"I bullied your brother?" he echoed.
"I just can't even deal with you right now."
"Wait!" he called but I disappeared around the side of the diner.
I was mad, no irritated, no...infuriated that I wasted a whole evening being hit on by some little weasel who's been giving Jacob a hard time. And that's not the only thing I've heard about Paul. Ugh.
"Will you wait up?" Paul demanded as he pulled on my arm.
"Leave me alone! I swear I'll scream and wake up the whole reservation if you don't let go of me."
"I don't even know who your brother is," he explained and finally let me go. "Maybe you have me confused with someone else."
"Rachel?"
I heard my baby brother's voice in the dark. I saw him approach me with Quil and Embry following close behind. "What are you doing here?" I asked, not realizing we are standing in front of Quil's house.
"I'm hanging out with the guys." Jacob looked at me and then at Paul. "Everything okay?" he asked in his protective brother voice.
"Everything is cool," Paul piped up and Jacob looked annoyed. "I was walking your sister home from work. I hope that's okay."
Jacob crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "No, it's not okay. Stay away from her."
"Jacob!" I scolded. I've never seen him act like this before.
Paul nodded and smiled a little. "She's your sister, so I get it. You wanna look out for her."
"And with the things I've heard about you...you can understand why I wouldn't want you anywhere near her, right?"
Paul clenched his jaw. "Man, you don't even know me."
"I know enough," Jacob grumbled. "I know you and your friends tried to beat us up on the last day of school."
Paul furrowed his brow. "That was you guys? That was freshman hazing! It's tradition and it was supposed to be a joke. All the incoming freshman get hazed by the sophomores. It was done to us. And you guys weren't even touched...you ran away."
"You're a sophomore?" I asked.
"I'll be a junior this year," he clarified, shifting his attention back to me. "How about you?"
"Junior...in college." Embry and Quil chuckled and Paul scowled.
"So you're like, nineteen?" he mused, a playful smile started to form on his lips.
"She's twenty. And stop talking to her."
"I can speak for myself, Jacob."
"Can you? Cuz he's still standing here," Jacob fumed.
"Maybe we should start over," Paul suggested, offering an outstretched hand to my little brother. "I'm Paul. And I'm not really a bad guy."
Jacob rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna know you and I definitely don't want you talking to my sister...so leave."
Paul looked angry now. "She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions." When he stepped closer to Jacob, I got between them.
I faced Paul and he smiled as I pressed on his chest. "Calm down, Paul."
He raised his hands in defeat. "I'm calm. He's the one looking like he wants to beat my ass."
"I should," Jacob replied, stepping closer.
"You can try," Paul challenged.
"Enough!"
Jacob grabbed my hand and I stared at him. "Let's go home."
"Give me a minute," I pleaded, already tired of this tug of war game with these two.
"Whatever."
"Jake...come on...I'm sorry."
"Just let him go. He needs to cool off," Paul whispered as I watched my brother and his friends take off.
I turned to face Paul now. "You got a bad temper," I scowled, poking him in the chest. "You can't let some kid get under your skin. And when that kid is my brother, you better walk away, do you hear me?"
Paul nodded quickly as he rubbed the spot on his chest that I'd been poking. "Sorry...I'm working on my temper."
"Good."
"And you seem to have a calming effect on me," he replied, that warm smile of his melting my icy heart. "Take a walk on the beach with me."
"No, it's late."
"No, because baby brother says you have to go home," he snarked, earning him another poke.
"Ow, I was kidding."
"You're a smartass."
"Thanks," he beamed, not missing a beat. "Can I call you sometime?"
"No," I argued, pushing away from him as he tried to pull me closer to him. "I'm going home."
"I'm not giving up!" he called out.
"I don't care!"
♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡
Jacob raised his head when he saw me come through the door. I kicked my shoes off and I threw down my bag. I pushed him when he wouldn't make room for me on the couch. He pushed me back and I tickled him, he hates that.
"Quit, Rachel!"
"You're such a grouch."
Jacob shoved me off the couch and laughed when I fell on the floor. "You know I'm six years older than you and I don't need a bodyguard?"
"You're not acting like you're six years older than me," he scowled, offering me a hand and pulling me off the floor.
I flopped down next to him and nodded. "I know you don't like him..."
"And I can tell you do."
"No way! He's like sixteen? Please. I'm not interested in him like that."
"But you were flirting..."
"How would you know?"
He shrugged. "I guess I don't."
"Bella's not coming to visit this summer, is she?"
Jacob shook his head. "Why do you ask?"
"I just thought if you found a girlfriend..."
"...I wouldn't be so worried about your boyfriend?"
I punched him in the arm. "He's not my boyfriend."
"Ow...well he wants to be. And why wouldn't he? You're pretty cool, for a girl."
"Thanks."
♡~♡~♡~♡~♡
"Hey."
I didn't turn around. I knew who it is. He'd been coming in everyday since we met, three days now. He was persistent, that's for sure. "Hey."
"Can I talk to you?"
"We are talking," I told him as I set a plate of food in front of a customer a few seats down.
"Rachel."
I faced him now, he sighed, his head hanging down. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Can you take a break?"
"Yeah, hold on." I watched him get up and leave the diner. I hollered to Karen and let her know l was taking my break. I followed him outside and found him with his back to me. "Are you okay?"
Paul scared me. He was never this quiet...or serious. It was bothering me how concerned I am with him, because we barely know each other. He turned slowly and faced me and that's when I saw the bruises on his face. "What the hell?"
He clenched his jaw when I tried to touch his face. And he looked embarrassed. "Who did this?"
"I know you're working, but I just wanted to see you. I'm sorry."
"Paul..." I touched his sides and he winced. When I lifted his shirt, I saw his ribs were covered in cuts and bruises. "I'm gonna take you to the hospital."
"No!" he argued, tugging on his shirt. "I can't. They'll call the cops."
"Because you got in a fight?"
"No...because my dad did this."
I clenched my jaw and sucked in a deep breath. I'm furious. My heart ached for this poor kid. "What can I do to help?" I pleaded, gently touching his face, being careful not to hurt him.
"I just need...I can't go home right now...I..."
"Okay, that's okay. Come with me." I pulled on his hand and guided him back inside the diner. I took him to a booth and made him sit down. "I'll be off soon and then we can go wherever you want, okay?"
He nodded, his eyes look so sad. "Thanks," he whispered.
I watched him carefully as I finished my shift. He smiled a little when I brought him some food and a towel filled with ice. The time went by slowly even though it's a breakfast shift and we are normally busy. My mind kept churning with questions for Paul. The main one being how could a father do this to his son?
"Let's go," I said, reaching for his hand when my shift is over.
"Where are we going?" he asked when we get outside the diner.
"My house."
"Oh I don't know. That sounds like a really bad idea," he argued and released my hand.
"Nobody's home." I keep walking until I realized he's not beside me. "Come on."
"Your brother is gonna be pissed."
"I can deal with Jacob."
"Why are you doing this?"
I pulled him through the front door and sigh. "Don't you know?"
He came in and closed the door. He shrugged. "No, I guess I don't."
I rolled my eyes. He's gonna make me say it. "Paul..."
"What?" he stepped closer to me.
I lowered my head. I don't want him to get the wrong idea. I don't want to lead him on or hurt him. He's been hurt enough. When I felt his hands in my hair and his thumbs on my jaw, I raised my gaze. "I like you, Paul. As a friend. I haven't had a real friend in a long time. And I hate what happened to you..."
"Hey," he soothed, kissing my forehead. "I'm okay. I'll be okay, Rachel."
I sniffled a little as I try to hold back tears. I hated to cry. I hugged Paul tightly and just enjoyed how nice it feels to be affectionate with someone. I've missed it. His arms felt nice around me. When I pulled away, he looked at me so intensely. He was gonna kiss me.
"I'm gonna go change," I announced, slipping out of his arms.
He nodded and smiled a little. He was disappointed. And I guess if I was being honest with myself, so was I.
..........
A/N: I hope you're enjoying. Paul is so much fun to write!