WHERE I BELONG [P. LAHOTE]

[15]

Hours after Harry's incident, Skylar finally left Seth's room. Sue had come back and went straight for Seth. Figuring that she should let them be together alone, she had silently crept out of the room.

She was surprised when she saw Paul standing in the middle of the room, listening to a group of people talk. His head turned when Skylar entered the room and he smiled, heading over to her. "Skylar." Biting her lip, Skylar tried to smile, but it quickly wavered. She sniffed and tried to hold back the tears that she had kept inside for the past couple of hours. Harry had been another male figure that she had looked up to greatly since returning to Forks, and seeing him go affected her more than she thought it would.

Paul sensed this and held his arms up, embracing her gently. "C'mere baby." Rubbing her back and trying to calm her, Paul rocked Skylar back and forth. Shifting back slightly, he tilted her head up with two fingers. "Do you want to get out of here? Maybe go for a ride?"

Nodding at his suggestion, Skylar said goodbye to Charlie and walked behind Paul towards his truck. "I'll have someone bring your car home," Paul explained, seeing the confused look on Skylar's face.

Just wanting to get out of the gloomy house, Skylar agreed and hopped in his truck. Paul started it up and steered his way onto the road. Grabbing one of Skylar's hands, Paul glanced over at her before looking at the road again. "Are you okay?"

Laughing sadly, she shook her head. "No. But it's not about me. I mean, Sue just lost her husband and Leah and Seth just lost a father."

"Yeah, and you just lost a great friend. Skylar, it's okay to feel sad," Paul said.

Biting her lip, Skylar lifted a hand up and wiped away the tears that were smeared down her cheeks. Paul frowned, and gripped her hand tighter. "I don't like seeing you sad."

She squeezed his hand back. "I'll be fine in a bit."

He simply nodded, and silence filled the truck. It was a comfortable silence and Skylar was grateful. She wasn't really in the mood to talk and she was glad that Paul recognized that.

She saw that he was pulling up to the beach and smiled softly. It had been a long time since she had visited the La Push beach – the last time was when Bella had just moved and they had hung out with their friends here. She sighed thinking of the memory. Everything had been so much simpler then.

"C'mon," Paul said. Helping Skylar out of the passenger seat, he guided her towards the water. "I have to tell you something.

The two teenagers walked hand-in-hand down the beach, an easy silence hanging over them again. Paul pulled her over to stand right beside the water, both of them watching the waves crash down against the shore. He took a deep breath before turning to her.

Skylar's eyebrows furrowed when she noticed the distressed look on his face. "Paul? You okay?"

He pursed his lips for a moment and looked back out at the ocean. "I have something to tell you." Chuckling quietly, he shook his head. "It may not be the best time but I honestly can't hold it back anymore."

Skylar forced the larger boy to look at her, face contorted with concern. "Go on."

He swallowed heavily before continuing. "Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you first found out about werewolves?" When he got a nod in response, he paused before saying, "So you remember... the imprinting?"

"Yeah," she tilted her head.

"Skylar," he breathed out. "You're my-"

"What is she doing?" Skylar interrupted. Paul looked confused, following her gaze to the cliff hanging over the beach, where Bella was standing. The pair watched as she took off her jacket and walked to the edge of the overhang.

"Bella!" Skylar shouted, trying to get her twins attention. "Fuck! Bella, what are you doing?" She gasped when she saw her sister jump off the cliff, arms flailing around frantically before colliding with the water. "Bella!"

Skylar took off, running for the bottom of the cliff. Looking over the crashing water, she scanned for any sign of her sister reappearing. She started to panic more and more when she didn't see her anywhere. Taking off her jacket, she threw it on the ground and slipping out of her boots.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Paul asked, grabbing her arm. She shrugged him off, preparing to dive into the water when another body whizzed past her. "Jake!"

Paul reached for her arm again and gently pulled her back. Releasing the grip on her arm, he placed the same hand around her waist, making sure she stayed beside him. "Are you crazy? You would have drowned."

She shook her head. "I know how to swim-"

"Look at the current, Skylar!" He flung his other arm towards the water. "There is no way you would have made it!"

"I have to do something!" she screamed back, tears filling her eyes. "She's my sister."

Paul face dropped when he noticed her watery eyes. "Shh, I know. But she'll be okay. Jake's gonna get her. I promise." Pulling her closer, he wrapped both arms protectively around her waist and placed his head on top of hers. Scanning the ocean, he breathed out a sigh of relief when he noticed Jake clutching Bella to his side. "See, baby. She's okay."

Her head whipped around. She impatiently waited in Paul's arms while Jake swam to the shore. When he was close enough, Skylar broke out of his embrace and ran into the waves, meeting them halfway. "Is she alive?"

"Barely," Jake whispered. Placing her down on the sand, he began shaking the pale girl. "Bella...Bella! Bella, breathe!"

Skylar dropped to her knees on the other side of Bella, trying to hold back the tears. "Bella, come on. Wake up," she muttered, stroking her sister's face. "C'mon, Bells."

The said girl suddenly sputtered up water, choking as it came up. All three of them released the breath that they had been holding in. "Bella? Bella, can you hear me?"

Bella's eyes fluttered open, looking around. Her gaze shifted between the boy and her sister. "Jake? Skylar?"

Jake nodded, a small smile breaking out. "Come here." Helping her sit up, he wrapped an arm around her back.

Skylar, however, was not as pleased. "What the fuck were you thinking, Bella? Jumping off the highest cliff? Are you kidding me?"

"Back off, Sky," Jake said, shooting a glare at the twin. Paul growled out behind them. "Don't tell her what to do."

Bella coughed, making all three heads snap back towards her. "I just wanted to see something."

"Get her home!" Sam's voice rang out as he jogged onto the beach. "I'm gonna go help out over at Harry's place."

"What happened at Harry's?" Bella muttered.

"Bella," Skylar whispered. "Harry had a heart attack... He's dead."

Jake let her process that for a moment before helping her up. "Come on. I'll get you something dry and drive you home." Looking up at the other two, he said, "Can you take Sky home? We'll be right behind you?"

Nodding, Paul helped his the other twin up and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards his truck. They waited on Jake and Bella to get in, driving towards the Black's household.

Paul and Skylar sat in the truck while Jake and Bella went inside. He turned towards the silent teenager. "Are you okay?"

She glanced at him. "I swear that girl has more close-to-death situations than anyone I've ever met." He smirked at her, stroking her hair back. "Listen, back at the beach. I was going to tell you something." Taking a deep breath, he stared at her. "You're my-" He was interrupted again by Jake slamming his fist on the window. "Dammit, Jake!" He exclaimed, rolling the window down. "What?"

"I'm going to take Bella home," he said, walking back to Bella's old rusty pickup. Growling lowly in frustration, Paul backed the truck out and started to their house.

Skylar turned her head, both amused and confused. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing," Paul muttered. Seeing the frown on her face, he gave her a small smirk. "I'll tell you soon. I promise... I just want it to be the right time."

N?y>h