Revenant Paul Lahote

Chapter 12

Anxiety wasn't even the right word to describe this feeling. It had to be worse than that somehow. 

Caylee stood in her room taking deep breaths, having already thrown up out of nerves twice and brushed her teeth she still felt overwhelmed. Forks, Washington may be rainy and cold, but anyone who looked at her would think she was crazy. 

Layer after layer of clothing sat upon her skin in hopes of shielding herself from anyone's touch that might get in the way. There will be no need to watch any of her new school mates future deaths anytime soon. 

The bottle sat in front of her, taunting her and glaring as if it were some kind of staring contest. Once consumed they always put her in a drowsy daze, feeling nothing but a slight drift . Only aware enough of her surroundings to avoid any touching. Shaking her head, Caylee put the bottle back. 

She was gonna have to do this on her own. 

Gran was still asleep so she made her some coffee and toast, leaving her medication out on the off chance the woman decided to take them and left the house. 

The truck sat in the same spot Paul had left it, and she almost felt like crying just looking at it. Memories flooding her brain as she remembered all the times he insisted on fixing it up himself, his yelps in pain when he would accidentally smash his finger on something, his pleading for her to trust him enough to get in and let him drive. 

Pulling the creaky door open, Caylee heaved herself up and inside. Her small stature making it difficult and the sound of Paul's laughs rang in her head like they had in her ears the first time he watched her struggle to get in. The truck was smelled just like him and it sent aches straight to her heart. 

A random tool sat on the floorboard of the passenger side, a half drank water bottle nestled next to it. Peering over she saw one of Paul's hoodies and grabbed it, holding it in her hands carefully. The soft material rubbed against her fingertips and she could remember the exact day she had presented it to him, having spent her lunch money on it after discovering he didn't own anything warm. It was one of the first times she had seen Paul teary eyed. 

She willed herself to calm down. The pain from being surrounded by Paul's stuff mixed with it being her first time driving without him to calm her anxieties made the whole experience harder. The sun was starting to rise, slightly peering through some of the foggy clouds and the reflecting something into her eyes.

 Looking over the steering wheel she found a polaroid of herself sitting on the dashboard, and a second one of her and Paul sitting beside it. 

The drive was supposed to be longer, about 25 minutes. Time went a lot faster than she had hoped trying to find a parking spot. There were only two left and she quickly made a move to pull in. 

Caylee put her head down, breathing in and out only to hear heavy knocking on the window. 

"You can't park here, it's not your spot." Maybe if I pretend I can't hear them, they will leave. She thought to herself. "Hello? You need to move." Guess not.

She opened her door quickly, making the person stumble backwards, almost falling on their butt from the slippery ground. 

 "Sorry, but there's nowhere else. Maybe they coul- Bella? Is that you?"

Standing in front of her was a depressed, sunken in looking girl. A girl that looked like the Bella Swan Caylee had met almost a year ago. 

"H-hi. Sorry Caylee. I didn't realize it was you. You go here?" She was talking in a raspy whisper. 

Whatever is wrong with her, she's got it bad. Not to mention Caylee figured she'd be dead by now. She almost smiled at the thought of Bella listening to her warning. Finally having something good come out of her situation. Caylee simply nodded at her question. 

"Yeah, today is my first day. Do you mind pointing me to the office?" Without a word, Bella just pointed to the building to the far right and walked away. Alrighty then. Who needs a familiar face? Ha, not me. 

The schedule Caylee was given was practically useless. It was all free periods since she had finished all the other classes already. She only had one class on Mondays and Fridays, everything else was empty and she was informed very quickly she wouldn't have to stay at school the entire day since it would just be a waste. The woman had also been confused as to why she even bothered signing up for regular school because of it. 

To top it off, being the new kid resulted in her getting stared at a lot. Her shyness mixed with the overwhelming urge to retreat back to Paul's truck and call him was ridiculous. 

Multiple kids tried to approach her. A preppy girl who spoke too fast and mainly about herself, some freshman that was attempting what she could only assume was a flirt, and dark haired boy who kept asking to take her picture. All were a little terrifying and ended in a fast walk in the opposite direction.

It was bad enough walking through the halls, but lunch was a big nope. All of the tables were full except one, which Bella was sitting at by herself, and Caylee saw the persistent 'can I take your photo' dude coming her way fast. Making a fast walk to her table she sat down quickly. His face turned into a look of disappointment as he went back to his own seat.

"I'm really sorry, I know you don't wanna be near me and stuff but that kid was going to talk to me." She tried to rush out fast. She was barely even listening though. A little nod and a longing stare out the window was all that was communicated.

Minutes passed in silence before Bella finally spoke up. "I don't mind you hanging around. My friends have just been distant lately is all and I'm worried."

Understanding exactly what she meant they started an easy going conversation until the bell rang and they parted ways. Slowly but surely her time at school came to an end. It had all just been waiting around for meetings to talk about the school and her transcript, talking about possible colleges, being shown around, and her one class of the day. 

Smiling at the picture next to the speedometer, she carefully made her way home. 

***

The kitchen was empty and the TV was going in the living room when Caylee got home. Getting a bottled water she set all her stuff down. 

"Gran, do you want some pizza? I'm hungry and I'm feelin' something I don't have to make." She called out.

Nothing. Of course, her stupid soap is on too loud. 

Walking into the living room Caylee groaned. "Gran, you spilled your water everywhere. And you yell at me when I drop a single crumb." Sure enough, her water glass was tipped over the edge of the coffee table and water was dripping down. Quickly grabbing some paper towels, she set them down before glancing up.

"Gran?" She was laying there in her recliner with her eyes closed. You could almost think she was sleeping. But not Caylee. Gran was the lightest sleeper she knew. "Gran? Gran wake up. This isn't funny." She began panicking, tears beginning to overflow as she thought the worst. "Please wake up Gran."

Sobbing she leaned against her chair hoping for a response and fumbled for their phone. Dialing 911, everything after was a blur. "Gran please don't leave me. I need you." Caylee choked out. Grabbing her cold hand in mine, she prayed for a vision to come. But there was nothing left, it had already came.

For the first time Caylee  could touch her Gran. But oh, how she wished she couldn't. Touching all over, her face, neck, arm, hand. Nothing. Pulling her body close she held her tight, sobbing and yelling until her throat was raw.

She was gone.

And little did Caylee know, that just an hour before she had arrived, a tiny little vampire had left.