Chapter 16: Relax

As Paul drank his morning coffee in the kitchen, I sat curled on the couch in the living room, still wrapped securely in his sweater. I'd tried to convince him to go to sleep after being awake all through the night, but he'd refused, saying that it'd just screw up his sleep schedule and that he'd promised to spend the day with me and didn't want to waste our day together by sleeping through it.

"You know that we have forever together, right?" I asked.

He laughed. "A promise is a promise."

His phone rang on the counter next to him and he groaned. I watched as he deliberated between answering and ignoring it and I was surprised when he just let it go to voicemail before joining me on the couch.

"Sam?" I asked.

He nodded. "For all he knows, I'm asleep. I'm not going to patrol today, no matter what reason he has for asking me."

"Won't he just show up eventually?" I asked, remembering what Paul had said when Sam had called yesterday.

He shrugged. "I'll just ignore him then, too."

Paul's phone continued to ring and after the tenth call, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood from the couch, went over to the kitchen, and picked up Paul's phone. He gave me a warning look that I ignored as I accepted the call.

"Hello?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Oh…hello," Sam said, sounding surprised and slightly guarded.

"Paul's still asleep," I explained in the same hushed voice. "Do you need him?"

"I was actually hoping to speak to you," Sam said, tone formal. My eyes widened at Paul and he jumped up from the couch, looking irritated. "We've been told that Edward and Bella went to Florida for the weekend, but I have reason to believe that this is just a cover story while he turns her into a vampire."

Paul looked absolutely thunderous as he heard what Sam had said and held his hand out for his phone, but I took a step back—I could handle this myself.

"I haven't been to the Cullens' house since Friday," I said honestly. "But, when I was there, I heard the Cullens helping Edward pack and I saw his luggage by the door when I left to hunt. If they weren't being honest about where he was going, they clearly wanted to keep me in the dark about it."

I could tell Sam didn't like my explanation from his tone as he thanked me and ended the call, but there wasn't much more information I could give him. If the Cullens planned on turning Bella this weekend, they hadn't told me anything.

"You didn't have to talk to him, you know," Paul said.

"He wouldn't have stopped calling," I said with a shrug. "What's the big deal about Edward turning Bella?"

"It's against the treaty," he said. "They'd be waging a war if they did it."

"Oh."

"The only way it'd be okay would be if it was to save her life," he explained. "But Jacob's told us that she wants him to turn her and that's where it goes against our agreement with them."

"I don't understand why she'd choose this life," I murmured, trying not to think about how the Volturi expected her to be turned. "She wants to throw her life away."

"You're not happy like this?"

"I am happy," I corrected. "But I would never choose this life for anyone. If I could go back and have a choice in the matter, I probably would have declined." I was quiet for a few moments. "But…on the other hand, if I'd declined the offer, I never would have met you."

He approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. "Maybe that would've been a blessing in disguise."

"Very funny," I laughed. "In all seriousness, I think you're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Is that right?"

I nodded. "I've never felt happiness like this before. I know that it's only been about a week since I've been here, but there's just something about you that's made things change for me."

"I'm glad to hear that," he murmured. "I'm shocked you don't want to run off and keep travelling."

"You're all I'll ever want," I said, ignoring what had quickly become a constant fear of the Volturi turning up and destroying everything I'd built here with Paul. I'd promised myself that I would enjoy every moment that I had with him before it all came crashing down around me, but it was hard when it felt like Jane or Demetri were lurking around every corner.

"And you're all I'll ever need," he said, leaning forward and pressing his lips against mine.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked.

"I was thinking, maybe you could meet Sue?" he suggested. "Or, we could go cliff diving."

"Between the two, cliff diving sounds less scary," I admitted.

"I thought you wanted to meet her."

"I do," I said honestly. "It's just…"

"You're nervous," he supplied, smile quirking at his lips.

"Yeah, I mean…what if she doesn't like me?"

"She'll love you," he promised. "But, if you don't wanna do it today, we don't have to. I don't even know if she's free or not."

"Thank you," I said. "I know it's stupid, but—"

"Hey, it's not stupid," he said. "It'd make me anxious too."

"Well, luckily you don't need to worry about meeting my mom," I teased.

He laughed. "I'm not sure if that's something to brag about."

"I guess you're right," I said. "So, I guess we're going cliff diving?"

"I was joking about that."

"Scared?" I teased.

"No," he laughed. "The weather's going to be particularly bad today and it isn't nearly as fun when there's a thunderstorm."

"That's fine," I said. "It's not exactly high on the list of things I'd like to do."

He chuckled. "How about a relaxing day here?"

"Works for me," I said. "Tired after last night?"

"I'm not going to go to sleep, if that's what you're trying to do," he said. His hands travelled downwards from my waist to my thighs and he lifted me into his arms, carrying me back to the couch and sitting on it with me wrapped securely in his arms.

"I'm not trying anything," I said innocently.

"Sure you're not," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure," I said, snuggling closer to him.

He turned on the TV and we were immediately greeted by a news report before he could switch to the movie he wanted to put on. I stiffened slightly as I realized what the news anchor was talking about and stopped Paul from turning it off.

"This is Stacey Thompson reporting to you live from the Seattle Aquarium where another body was discovered in the early hours of the morning. This marks the seventeenth body found in a long string of homicide victims in the area. Police officials are requesting that citizens with any information to please come forward to aid them in their search for whoever is doing this."

The phone number for the Seattle Police Department's anonymous tip line flashed across the bottom of the screen as Stacey continued to describe the crime scene.

Paul exhaled deeply and turned off the newscast, putting on the second Nightmare on Elm Street film.

We were quiet as the opening credits began to roll and I felt his arms tighten around me. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

I nodded. "They're so reckless…people are just going to keep dying until we stop them."

"And they will be stopped," Paul promised.

"They're getting a lot of media attention," I murmured. "Soon enough, the Volturi will feel the need to interfere."

"I won't let them get close to you," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"I appreciate that."

As we watched the movie, my mind wandered. It felt like the Volturi had already arrived in Washington and were waiting for the perfect moment to strike. What if they were already here, overseeing what was happening with the newborns and hoping they would end up in Forks?

The Cullens had told me that they didn't have the best relationship with the Volturi—what if they wanted to see the Cullens get hurt or completely wiped out in a fight against the newborns?

Part of the reason that I was reluctant to meet Sue was because I didn't want to have too many ties here before I would eventually have to leave. The more people that I met while I was here, the harder it would be for me to leave it all behind and it'd just be more people that I'd be hurting.

It was already bad enough meeting Emily and some of the pack members. I couldn't help but think of what Leah had said about needing to know that I wouldn't hurt Paul and I felt my stomach turn slightly.

I shook my head at myself—I needed to stop thinking about this. I couldn't think about the potential appearance of the Volturi. I needed to enjoy the precious time that I had with Paul while it was safe for us.

I glanced up at him and smiled as I realized that he'd dozed off, despite how stubbornly he'd tried to stay awake. I gently pushed him so he was laying on his side with his head resting on one of the pillows on the couch. In his sleep, his hold tightened on me and I lay next to him.

He awoke as the end credits rolled and swore under his breath. "I slept through the whole thing, didn't I?"

"Pretty much," I confirmed, smile quirking at my lips. "Was it a good nap?"

"It was alright," he said. "I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"You should sleep," I urged. "When do you have to run again?"

"Tomorrow."

"You should rest before that," I said.

He rolled his eyes. "You really don't want to spend time with me, do you?"

I laughed. "Of course I do, but I don't want you to force yourself to stay awake just to spend time with me. It's just going to make you miserable."

"I guess you're right."

"Wow, I'm shocked that you actually agreed with me," I said, feigning offence.

He laughed and sat up, pulling me with him and wrapping his arms around me. "I can't lie and say that you don't have a point. Will you stay with me?"

"Of course."

He lifted me into his arms and carried me into his bedroom, falling into bed with me and sleeping off the exhausting night he'd had.