𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 ☾ 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆

[20]

"Maybe they'll say she was in a car crash." Jacob speculated, watching the ocean waves crash to the shore. "Or tripped and fell off a cliff."

"Jesus Christ, Jake. Can you knock it off? Bella will be fine, and you need to get over yourself." Lizzie snapped, sick of listening to him speculate about Bella's 'imminent' funeral.

"You need to stop lying to yourself!" He cried, getting to his feet. "He's going to hurt her!" Lizzie shook her head, standing up from the sand, leaving Embry, Seth and Jake to continue their depressing conversation. She walked over to join Emily and Quil, who were currently seated on a neat picnic blanket and entertaining Claire, Emily's niece. She also happened to be Quil's imprint. She liked the beach, seeing the ocean and sometimes a fish or two.

"Hey, little one." Lizzie said, smiling as she sat next to Emily. Claire smiled and tottered over to her, patting her face. The four of them turned as the larger group of boys started to cheer. They were currently playing a rather riveting game of soccer, and, by no surprise, Paul was kicking their asses. He set up to score another goal before Sam dove in front of it, catching the ball and rolling to his feet. "He's like a ballerina." Lizzie whispered, leaning to Emily's ear.

"You have no idea." She replied, grinning. Lizzie smiled, before Sam's harsh command cut through the chatter of everyone on the beach. He'd always been a good Alpha, and the voice he used to give orders was almost frightening. He was glaring at Jacob, before making a face at the group and turning back to the soccer game. He tossed the ball back to Paul, who caught it before they all came over to the picnic blanket.

Lizzie smiled as Paul wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as they lay on the blanket. Sam and Emily were already cuddling, as were Jared and his imprint, Kim. Jacob, Embry and Seth were staring with mild irritation toward the group of imprints, but nobody really cared. Paul leaned into Lizzie's neck, inhaling deeply before pressing small kisses all over. Lizzie giggled, pushing him off of her.

"What? I won. I deserve a prize." He said, frowning. Lizzie rolled her eyes, poking his ridiculously muscled bicep. 

"You deserve a smack in the face." She replied, patting his cheek. He scowled, pulling her hand away and pinning it to the blanket.

"I disagree." He stated, his expression turning unusually diplomatic. Lizzie raised a single eyebrow. Sam laughed from where he was sitting with Emily.

"He couldn't disagree with you if he tried." Sam remarked, laughing at Paul. He turned to Sam, unamused. Lizzie laughed, pulling Paul's jaw so he could face her.

"That's okay. I'm usually right anyways." She stated. Paul smirked, and she leaned forward, smiling into their kiss. Paul moved his hands to her waist, pulling her further toward him as their lips clashed.

"Man, some of us are trying to eat, here." Quil stated, frowning at the two of them as he held Claire's bag of goldfish. Neither of them replied, Paul just shoving his hand backward into Quil's face, holding up a single finger. Lizzie giggled onto Paul's mouth before pulling away, needing to catch her breath.

"Sorry, Claire." She said, looking to the little girl. She just smiled, running over and leaping into Lizzie's arms, wrapping her in a deathly toddler hug. She pulled back, before repeating the motion with Paul. He grunted, pretending to fall over as she tackled him. Claire giggled, and Paul grinned, picking the little girl up and spinning her around. The cheerful toddler laughs were like bells in all of their ears, making everyone smile. 

Lizzie had the biggest grin on her face, watching Paul playing with Claire was different. His usual harsh and angry demeanour disappeared completely, replaced with kindness and love he displayed rarely. The only person that could ever make him that soft was Lizzie. His anger and attitude was like armour, shielding his vulnerability, but he didn't need that with her. He never had.