause it. I spent all that time trying to atone for something she did to herself," Bella whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself. "The lie made sense, you know? With how much Joshua hated me, it just made sense," she said as her arms released her middle while rolling her tense shoulders, "but my self-loathing and blame came to an end one night after I came to La Push. I was recuperating at Old Quil's when I heard him talking and crying. Curiosity took hold, and that night, as if speaking right to her, he said what happened, how she injected the vile's contents into herself right before he threw the poison she used into the fire," she sniffled while fighting her tears "I'll never forget that smell of it as the purple smoke filled the fireplace" Bella paused as she heard Paul gasp causing her brow to furrow as she gaged his reaction before proceeding.

"I tried for so long to pay for a sin I didn't do, to try and balance the scales with a woman who, in the end, wasn't any better than the rest who tried to rid themselves of me."

As if on an instinct more extraordinary than he could understand, he reached out to her in comfort. The pain he saw in her face was more than he could tolerate. As his skin touched the tear-tracked skin of her cheek, he again felt the shot of electricity and the static invading his thoughts. This time, the static wasn't as hazy as it crackled briefly before slowly letting the static fade as images began flashing. He saw a dark-skinned man glaring down with a hateful look adorning his features. Paul could feel his goosebumps rise in fear as terror encased him before feeling a sharp pain in the right side of his face before it suddenly became more potent on the left. Quickly, he felt his breathing begin to labor as he saw a younger Bella looking back at herself in a cracked mirror, her face bruised and bloody, hair patchy as shards of wood stuck out her back. Paul could feel the pain, Despair, and urgency to hide away as if it were his own. His vision became fuzzy before darkening as he felt entombed in a small space, shaking with fear. Suddenly, the darkness became an overpowering light pouring over him, revealing two gasping figures before he felt pulled into the dark again.

The scenes in his mind kept shifting as he was overwhelmed with feelings that were not his own. He moved through various points in Bella's life as if he were in her place.

As quickly as it all started, the images faded, and the connection broke. Paul jerked his eyes to hers as his body quivered in residual pain but mostly in rage at what he had seen. Her pained and tear-filled eyes only intensified his vibrations, making him drop his hand to look away. He wasn't sure how it was happening, but he knew everything he saw and felt was what Bella had lived through.

He had spent so many years hating his father, but he was the father of the year compared to hers. Paul saw her beatings, her abandonment, her hunger, her shame, her fear, and he saw her briefly find respite only for it to fall away. He watched her turmoil as she realized what Renee had done; he felt the pain turn to resentment and anger at the truth.

He saw how deep-rooted her mistrust ran, yet under it all, he could see the desire to finally be accepted, to be good enough, and to have a purpose outside of a punching bag.

Paul couldn't deny it any longer; he had put Renee on a high horse from the stories he was enthralled by. Now he knew the truth; he had watched it play out just as Bella described as the old fae ranted before tossing the vile of vampire venom into the hearth.

His once alpha had truly abandoned her clan and pack for her freedom. There was no denying the truth now that the almighty alpha had turned her back on them. Choosing to either kill herself or her unborn daughter so she didn't have to return to the fold.

Paul jumped as worry swarmed his senses, causing his eyes to instinctively search out the peridot ones next to him. Locking onto them, he could see the concern they held as they looked back at him.

"Don't hulk out on me," she whispered softly.

Paul stared back, confused by her statement. He wanted to speak, but his tongue felt like a lead weight from her worry and his overwhelming emotions.

"Your eyes… they're gold," she softly explained, acting on instinct as her hand rose from his hand to his cheek.

Her cooler touch was like a balm that started to douse the flames raging inside. As if it were second nature, he leaned lightly into her tiny hand, his eyes slowly shutting as he greedily soaked up her soothing touch, which smothered the fire scorching through his veins.

"Kindred," he sighed as if the world's weight had been lifted as the wolf took solace in her touch and closeness.

As her touch receded, his eyes opened to see a lazy smile playing on her lips. "Hulk, smash?"

Paul could still feel light tremors from his anger, but unlike before, they were manageable. "Call me Bruce," he chuckled as his dark emerald eyes latched onto her lighter ones.

Bella snorted as a full smile took hold of her lips at Paul's retort.

Paul could feel the word vomit coming as his brow creased. "Why don't you ask why my eyes change… ask what I am?" His word vomit caused him to curse internally at his curiosity. He should be glad she didn't mention it, yet a part of him wanted her to ask, wanting her to know what he was, what she was.

"It's your secret to share," she shrugged. "We all have them, and from experience, I find that pushing someone to share before they are ready doesn't end with the best results," her voice holding an edge as she gestured to her surroundings.

"So someone pried, and that's how you ended up here ghost-busting, huh?" He joked. Paul knew how she ended up here, but he knew better than to say he witnessed it. Maybe it would make sense if she knew his nature, but without that information, he'd seem like nothing short of a stalker.

A small chuckle sprung out. "I ain't afraid of no ghost," a wry smile played on Bella's lips as Paul laughed wholeheartedly at the quip. "Let's just say being forced into a show-and-tell didn't go well," her smile dropped as her expression became grim at the memory.

Paul grimaced at how her mood soured, not liking the change in her demeanor. Not wanting to push, Paul just nodded and fell into silence himself.

"You know, I truly can't say which of these two women I despise the most," her somber words broke the silence.

"My grandmother and my mother, In my book, have ledgers so deep in the red that I can't see how they'd ever make their way into the black. Though I guess it's a moot point now," she shrugged, knowing the dead were incapable of atonement.

"I've never been good enough for any of my flesh and blood. My grandmother and brother abandoned me to a life of abuse and the streets, all so they could have a better life. While my mother and father both saw me as the bane of their existence and tried to kill me," her tone was even but lined with pain and frustration.

"I have spent years trying to find a place I belonged, and for the shortest time, I thought I had found it. I was accepted; nobody rebuked my past; nobody saw me as a burden like my own blood. Only for a lie to cause that happiness to burn down and…. well, you know how it all ended," she trailed off into her thoughts for a brief wisp of a second. "Losing those people and my home threw me back into the Trajectory of finding someplace to be wanted. I didn't want to come here; I didn't even remember this place. But it was here, or the streets, and my chosen father wanted me to be here. While I didn't want to be here, a part of me desperately wanted to see my brother and if there was any way we could be us again." Bella wiped at her eyes as a broken laugh escaped.

"I don't belong here. I'm too tainted by my past to be accepted among this tribe with their self-righteousness and saintly attitude". Bitterness and rejection hung on every word that choked out of her defeated expression.

"There is no safe landing for me. I'm nothing more than a vagabond thief who gets those who get too close killed by the curse attached to me."

"You're not responsible for their deaths. They are the victim of their actions, Bella," Paul whispered as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "None of what happened to you or them is your fault."

Bella's tongue flicked out to wet her dry lips as her mind battled at his words. "doesn't matter," she shrugged. "My brother, Samuel. Resents me for our childhood being ruined, for having to leave here, for having to raise me. Now he sees me not just as a burden but as a criminal," her voice defeated as she took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. "I get that this is my father's fault in the grand scheme. He could have walked away from Samuel and me, or he could have just given me up. He was just too angry and selfish to let me go. He hurt; someone had to pay for it, and that someone had to be me. Now though, I know the truth, and I'll never get to have my say," Bella paused as she wiped at her nose, "just like I never got to say goodbye to my chosen family, got to lay them to rest and thank them for what they did… I'll never understand why it happened!" Her voice rose as her pain escalated at the memory of her adoptive father dying in her arms and wondering about the real reason behind it.

A dark, bitter laugh escaped her. "I'm trapped in a loop. I always find myself someplace I don't belong. The pain and unanswered always keep me from fully moving forward because what's behind me haunts me. I'll never have closure," hiccuped out.

"What if you could?" Paul muttered in a whisper; his mind was reeling. His question caused Bella to snort at how ridiculous it sounded. "No, really, what if you could?" His tone was serious as he shifted, turning fully toward her

"It's not in the cards for me."

Paul eyed her warily. He knew this anger, this uncertainty, this self-loathing that consumed her. The same torment had haunted him for decades; after that fateful day, his father cursed and dumped him writhing in agony at the edge of the forest surrounding their little village before turning his back and running away without so much as an explanation or goodbye. Paul wallowed in that betrayal and hatred for so long, becoming so consumed with his vengeance that he couldn't see straight at times. After years of waiting, the day finally came, allowing him to have his say and closure. Giving him the ability to finally put that part of him to bed and look forward without that giant shadow over him pulling his focus away from what was before him.

The memory of her pain, anger, torment, and loss made him see that same unfocus that burdened him now doing the same to her. He didn't want that for her; he didn't want decades of her drowning in this torment to hold her back. With his resolve set, he lifted his hand to rest under her chin and gently pulled it towards him till her eyes met his as his voice became hypnotic. "Go and confront the demons, say your goodbyes, and get your closure, Bella."

Bella felt enthralled by his words. They were on repeat as they danced through her mind before finally coming to rest and compelling her to act. But they left her precisely unsure of how to complete the desired task. She'd need to leave to do the things she felt obligated to do.

"My truck. It's nothing but scrap". Bella could feel the agitation in her body when she did not instantly comply with the demand. She desperately wanted to comply with Paul's words, but without her truck, she was helpless to act on them.

Paul snorted as he stood holding out his hand to her. "Suppose then we have to catch a ride by public transport."

"You're coming?" Her tone was of surprise as she looked up at him.

"I'm your Mick, right? Someone has to be in your corner when you enter the ring."

A slight smile took hold before it dropped. "I can't pay for a ticket," whispered Out unsurely.

"My treat. Greyhound or Amtrak?" He mused

Bella lowered her gaze from his to the offered hand as his words again surged through her, demanding compliance. Her teeth found purchase in her lower lip, and the words pulsed again through her more forcefully. Slowly, she released her lip as a determined smirk took hold before placing her hand in the one offered

As Paul pulled Bella to her feet, she lifted her gaze to see the same determined smirk playing at his lips before shifting into a mischievous smile.

"California, here we come."


Thank you all for reading and your support.