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BAILEY WASN'T PAYING MUCH ATTENTION to the conversation on the ride over, primarily because Jacob was catching Bella up on stuff Bailey had known for a while now. He clarified that Sam was the alpha of their pack and that he'd ordered Jacob to be quiet about what they were, forbidding any interaction with Bella. To him, it was simply a "wolf thing." But then Jacob revealed that none of the wolves knew that he was coming to their meeting with some company; he'd opted to keep things short and sweet as a precaution when he called the meeting.
"Will they be mad that we're with you?" Bella wondered, worryingly.
Jacob raised his finger and pointed it at Bella. "You, yes," he said. His finger then moved so that he was pointing directly between Bailey's eyes. "You, not so much."
This drew Bailey to the conversation. "And why's that?" she inquired.
"Uh," His words had gotten stuck in his throat. "It's kinda not my job to tell you that."
Bailey stared at him blankly. That's all he was going to say? What did he mean it wasn't his "job" to tell her? Here he was finally revealing all that they needed to know, bringing them to meet the pack in person and he was still keeping secrets?
She clicked her tongue and looked away from him. Why couldn't things ever be quick and easy? Didn't people know by now that even if they didn't tell her anything she would figure it out on her own eventually?
"Well, maybe I shouldn't go—" Bella started.
"No, it's okay," Jacob assured her. "You know a ton of things that can help us. It's not like you're just some ignorant human. You're like a... a spy or something. You've been behind enemy lines."
"Can I be the guy in the chair?" Bailey asked, taking the metaphor a bit too literally.
"What?" Jacob looked at her.
"A spy is nothing without the guy in the chair. The brains behind the operation. That's me. I'm the brains."
"Sure, Bails, you can be the guy in the chair."
"Good." Bailey nodded, satisfied.
Bella pulled over and cut the engine.
"The guy in the chair comes up with the gadgets and stuff, the background information and the strategy. I'll need full cooperation from you guys if I'm to operate at full capacity. I have some ideas but they haven't been tested yet or built. And there's still so much that I haven't uncovered about you wolves yet. There is much research to be done and planning." Bailey was getting giddy with the thoughts of all the different experiments she could do.
Jacob sucked in a sharp breath. "They're here. Let's go."
"Are you sure?" Bella asked while he popped his door open. "Maybe I shouldn't be here?"
"They'll deal with it," he said, and then grinned. "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?"
"The three little pigs," Bailey answered swiftly, getting out after him.
"Ha ha," Bella said. But got out as well, hurrying around the front to stand close beside Jacob and Bailey. She remembered only too clearly the giant monsters in the meadow. Her hands were trembling as Jacob's had been before, but with fear rather than rage.
Jacob took her hand and squeezed it. To be fair he took Bailey's as well, but she wiggled out of his grasp not in the mood to be touched.
"Here we go," he said.
Bailey had a plan for how this was going to go. She was rather excited to meet the other wolves and observe how they compared to the little information she'd gotten from Paul. But she had to keep herself composed. She was still angry at him, Paul, for being radio silent. She was going to ignore him, give him the silent treatment. It was only fair—cause and effect.
With her mind clear, Bailey was starting to come up with some theories. Was it just a coincidence that both the wolves and Edward had telepathic abilities? Just how did their telepathy work? Furthermore, they killed Laurent and Jacob said it was rather easy. Was that because there was a pack of them or because the wolves were significantly stronger than vampires?
Bailey stopped suddenly when she noticed that her shoelace was untied. She glanced up at Bella and Jacob. During all her thinking she had begun to trail behind them; she'd catch up with them a little bit later. Bailey bent down, still thinking to the point that it was distracting her from tieing her lace.
At that time Bella and Jacob had arrived at the meeting place just as the other wolves appeared, striding out from behind the trees. They weren't what Bella was expecting. She'd gotten the image of wolves stuck in her head. These were just four really big, half-naked boys.
They moved in almost synchronization to stand across the road from them, the way they all had the same long, round muscles under the same red-brown skin, the same cropped hair, and the way their expression altered at exactly the same moment. They started out curious and cautious but when they saw Bella there, half-hidden beside Jacob, they all became furious in the same second.
Sam was one of the biggest, though Jacob was getting close to catching up with him. Sam didn't really count as a boy. His face was older—not in the sense of lines or signs of aging, but in the maturity, the patience of his expression.
"What have you done, Jacob?" he demanded.
One of the others, one Bella didn't recognize—Jared or Paul—thrust past Sam and spoke before Jacob could defend himself.
"Why can't you just follow the rules, Jacob?" he yelled, throwing his arms in the air. "What the hell are you thinking? Is she more important than everything—than the whole tribe? Than the people getting killed?"
"She can help," Jacob said quietly.
"Help!" the boy shouted angrily. His arms began to quiver. "Oh, that's likely! I'm sure the leech-lover is just dying to help us out!"
Bailey thought about how anger was the trigger for a transformation for wolves. Was there a scientific reason for that? She thought that anger was a bit of a misunderstood emotion. It had a very bad connotation attached to it. People didn't like anger, they feared it, and they distanced themselves from it. But that was preposterous to Bailey. Anger was just another human emotion, it was a primary emotion like sadness, joy, and fear. Choosing to repress it had far greater consequences than facing it head-on, right? But anger also causes the brain to release stress hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline, chemicals that help the body control heart rate and blood pressure. Maybe that's what actually triggered the transformation the release of those chemicals simultaneously.
Getting a hold of drugs that contained those chemicals was going to be difficult. It's not like she was acquainted with a doctor anymore... pity, Bailey was certain that she was right about—
"Don't talk about her like that!" she heard Jacob shout.
Bailey blinked rapidly. She hadn't realized she was still bent down, holding onto her shoelace but not even attempting to tie it as she was so deep in thought. What were they yelling about ahead?
"Paul! Relax!" someone commanded. It sounded like Sam.
Paul? Bailey quickly fastened her lace and got to her feet.
"Right, protect her!" Paul roared in outrage.
It didn't take long for her to arrive, curious as to what had triggered such an angry response from Paul. She had her suspicions—he was straightforward when he told her not to tell Bella about anything. Bailey hadn't ever pegged him for the type to follow rules, but this one seemed important. No outsiders were allowed and Bella was an outsider that loved a vampire, their mortal enemy.
Bailey stepped forward, appearing behind Bella and Jacob, her foot snapping a dry branch on the ground. The noise set off a chain reaction as most eyes had fallen on her. She stared back as Paul met her eyes, just in time to see him shudder, a convulsion heaved through his body. He threw his head back, a real growl tearing from his teeth.
"Paul!" Sam and Jacob shouted together.
Bailey flinched, turning her head away briefly. Their shouts mixed with witnessing Paul falling forward, vibrating violently got to her more than she thought it would. There was a loud ripping noise, and Paul exploded. Bailey looked back in his direction and saw dark, silver fur had blown from his body, coalescing into a shape more than five times his size—a massive crouched shape, ready to spring.
The wolf's muzzle winkled back over his teeth, and another growl rolled through his colossal chest. His dark, enraged eyes focused on Bella.
Bailey inched forward, undetected. Now that she had witnessed it, she had a different theory. There had to be more to it than just adrenaline and noradrenaline. She needed to conduct some tests, and find out what exactly was going on—she stopped. Right. She was supposed to be angry at him.
She felt a gush of wind blow past her, as Jacob ran across the road straight for Paul, pushing Bella back.
"Jacob!" Bella screamed, terrified. When Jacob pushed her back she bumped rather forcefully into Bailey, and that sent her sister tumbling.
Bella gasped when she saw Bailey hit the ground hard, scraping her hands, her glasses flying off her face in the process. The lens for the left eye cracked as they hit the ground.
"Bailey!" Bella shrieked.
Her scream caught his attention. Paul looked away from Jacob, and all he saw was Bailey on the ground, her palms bleeding and her glasses broken. Suddenly, he wasn't seeing red. Suddenly, it felt as though someone had gut-punched him. Had he done that? Was that his fault? Had he... had he hurt her?
Bailey winced when Bella turned over her hands to look at them. Thankfully the scrapes weren't too deep, but they were rather dirty and needed to be cleaned before she got an infection. But at the moment she didn't care about her hands. She looked past a frantic Bella to the two enormous wolves.
Jacob met with Paul's wolf head-on leaving Paul no time to relax and try to turn back. Their angry snarls echoed like thunder across the trees but Bailey couldn't cover her ears with her hands all bloody. It was challenging, she blinked a bit erratically, rubbing her ear against her shoulder in an attempt to block the sounds out.
Bella picked up her glasses. Bailey had nearsightedness so she couldn't see well from afar. She only saw blurry brown and gray blobs going head to head. But it didn't matter that the noise was deafening, or that her hands were burning, or that her hip was sore from the fall.
I'm not afraid. Bailey told herself, remembering the promise she'd made earlier that day. She inched forward, squinting her eyes to try and see the blobs a bit clearer.
"Stay where you are, Bailey!" Sam's voice bellowed the order. Even though she wasn't a wolf and he had no alpha control over her, Bailey stopped immediately.
All she could do was watch as the blobs fought. Jacob's russet blob seemed to be getting the upper hand. It looked like he was stronger, maybe even a bit bigger too. He rammed himself into Paul, again and again, knocking him back toward the green blobs (the trees).
"Take them back to Emily's," Sam shouted (Bailey flinched) toward the other boys, who were watching the conflict with rapt expressions.
Jacob had successfully shoved Paul's wolf off the road, and they were disappearing into the forest, though the sound of their snarls was still loud.
Sam ran after them, kicking off his shoes on the way. He darted into the trees, he was quivering from head to toe. The growling and snapping were fading into the distance. Suddenly, the sound cut off and it was very quiet.
One of the boys started laughing.
Bailey turned to him, squinting to see him a bit better.
"Well," he seemed to be laughing at Bella's frozen expression. "There's something you don't see every day," he snickered.
His face was vaguely familiar—thinner than the others... Embry Call.
"I do," the other boy, Jared, grumbled. "Every single day."
"Aw, Paul doesn't lose his temper every day," Embry disagreed, still grinning. "Maybe two out of three. Something's been helping him these days..."
Bailey, still squinting her eyes, could barely make it out, but it looked like he was staring at her.
Jared stopped to pick something white up off the ground. He held it up toward Embry. It dangled in limp strips from his hand.
"Totally shredded," Jared said. "Billy said this was the last pair he could afford—guess Jacob's going barefoot now."
"This one survived," Embry said, holding up a white sneaker. "Jake can hop," he added with a laugh.
Jared started collecting various pieces of fabric from the dirt. "Get Sam's shoes, will you? All the rest of this is headed for the trash."
Embry grabbed the shoes and then jogged into the trees where Sam had disappeared. He was back in a few seconds with a pair of cut-off jeans draped over his arm. Jared gathered the torn remnants of Jacob's and Paul's clothes and wadded them into a ball. Suddenly, he seemed to remember the two sisters. He looked at them carefully, assessing.
"You're okay, right, Bailey?" he demanded.
"I'll probably live. But if I don't get my hands cleaned from this bacteria, then it'll get infected and if it gets infected gangrene might set in, then I'll need to take antibiotics which are expensive I'll have you know and will get Charlie suspicious. Unlike her," Bailey motioned to Bella. "I'm not clumsy, I don't get hurt often."
Embry and Jared glanced at each other briefly.
"And your glasses?" Bella asked gently, holding up the broken spectacles.
Bailey looked at them. How unfortunate, those were her favourite pair. She took them from Bella and put them on. Although she could barely see out of her cracked left lens, her right was just a bit scratched.
"I have backups," Bailey sighed. By now the stinging wasn't as bad as before and since the loud commotion had stopped she wasn't as overwhelmed.
"Okay," Bella mumbled.
But for some reason, she was still looking at Bailey as if she were a wounded baby bird or something. Bailey just looked around them, trying to get used to seeing out of broken glasses.
"Jake should have warned us," Embry complained.
"He shouldn't have brought his girlfriend into this. What did he expect?"
"Well, the wolf's out of the bag now." Embry sighed. "Way to go, Jake."
Bella glared at the two boys who seemed to be taking this all so lightly. "Aren't you worried about them at all?" she insisted.
Embry blinked once in surprise. "Worried? Why?"
"They could hurt each other!"
Embry and Jared guffawed.
"I hope Paul gets a mouthful of him," Jared said. "Teach him a lesson."
Bella blanched.
"Yeah, right!" Embry disagreed. "Did you see Jake? Even Sam couldn't have phased on the fly like that. He saw Paul losing it and it took him, what, half a second to attack? The boy's got a gift."
"Paul's been fighting longer. I'll bet you ten bucks he leaves a mark."
"You're on. Jake's a natural. Paul doesn't have a prayer."
They shook hands, grinning.
"Let's go see Emily. You know she'll have food waiting." Embry looked down at the girls. "Oh, right and Bailey can get those cuts cleaned and stuff. Say, Bella, mind giving us a ride?"
"No problem," Bella choked.
Jared raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you'd better drive, Embry. She still looks like she might hurl."
"Good idea. Where are the keys?" Embry asked Bella.
"Ignition."
⍣ ೋ
Embry drove them all back toward the village.
"So did you get it right too? To get around the injunction?"
"The... what?"
"Er, the order. You know, to not spill the beans. Bailey cracked it, like, right away. Paul had his jaw dragging on the floor when he told us about it."
Bella snapped her head in Bailey's direction, but Bailey didn't look back at her.
"You know Paul?" whispered Bella.
"Hm?" Bailey replied, playing dumb. She turned her attention elsewhere. "It took her a while but she guessed right eventually."
"Where are we going?" Bella asked suddenly.
"Emily's house. She's Sam's girlfriend... no, fiancee, now, I guess. They'll meet us back there after Sam gives it to them for what just happened. And after Paul and Jake scrounge up some new clothes, if Paul even has any left."
Bailey raised her eyebrows at that last part.
"Does Emily know about...?"
"Yeah. And hey, don't stare at her. That bugs Sam."
Bella frowned. "Why would I stare?"
Embry looked uncomfortable. "Like you saw just now, hanging out around werewolves had its risks." He changed the subject quickly. "Hey, are you okay about the whole thing with the black-haired bloodsucker in the meadow? It didn't look like he was a friend of yours, but..." Embry shrugged.
"No, he wasn't my friend."
"That's good. We didn't want to start anything, break the treaty, you know."
"Oh, yeah, Jake told me about the treaty once, a long time ago. Why would killing Laurent break the treaty?"
"Laurent," he repeated, snorting like he was amused the vampire had a name. "Well, we were technically on Cullen's turf. We're not allowed to attack any of them, the Cullens, at least, off our land—unless they break the treaty first. We didn't know if the black-haired one was a relative of theirs or something. Looked like you knew him."
"How would they go about breaking the treaty?" asked Bella.
"If they bite a human. But Jake and Paul weren't so keen on the idea of letting it go that far."
"Oh. Um, thanks. Glad you didn't wait."
"Our pleasure." He sounded like he meant that in a literal sense.
Embry drove past the easternmost house on the highway before turning off into a narrow dirt road.
"Your truck is slow," he noted.
"Sorry," said Bella, sheepish.
At the end of the lane was a tiny house that had once been gray. There was only one narrow window beside the weathered blue door, but the window box under it was filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds, giving the whole place a cheerful look.
Embry opened the truck door and inhaled. "Hmm, Emily's cooking."
Jared jumped out of the back of the truck and headed for the door, but Embry stopped him with one hand on his chest. He looked at Bella meaningfully and cleared his throat.
"I don't have my wallet on me," said Jared.
"That's okay. I won't forget."
They climbed up one step and entered the house without knocking. Bella and Bailey followed after them. The front room, like Billy's house, was mostly the kitchen. A young woman with satiny copper skin and long straight, crow-back hair was standing at the counter by the sink, popping big muffins out of a tin and lacing them on a paper plate. She was beautiful.
And then she asked, "You guys hungry?" in a melodic voice, and she turned to face them full-on, a smile on half her face.
Bailey's eyes widened ever so slightly before her expression flattened again.
The right side of the woman's face was scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, livid in colour though they were long healed. One line pulled down the corner of her dark almond-shaped right eye, another twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace.
Bailey turned her eyes away, remembering Embry's warning. Instead, she looked at the muffins in her hands. They smelled wonderful, like fresh blueberries.
"Oh," Emily said, surprised. "Who's this?"
"Bailey and her sister," Jared told her, shrugging. Apparently, they'd been the topic of conversation before. "Who else?"
She stared at them, but when she focused on Bella neither half of her once beautiful face was friendly. "So, you're the vampire girl."
Bella stiffened. "Yes. Are you the wolf girl?"
She laughed, as did Embry and Jared. The left half of her face warmed. "I guess I am." She turned to Jared. "Where's Sam?"
"Bella, er, surprised Paul this morning."
Emily rolled her good eyes. "Ah, Paul," she sighed. "Do you think they'll be long? I was just about to start the eggs."
"Don't worry," Embry told her. "If they're late, we won't let anything go to waste."
Emily chuckled."No doubt," she agreed. "Bailey, come with me. Let's get you cleaned up."
"Oh." Bailey shook her head as Emily approached. "No, I can do it on my own just fine—"
"Don't be ridiculous, come on." Emily placed a hand on Bailey's back and started directing her further into the house. "Bella feel free to have a muffin."
"Thank you," said Bella watching Emily disappear down the hall with her sister.
"How about you wash those hands first," Emily said when they entered the bathroom.
Bailey made her way to the sink. Emily turned the water on for her, watching as Bailey tested the temperature then fidgeted with the nobs a bit before running her hands under it. She washed her hands with the aloe vera-scented hand soap sitting on the counter and then dried them off on a hand towel Emily gave her.
Bailey sat down on the toilet lid, eyeing the ground. She could have done this alone. It wasn't rocket science... even if it was rocket science, Bailey could still do it on her own. It was just a few scrapes nothing serious.
She watched Emily bend down and take out a bright red first-aid kit. She looked serious about this and Bailey wondered if she should say something. That was the normal thing to do, right? People were uncomfortable in silence with strangers, weren't they?
"Congratulations," Bailey said.
Emily, holding onto a batch of alcohol wipes, glanced at Bailey silently. It seemed she was still trying to get a read on her and understand what kind of person she was.
"I heard you and Sam are engaged," Bailey explained herself. "People tend to congratulate that."
"People tend..." Emily repeated. She smiled gently as she reached for Bailey's hands. "And you don't?"
"I don't have anything against marriage or people who get married. I just know that it's a bit complicated, more complicated than people would like to admit. Divorce rates are at an all-time high, and people are marrying later and later in life or just not doing it at all. I don't judge anyone who does it, but to me, it just seems like an archaic rite of passage."
Emily chuckled. "I see. Well, I guess that's where we disagree—careful this is going to sting a bit." She wiped Bailey's exposed palms and Bailey bit down on her lip to stop herself from making any noise. Any harder and she might've pierced her skin.
Emily was thorough, which Bailey appreciated despite the ache. She grimaced until Emily was finished, tossing yet another wipe into the garbage can. Bailey stared at her hands, they were just scraped, and now that all the blood was gone her palms just looked like they had a few papercuts. It would probably heal in the next few days.
"Why do you disagree?" Bailey restarted their conversation. "I'd like to know."
Emily was getting the bandages ready. "While you're not wrong, I like to think that marriage is more than a piece of paper or extravagant ceremony. In the end, it's just a promise. A promise to be devoted to the person you love and, I don't know, I think that's beautiful."
Bailey nodded. While she knew that promises got broken all the time she couldn't deny the significance of them and how moving they could be when they felt genuine.
"Oh, man!" they heard Jared wail from the kitchen. Followed by a "fifteen dollars!"
She guessed that the others were back now and that Jared at lost the bet. Bailey frowned, that meant that Paul had gotten injured. A set of heavy footsteps approached the bathroom before Bailey and Emily saw Sam in the doorway just as Emily finished with Bailey's hands.
"She's okay?" Sam asked.
Emily zipped the first-aid kit and put it away. Bailey watched as she got to her feet and nodded to Sam.
"She'll be fine. Just a few scrapes."
That's what I've been saying, Bailey rolled her eyes. She looked away from them uncomfortably when Emily and Sam suddenly kissed each other.
"How badly did Jacob hurt him?" Bailey blurted out. Partly because she wanted to know, partly because she wanted them to stop kissing.
Sam held onto Emily by the waist. They pulled away from one another but there was still that longing that lingered before Sam glanced at Bailey.
"Paul's fine. He went home to cool off a bit."
Bailey frowned. He was gone again? Without seeing her or talking to her? Not even a nod, or glance? A small gesture of acknowledgement? She stared at Sam, awaiting an explanation for this. It wasn't like Paul at all.
"He went home?" Bailey asked for clarification. "What, by his own fruition?"
Sam didn't try to hide it. "I told him to go home," he explained.
"Told or ordered?" Bailey got to her feet.
"Bailey—" Emily started to say but Bailey shook her head.
"No. No. You may have some mystical control over them but I'm not a wolf. I don't have to do anything you say. You don't get to make those kinds of decisions about my life and the people I choose to have in it when you don't even know me."
Sam clenched his jaw. "You don't seem to understand how—"
But Bailey wasn't listening. Was he really trying to imply that she didn't understand? Ridiculous! Bailey didn't have time for this. She rushed past them, out of the bathroom, entering the front room again where she saw Bella and Jacob sitting together talking while Jared and Embry were still stuffing their faces with food.
"Bailey?" Bella watched her sister, walk past them all toward the front door. She then saw Emily and Sam appear in the room afterwards. Sam looked disgruntled while Emily tried to comfort him.
Bailey didn't respond to her name being called as she exited the house. She walked straight to the truck, pulling herself into the driver's seat. The keys were still in the ignition, she turned the car on and drove away from Emily's down the path as fast as the car would go—which wasn't very fast.
⍣ ೋ
When she was far enough from Emily's house Bailey came to a screeching halt in the middle of the empty road upon realizing that she had no idea where he lived. She reached into her coat pocket, pulling out her phone (it hadn't been damaged in the fall). A few weeks back she'd found the Lahote residence phone number and zip code in a phone book she'd gotten from the library so all she had to do was search the zip code and...—she now had his address.
Bailey drove off again, glancing up at the sky cautiously. It was getting darker despite it being mid-day. It was going to rain soon. Bailey was already uncomfortable with the fact that she was driving, but if it started raining too...
Thankfully, she pulled up at the address before the rain started. The house was bigger than the Black's residence. It was a medium-sized dark, navy blue cabin home with a deep brown roof, and creamy beige beams. It had a cabin design to it and despite being small was two stories. Finally, there was a black Toyota SUV parked in front of it.
Bailey got out of the truck and shut the door behind her. She walked up to the house, the front door was wooden and mahogany red. She raised her fist and knocked a few times.
"Hello?" She called. "Paul?" There was no answer, so she tried again.
Bailey waited outside the door. She knew someone was inside, the lights were all on. She backed away from the door and moved toward the side of the house. There was a window looking into the kitchen and, when angling herself right, she could see the front door.
She spotted Paul, leaning his back against it with his eyes closed.
Furious Bailey banged on the window. He opened his eyes and glanced at her. He seemed tired but not physically... it was a different type of exhaustion. He stared right at her, his dark eyes were dull, almost lifeless as if he couldn't see her. He didn't move from his position, he just stared.
"Open the door, Paul!"
"Go away." He replied. "I can't see you anymore. I'm not... you're not safe around me. Everyone made that quite clear."
"What are you..." Bailey paused. She thought back to the comments the others made in passing about Paul. How Emily rolled her eyes when Embry said Paul got excited. How Embry and Jared joked about how many times he got angry in a day.
"Go home," he told her.
"No." Bailey refused. The sky rumbled above her. "I'm going to stay here until you let me inside."
Paul pushed off from the front door and approached Bailey at the window. He leaned down to her eye level, the only thing separating them was the glass.
"Not happening..." He murmured, and shut the curtains.
Bailey grumbled and stopped at the front of the house again. She knocked excessively hoping that she could annoy him into opening the door but after a while, it just started to hurt her knuckles.
It started raining then. Bailey frowned. She didn't like being wet while fully clothed. She hated how wet clothes clung to her body, hated the sensation of wet hair clinging to her face and then the cold that followed when the water started drying; it was the worst feeling.
She hurried back to the front of the house, trying to get out of the rain. She placed her hand against the door. She wasn't sure what to do. How could she get him to open it? Maybe she could break it down—no, she wasn't strong enough.
"I—" Bailey started again. "I'm not good at this—at words. I'm not a people person, I know that. You know that! But that doesn't matter anymore. You came into my life! You stalked me! You approached me! You can't just leave now, you can't... you can't just disappear once I've gotten accustomed to your persistent presence!"
"Go away, Bailey!"
"I already said, no!"
"I can't be around you anymore! Sam ordered it, okay? Just leave. It's better this way. You're safer—"
"Screw that!" She felt a bang on the other side of the door. Almost as if Paul had hit it or something. Surprisingly Bailey didn't flinch, she held her ground.
"Did you not see what happened today? I lost control over your sister! I...I turned in front of you—you got hurt because of me."
"I didn't get hurt."
"I saw you bleed."
"That wasn't because of you, you idiot! I fell over, that's going to happen sometimes I'm human. I'll get bumps, bruises, cuts, and breaks it's just a part of life. And so what if you turned in front of me? You're a werewolf, I figured that out a long time ago."
"This isn't a game, Bailey. You don't understand—"
"I do understand, I saw Emily."
It was quiet on Paul's end for a while. Then he said, "Yeah, and if Sam did that to her, think of what could happen when you're with me. I'm the loose cannon, remember? I get angry, everyone knows it."
"But you promised!" Bailey clamoured. She shook her hair, getting increasingly soaked. "You promised that you wouldn't get mad at me!"
"Bailey..."
"I'm not stupid! I know that it's dangerous! But even if you weren't a wolf it would all be the same." She paused, "You're a... 'big native guy' who could crush me easily, werewolf powers or not! But you won't hurt me because I know you. You're irritating and illogical, and persistent—but you're also considerate, kind, and well, pleasant to be around!"
"I'm a monster." He replied as if he were reciting someone else's words.
Bailey closed her eyes when she remembered that werewolves would hear each other's thoughts as wolves. Had Paul heard the words Bella had said about them? How much had he heard? Did he even get the full story?
She hit the door with her hand in defiance. "You're not a monster! You're different! Different than anything I've ever encountered. You-You make me feel things! Annoyed most of the time, and a bit concerned too... but also warm inside, happy, and secure! I'm different when I'm with you, and I don't think that's a bad thing!"
"I can't." She could barely hear his voice through the sound of rainfall.
"Fine. Then don't open the door, just unlock it and let me do the rest."
Bailey was breathing deeply, standing outside in the rain, growing increasingly uneasy. She picked at her clothes, trying to pry them from sticking to her body. She continued to wait. The wind howled and she shivered. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she heard a click sound.
She raised her hand, reaching for the doorknob, she turned it and the door pushed open. Bailey stepped inside the house, shutting the door behind her and locking it. The inside was brighter than she expected it to be, cozier. The wood walls were painted white, contrasted with the darker furniture, decorative flowers, and Quileute tapestry, sculptures and paintings.
Bailey was standing in the foyer, dripping onto the woven carpet. She looked around for Paul. Where had he disappeared to? She took off her shoes at the door, her tights had feet as well and those were wet. So Bailey walked against the hardwood floor leaving wet footprints behind her. She looked into the first room she came across; the living room. She saw Paul sitting on the floor, his back against the couch.
She balled her fists and stalked over to him. Bailey bent down and whipped her wet hair against him.
"Ah—" Paul froze for a moment before wiping his now wet cheek. He looked over at Bailey who was glaring at him. "I deserved that?" he said, unsure.
"Yes, you did. You left me out in the rain." She complained, still tugging at her clothes, twitching as if she were itchy but instead was just experiencing great discomfort. "Not only that but you've been avoiding me for a week. Just who do you think you are?" She narrowed her eyes. "You can't just come in and out of my life, you know. You're either in or you can just go—but now you don't have a choice anymore because you've become a part of my routine. So it's too late to back out now. I'm furious. I thought I sent you to your death. I thought Laurent had killed you. Do you understand how terrified I was? Paul, I've literally been alone in a room with a vampire I knew had intentions of killing me and I was more terrified thinking that you might have died."
His gaze softened as he stared at her. She was saying everything so matter-of-factly as if she didn't realize just how impactful her words were. As if she didn't understand the meaning behind them.
"So, what are you saying?" he asked.
Bailey rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I don't want you to leave me like that ever again."
He leaned his head against the couch, his eyes lingered on her as if he feared she would disappear if he looked away. He noticed how twitchy and fidgety she was pulling at her clothes and he got to his feet.
Bailey stared at him.
"You can take a shower to warm up and while your clothes dry off you can wear some of mine."
"Sure." Bailey stood up as well. She followed him through the house. Something was strange about it, but she couldn't place what it was. She and Paul went up the stairs, he showed her to the bathroom. It wasn't very big, but it was pretty. The walk-in shower was located right next to the elevated bathtub, where they were two steps to get into it. The toilet was across from it on the other side of the room with the sink, mirror, and a shelf containing body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Once alone, Bailey began to undress. She cringed as she pulled off her soaking-wet shirt, followed by her skirt, tights, legwarmers and undergarments. She set her clothes beside the door for Paul to take. She put her broken glasses by the sink and walked to the shower. She turned the water on, waiting for it to get warm before she stepped inside and shut the transparent glass door behind her. She had her back to the water, warming herself. She built up the temperature gradually until it was burning hot and Bailey exhaled. Hot showers were really soothing.
While the bathroom accumulated steam Paul was pacing back and forth outside of the bathroom. He had a towel and change of clothes in his hands but was building up the courage to quickly pop in and out without sneaking a peak—he shook his head viciously. What the hell was wrong with him? Well, he was a teenage boy and a girl—not just any girl, but Bailey—was taking a shower in his house... she was naked behind this door.
He nearly ran into the wall because he was so distracted. Paul bounced on his toes. It would be worse if he waited until she was finished. The way the bathroom was set up it was impossible to see the shower just by opening the door, he would have to step all the way inside to see her and he wasn't going to do that because he wasn't a creep.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," Paul mumbled to himself. He reached for the door handle and barely cracked the door open. His eyes were firmly on the ground as he swapped out Bailey's wet clothes for the dry ones he had.
He quickly left and shut the door, quietly, again. Paul smiled pleased with himself until he looked down at the pile of wet clothes in his hands and spotted a black bra. He reddened and then slapped himself in the face.
"Dryer, dryer... where the hell's my dryer again?"