BOOK 1, Chapter 13
❝ It wasn't that long, and it certainly wasn't the kind of kiss you see in movies these days, but it was wonderful in its own way, and all I can remember about the moment is that when our lips touched, I knew the memory would last forever. ❞
•••••••
Paul was freaking out.
He hadn't heard from or seen Lola since he took her home two days ago. He was scared because he didn't what was going on and he was scared about her talking about surgery because he knew there was always a risk of something going wrong.
So come Monday morning, he was so anxious to see her that he got to school an hour before it started and had to wait forty-five minutes before Lola's dirty Camaro pulled up into the parking lot.
He was surprised when Carmen left without so much as a hug goodbye to her sister. She usually hugged and kissed Lola goodbye before leaving her side to go join Brady Fuller. This morning, however, she just smiled at Lola and left.
Though her makeup hid it well, Paul had admired her features and appearance enough to distinguish the exhausted look in her dull eyes, dark lipstick, and comfortable clothing. Immediately, his anxiety skyrocketed and he rushed to her side.
"Are you alright?" he demanded.
Lola was so caught off guard that she jumped.
She took a deep breath and held a hand over her racing heart. She gave Paul an incredulous look, though he looked pretty sorry.
"I'm fine," she responded. "Why?"
Paul hesitated. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to know, but on the other, he didn't want to push her to tell him. He was really regretting not being in at least one relationship so he knew what to do in a situation like this. So instead, he tried to smile as nonchalantly as possible and just dismissed it as the imprint bond. He decided to ask her about the whole kidney thing after school.
Lola wasn't sure whether he was telling the truth. Something told her it wasn't a light topic, so she settled for asking him about it after school.
They entered school together, asking each other questions in an effort to get to know each other better. It was something they had taken to doing since they first really bonded at the rock. Slowly but surely, they had learned a lot of random and important facts about the other.
"Where's Embry?"
Lola and Paul's laughter came to a stop when Jacob Black stopped in front of him, demanding to know where his friend was. Quil Ateara was standing nervously behind him.
"Good morning to you too, Jacob," Lola smiled dryly. Ever since the whole thing with Billy and her mom went down, she had kept her distance from Jacob.
"Where's Embry?" the boy repeated again.
Paul saw the angry look in Jacob's eyes and subconsciously took a step in front of Lola, but that only seemed to anger the boy.
Lola saw this and tried to defuse the tension. She pulled Paul back, and said, "At home resting. His mom says he has mono and can't have any visitors. That's all I know."
"You better not be lying," Jacob threatened.
Lola was itching to egg him on, but she could tell Paul was on edge by the entire confrontation, so she just rolled her eyes, grabbed Paul's hand, and walked away from the angry boy.
Paul felt a surge of warmth shoot up his arm when she grabbed his hand, and a stupid grin formed o his lips when she didn't let go. He didn't think Lola realized she hadn't let go of his hand, but he wasn't about to mention it to her.
•••••••
All day, Lola seemed a little out of it.
Paul had noticed. Jared and Kim had noticed. Hell, even Lola had noticed, but she didn't do anything about it. It worried Paul, so all day long he tried to make her smile and laugh for real. It worked most of the times, but Lola continuously checking her phone made it hard for Paul to distract her from her problems.
It was on their way outside of school that Paul decided to do something about her mood. He gave Jared the keys to his truck for him to drive back to Emily's and insisted that he drive Lola home. She gave in without much of a fight and handed her keys over.
Paul was surprised that she gave him the keys to her car without a fight. He knew how protective she was of her car, so he knew that this was a big step for their slowly blossoming relationship. She was starting to really trust him.
While driving, he was thinking about how he was going to go about confronting Lola about what she had accidentally told him on Saturday. Before he knew it, he was pulling up to the beach parking lot. It seemed his inner wolf had decided that the Little Spot would be the perfect place to ask her about it.
"Why are we here?" Lola asked as she got out of her car.
Paul didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed her hand and led her to the rock to sit down. Lola willingly went along with it.
After a while of sitting and letting the spray of ocean water relax them, Paul spoke up.
"Do you remember what happened Saturday night?" he asked her.
Lola tensed. "What do you mean?" she asked apprehensively.
Paul sighed and grabbed her hand again. "You asked me if you could live without a kidney. Remember?"
If it was possible, Lola tensed even more. "I don't remember."
"Well you did," Paul told her. "And it scared the shit out of me."
When she stayed quiet, Paul continued talking. "Did your dad ask you to donate a kidney?"
Lola sighed. She knew she was going to have the same conversation with Paul that she had with her family the day before.
"Yes," she sighed. Before he could open his mouth though, she continued. "I said I would see if I was a match, and if I am I'm going to give him my kidney. Not because he's a great dad because he isn't, but because I'm not going to be responsible for killing my own father."
Paul was quiet. He wanted to argue with her, but at the same time, he understood where she was coming from. If his dad needed a kidney transplant and he was a match, he would do the same thing as Lola.
"Okay," Paul nodded. "Just tell me you know the risks and that you're going to be alright."
Lola was surprised at Paul's words. She expected him to go off. But when he didn't, she felt a huge weight he lifted from her shoulders and she relaxed. She squeezed his hand.
"I know the risks," she began, "and I'm going to be alright."
Paul sighed and offered her a weak smile before bringing their interlocked hands up to his lips and kissing the back of her hand.
•••••••
After a while, Lola and Paul decided to head to Emily and Sam's place. Lola hadn't been there since she stormed out with her family, but she didn't care. Her main priority was making things right with her stubborn brother. She hadn't seen him since he cussed her out and stormed out of the house the day before.
"Is Jesus there?" Lola asked Paul.
Paul nodded. He didn't know why she was asking about her brother, but he didn't ask.
As soon as her car came to a stop outside the small home, Jesus was exiting the forest, prompting Lola to jump out of the car.
"Jesus!" she called.
Jesus froze for a fraction of a second before turning around and heading back into the trees.
That made Lola angry. So she decided to follow after him until he would stop and listen to her.
"What?!" he exploded, stopping and turning around so fast that Lola almost ran into him.
"You know what," she retorted. "Why are you acting like this? I thought you would support me no matter what?"
"You seriously expect me to support you giving a man, who has hurt you verbally and emotionally so bad that it's scarred you for like, a fucking kidney?!"
Lola took a step back.
Jesus let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah. I listen and I know more than you think. I know he's accused you of not being his daughter and calling mom a whore and calling you weak, and a bunch of other shit! I'm not going to support you because that man doesn't deserve your kidney! He doesn't deserve anybody's! But you and your fucking big heart, always trying to help and be kind and whatnot! You can't go through with it because he's a piece of shit who you don't owe anything to."
Lola's eyes were burning. She could feel the tears wanting to form, but she quickly shut the waterworks down.
"He's my father, J."
"That's not what he seems to think or say."
Lola flinched.
Jesus saw it, but the damage had been done.
She was deeply hurt by her brother's words, but at the same time completely infuriated. Insults and harsh words were ready to spill out of her mouth, but it took every ounce of self-restraint and biting her tongue until she tasted blood to just walk away.
•••••••
She found herself back at the rock and crying again. And again, it was because of one of the men in her life.
Lola was so tired of crying but it seemed that her body still had a full tank of tears. It was really starting to irritate her.
"I thought I might find you here."
She didn't even jump at Paul's voice. She merely shuffled over so that he could sit down next to her, which he did.
"I'm crying," she croaked. "I'm tired of it."
Paul sighed and put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder and just breathed in his scent.
"It'll be over soon," was all he could say.
After a while, Lola had the urge to do something.
"Paul," she said, "I'm going to do something. And I want you to feel free to stop me if you want to."
"What is it?" Paul asked. He was getting even more worried.
Lola only smiled and angled her body so that she was facing Paul. Then, slowly but surely, she leaned in.
Paul had a feeling he knew where it was going and he wasn't sure how to feel about it, but he didn't stop her and he found himself leaning in. His heart was racing.
Lola didn't remember closing her eyes but that as soon as her lips met Paul's, it was as if her mind cleared of everything but him. Had she not been so invested in feeling butterflies fluttering all around her stomach, she would have been scared of the fact that when they kissed, she lost all sense of the world.
Paul was over the moon. He hadn't realized until then how long he had been waiting for Lola to kiss him. He didn't know what to expect, but he knew that it was the first kiss he had experienced that was soft, slow, and sweet. Her lips were chapped, but he didn't mind. However, it only lasted a moment before Lola pulled away.
"What was that for?" Paul breathed.
"It felt right," Lola replied. "Why? Did you not want me to kiss you?"
"No it's not that!" he quickly clarified. "I just thought that maybe you weren't ever going to do that."
"I wouldn't say ever," Lola shrugged. "But I definitely wasn't expecting that to happen either."
Paul could only stare at her and before he knew it, he was laughing.
"You're one of a kind, Lola Castillo."
"Aww! You remembered my last name!"
•••••••
a/n: it has been over a month and all I can say is I'm sorry for the late update and super sucky chapter. But hey! They finally kissed! Woo!
anyways, I've super busy with schoolwork and it's been stressing me out to the point where I'm drained of energy and creativity and I just feel like screaming until I lose my voice and crying so much that I won't be able to cry for the rest of year. that means I'm going to have to update once every month instead of biweekly/weekly
I'm so sorry my lovelies. I love each and every one of you and thank you for all the support! I never thought this story would be taken so well and now it's at 11k reads!! Literally, the only reason why I haven't broken down. So enjoy and know that next chapter will be getting more into the New Moon plot.