✔ | 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍, jasper hale

twenty-eight

"I am having me time; this is me time!" she waved the book up in the air. "Also, I take some breaks every now and then," she murmured before looking down at her feet.

She was well aware of how they'd been worrying about her. She looks okay. She acts okay, but her coping mechanism seems to worsen over time, and they knew they had to intervene.

"Mads, even a human can smell your bullshit from a mile away," he scoffed.

He quickly grabbed the book away from her and caught her arm when she made a move to take it from him. "Time out, okay? For five minutes," he said.

A huff escaped her lips before she nodded. "Fine, but if this is your way of hooking me up with Jared, I swear to God—"

"Nope! I'll show you what real me time is."

"And that is...?"

"Cliff diving!"

A squeal escaped Madelline's lips, and she quickly walked beside Paul with excitement written all over her eyes. "Wait, I'm going to change first. You want to come?" she excitedly asked as she led the two of them.

Paul halted his tracks, gaping at Madelline. This caught her attention when she tugged on him, only to be pulled back. She looked back and saw Paul looking at her with a gobsmacked expression.

"Are you serious, Madelline?"

Her nose scrunched in confusion. "Serious about wha— oh! No, not that!" she exclaimed.

Paul felt himself sigh in relief and resumed walking beside her. "Thank God, I almost barfed, Mads."

"Sucks to be you, I guess."

A two-story house met Paul's vision after several minutes of walking that led outside of the forest. His mouth gaped as soon as they entered the door and saw how spacious and elegant the house was. It was a combination of modernity and elegance in how they designed and placed everything.

A sudden feeling of shyness washed over him as he further entered the house. They entered the living room and saw a man that looked to be in his early thirties, his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose with the first few buttons of his shirt carelessly, while piles of documents were scattered on the coffee table in front of him.

"Hey, Dad," Madelline greeted and walked over to him. She leaned down to leave a peck on the side of his head.

Elijah looked up from his documents only to see an unfamiliar face standing in front of him. "Who...?"

Madelline followed his trail of sight and saw Paul standing uncomfortably in front of them with his hands crossed politely behind him. She stifled a laugh and held back the urge to tease him.

"This is Paul Lahote. He's part of Sam's pack," she answered.

Paul stepped forward and extended his arm out toward him to shake his hand. Elijah held back a smile when he noticed how nervous the boy was and shook his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Smith. Nice to meet you."

Elijah nodded in acknowledgment. "Nice to meet you as well."

Madelline placed her arms on the side of his neck and stood behind him. "We're actually planning to go cliff diving," she informed him.

Elijah scanned Paul from head to toe, unknowingly scaring the young boy. Madelline lightly tapped his chest and leaned down so they were head-level.

"Dad, stop scaring him," she hissed.

A laugh escaped his throat upon hearing her before he nodded. "Fine, fine. I'll behave. Sorry to make you feel uncomfortable, Paul," he apologized, sending him an apologetic smile.