Lemon Water // Paul Lahote

seventy

Serena

"Serena, go home please," Paul whispered, "I'll be ok, but I can't let you see me like this"

"It's too late," I replied, "I'm already here, I'm not leaving"

"Serena," Jasper said, causing me to look up at him, "Come with me, I'll bring you back to your house"

"No, I'm going to Emily's!" I replied, "You can't stop me!"

"Sam, do something please" Paul whispered, "It's really starting to hurt"

"Serena-" Sam said but I cut him off

"You can't stop me, Sam, Emily would do the same thing if it was you and I'm sure Kim would do the same for Jared" I whispered, "Please, just take him so he can get fixed up"

"She's not going to let up, Sam, and we need to get Paul back before we have to break it like this again" Edward said and I smiled at him, thanking him for having my back.

"Lets go, move quickly" Sam said. 

I watched as Sam, Jared, Jake, Quil, Laken, and Leah all worked together to hoist Paul up onto their shoulders, cringing when Paul writhed in pain. They began to walk quickly in the direction of Sam and Emily's house, being careful to not jostle Paul too much but also trying to be fast enough to beat the healing. Carlisle and Edward followed close behind, keeping an eye on Pauls leg to monitor the process, leaving me and Jasper behind.

"You're using your power on me, aren't you?" I asked him

"How did you know?" he replied, gesturing for me to start following the group.

"I'm way too calm right now for the situation at hand, in actuality I should be a wreck"

"I tried to use it on Paul first to try and lessen his pain but it wasn't working, so I used it on you since I saw you starting to fall apart"

"Well thanks, I appreciate it" We were moving slowly through the woods, it was to the point where we could no longer see Edward and Carlisle's backs. It didn't help that I was barefoot and had to watch every step I took to make sure I wasn't stepping on anything sharp.

"Here, get on my back, it'll be quicker plus you'll stop cutting your feet open. I can smell the blood"

"Oh, I didn't even realize. I'm sorry" I replied, hopping on his back. Suddenly, we zipped forward and came to walk next to Edward and Carlisle.

"We're almost there," Edward said, "All Paul can think about is keeping you out of the room when we re-break his leg"

"That's not happening, I need to be with him, he needs to know I'm there for him" I said

"He doesn't like that. He'd really prefer it if you went home. He can hear everything we're saying"

"Then he can hear me when I say that I'm going to stick by his side. I'm his imprint. It's my job" I replied, ending the conversation.

A few minutes later, we reached Emily and Sam's backyard, where everyone but Sam and Paul were standing. "It's about time you showed up" Laken said, rolling his eyes.

I ignored him and hopped off Jasper's back, running towards the back door. Jared stopped me "He doesn't want you in there" he told me. I shook my head at him and pushed past him, entering the house. "Serena!'

Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper followed me in and Carlisle got to work immediately. Paul was on the bed in the guest room, writhing in pain as his bones started to slowly heal themselves, on top of Carlisle trying to reset them.

I made my way to Paul's side and took his hand, noticing the change in my mood as Jasper began to use his powers on me again. "I told them not to let you in here" Paul gasped

"And I told you that I didn't care" I replied. Paul yelled as Carlisle snapped his femur into place. His grip on my hand tightened significantly and I winced a little.

"Ease up a little, Paul, you're hurting her" Edward said

"I'm fine" I said

"I'm reading her, thoughts, Paul, she's not fine. You're about to break her hand"

"I'm fine Paul, take your pain out on my hand" I told him, running my other hand through his hair, which was full of sweat.

Carlisle kept poking and adjusting the bones in Paul's leg, claiming that almost had everything back in place. The death grip on my hand tightened again, and I winced as I felt something crack. 

"Paul" Sam warned

"It's ok, I'm ok." I said through the pain. Something was definitely fractured in my hand, but I had to be strong for Paul in the same way he was strong for me.

"You're all set back in place, Paul," Carlisle said, "I'll come back to set up a drip but it won't help much. Serena, let me look at your hand quickly before I go"

"No, it's ok, go get the drip for Paul. I'll be ok. Besides, Paul has a death grip on it and won't let go" I said, "You can look at it when you get back here."

"Serena, let Carlisle look at your hand. The sooner you let him the sooner Paul gets more pain relief" Sam told me and I let up, wiggling my hand out of Pauls grip. He had his eyes squeezed shut and it looked like he wasn't totally there.

Carlisle took my hand in his and began to feel around, making me wince. Something really was wrong with it but I needed to be strong for Paul. I had to.

"There's a small break in the bone connected to your ring finger, I'll bring a wrap back with me but you'll need to come in for x-rays in the morning" Carlisle told me and Sam swore.

"What about lacrosse?" I asked

"You might be able to get back at the end of the season, but that's if everything heals nicely" I frowned at Carlisle's words, a tear slipping from my eye. I wiped it away quickly and looked to Sam, who was having a hushed conversation.

"Serena I'm sorry" Paul whispered and I jerked my head towards him, walking over to sit on the bed next to him.

"It's not your fault," I told him, "I didn't pull away. It's my fault"

"It's not and you know it" he replied, pulling me into his good side, making me lay down next to him.

"I don't want to hurt you" I whispered in his ear.

"You won't, I promise" He replied