The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 24

Mavis was lured from her sleep by the gentle feeling of fingers tracing over her stomach. Her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times in order to rid them of sleep.

To her right was Paul, who was lazily tracing patterns on her stomach. His eyes were already on her. "I could go into detail about how creepy it is that you watch me sleep, but I'm too tired." He hummed, not disagreeing with her. It might have been creepy, but he didn't care. He could stare at her forever if he could. Mavis turned away from him, causing Paul to huff. "Paul," she whined as he dragged her closer. "Tired." He didn't care, but she didn't expect him to. Mavis tried to fall back asleep, but it was pointless. Paul was wide awake and ready to take on the day. He slowly kissed her exposed shoulder, his eyes on her face. A smile appeared as she reopened her eyes. "Paul-"

"Saying my name like that is not helping you."

Her cheeks immediately darkened, causing him to laugh. "Shut up. It's too early for this."

"It's ten." Mavis looked towards the window, noticing it was, in fact, later in the day.

"Oh." She grabbed her phone and turned it on. The moment the screen lit up, she was swamped with messages from her family. They wanted to know where she was and why she didn't come home. That had been happening more and more recently. The Cullens were suffocating her, and Mavis was tired of it. The small acts of rebellion were turning into larger ones.

Paul noticed as well. Mavis had always been good at following the rules, but now if it was as if she didn't care at all. Maybe it has to do with what she's been through, he thought. There was a reason she had lost some of her spark. Perhaps this was her way of trying to get it back. "Should you call them back?"

"No." Mavis turned off her phone and set it on the bedside table.

"Are you sure?" She used to always call them back.

"I'm sure." Mavis didn't care to talk to them right now. Not that she didn't love them, but their love was starting to suffocate her. "How long have you been awake?"

"I don't know." He thought for a moment. "It was still dark out."

Mavis turned back around. "You've been up for hours?" He shrugged, not thinking much of it. "Why didn't you go back to sleep?"

"Wasn't tired."

"So," her words were slow. "You decided to watch me sleep instead?"

He blinked, "you're really pretty when you sleep."

Mavis was bewildered. "You are so weird."

That caused him to grin. "At least I don't snore."

She gasped, "I do not snore."

Paul chuckled as he rolled onto his side, burying his head in the curve of her neck. "You do."

"Do not." It was becoming more common for Mavis to have good days, but there were still bad days. As much as she tried to convince herself that the past was behind her, she knew it wasn't. She knew something was coming, and she feared where it might lead her.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mavis pulled at the blanket on her lap. She was alone in the living room. The others were scattered throughout the house. The book in her hand was long forgotten as she stared out the window. 

Renesmee was outside with Bella and Jacob. She had grown since the Volturi incident. That was over nine months ago. Time was such an interesting concept. In a few months, she would turn eighteen, but she would most likely never see nineteen. If she wasn't killed, she would become a vampire, and age would no longer be an issue.

Whatever happened, Mavis wasn't scared. She didn't care as much anymore. Everything felt twisted and wrong. The world around her was louder than ever. She could hear everything, but not in the way the Cullens could. It was as if she was on an entirely different wavelength.

It was a fight to ignore the world. Every day was a battle she was slowly losing. They were louder than ever today, and she had no idea why. Something was coming, and every day the voices got louder was just another sign that she was closer to that day. It terrified her.

Suddenly, the TV turned on. Mavis looked around the room, but she didn't see anyone. It wasn't playing anything special, just static. She reached across the couch and grabbed the remote. Pressing the off button, she waited for the TV to turn off. It didn't. She tried again, but it still didn't work. Mavis tossed the remote, mumbling under her breath about how they needed a new TV.

Walking towards the TV, she reached behind it. However, she froze when she heard something embedded in the static sound. Mavis moved her head closer, wanting to hear what the sound was. Muffled under the other sounds was the faint sound of a drill.

Mavis wasn't sure what to make of the sound. It was clear, but she knew it was in her head. As she went to look at the screen, a hand shot out. She screamed, stumbling over her feet. Mavis fell to the ground heard, her head slamming against the wood. The drilling was louder than ever, and she cried out in pain. It felt as if her brain was exploding. The world around her was fading.

"Mavis," someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Mavis opened her eyes to find she was standing in front of the TV. The screen was black. The TV wasn't on. She wasn't on the floor anymore either. "Hey, you okay?"

She blinks a few times. "Yeah." But she isn't okay. She has no idea what just happened. "I'm fine." That seems to be her answer to everything these days. It was always easier to say I'm fine than explain what was actually going on.

"Okay," Emmett pats her shoulder. "You're standing a little close to the screen. The remotes on the couch if you're looking for it."

She flashes him a false smile. "Thanks, Emmett."

He smiles at her before walking away. Mavis can't shake the feeling inside of her. She feels as if she's standing in a graveyard, and that's not a good sign.