Chapter Text
“Scoot over!”
“Shhh!”
“Shush me one more time and see what happens.”
“Oh, I’m so scared. Shut up, dickwad.”
I groaned loudly, fighting against the cough that built up in response. Paul gave me a sympathetic smile as he smoothed a hand over my hair. We had been trying to start movie night for the past thirty minutes—first, Jacob couldn’t work the tv remote, then Quil and Jared wouldn’t stop arguing. I was curled up on one of the couches, my head shoved over Paul’s heavy arm and my legs thrown over Embry’s lap. We were supposed to be watching ‘thirteen’, which was a coming-of-age type film about the perils of being a teenager. Quil had suggested it and I was curious, but it made all the other boys groan and protest.
“I wouldn’t be able to talk to my mother like that,” Embry mumbled.
“Seriously,” Quil said in amusement. “Kind of badass.”
“Ah. To have a mom to talk to,” Paul joked and the mood was killed.
“Seriously, kind of badass,” Jacob mockingly added.
The two of them snickered as I wiggled around, trying to find a comfier position. Paul carefully moved my head down towards his lap, brushing my hair away as he reached for a pillow.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
The blue tint of the movie gave me a nostalgic feeling. As weird as the plot was — I mean, it was hard to think that thirteen year olds like this existed — the film had beautiful color grading that gave off the cold illusion of being alone. I snuggled closer to my source of warmth.
“The amount of making out is a little gross,” Embry offhandedly mentioned as a scene started and he averted his eyes.
“How to say ‘I’m a virgin’ in one sentence,” Jared mumbled. I kicked my foot out, towards the back of his head. “Ow!”
“Guess it’s still the four of us against the world,” Quil piped up.
I closed my eyes momentarily in embarrassment.
“You actually suck at being a gentleman,” Jacob complained.
I realized that finishing the movie was useless, so I turned the opposite way and buried my face against Paul’s stomach. At least this way, I could pretend my burning cheeks were the product of his skin being overheated.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked and it took a moment before I realized he was talking to me.
“Uh.. getting warm?” I said, turning to give him a questioning look.
I realized all of them were looking at me and when I looked at Paul, he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Did I do something?”
Embry cleared his throat, reaching for the remote. “The movie’s technically over so..”
“Oh,” I dumbly replied, sitting up to stretch. “Um.. are we still hanging out or calling it a night?”
“I’ll hang out,” Paul finally spoke up. “I still deserve the sleepover experience.”
“I’m going to call it a night,” Quil announced, rubbing his eyes. “Who’s staying where?”
“There’s the guest room next to the front door, the couch and someone can bum in my room, I guess,” Sam muttered, standing up.
“I’ll take the couch,” Quil offered. “I have to patrol after Leah, anyway.”
I had honestly forgotten about that aspect of their lives— too caught up with the relaxing vibe of being under the same roof after keeping them all seperate for so long.
“Embry and I can share the guest room,” Jacob announced.
“Dude, no way. You’re too tall,” Embry whined as he stood. “Jared and I. You can share with Sam, freaks of nature.”
The two taller boys shared a look before Jake shrugged. I turned to Paul, “guess that leaves you with me,” I teased.
“As it should.”
We all lingered around in the living room awkwardly, before breaking off into our separate sections of the house (“Can you guys get the hell off of my bed?” Quil asked, swatting at those of us sitting on the couch) with mumbled good night’s. Paul followed after me and I tried to remind myself that he had already seen the room and it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t my personal room—so there was nothing to be embarrassed about inside of it. Not like when Jared had slept over in Forks and all I could think about was the dirty laundry basket next to my closet door.
“I have to change first,” I informed the boy with a little nod towards the bathroom door. “You can just— I’ll be right back,” I awkwardly said.
It took a moment, fumbling with the handle, before I could exit the room. I stopped for a moment to breathe. It wasn’t the first time I had shared a room with one of the pack members, so I had no idea what was causing me to be so flustered. I padded down the stairs in search of my backpack. Quil looked up from his phone before pointing at the small bag near his feet.
“Looking for that?”
“How’d you know?” I jokingly asked, reaching for the tattered strap.
“You need a new one.”
“I do,” I admitted. “But there’s only next year left.”
“Does that count as a sentimental item?” He wondered.
“Why not? Goodnight, Quil.”
“Goodnight, my Bellsy Bell,” he cheerfully called back as I retreated upstairs.
I took my time in the bathroom—washing my face and brushing my teeth. Then I changed my clothes, a matching pajama set that Renee had bought me during the Arizona trip, and brushed my hair out. I contemplated a braid for a moment before deciding that I was putting too much thought into the whole ordeal. Paul wouldn’t notice, nor did I think he would care, and I was just stalling time.
(“You can do this,” I whispered to myself in the bathroom mirror.)
“Everything alright?” The boy asked as I shuffled into the room. I realized he’d probably heard me in the bathroom.
I took my antibiotic first and crushed the plastic water bottle once it was empty. “All good. Just feeling kind of anxious,” I truthfully answered.
“It’s just me,” Paul teased, leaning up a little. His fingers skimmed the bottom of the sleep shorts and I froze. “Why are you so nervous, little one? I could ask someone else to switch.”
“It’s okay.” I chewed on my lip for a moment. “I think it’s just been a stressful time for me. Nothing to do with you, really.”
“Tell me about it,” he offered. “I’m a good listener.”
I climbed into the bed, settling under the comforter first. “I’m just a little tired. Not just physically, but mentally too. It’s a lot for me lately—constantly getting hurt or sick. I don’t want anyone to feel bad or look at me differently, so I keep it to myself. But I want to be a little selfish and just.. I don’t know. Relax, I guess.”
“Nobody will look at you differently,” he promised, holding a hand up when my mouth shot open. “No offense, but none of us, minus the pups—”
“Seth, Colin and Brady.”
“—look to you as a role model, or someone that we need to rely heavily on. You’re a human, teenage girl. We don’t think you’re fragile, but you’re obviously not invincible either. We want you to have as normal an experience as you can.”
“You don’t rely on me?” I asked, pouting a little.
“Nope,” he bluntly said back. “You’re a year older than me. I don’t even rely on Sam. It’s not your guy's job to be reliable. Maybe as we grow older and start really understanding everything that makes us..us. But right now? No.”
“I like your honesty.”
“I don’t think you hear it enough,” he shrugged and turned so that we made direct eye contact. “I said that you meant something to me. Romantically. I’m not looking for role models or whatever. The only thing we have to meet halfway on, is things that pertain strictly to us. You can’t control supernatural events or things being attracted to you.”
“Why is that, I wonder?”
“That you can’t control it?”
“No. That I keep getting caught into it? Like.. what’s attracting the supernatural to me?” I wondered, thinking of how many issues I had already been a part of in less than a year.
“Your scent, mostly. You smell pretty good. I wouldn’t want to eat you. At least not your blood. But I guess that would be a thing for someone that lives off of it.”
I decided to ignore the innuendo as I searched the younger boy's face. “You’re good at talking.”
“So I’ve been told.”
I wasn’t sure if my boldness came from being around him—but I scooted forward until we were basically one person. Then I tangled into him, a leg thrown over his body, my head in his chest, hands wherever I could reach. It wasn’t often that he and I had any sort of physical affection. Paul seemed to have no complaints that I was done talking for the moment; not that he ever did.
“Do you think living forever is so bad?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t think many of them have much of a choice. But yes. I do think it is bad. Everything lives, grows old and then dies. That’s nature. Imagine being stuck, never changing—as everything around you repeats that same cycle. Nothing except you and a few others stay the same. Towns, kingdoms, cultures, people, animals, plants.. you have to keep readjusting. You’ll always be searching for something to hold on to. You just don’t know when it’ll expire or become irrelevant.”
“And your loved ones.”
“Exactly. And your loved ones.”
I nodded mostly to myself; it seemed to be a horrific existence. I thought of the word Paul used—stuck. That’s exactly what they were. It reminded me of the stone-like stature and skin, the way they sounded as they broke apart.. how cold they were to touch.
“Do you think they’re listening in?” I flailed a lazy hand in the direction of Sam’s room.
“Probably. They’re still a bit jumpy about me.”
“Angry still?” I wondered, searching softly for his bond.
“Yes.” He said, just as I reached the feeling of rage. “I think I always will be. At least a little bit.”
“You feel like you got the short end of the stick,” I guessed.
“Anyone in my position would.”
I thought about the topic of our loved ones, and realized that Paul didn’t have much that likely fell under the category. I would be put off too. I mulled over his admission until my eyes grew heavy with sleep. I had kicked off the comforter at that point. There was no use of blankets when I shared the bed with them—I didn’t want to get disgustingly sticky.
“You are not your anger,” I offhandedly commented, half asleep and content.
“I am. The difference between the others and myself—I know how to embrace it.”
I fell asleep with that thought. There was much that I needed to learn to embrace still; but he was right. We were only teenagers. Being young would only come once. I could learn to embrace those things when the time deemed them right.
I woke up at an ungodly hour. Perhaps because I had slept so much in the past two days; but I felt energized like never before. I studied Paul’s sleeping face. He looked much younger without the furrowed brow or set jaw. Cute, even. I didn’t linger too much because I didn’t want to come off as intrusive. Someone had already watched me sleep—I knew the feeling. I carefully untangled myself from him and watched as he rolled over onto his stomach, arms shoved under the pillow. The dresser had clothes in it, and I realized it was things that the pack had likely ‘donated’ as they liked to call it. I grabbed an outfit and set off towards the bathroom.
Sam’s bedroom door was cracked open and I could see only one pair of legs—which meant someone was awake. They weren’t upstairs, so that meant either downstairs or out for patrol. I decided against checking and blinked rapidly against the bright lights of the bathroom. I hadn’t noticed it last night, but even this area had new items. The shower curtain was splotches of earthy tones and they had stocked up on soaps and hair products. I pulled a towel from under the sink after nosing around a little. The water took longer to warm up here, so I brushed my teeth first and eyed my reflection. The dull paleness of my face was a little less obvious now that I didn’t feel so miserable with sickness. I had been looking like a zombie the past few days—the thought made me snort. I wondered momentarily if those would turn out to be real as well. I thought about it in the shower, too, while I lathered my hair in shampoo that had obviously been chosen for me. The strawberry product was exactly the same as the one in Forks; just fuller.
Getting dressed was the most difficult part. Only because I was sure I had picked Jacob or Sam’s sweatpants. While they hadn’t always been so tall, they were still larger in frame than the other boys, so I had to tie the drawstring tight on top of folding the pant leg up. The shirt was easier. It seemed like it belonged to Jared or Paul. I tucked the side of the fabric under my bra strap so it wouldn’t be so loose. I found that I only cared about looking ‘bummy’ as of late. Renee would be proud to know that I was putting so much thought into getting dressed.
“Good morning princess,” Leah called from the kitchen as I took in the scene before me.
The person awake had been Sam, which didn’t surprise me. And he seemed to be helping Seth with homework at the table.
“Making your usual?” I asked as I hooked my chin over the taller girl's shoulder. I had to stand on my tippy toes to do that now.
“Eggs,” she confirmed with a nod. “I don’t think it’ll keep them over though.”
“It won’t,” I agreed as I stepped back to check the fridge. “I can make sausage and pancakes.”
“Please,” Sam added from the table. I turned to look at him—he was already watching us. I smiled widely.
“You got it, boss.”
“Please—” he snorted, “call me alpha.”
“In your dreams.”
“Gross,” Leah groaned from her place in front of the stove. “I knew coming here was going to be weird.”
“Romantic,” Seth mumbled. “She said it was going to be full of romance bullshit.”
“Seth!” I scolded while Leah cackled. “Please. Wait a couple years before you start talking like your sister. I don’t think my heart can handle it.”
The two of us navigated the kitchen easily and Sam piped up when we couldn’t find something. Leah’s eggs finished quickly after I had joined, but she still stuck around to wash each dish I used as I cooked. The house began to come more alive halfway through the muffins bake time.
“Good morning ladies,” Quil cheerfully hummed as he walked into the kitchen, stopping to kiss my cheek. “And Sam. Oh. Hey, Seth’s here too!”
Both boys almost looked alike for a second—Seth needed to stop spending so much time with Sam and his sullen looks.
“Good morning, Quilliam,” Leah faked a posh accent. “Indulge us on the flights of fancy that succeed your patrol.”
The curly haired boy turned to look at me.
(“What does that mean?” He mouthed across.)
“How was your patrol?” I asked, ignoring Leah and her silly antics. “That’s the question—basically.”
“Oh. Not bad. Brady is easy to teach.”
“Who took over?” Sam asked as he glanced towards the stairs.
“Me,” Paul complained as he walked down. “Why do you guys keep returning before the entire time is up?”
“Seriously,” Sam scolded, “you’d be surprised how much could happen in a few minutes.”
Paul ignored that, stealing a few eggs from the serving plate before he turned and kissed my forehead. I turned red all the way up to where his lips had touched.
“Save me a muffin.”
“How are Colin and Brady?” Leah asked offhandedly as she wiped her hands off.
“Colin still thinks you’re the most beautiful girl in the world,” I teased. “They’re good kids. They run their patrols and head home, I’d say they’re doing well.”
“And homeschooling?”
I shrugged a little, “we do what we can. It’s mostly online so..”
“Brady’s a little bummed,” Quil piped up. “He had a crush at school or something. You know. Kiddie love.”
“Is that your information to share?” Sam asked, looking up in annoyance.
“My bad,” the other boy mumbled. It was useless to argue against Sam—he was always a little stricter than the others. I thought it had more to do with his personality and upbringing, than it did with the alpha role.
It was just nearing 7am when Embry appeared, freshened up. He wasn’t talkative in the morning, and it continued to show as he quietly made his coffee and sat at the island. Quil chattered senselessly to the three boys and Leah; who rolled her eyes for the most part. During that time, I took it upon myself to sit at the couch and shift through the small pile of books that Embry had decorated with.
“The Count of Monte Cristo is a decent read,” the boy mentioned as he joined me on the couch. “Around the era of time that you seem to be infatuated with.”
I shook my head a little. “I’m trying to expand my reading list and themes.”
“Ever tried The Hunger Games?” Jacob asked as he made his way down the stairs.
“That a picture book?”
“Really funny, asshole,” he rolled his eyes before glancing at me. “It’s a dystopian future. Might be more up your alley if you’re changing interests.”
“You read books, Jacob Black?” I asked teasingly as I made a mental note of the name.
“Nope. We had to read it for class—”
I stood as the oven timer beeped.
“—and it wasn’t so bad. A little weird. Imagining a society like that, I mean.”
“Is that the one where they kill each other in an arena setting?” Sam asked as he eyed the tray I was taking out.
“Wait what?” I asked, setting it down on the stove top to cool.
“There’s a whole thing to it. It’s more than just killing each other,” Jacob argued as he reached for a muffin. “They have an oppressive..government? I’m not sure if it’s called that. Anyway, they’re like..forced to fight.”
“Sounds familiar,” Embry snidely said.
“The movies were okay,” Sam added as he lost to temptation and snagged a muffin.
“Go wake up Jared,” Leah cut off as she shoved me towards the stairs. “They’ve already eaten more eggs than they should’ve.”
The eggs were noticeably smaller in size than they had been just ten minutes before.
I excused myself to go down the hall. The room door was still closed, so I assumed he really was asleep.
“Nice. Breakfast in bed,” his voice shocked me into a jump as I carefully pushed the door open.
“So you are awake,” I breathed out. “I didn’t bring any food.”
“I didn’t mention food,” the boy wagged his eyebrows teasingly. “I’ve been awake since Embry left the room.”
“Why didn’t you come to the kitchen?” I asked, letting myself be tugged into the bed.
“That’s a lot of human interaction off the rip.”
“Are you not a people person?” I raised an eyebrow as he ran his nose along the underside of my jaw.
“Did I tell you that?”
“No. I just assumed,” I admitted and bit back the embarrassment of my breathy voice.
“Not a people person,” he confirmed and I swore the dullness of his teeth moved across my skin. He broke away before I could react. “Let’s go?”
“Okay—” I awkwardly cleared my throat of its squeakiness. “Okay.”
I realized that he was already cleaned up—even the bed was done— and dressed for the day. Although shorts and no shirt weren't really..dressed up. The others stared as we entered the kitchen and I wondered if I still looked like a flustered mess. Leah gave me a look that suggested the answer was yes. I gave her one of my own and moved on to making coffee; we had been up for hours already and it was my first cup.
“Can I have one too?” Sam asked nicely, standing to grab a mug.
“Of course. Creamer and sugar?”
“Just black is fine,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Are you turning 18 or 80?” Leah asked with an incredulous look.
“I’m convinced it has to do with his fur,” Quil said around a mouthful of food. “Black heart, black fur..black coffee?”
“That’s dumb,” Jake chortled out, choking in the process.
“Sam’s coffee preferences aren’t up for debate,” I scolded as I poured the liquid. “Also half of you are the same color, so it’s kind of cool that he has his own.”
“We are different shades of brown,” three people argued and I rolled my eyes as I turned to hand Sam his cup.
I eyed the muffin tin before snagging one to put in the microwave. Paul was going to have to settle for only one. The other items could be recooked when he got home.
“Okay?” I gently asked Seth. He still hadn’t moved from his same spot at the table, although the work wasn’t in front of him.
“I’m okay. Just trying to keep up with the conversation,” the young boy admitted.
“It’s better to just ignore them,” I offered him a silly expression to portray their craziness.
“You’re probably right,” he laughed loudly. “How about you, Belly? You’re okay?”
“I am,” I said earnestly. “Your mom is a magical healer.”
“Don’t tell her that.”
Everyone quieted down the further into their meals they got, and I stepped outside to call Charlie. I needed to call Renee as well—but that had to wait for another day. I wasn’t ready for a barrage of questions.
“Hello?” His gruff voice came out and I smiled to myself.
“How was your date?” I teasingly asked.
I could almost hear his embarrassment. “I’m not gossiping with you,” he quickly answered. “It was..nice.”
“I’m glad,” I genuinely said. “You need to get out more..have friends..get a little crazy. Shopping or something.”
“You sound like me,” he chuckled. “Everything okay at Sam’s?”
“Yep, we’re just eating breakfast.”
“Alright. Thanks for checking in with me, kiddo. Billy, Quil and I are just waiting for Harry.”
“Fishing?” I glanced at the ground. “Little cold for that, no?”
“No, we’re just gonna hang out. Talk about old man stuff. You know how it goes.”
My eyes widened comically. “You want to gossip with them but not me?”
“Alright. That’s the end of this convo, love you.”
He didn’t wait for me to repeat the sentiment before he hung up and I frowned at the sound of the call dropping.
“Raising parents is hard,” Leah sympathetically joked as I walked back into the house.
“Literally,” Sam muttered from around his coffee mug.
“I’m surprised you listened in,” I said to Sam.
“I didn’t,” he shook his head, “I’m talking about what Leah said.”
I winced as I thought of his predicament.
“Sorry..I didn’t think before speaking.”
The older boy shrugged, “it doesn’t matter much. It was my attempt at a joke.”
“Your humor is very self deprecating,” I retorted.
“So is yours.”
“She said she’d jump off a cliff when I told her I needed more space in the bed,” Quil added in agreement.
“She said the ‘wan’ in Isabella Swan was for ‘wandering aimlessly through life.’ Really creative,” Jacob noted.
“Alright. That’s enough out of you two.”
“She once said she didn’t want to brag, but she hadn’t had a mood swing in 7 minutes.”
“Embry! Traitor!”
They continued their game of Bella-Says-Things and I eventually gave up defending myself. At least everyone found it funny. Under this roof, I felt less like a valuable artifact and more like a normal girl.
“Hey! I heard you were sick,” Angela rubbed my back as we hugged. I tried not to wince out loud; everything still hurt —just a little less— considering it had only been a few days.
“A little,” I admitted, “but I’m feeling much better now.”
“Where’d you go off to that day, by the way?”
“Thursday?” I glanced around as she nodded. “I wasn’t feeling too good to begin with.”
“But Edward—”
“He drove me home,” I cut her off. “It was nice of him.”
“Oh.” She quieted down, pushing her glasses a little further up. “That was nice.”
“He’s nice,” I agreed, “just weird. Two things can be true.”
“So his siblings..”
“Weird,” I confirmed with a nod. “Still weird.”
“Okay.”
We continued to talk well into class—mostly about the art project. Angela told me that she’d been spending weekends trying quilting and I sadly thought about Leah. They still talked everyday, but as far as Angela knew, Leah was grounded for something she did. She wasn’t even aware our mutual friend was no longer going to school, so I had to tiptoe around the subject awkwardly. Jessica and Lauren were back to arguing about something ridiculous, which meant we had to include the first girl in our little bubble. Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed to bring up anything about Jared or the movies; I wondered if that was more for her sake than my own. By the time lunch came around, I had already gotten my fill of the weekly gossip and information about the prom, which was supposedly going to be a big deal—the school had even rented a conference room at one of the hotels.
“Who are you going with?” Mike asked as we filed into the lunch room.
“I’m sorry?”
“For prom, I mean. Anyone in mind?” I looked at the way he was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and almost groaned.
“I told you, she has a boyfriend,” Jessica snapped.
“You saw him,” I pointed out. “That day..the phone call?”
“Oh— that’s. The big guy? I didn’t..but Jake came to pick you up?” The blonde haired boy stuttered around the topic.
“They’re friends,” I offered with a shrug. “We all are.”
“So your boyfriend is taking you?”
“I think so?” I had no idea. “Or I might come with a friend.”
“He wouldn’t mind?”
“He doesn’t really care much, it’s my decision to make.” I turned my back on the boy as we got into line and Jessica started to whisper.
“Do you think Leah will be out of trouble by then?” Angela whispered.
“Definitely,” I promised with a soft smile. “She wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“You should take Jessica,” I suggested over my shoulder as the boys roughhoused childishly.
“Who?”
“You,” I raised an eyebrow at Mike. “She’d probably like it if you asked her.”
All of us watched the girl—she had cut in line and was near the front, mingling with someone that was undoubtedly for the purpose of their spot. Mike seemed to be considering it, then he nodded.
“Sure. Why not?”
“I mean you guys already slept together,” Tyler teased loudly. Angela and I shared a scowl.
“Dude. Be quiet,” Eric scolded. “Girls hate that sort of stuff.”
I tuned them out for the rest of the time that we were waiting around. They were right — at least in my case — I hated people that kissed and told. It was weird and I couldn’t imagine sharing that much intimate information with someone that wasn’t on the receiving end.
“I guess there’s weirder people than myself,” a smooth voice said and I glanced up from the salad selection to look at Edward.
“Guess so. How was your weekend?”
“You’re asking about my weekend?” He scrunched his nose up weirdly. “I should be asking you. You were sick?”
“Eavesdropping again? Yeah. I had pneumonia, not severe. Just a few symptoms.”
“Sorry about that,” his voice dropped down. “I guess I’m not exactly good camping company.”
“I could’ve told you that,” I joked before shrugging. “Not that big a deal. Seriously. Thank you for the help.”
“It was my pleasure,” Edward earnestly responded. “Thank you for considering my friendship, if nothing else.”
“It’s still a good compromise, no?” I turned to look at him closely. “I just don’t see you..the other way. Is that a new concept for you?”
“A little,” he admitted with a smirk. “It’s refreshing, actually.”
“Have you considered what you’ll do next?” I wondered, alluding to his family’s presence in the area.
“We’ll stick around a few years more,” he said softly. “Then I think I might head back to Alaska. They have a good program there. And I have a..friend.”
“Oh! That’s good then, right?” I was acutely aware that we had already gone through the line and were lingering around. My friends would have many questions, I was sure.
“No idea. But..I’ve been running from it for.. a long time. Might as well just see,” the boy shrugged. “What about you?”
“No idea. Good thing we still have next year, I have no life direction,” I honestly replied.
“That’s okay,” he said. “Plenty of people don’t.”
“You would know,” I joked.
“I would know,” he confirmed before turning. “I’ll see you around, Bella.”
This time, the roles were reversed as I called out, “see you around, Edward!”
“So,” Charlie eyed me from across the table. “Any new..advancements?”
“In?” I asked, taking a bite from my salad.
“Your..love life?”
“I guess we’re having this conversation,” I sighed out. “No? Quil, Jake and Embry still haven’t..we’re still working on things.”
“Right. Always loved those three,” he said as he took a bite of his burger. “What about the other three?”
“Still the same,” I promised.
“That’s good. Glad we can have this talk.”
“It’s not willingly,” I muttered softly. “How about you? Your date gonna have a part two or?”
“Actually,” he cleared his throat and reached for a napkin. “Next weekend.”
“Oh? So soon. I guess that’s a good thing?” I gave him an impressed look.
“Your dads a looker, y’know?” He winked and I rolled my eyes. “I think it’s a good thing.”
“I’m glad dad, really. I keep repeating it but..you deserve to have some time for yourself.”
“Well. My baby’s grown up, pretty much. I figure it’s time for both of us to learn things on our own.”
I smiled widely, reaching for my tea. “I think you’re right.”
The diner wasn’t too full tonight—in fact, most of the people were outside, talking in groups and messing around. The light and joyful atmosphere was slowly coming back as crowds picked up on the lack of disappearances lately. I thought of the burning pile and my heart clenched for the families out there that were still waiting for something..anything.
“So, prom’s soon,” he mentioned offhandedly. “Know who you’re going with?”
“Not at all,” I admitted. “We haven’t had time to talk about it much.”
“That’s surprising,” Charlie commented with a little shake of his head. “Billy, Harry, Quil and I have a bet.”
“Betting on your child’s love life is a new low,” I teased. “Who’s voting for who?”
“I’m a little inclined to hope it’s Jacob. But I think it’ll be Sam. Billy’s obviously voting for Jacob. Harry said Quil and Quil says Embry.”
“No one’s rooting for Paul?” I shook my head, “you guys are behind. That’s the most romantic one besides Embry.”
“Paul Lahote?” He asked incredulously. “No way.”
“You’d be surprised,” I muttered as my cheeks flushed. “They’re all romantic in their own ways, I guess.”
“Yeah,” he suddenly said. “You’re right. This is weird.”
“See,” I huffed out a laugh. “It’s weird to talk about—even with Leah.”
“She still going with Angela?” He wondered and I appreciated the subtle conversation shift.
“Yeah. I need to find out what she’s planning to wear,” I said.
“Not a suit, I can tell you that,” Charlie guffawed. “I’m sure it’ll be something beautiful and eye-catching.”
“She’s a bit dramatic, isn’t she?” I easily agreed.
The rest of the dinner went by quietly, mostly due to the fact that we were enjoying our meals. I waited patiently near the truck while Charlie used the restroom afterwards. The weather was still cold and wet—but it was the warmest I had felt in forever. That became more true as I climbed into bed, under multiple blankets to make up for the lack of body warmth. I couldn’t remember the last time that I had gotten into my own bed and felt safe.
It seemed tonight would be the first time in a long time.