Charlotte || Jacob Black & Paul Lahote

Thirty-Two: Birthday Girl

In the week following Bella's wedding, very little had happened. As promised, Seth printed the pictures and gave some to Paul, who had them now stuck up in his room. I'd spent a lot of time with the pack, Emily, Kim and definitely a lot of time with Paul and Jacob. Jake had suffocated me the first two days after the wedding, worried that I was going to go into some sort of meltdown.

I hadn't heard from Bella or any of the Cullens, not that I expected to though. I didn't know fully when she would be transformed into the vampire, I just knew it was after the honeymoon. Would she come home first? Or would it be done on the honeymoon? Would she come say bye or would she just never return, only leave us a voicemail of a honeymoon turned tragedy? Only time would answer those questions, and right now, I had other things to focus on.

"Happy Birthday Lottie!" Dad exclaimed as I made my way into the kitchen. He was stood at the stove, bent over a pan which smelled of very burnt bacon. 

"Thanks dad, you made breakfast?" I asked, watching as he served the bacon, oh and scrambled eggs, onto a plate. 

"For the birthday girl," he handed me the plate and a cup of sugary coffee. I ate it gratefully, but did find myself thinking about how much better Emily's breakfasts are. At least we were having a bonfire tonight, so I would be getting some of Em's food. Well, if the pack don't hoover it down, that is. 

The rest of the morning was slow. Jake, Paul, and Emily had all gave me a call to wish me a happy birthday, each of them promising that they'd give their gifts to me in person and saying how excited they were to see me. Jake apologised for his absence, explaining that him and Paul were on patrol until 4, but that they'd meet me at the bonfire. Dad was coming to this one, so it'd been mutually agreed by myself and Jake that it was just easier for Dad to take me, rather than Jake rushing over after patrol.

I retreated to my bedroom, keen to spend my day by my cd player or reading a book. I was surprised to find a little box sat on my bed. It was neat, black with a silver bow. Too neat. 

I opened it cautiously, to find a little ipod nestled in a bed of tissue paper. The newest edition, complete with a set of earbuds. A note was stuck to the bottom of the box, simply signed "- The Cullens".

I shuddered at the thought of the leeches being in my room, but I'll give em credit. This little device had some good songs on it. 

And so the next few hours of my day was spent with a book in hand, and music running through my head. It was peaceful, and needed. But all too soon, it came to the time for me to get ready. I hauled myself out of bed, knees popping and groaning as I did so. Even in the August sun, it was still cool and so I opted for my usual jeans, pairing it with a button black long sleeve, and a fur hood jacket. The fur was soft, but no where near as soft as either of the wolves.

"I got you this kid, forgot to give it you this morning," Dad said, handing me a poorly wrapped gift as I tied my shoelaces. It was big, and heavy. I unwrapped it carefully, opening it to find a muddy brown backpack. Oh it was gorgeous, and very needed. My old school bag was falling to pieces, but it was the only bag I owned. I carefully unzipped it, finding even more gifts inside. A pair of black gloves, a matching bobble hat, a flower press and a copy of 'Emma' by Jane Austen. 

I placed all the packages inside the bag carefully and left it at the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank you dad!" I exclaimed, pulling the older man into a hug.

"No problem kid, the gloves and hat - they're from your mom. Give her a call," he mumbled, petting my head awkwardly. 

I followed him into the cruiser and we set off, the streets of Forks blurring and the familiarity of La Push reappearing. 

"We've gotta go pick up Billy, then we'll head to the beach. You okay getting in the back?" Dad asked, his voice lightening as we pulled into Jake's drive. Jake wasn't here, and I assumed that he'd be just getting to Sam's. I nodded and climbed over the centre console to get into the back of the car. I heard dad sigh as I did, mumbling about shoes on the car and kids nowadays. I just smiled. Admittedly, life without Bella, life as a single child, was very peaceful. Dad seemed much more relaxed again, less nights staying up worrying about Bella, more spent in front of the tv or out with Billy and Sue. 

"Happy birthday mini swan!" Billy's voice rung loudly as Dad helped him into the front seat of the cruiser. 

"Thank you Billy!" I smiled warmly at the older man.

"Here," he mumbled, gesturing for me to hold my hand out. I did as he asked, holding my hand out. He dropped a metal bracelet into my hand, complete with a series of wooden charms.

"They're symbols of protection, keep you safe from cold ones," he hissed with a smile on his face, an attempt to make our conversation seem casual to my dad, who was just stepping into the car himself.

"Thank you Billy," I beamed as I clipped the bracelet around my wrist. Two tiny wolves rattled against my wrist, alongside 5 more charms. Each was beautifully carved, and I was so wrapped up in the beauty of it, that I didn't realise we'd made it to the beach until I was being pulled into a pair of very strong, very warm hands.

"Happy birthday princess," Paul's voice whispered into my ear, his whole body wrapped around mine as he hugged me. My feet were just about touching the floor!

"Paul you fucking hog," Jake's harsh tone snapped as he pulled me away. He moved me like a rag doll, pulling me into an equally as tight hug and pressing kisses to my hair. He let me down eventually. Billy and my dad were already way ahead, having joined the pack at the bonfire. 

Jake tugged me along, and Paul followed sulkily. 

"Happy Birthday!" I was met with a blur of greetings as I joined the pack, elders and imprints. I said 'thank you' so many times that it started sounding wrong, like it wasn't even a word.

"Happy Birthday Lottie!" Emily pulled me into a tight squeeze, which I gratefully returned, "Me and Sam got you this!"

She pressed a gift bag into my hands and I peered into it. An envelope, a brown hoodie, and- my face burned as I recognised the small box underneath the hoodie. Condoms.

"Emily!" I cried, both mortified and trying hard not to laugh. She just giggled back, pulling me in for another hug and kissing my cheek. I headed back towards Jake and Paul, glaring at Sam who winked at me as I passed him.

"What did Em get you?" Jake mumbled as I sat next to him, his hand already in the bag.

"Nothing!" I snapped, pulling it away from him. I didn't even have to look up to know that Emily was smiling. I'll give her credit, she's a miles better sister than Bella. But she's equally as annoying, but in a fun way, not in a I'm gonna off myself because I wanna be a vampire way. 

"What did you get her Jake?" Paul snarked as he handed me a carefully wrapped parcel. The wrapping paper was made up of loads of little wolves, little silver ones. I wonder where he'd got that from. 

I tore it open carefully, smiling as I unveiled a deep red leather journal. It was gorgeous and smelt so good.

"Thank you Paul, I love it," I squealed, throwing myself into his lap and pressing kisses to his jaw. A sharp growl told me to stop. I did so, but if we weren't with the whole pack I would've carried on. Got use out of Emily's gift. 

"Mine's better," Jake grinned as he handed me a simple brown bag. I reached my hand in, pulling out a soft stuffed wolf. It looked just like Wolfie, only russet instead of silver. It looked like Jake. 

"I love it," I grinned, pulling Jake in for a kiss.

I did appreciate how weird this must look to my dad, who was sat just opposite us at the bonfire, but that was a conversation for another day. 

The night was filled with excited and playful chatter, a difference from the recent pack bonfires. It was perfect. Emily had made all my favourite foods, even baking me a chocolate cake and pressing a tub of banana muffins into my hands when it was time to go home. I accepted them gratefully, promising to visit her the next day. 

Dad took me home, a question in his eyes as I hugged both Jake and Paul 'goodbye' - I'd be seeing both of them later, not that Dad knew that. He never asked though, not even when Billy was dropped at home and it was just us two. I'll tell him about it tomorrow.