disregard // paul lahote

02

THE WEEK DRONED ON, consisting of working at the Cafe non-stop and spending her free time with her mom before she ran off to work at the hospital.

Marley found herself lying face down her bed at 4:29 p.m. on a Friday night, scrolling through Instagram with her chin resting in her hand. Peering over at the folded note that sat on her vanity, she huffed and rolled onto her back, watching the time go by. She remembered how uncomfortable she was serving the group of boys, but she found herself free on a Friday night for the first time in weeks with no plans.

She mentally made a pros v.s. Cons list before throwing herself out of bed and walking into her bathroom where she reached into the shower and turned the hot water on.

----

Marley wasn't entirely sure what an outfit you would wear to a bonfire consisted of, since she hadn't been to one since she was young when she would usually be wrapped in a towel to next to the fire with sticky marshmallow on her face trying to dry out her wet bathing suit from the hours she had spent in the ocean with her friends.

She grabbed a pair of blue high waisted jeans that she knew weren't covered in stains from work and cropped white knit mockneck she "borrowed" from Suri's closet. She picked out her most worn pair of sneakers, knowing they would get covered in sand so she didn't want to ruin a good pair of shoes.

The sun was nearly absent from the sky by the time she got in her car, and punched in the address- the sky was black by the time she arrived. She drove onto the uneven driveway of the home, where she saw the lights on and people through the windows. The home was cottage-like, and warmed her stomach with memories from being a kid at the cottage. She wondered why she hadn't come to La Push more often.

Her heart beat quickly in her chest when she reached the door and knocked, not knowing what to expect. What if it were the wrong address? What if no one wanted her here? Was it too late to turn- "Marley's here!" a voice called out as the front door opened.

She faced Sue Clearwater who held a bowl that had plastic wrap over it. "Come in, hun." She opened the door wider so Marley could walk inside. "I wanted you to meet Leah, but she's out of town for the weekend. Marley this is Emily and her fiance Sam Uley." Sue spoke quickly much like Seth, pointing at a young woman stirring a pot of boiling water with a man standing behind her, his hands around her waist. The two pulled apart to greet the girl, both hugging her like she was an old friend. "Nice to meet you, Marley." Marley avoided staring at the puckered scars on her face to focus on the brilliant smile that pulled at her lips, and rubbed off on Marley.

Sue then dragged her to learn the names of Seth's friends that had visited her at the Diner, and she tried her hardest to remember them this time around. Jared stood with a beautiful girl by his side, glued together much like Sam and Emily had been moments before. "This is my girlfriend, Kim." Kim pulled Marley into a hug, and Marley noted that the group was fond of hugging.

"And have you met Jacob's father, Billy?" Kim gestured over to Billy Black. Marley nodded before shaking hands with Billy, "Good to see you again, Marley. Hope to see you around here more often." He stated before rolling off and leaving Marley with Kim and Jared. "Hungry?" Jared offered, as Emily called out to the group that food was ready to be served.

Marley knew teenage boys ate a lot, Lorena's older brothers were known to have an appetite every time Marley went over for dinner. But the group of russet skinned boys cleared out several servings before Marley managed one plate. "Can't keep up?" Jacob chuckled as he noticed Marley watching the boys shovel food in their mouths.

"I've never seen people eat so much in my life, and I work at a diner." She laughed, shaking her head. "You'll get used to it, we're super active so we need tons of carbs to keep up the physique." Jacob flexed his arms, to which Marley punched him jokingly causing him to throw his head back in laughter.

Marley helped clean up despite Emily refusing, but Marley reasoned with her- informing her that it was her job to clean up after people and she had no issue in doing so. "You've met Paul, yeah?" Emily spoke up as she tied up the garbage bag filled with used paper plates and plastic cutlery. "Um, I think? I'm not the best with names." Marley stated, drying off the last bowl. Emily pointed out to the guy who sat next to Jacob in front of the fire. "Yeah, he was at the diner with the others last week. But he left early." She shrugged, hanging the damp towel on the cabinet door to dry off.

"Shall we?" Emily offered her hand which Marley happily took, and was dragged out the back doors to join the others around the fire. She sat between Emily and Seth, kicking her shoes off to let her feet rest in the cold sand like everyone else had. "Welcome to your first Quileute bonfire," Seth whispered to her as Billy began to speak.

Marley was engrossed in Billy's words, pictures forming in her mind as the stories went on. She was interested in the legends, and enjoyed seeing everyone's faces as they listened to the familiar stories of their ancestors. She was glad she decided to come.

"Thank you for inviting me," she told Sue as the boys kicked around a soccer ball near the water and the elders relaxed in front of the fire. "I'm glad you came, it's always nice to share our ancestors stories with others." Sue assured her. "You're always welcome to come, we do this pretty often." Jacob offered, standing in front of her. "I'll keep that in mind," She smiled.

"Marley, Jake!" Kim called out, catching her attention. "Come here!" Jacob helped her off the ground and they walked towards the shore where the boys and their significant others stood. "Night swimming, you in?" Embry spoke up as he yanked his shirt over his head.

"I didn't bring a bathing suit," She stated. "I'll grab you one, Kim's borrowing one too." Emily offered, and Marley took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, I'm in."

----

By the time the Marley, Emily and Kim were changed the boys had already gone in the water and were playing Chicken. The girls grabbed loads of towels and dropped them on a log, and walked down to the water where they were hesitant to walk further into the cold water once it washed onto their warm skin. "How are they swimming in this? It's freezing." Marley spoke as her teeth clattered, the water coming up to just below her waist.

Her question was followed by a wave of cold water splashing across her torso, Kim and Emily crying out in shock as it hit them as well. Embry raised his hands in surrender, but was dunked under the water by Jared who defended his innocent girlfriend. Sam swam over to Emily and pulled her close to his chest, leaving Kim and Marley to walk deeper into the water together, hand-in-hand.

Kim cussed under her breath as the water reached their chests. "Dunk on three?" Marley offered, her body tensed from the cold water. Kim nodded and they counted to three before plunging their heads beneath the water, coming up with a gasp. Marley laughed and brushed her wet hair back, adjusting to the cold water. Kim leant into Jared's body for warmth, and Marley turned to see Jake, Paul, Embry and Quil wrestling. Seth came and stood next to Marley, who jokingly shook his head. "And I'm supposed to be the child of the group." He knocks shoulders with her.

"I call dibs being bottom half for Chicken," Embry argues with Quil. Kim climbs onto Jared's shoulders, and Seth struggles to mount Jacob but is eventually successful. Emily and Sam refuse to play, and Marley follows behind. "I'm not very good at it," She defends and Paul steps out too, when he has no partner.

"Who do you think wins?" Sam asks Marley, who looks over at the pairs. "Jared and Kim," She laughs. "Kim looks like she takes this game seriously." Marley points out as Kim threatens Quil who raises his fists jokingly at her.

The match begins, and the air is filled with threats and laughter. Marley peers over at Paul who is staring ahead, with his arms folded across his chest and she begins to wonder if he has any emotion other than anger. Every time she's seen him, this look of frustration evident on his features.

As if he feels his gaze on her, he looks over and catches her eyes before snapping his head back to the match and she suddenly feels small. "I won!" Kim cheers from her spot on Jared's shoulders. Embry, Quil, Seth and Jacob swim toward the others defeatedly, "I let her win." Quil defends.

The group decides it's getting too cold for the girls, and begin to head back towards the fire. Marley is quick to grab a towel, and wrap herself in it to stop her chattering teeth and soothe her goosebump covered skin. Embry wraps an arm around her, his heat warming her up causing her to rest her head on his shoulder thankfully. She opens her eyes and catches Paul watching the pair with furrowed eyebrows before he heads inside the house.