Revenant Paul Lahote

Chapter 11

Days passed and nothing changed.

Caylee tried to pass the time by throwing herself into work or reading books. Even the sassyness had left Gran. It wasn't until Gran nearly fell over coming down the stairs that Caylee realized it was more than just missing Paul.

"Are you okay? What happened?" 

Gran was slumped against the wall, taking little breaths in and out. 

"Just got a lil' dizzy is all. No need to fuss darlin'. Your Gran is as strong as a two headed horse," she said breathlessly, though Caylee didn't believe that for a second. 

Quickly moving over to the cabinet, she climbed up and grabbed Gran's pills, opening them up and counting what was there. 

"Have you not been taking your pills?" She was confused and worried. Every morning she left them out for Gran, never missing a day. 

She didn't bother to meet her granddaughters gaze as she responded with, "Well hon, they aren't doin' me much good anyway. I'm older than a tortoise at this point."

"Gran, no. The doctor said you're supposed to take them." Caylee didn't even know what to do. She couldn't force the woman to take them. Gran would never let her have that kind of control  and quite frankly, the old bat scared the heck out of her anyway. 

"Oh, I'll be damned if I listen to what that doctor says. He doesn't know what he's talking about anyhow. Just tryin' to make money like the scammers they are I tell you."

"This is not the time for you to be stubborn Gran!"

"Baby, how much longer do you think I have left? Those pills aren't doing anything for me anymore. I'm sick, I'm old, and there's no slowing down the inevitable. Now you know I love you but there is a time for everyone and my time is nearing." She said sadly. Gran knew how much Caylee depended on her. The only family she had left besides her was Paul, and he had left too. 

She had tears in her eyes, pleading Gran silently in her head.

 "You are much stronger than you think. So you better bet your ass that I'm gonna be watching over you no matter what. There is so much coming your way and you don't even realize it yet. And that boy, that dumb boy will  come back. I promise you."

And the tears began falling. 

***

To say that Caylee was shocked would be an understatement. When Sam Uley came through the jingling front door of the diner and plopped down at a counter seat, she was half a second away from retreating to the storage room. But she could not, no would  not, give him any kind of satisfaction. 

He had seen her at a weak point, weaker than normal and that's not considering her already obvious awkward and introverted nature. He even had the nerve to lie about Paul. There was no way she was letting this slide. 

"Coffee?" she asked as she approached his seat, standing in front of him as if to force him to deal with her. 

"No, thanks." he said, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

Sitting the coffee cup down extra hard on the counter space in front of him, she caught Theresa's attention and she poked her head around a customer at a table across the room to watch in fascination. Theresa knew better than to get in between her and the boy at the counter, and was slightly cheering the short girl on in her head. 

Caylee poured the steaming liquid into the cup anyway. 

"So what brings you to this part of the res, Uley? It's a long way from the cliffs."

Everyone who hadn't seen, had at least heard about his adventures cliff diving. Amongst other things of course.

 "Just thought I'd drop in, see what it's like." He spoke slowly. Like he was walking over eggshells.

"Dropping in or checking in? Cause' everyone knows there's not much to see here. You can get a cup of coffee, a good pancake if it's Thursday, and if ya kick the jukebox in the right spot you might get a song or two out of it." 

She had no idea where this sass was coming from. Must be Gran's side of the family shining through. She had only ever acted this way with a customer once, and it was Paul. 

"Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but it's not like Paul could be around you 24/7 anyway. He's allowed to make new friends."

"Listen here buckaroo, you don't know a thing about Paul and me. You don't know our friendship or what was going on with us. Just because you sucked him into your little club, doesn't mean he belongs there. He's a sweet boy, he doesn't need liars and bad influences like you tugging him along and getting him in bad situations."

Her tone made Sam flinch, clearly not expecting her little outburst. It was clear how protective she was over the boy, and just how much she truly cared. 

Sam stood up, throwing a 10 on the counter and turning to leave the diner. As he reached the door he turned enough to see her face, he was smiling a little.

"I can see why he likes you."

***

"Gran I'm home!" It was close to nine but Gran and herself had always been night owls. 

Looking around, Caylee didn't see her in her recliner and immediately went upstairs to check her room, where the door was left slightly ajar. 

"Gran? I brought you the muffins you like. I can heat one up if you want." 

Gran was facing the window, looking out at the rain and into the woods, her rocking chair moving slowly as she was clearly deep in her thoughts. 

"It's almost time. They'll be here soon," she whispered, a soft smile on her face as she looked at Caylee. The younger girl was so exhausted, deep and dark bags hung under her eyes, and you could see the confusion in her brows listening to Gran's words. 

"I want you to go back to school." She announced suddenly.

"Gran you know that's not a good id-"

"No no. You will go back to school. I called the one in Forks earlier. You start on Monday."

Caylee was shocked. There was truly no point in her going back to school. Because of her homeschooling she was already way farther ahead than everyone else and would've graduated early. The thought of being surrounded by so many people made her feel physically ill. All for what? A pathetic graduation ceremony that she had no one to come watch. 

 "Gran, please. There's no point. Who would take care of you all day? Plus it's a waste of gas money to drive to Forks and back and to work." She pleaded. Gran, however, was having none of it.

"You will  go to the one in Forks. I have signed you up and you are going. You will experience your last bit of high school like a normal teenager whether you like it or not. Deal with it." 

And that was that.