Like a Skyscraper

“Thank you for cheering me up and driving me home,” Kaelyn said from the passenger seat of Paul’s car.

“Anything for you, Love,” Paul replied with a smile. As they turned on Kaelyn’s street, both of them saw Emmett’s Jeep parked in front of her house.

“What’s the Cullen doing here?” Paul asked, his voice dropping an octave lower.

“I’m not sure…” Kaelyn whispered and climbed out of Paul’s car. Emmett got up from his seat on her front porch. He smiled and her, but it fell once he saw Paul walk up behind her.

“What’re you doing here?” Emmett asked looking pointedly at Paul.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Paul growled. Paul took a step closer, but Kaelyn gently grabbed hold of his arm. Paul looked down at his favorite blonde with a confused look. She shook her head.

“It’s okay Paul. Thank you for today. I can handle it from here.”

“Okay, but if he makes you upset, I can be here in five minutes,” Paul gave her a quick hug and kissed her temple knowing it would piss Emmett off. And it did. Emmett clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white to keep himself from attacking the wolf boy.

“Bye Paul,” Kaelyn said as he got back in his car and drove off. She turned back and looked Emmett in the eye.

“Want to come inside to talk?” she asked. He nodded stiffly and moved aside so she could unlock the front door. Her mom must be out running errands. Kaelyn walked inside the dark house with Emmett right behind her. Kaelyn turned on the lights and sat down on the couch.

“I want to apologize for Rosalie’s behavior. She never should have talked to you like that,” Emmett started and sat down across from her.

“I just don’t understand why she did…. You and I are just friends; we’ve talked about how to resolve your relationship issues…” Kaelyn mumbled. She tried to remember if she’s ever been obvious in public that she cares about Emmett.

“Rosalie is a very jealous girl. She strikes first and asks questions later.”

“Yeah, I saw that today…” Kaelyn said softly. Emmett got up and moved to sit next to Kaelyn. He took a deep breath, but stopped once he smelt Paul’s scent all over her. His eyes darkened, and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that something happened between the two of them.

“What about you and Paul?”

“What about us?” Kaelyn asked confused by the change in subject.

“Has Paul kissed you?” Kaelyn stood up quickly and looked at him angrily.

“I don’t see how that is any of your business!” she snapped. Emmett stood up and walked closer to her.

“I’ll take that as a yes then. Maybe Rosalie should be jealous.”

“What? What're you talking about now?!” Emmett kept changing the subject and confusing her.

“Because I don’t want to share you with anybody else, especially Paul Parker!” he growled. Kaelyn took a step back and felt her back against the wall.

“What are you saying Emmett?” Kaelyn stared into his dark eyes, their golden color diminished.

“I care about you and I know that you feel the same way. I don’t know why we aren’t doing anything about it though,” he grumbled. Kaelyn’s heart began to race and her face grew hotter.

“You care about me?” she asked. Emmett calmed down quickly and nodded.

“I thought I had made that abundantly clear…”

“But you're still with Rosalie—“

“That can change. It’s just complicated right now…”

“Emmett—“

“I really want to kiss you now. I know Paul kissed you, and I don’t like that.” Kaelyn inhaled sharply as Emmett leaned in closer to her. Her eyelids fell as their lips met for the first time. Kaelyn slowly wrapped her arms around Emmett’s neck as he deepened their kiss. Emmett’s hands found her hips and pushed her further into the wall so that there was no space left between the two.
Emmett slowly pulled away once he remembered the she still needed to breathe. Kaelyn took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Emmett rested his forehead against hers.

“Please don’t let anyone else touch you like this, mainly Paul…” he trailed off. Kaelyn giggled softly.

“That was a onetime thing. It won’t happen again,” she said sweetly. Emmett pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

“We can't be together right away. I’ll have to sort things out with Rose. She won’t be happy…”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” Kaelyn mumbled into his chest. The sound of the front door opening caused the two to jump apart.

“Kaelyn, are you home?” Lila called from the doorway.

“Yeah, Emmett’s here too. We were talking about our homework in art class,” Kaelyn lied and went to greet her mom. Lila smiled at Emmett.

“Good to see you again. Well I’m going to start on dinner. Are you staying Emmett?” Lila asked.

“No, but thank you. Esme is probably wondering where I am. I should be going. See you tomorrow,” Emmett grinned at Kaelyn before leaving. Lila raised her eyebrows.

“So is it Emmett or Paul?” she asked.

“What?” Kaelyn asked.

“The boy you like. Is it Emmett or Paul?” Lila asked again as she pulled out things to make a chicken salad.

“Paul is just a friend, Mom.”

“So it is Emmett then. Does he know about…?”

“No, and I'm not going to tell him. It’s better if he doesn’t know,” Kaelyn whispered remembering about her sickness. For a minute, she felt like a normal girl with a crush. But things will only end badly for both of them if this continues.

“You need to tell him. You two can't become “involved” and you just leave his life without him knowing why…” Lila trailed off feeling sad again.

“Mom, we aren’t going to become “involved”. I care about him, and I know he likes me too, but I won’t make him go through something like this. I’ll talk to him tomorrow and we’ll sort it all out. Do not tell him anything.” Kaelyn turned and left the room. Lila sighed and munched on a piece of lettuce.
She cares about her daughter and she wants her to enjoy the rest of the life that she has left. But she also wants Kaelyn to be realistic. Half a year is a long enough time for feelings to develop and if she isn’t honest with Emmett, she could leave him heartbroken.