Chapter 17
He may be warm, but he'll never warm your heart.
Confusion shocked through my veins and sobered my mind from the slumber I had been pulled from. The text made little sense to me and I couldn't understand who would send such a riddle. No one from home that I knew of cared much for riddles and I hadn't upset anyone from La Push, from my knowledge anyway. Surely, it couldn't be Hilary as she was well and truly dead, since the pack had ripped her Vampire self to bits.
It was an odd thing to write to someone. Who was the author referring to by him? Did they mean Paul? The sentence lacked context and, to be honest, I couldn't comprehend whether it was a threat, a warning or advice. The fact that the author had preferred to remain anonymous didn't instil a sense of reassurance that this was meant to be helpful for my well being. But at the same time I didn't immediately feel a sense of alarm that this was threatening either. I simply felt confused.
My eyes drifted over my shoulder and landed on Paul's sleeping form. His body was facing mine still and the peaceful expression on his face made the corner of my lips twitch upward. Despite the cruel person I had been to him lately, he still managed to stand the sight of me and console me after Ryan's act. I knew I didn't deserve it in the slightest, yet here lay, wiping away my stray tears. My eyes cast back to the time and thought it to be too early to get up yet. I shut my phone off completely and attempted to find comfort in my sheets once again, yet I never found it. For the next hour I found myself tossing and turning, my mind reeling over the events that occurred over the recent days.
My restlessness was soon detected by Paul, whose eyes opened with a soft groan. Instantly, I felt bad for waking him up and bit my lip as his eyes met mine.
"I'm sorry" I whispered. A husky chuckle left his lips.
"What for? Is there another kid coming here to be your boyfriend?" He teased. I gently shoved his shoulder and nestled my head into the pillow.
"Shut up," I grumbled. "I'm sorry for waking you up." Paul scoffed and shifted in position, which subsequently resulted in him being slightly closer. I felt his legs brush against mine.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.
"Yeah, fine. Just can't seem to fall back to sleep" I muttered. He frowned and reached forward, closing his hand around mine reassuringly.
"Does this have to do with the idiot sleeping downstairs?" Paul wondered. I narrowed my eyes at our interlocked fingers and shrugged.
"Sort of. I'm going to have to talk to mum later and that's going to be one hell of a phone call. I just need him out of here, so that this place can feel a bit more relaxed and everything can go back to the way it was...but better" I replied with a sigh, looking up tentatively into Paul's brown eyes that softened.
"Don't worry about the pack. We are fine and no one cares about the kid being here. Seriously, he hasn't made much of an effort around here to get us to like him. Well, not me...I was never going to like him, even if he bought me a beautiful '69 Camaro" Paul assured me. A soft laugh left my lips as I squeezed his hand. With that, we continued to talk about my trip to Australia, excluding all information about my mother and the deal. We fell so easily into conversation that we hardly noticed the light of the day shine through the curtains, alerting us to the start of a new day. Paul suggested that he take a shower before coming down to breakfast and I jokingly agreed as I left him to do just that.
After quickly brushing my teeth, so that Paul could shower, I changed into some comfortable sweats and made my way to the kitchen. Emily and Sam were sitting at the table when I got downstairs and looked up to greet me. Emily sent me a soft smile and stood up to give me a hug.
"He's gone for a run, but I've called your mum and suggested that it'd be best if he went home...in the politest way I could" She informed me with a wink. I sent her a grateful smile.
"Thank you. I should still call her so that I can explain what happened and everything else" I admitted and pushed my hand through my hair.
"First thing is first, you need to get some food in before you do that" Emily suggested and turned to walk into the kitchen. I smiled and met Sam's eye.
"Morning, Sam" I greeted him softly. Time and understanding had definitely enabled the tension between us to fade and I couldn't be more grateful.
"Kira," Sam nodded back in response, "Sorry to hear about your boyfriend." I scoffed.
"He was not my boyfriend and I just want to say that I'm sorry for bringing him here. You two were so kind by letting him stay and I feel just terrible that I helped disrupt the peace here. Like I've been telling Paul, bringing him in here...into this place where you should all not be afraid to be your true selves was a selfish thing to do." Sam sent me a smile and somehow I felt like I had won the lottery. The smile was reassuring to say the least and instantly a weight seemed to lift from my shoulders.
"Don't feel that way. This isn't the only place that the boys can go to, while Emily and I have opened our home to the pack, so has the other council members...Billy Black, Sue Clearwater. Emily explained to me your situation and the position you were put in and I've seen the toll it has taken on not just you but also Paul. You aren't to solely blame here" Sam said. While it felt nice that Sam had displayed a mutual understanding I also got the notion that he had more to say.
"What else do you think I should done?" I asked, curious to know what more was on his mind. I sat down on the seat adjacent to his as I waited for him to respond. Sam let out a soft sigh and took a sip of his coffee in thought, seemingly collating his opinion together before looking back up at me. I waited patiently and intrigued.
"Well, Paul explained the situation to me, only me...he was looking for a way to understand things from your perspective. Your mother put you in a terrible position by giving you the ultimatum, which she gained from and you suffered. That isn't right as a mother, but I can only judge so far since I hardly know the woman. I think what you should have done is stand up to her, Emily and I would have had your back" Sam said to me, his deep voice seeming to soothe my worries as I leant my elbows against the table. From the kitchen, Emily hummed, agreeing with Sam and sent me a soft smile. I returned it before turning back to Sam.
"I was scared, Sam. I wanted to come back and even that feeling scared me. My mother sending me here was meant to be punishment, and here I was wishing to come back. And I couldn't understand why I felt such a strong pull here. While I had grown to like the pack, there was something else, like an ache in my heart the longer I was away" I explained. Sam cleared his throat and leant back against his chair.
"Why does it scare you?" Sam asked. I frowned, glancing down at the wood of the table.
"Because Australia is my home. Although home wasn't completely whole without my father, my friends were my family and we were close--we are close. Yet, when I went back it felt different almost... anti-climatic. I felt like I was visiting my home rather than feeling at home" I described to him, feeling myself open up to the brooding man who I had once clashed with. Yet in this moment I felt close to him, like I would to my big brother.
"Perhaps you're growing as a human being, Kira. It certainly wouldn't be a bad thing" A ghost of a smile grew on Sam's lips and I couldn't help but laugh softly at the playful joke.
"I guess. Do you think I'll ever feel at home again in Australia?" I wondered to him. He considered my question for a moment.
"I think that only time will tell you that and only you can know. I can't tell you where your home is. I can tell you that this is my home, here with Emily and the rest of these pups" Sam told me, his eyes glancing over his shoulder to meet his fiancé. She sent him a smile and even I could feel the flutter in her stomach at his words.
"You better not be talking about me" Paul's deep voice came down the stairs as he walked up behind me and rested his hands against the back of my chair. Sam looked up at Paul and nodded.
"Especially you" Sam mumbled and stood up from the table.
"Good timing, Paul" Emily grinned at him as she carried two plates over to us. She placed them in front of us and squeezed my shoulder as she turned back to the kitchen.
"Thank you, Emily. Sorry, I meant to come help you."
"Don't be silly. Plus, it was good that you two talked" She responded over the counter top with a reassuring smile and nod. The conversation turned to the latest pack news and small talk about recent events.
Once I finished, and cleaned up my plate I shuffled up the stairs. I also hoped to avoid Ryan coming back from his run as my mind replayed the conversation I shared with Sam. I hadn't expected it to go that deep, but nevertheless appreciated his advice and his words of reassurance. I entered my room and my eyes set on my up-turned phone on my bedside table and walked over to it, the text resurfacing in my mind. I sat on my bed as I waited for the phone to power back on. A new text popped up on the home screen. I opened the message with caution.
The dog has eggcellent taste in girls.
I couldn't help but frown at the words in this text. Above it was the previous text I had received from earlier on in the morning, both left unanswered. I fell into a deeper hole of confusion as I attempted to figure out what this person's game plan was. Their texts weren't necessarily threatening and hadn't made me afraid yet. More than anything I wanted to know the motive of the person. The silly pun in the text made me think of someone young like Hilary, attempting to be witty in a creepy way. Could it be an apprentice of Hilary? Quickly I dismiss that thought, that couldn't be right. What did alarm me though was that this person may know of Paul's secret.
"You OK?" Paul asked, with a tone of worry, as he entered my room quietly. I turned my phone off and shook my head, both answering his question and hoping to rid my mind of this confusion.
"Nothing, I'm good" I said rather quickly. He furrowed his brows because he knew straight away that I was lying.
"I don't believe you" He muttered, looking me in the eye and sitting beside me.
"That's fine, buddy. You should kn--" The sound of my phone ringing cut me off from finishing my sentence. I glanced down at my phone to see Will's name and silly picture show up on my phone.
"Hey" I smiled into the phone. Paul squeezed my shoulder with a smile and stood up from the bed, and left the room. I moved back to lean my back against the headboard and pillows of my bed.
"Hey, gorgeous girl, how's things going down there?" I laughed.
"Fabulous."
"Things turn ass about?" He asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe. We went to this party on the beach last night and I found Ryan cozying up with another girl. I didn't really care, to be honest, but now I just want him to go home. I can't be bothered babysitting him anymore, but now I'm just stalling the phone call I have to have with mum. She is not going to be happy" I grumbled into the line.
"Screw her. Screw her for putting you in this situation. She used you to get her dumb business deal and has done more harm than good. Don't feel bad about this, Kira, you don't have to." I smiled at my best friends insistent reassurance.
"Thanks, Will. How's things there...since I left?" I wondered.
"Well," Will let out a heavy sigh. "We all miss you and I miss you. Nothing much accept for Tammy Lane blowing up my phone every second day. She's trying to play hard to get with someone who isn't playing chase." He scoffed, making me scoff.
"What a pain? Have you told her straight up that you aren't interested?"
"Well, in a matter of words. You see..." Will continued to explain his dilemma and I happily slunk away from my issues to revel in his. Conversation flowed back and forth about what has happened in the short time that I have been back at La Push.
"I probably shouldn't ask this but how is Dustin? He seemed to be well while I was there, in fact he seemed like he was before" I said with hope.
"He's doing good. Moving on slowly, but surely. I didn't even realise how strongly he felt about you. I shouldn't tell you this, but he called me the day after you left and he found out about you taking that rich kid with you."
"What did he say?" Will paused, contemplating how much he should say.
"He wondered if you had ever considered taking him back with you. I don't think he realised you chose to go back. I know we talked about how you felt and why you wanted to go back, but I didn't share that with him and he thinks you're still being punished by your mum. I--I think there is a part of him that is expecting you to come back and for everything to go back the way it was."
"I'm a horrible person."
"I agree," Will teased. I scoffed and let out a sigh. "No, you're human and you guys got together, like any other couple of teenagers and one got more attached than the other. Not once have you given him a glimmer of hope that there was a future for you two. Like I said to you while you were here, I noticed you careful with him when you guys were in the same room. Never did you act like a couple with him and you made your intentions clear when he asked you. You can't do much more than that."
"I wish I could help more."
"You are. Simply by not being lovey dovey with him."
"I suppose so..." We continued to talk for a little while longer until we ended the conversation. I pulled up my mum's contact information and my thumb hovered over the call button. Taking a deep breath I pressed it and tentatively held the phone to my ear, listening to the rings.
"I've been expecting your call. Hello" My mothers cold voice filled my ear.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out, but he can't be here anymore. I held up my end of the deal, though."
"You sloppily held up your end of the deal. Never mind, luckily Emily insisted you stayed up there and if that's where you want to be for a while longer than you can stay there." I frowned.
"Thanks" I dryly muttered.
"I've organised for a taxi to pick Ryan up and take him from the airport."
"Cool. I really did try to be hospitable. Did everything go through with the deal?" I asked, attempting to make polite conversation.
"Yes, his parents have happily shared a generous donation to the foundation and seem to be interested in future transactions. They arrive home from their holiday soon, but are happy for Ryan to be at home a couple of days earlier. In fact, his mother says its given her a sense of relief knowing that he is home and safe."
"That must be nice" I muttered, not thinking about it but regretted it as soon as it fell from my lips.
"I have to get back to my paperwork. We'll chat soon. Have fun, study, okay? Bye-bye." With that she hung up. I suppose the conversation wasn't as bad as I originally thought it might be, in fact she seemed more dismissive than anything. With a sigh I wondered to my drawers to pull out a shirt to change into. My eyes cast out of the window and the overcast clouds, although looked cool, also appeared refreshing. I figured a nice ride to the beach may be good to clear up my head.
I changed into appropriate riding clothes and pulled a heavy jacket over my shoulders. Downstairs I met up with Emily as she was coming inside with a slight shiver. I smiled at her and sat on the last step to pull my socks on.
"Ryan just got picked up by a cab. He said goodbye." Once pulling my socks on I approached Emily and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thank you so much for taking care of that" I muttered, pulling away from her with a grateful smile. She squeezed my hand and made a gesture with her other hand as if to say that it was no bother.
"Anytime, Kira. We are here for you."
"Thank you, Em. I'm going to go for a ride to the beach, I just want to clear my head a bit" I informed her. She nodded.
"No problems, make sure you wear a helmet" She requested and began to climb the stairs. I hummed in response and passed the living room, finding Paul on the couch watching a movie mindlessly. He looked over at me when I leant my shoulder against the door frame.
"My patrol starts in five minutes. Are you going to be okay?" He asked. I nodded.
"Definitely," I nodded and walked over to him, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you." He lifted his hand and I happily took it, giving it a squeeze.
"Kira, tonight there is a bonfire and the elders will be there, telling the tribe story and I want you to be there...with me." I squeezed his hand with a smile and nodded.
"I'd be honoured."
"Good," He smirked, "I'll see you at seven thirty then?" I nodded.
"Be careful on patrol." Paul nodded and watched me leave the room. I walked quickly across the dirt road between the house and Sam's shed. I found my riding boots and pulled them on, before pushing my bike out of the shed. I pulled my helmet off the shelf and filled up the tank. Once starting the bike and giving the engine a chance to warm up, I pulled my helmet on and clicked the bike into gear.
The car park for First Beach was a total opposite to how it had been the previous night. The beach seemed to have been cleaned up completely by god-knows-who. I parked the bike and took the helmet off, happy to sit on it a while longer to stare off into the ocean.
"You don't look well" A familiar masculine voice commented from behind me. I jumped and looked quickly over my shoulder to see it was Rick. He seemed slightly different than when I had last seem him, his eyes now a golden colour. She preferred to look into that colour than the sinister colour of his red eyes. It reminded her of everything she knew he wouldn't be--a killer. That was the last thing he wanted to do and expressed it so.
"You know it's rude to sneak up on a girl like that," I told him, watching his strong stature walk around rom behind me to now stand in front of my bike and self. "Not that I'm not happy to receive a visit from you, but here really is not the place...the pack won't like it that you're here."
"Never mind the dogs, I'm just here to say goodbye" He admitted, crossing his thick pale arms over his chest.
"Goodbye? Where are you going?" I asked with confusion.
"Denali. I snuck off to my parents house and told them that I was leaving. I would rather them know that I'm alive and have them hate me then let them live a life where they don't know about my whereabouts," He informed me. "Told them I wanted to drop out and travel. They laughed at me and asked me what I'd do when I ran out of money. I think it was a defence mechanism though, like they were more sad than offended."
"I'm sorry this had to happen, Rick" I muttered, giving him a sad smile. I hated Hilary for turning Rick because he never wanted this and he was innocent. Rick never wanted to hurt anyone and now that's all he craves, unintentionally that is. Just to add to his misfortune, he has to leave the only home he has ever known and destroy the relationship with his parents.
"It'll be okay. One day...one day I'll tell them and they'll understand. But for now, the family in Denali can do more for me, plus the Cullen's have a lot on their plate. I just came to say bye" He said with a shrug. I stood up from the bike and kicked down the stand.
"Goodbye" I wrapped my arms around his neck to hug him tightly, feeling him stiffen beneath my jacket. Then I remembered his bloodlust, even if he didn't mean to it was part of the package deal, and I pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trigger your bloodlust." He shook his head.
"It's okay. It caught me off guard a bit but...Jasper says I'm different. Says I have incredible self-control for a newborn."
"Hopefully that's a good thing," I smiled at him, "Now, you better go before the pack catch your scent."
"Too late" He smirked and I felt cold lips leave a chaste kiss on my forehead before a light wind past me, indicating that he had run off. With that, he was gone. I took a deep breath as I glanced over at the forest line across the parking lot. I saw Paul's wolf behind some trees and shook my head.
"It's okay, it was just Rick and he is leaving now anyway. Call the boys off, please" I requested in a calm and even tone, my eyes on his silver wolf. He tipped his head back and a beautiful howl echoed off the trees. He lingered for a moment longer and stuck his head cautiously from the large tree trunks. "I'm okay, Paul. I'll see you tonight."
An hour after Rick's surprise visit, I made my way back to Emily's house and packed my bike away. Greeting Emily, I made my way upstairs and had a shower before changing into a pair of black high-waisted jeans and a turtle neck sweater. I pulled on a pair of boots and left my hair out to keep my ears somewhat protected from the cool air.
"You look beautiful," Paul's voice called from the door frame. I smiled over my shoulder and walked over to him, kissing his cheek. He sent me a smirk. "We're heading out now." I nodded and took his outstretched hand, interlocking our finger, happily following him anywhere he led me.