Status: Hiatus until further notice.

Just Let It Go

Twenty One

I raised my head to the sky and closed my eyes. I couldn’t help but smile when I felt the sun’s rays land warmly on my skin. Mother nature decided to give us a surprise. It was sunny and about 60 degrees and it was only April 4th!

I looked around the parking lot; Paul wasn’t here again. He’s been missing again for over a week now. He answered my calls a couple of times, saying he was very busy and had to go. He wouldn’t tell me where he was and I was slowly getting irritated.

I started my walk home but changed direction when I saw Jacob sitting on his motorcycle. He was looking toward the school expectantly.

“Hi Jacob,” I said to him. He smiled.

“Hey, how’ve you been?”

“Alright, what’re you doing here?” I asked him.

“I’m waiting for Bella,” he replied rather loudly and looked to his left. I followed suit and saw Edward Cullen’s brother and sister (Alice and Jasper, I think) look at us. Alice had a frown upon her face.

The whole school knew about the ever-going fight between Jacob Black and Edward Cullen over Bella. Carrie told me this has been going on for about three years now, ever since Bella moved to Forks.

I turned back to Jacob. “Have you seen Paul?”

“Yeah, he hangs out sometimes but been pretty busy lately,” Jacob replied.

“With what?” I asked expectantly. Maybe Jacob would tell me what he’s been up to.

“Oh you know, forest stuff,” he said off-handedly.

“Such as?” I pressed. This boy was impossible.

“Well you know, protecting it all the time, night watches, those stupid fights with-“ but he stopped and licked his lips nervously. I had a feeling that he had said too much to me already.

“And he’s got that job now,” he added suddenly.

“What job?” I questioned, surprised.

“He works in Port Angeles, some gardening job or something,” Jacob said. I frowned. Why would Paul get another job?

“It’s got something to do with you,” Jacob said slyly, not looking me in the eyes.

“What? What did I do?” I asked him, completely surprised. I’ve never mentioned getting a job to Paul. A couple of times I did wonder why he was 19 and not in college but never had I voiced my thoughts. I wanted to ask Jacob some more questions but at that moment Bella and Edward came out of the school. I saw Jacob’s eyes light up and realized there’s no point of trying to catch his attention.

“Bye Jake,” I mumbled and walked off.

* * * * * * * * * * * *


“Did he say where you are going?” my mother asked me. I finished applying my mascara and blinked a few times.

“A restaurant, didn’t give much details, though,” I replied.
Paul had called around 4 PM saying he’ll pick me up at 6. He said that he wanted to take me somewhere nice and mentioned a restaurant. Mother nodded silently and sat down on my bed.

“Why haven’t you ever invited him to dine with us?” she asked suddenly. The question caught me off-guard.

“I-I don’t know, I wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable with the idea,” I answered truthfully. Mother wanted to reply but at that moment I heard a car honk: Paul had arrived.

I rushed downstairs, almost forgetting my bag. Paul was leaning against the car, tapping his foot nervously. I was a bit surprised when I saw him in a blue button-down shirt and trousers instead of the jeans and black tee that he always wore.

Paul looked up when he saw me approaching. He had a small smile on his face.

“Hey,” he said and gave me a small kiss. I smiled back timidly. There was tension in the air. We silently got into his car. I gazed out the window as we drove, wondering whether or not to start questioning him about why he was gone these past few days.

“Where are we going?” I asked instead.

“A restaurant in Port Angeles, it’s said to be a nice place,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the road. And that was all. We were silent again for 10 minutes. But the silence overwhelmed me.

“Where were you this whole week?” my voice cut through the stillness.

“I was busy,” he answered.

“Jake said you got a job,” I commented and watched his reaction. His face was calm.

“Yeah, you know I guard the forest,” he answered. I frowned. Paul noticed my expression
and smiled. He took my hand and squeezed it lightly. I pulled it out of his hand and turned to face him as much as the seat belt would let me.

“No, not this job, you work in Port Angeles,” I stated. Paul remained silent. At least he wasn’t denying it.

Paul drove into a parking lot by the piers and stopped the car. Couples were strolling by here and there.

“Jacob also said that you got this job because of me,” I finished. I saw Paul’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. I looked at him expectantly.

“I want to be able to provide for you,” he said finally. He was staring straight ahead, not daring to look at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning slightly.

“I don’t want you to leave, I want you to stay here,” he said, not really answering my question. “I want to prove to you that I can take care of you.”

“But I know that, I trust you, Paul,” I assured him.

“But you wouldn’t want someone broke,” he stated and looked at me. I shook my head, not really understanding what he meant.

“You said you wanted stability,” Paul commented. Realization dawned on me.

“Paul, I didn’t mean financial stability! I was talking about the emotional kind, I need to be mentally stable, in an environment that won’t hold surprises like Forks does,” I explained to him. Paul looked a bit surprised at me words and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t need tons of money, I’d actually prefer it if you didn’t work, if you’d spend more time with me,” I explained. Paul caught me by surprise when he leaned over and kissed me. I almost laughed into the kiss, caught off-guard by his eagerness.

We exited the car and Paul took my hand; our fingers interlaced.

“And here I was, breaking my back for two weeks to earn some cash to take you to an expensive restaurant,” he muttered.

“I don’t want to go to any restaurant,” I replied.

“So where do you want to go?” he asked me. I shrugged in response.

“Anywhere as long as it’s with you.”
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Sorry for the long wait! I've been very very busy lately.

No outfit this time, use your imagination ;)