End of Time (Embry Call)

Chapter Thirteen

It was true, I did lose weight. The stress of my father, the events with Embry, the disappearance of my mother and the worry over Alexis left me without appetite the last two months. I ate when I could. And even then it was mostly cheese and crackers. I couldn't deny him of his request as he drove us out of the busy airport. He mentioned how school was about to end and wondered about what would happen with me.

"I spoke to all my teachers and they faxed me all the assignments and tests." I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't about to miss two months of class just to retake a course. An amber alert went off on my phone. The blaring sound caused the both of us to wonder what happened. "That's insane!" I exclaimed when I read the alert. There were two missing persons. I couldn't show Paul the message but I read it aloud to him. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he visibly got upset. "Has this been happening often?"

"Unfortunately....." Paul grumbled as he parked the car on the side of a street.

"Is it a serial killer or something?" I asked as we both exited the car. He conveniently parked in front of a cute brunch restaurant. I could already see through the windows of the patrons dining on some delicious looking meals.

"I know just as much as the next guy." Paul shrugged his shoulders. I dismissed it once we got seated at a table.

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I stared at the road before us. I asked Paul to just park a block away from our house. I didn't think I could face Alexis yet. As excited as I am to see her, I knew I'd also have to face Embry as well. I bit my lowered in in anticipation, I wasn't ready to see Embry.

"Taking a picture lasts longer." Paul quipped as he played with his fingernails. I rolled my eyes at his response. "Besides, it's not going to change the fact you're going to have to see him soon anyway." He seemed bitter about the comment. I couldn't place a finger on why that would be an issue anyway.

"I'm not ready to see him." I grumbled, an uneasy feeling weighed down in my stomach. Yet I could also feel my breakfast wanting to come up. Embry could hate me. I know I would. Part of me was jaded because my mom left the same way; without another word. And she barely made contact. I inwardly groaned at how much I was like my mother; way more than I would like to admit.

"It just doesn't make sense to me Tristan. You guys kissed before you left right?"
Paul always questioned why but I never gave him the answer. He gave me passes every time and never pushed for it. Assuming that I've returned, he wasn't going to take my silence for an answer. My hand gripped the carry on purse I had on the plane. I tried to conjure the right thoughts in my head in order to give him a concise response. I kept drawing blanks.

"It was like in the moment I'm pretty sure." I recalled the events that lead up to it. The nagging thought of him doing that just to shut me up was always on the back of my mind. "He told me once that he didn't want to be together yet because of his ex. Then his ex showed up that day and I didn't know what to make of it." I rubbed my temples in aggravation. "So I don't know if while I was gone he went back to her or whatever. And I just don't know what to expect anymore."

This silenced Paul for a few moments. He looks deeply perplexed while he ingested the words I spoke. It wasn't the best articulated but it got my point across.

"I don't know Tris... do you even want to be with him?" Paul asked gently unable to meet with my eyes. That struck a chord through me. That question hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course I did... did I not? Why else would I be so caught up in how our reunion would be? I shook the negativity out of my head and asked him to pull up to my driveway. There was a bit of traffic so we reached my house a little past one in the afternoon.

"Thanks again for everything Paul." I embraced him tightly when he helped me with the last of my bags. "I seriously appreciate it." I was grateful to have someone who took my mind off the bull shit I was going through.

"Anytime Triscuit." Paul murmured into my hair as he lingered in a bit longer. He seemed to tense up a bit before he finally released me. "I'm busy the rest of the day but I'll catch you around." He saluted me with two fingers before he back off my driveway. I waved until he was out of eye sight. With a huff, I turned to face the door before me.

I briefly scrambled for the keys before I realized I didn't grab them. The last vivid memory I had was leaving them on top of my dresser. I slapped myself on the forehead for being so stupid. I lifted the rug beneath me and checked around the area to see if there was a spare.

"Ooooooh no." I groaned defeated as I slumped down against the door. My phone was dead and Alexis obviously wasn't home. She'd always been an early bird and she would've answered the dozens of times I rang the doorbell. This was just my luck. I buried my head in my hands as I looked to the ground. I could probably survive for a few hours outside the house. A shadowy figure blocked the warm sunlight that shine down on me.

"Tristan?" I looked up to see the last person I could have wanted to see.

[Author's Note: Whooooo could it be?!? Super side note, I just completed 3 of my stories so now I can focus on this and my other twilight story with Jacob Black !!! Anyway let me know how you liked this chapter! Thank you for your feedback always I love you.]