My Escape {Paul Lahote◇OC}

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"How many times are you gunna play that god damned song?" Paul growled from his spot under the old truck, wiping his oil stained hands on a rag while sliding out from under the vehicle. It was just after five in the afternoon and the shop was quiet, other than the CD player playing softly from the work bench. Jacob didn't bother looking up from his tinkering, obviously still pouting over the leech.
"Hey, you said you liked this song too." He said with a tight grin. Paul rolled his eyes and tossed the stained rag at Jake. "Yeah. Maybe the first two times it played. Seriously, change it." Jake heaved a sigh and pushed a button on the stereo and a new beat began reverberating through the shop. Paul stood and stretched, relishing the freedom of movement after being crammed under the old Chevy all day. He glanced at the old clock hanging over the door to the office and smirked. The image of a pretty blonde with brown eyes and long legs popped into his minds eye. 'Tiffany,' He mentally groaned in appreciation, remembering the events of the night before. After his day at the shop, he was due to stop by her place to 'fix the furnace'. Again. That was a furnace he'd bet he'd never tire of fixing.
"Hey Sam. I'm calling it a night." He called out to the office. He grabbed his jacket off the bar stool beside Jake, looking up when Sam appeared in the door frame. Sam frowned, but nodded. "That's fine. Just be sure to get some rest tonight. You've got patrol first thing tomorrow and the pack meeting at five." Paul rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, making his way toward the black truck parked on the gravel just outside the open garage. "Sure thing, Dad." Sam growled, turning his attention to Jacob who had yet to look up from his tinkering. "Jake, you should head home too. Don't forget to stop by the house. Emily made a few things for Billy." Jacob heaved another sigh and stood.
"You might as well bring it to Billy yourself, Sam. Jake here has his head so far up that Cullen leech's ass, he's starting to fade. Soon I'll have a pale face for a brother." Paul hollered from his truck, laughing snidely at the rage that crossed Jacob's face. Jacob took a menacing step forward, his hands clenched into white knuckled fists at his sides but stopped when Sam sent him a low growl in warning. Paul shook his head, still chuckling and slammed his door shut, revving the engine to life. As he pulled out of the gravel drive and on to the main road, he caught a glimpse of Jake in the rearview as he kicked over a stool. Paul smirked. That kid was so easy to rile up, it was almost criminal. One little mention of that stupid vamp and Jake was leaping headlong into a fit of rage. A sudden buzzing had Paul slipping his phone out of his pocket. 'I need you ;)' Tiffany had texted him, obviously just as impatient and hot as he was. He grinned and allowed his foot to rest more fully on the accelerator.

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Toby POV.
'How could it possibly be this difficult to find a decent job with decent pay?' I groaned mentally. I'd been sitting in this diner for hours just job hunting online and sipping coffee after coffee. The buzzing in the back of my skull suggested I should switch to decaf soon, but who the shit drinks decaf? My back was starting to ache in this uncomfortable wooden chair, but I hadn't wanted to take up a whole booth to myself just for comfort. The diner had been surprisingly busy today despite it being a Tuesday. Then again it was July. Not that you could tell, what with the constant cloud cover and cool ocean breeze. It looked and felt more like September or October. The diner had maintained a steady stream of teens and elderly alike through out the day, giving me the sense that I'd made a horrible mistake in assuming that the diner was a good place to lay low in peace. 'Hindsight is always 20/20.' I thought, glancing at a passing waitress. She was brunette, with grey eyes, laugh lines, and an easy smile. Her name tag said 'Dee Dee' and she had taken to calling me 'Sugar' since we'd been acquainted earlier at my request for a fifth coffee refill. As she approached my table, I noticed she held a fresh coffee in one hand and a plate of what looked like a berry cobbler in the other. She slid both beside me on the table and took the seat to my left.
"How goes the job search, Sugar? Anything looking even a little interesting?" She asked, leaning towards me to get a better view of the laptop. I sighed and turned the screen towards her. "Not yet. They either require more schooling or don't pay enough. Or they're just too damn far off." She nodded and shrugged. "You could always work here. I could put a good word in for you with Del." She suggested, taking the mouse from me and scrolling through the short list I had been perusing on Monster.com. I took a sip of the piping hot coffee and shook my head. "No offense, but I think I'll pass. I don't know how you put up with all this. With a smile, even." I gestured to the group of teens seated toward the back of the diner. Dee Dee smiled and shrugged, a look much older than her years clouding her eyes. "I don't know either. I guess I've been at this so long... It kinda feels like having visitors in my home. Like this is my house and y'all are extended family. Though, some I do like more than others... Speak of the devil." Her eyes lit up and I followed her line of sight to the front door where an officer had just entered. He was middle aged, tall, fit for his age with black hair and matching mustache. Not bad looking at all. He just looked tired. But upon seeing Dee Dee approaching, I nearly choked on my next sip of coffee at the tomato red blush that set fire from his neck to the tips of his ears. If you looked up 'bashful' in the dictionary, the face the officer wore would be right there beside the description. I smiled as I watched them interact for a moment before glancing at the time on my computer. It was a little after eight. I stretched and shut my laptop, ready to call it a day. I stuffed my laptop into my bag, left a few bills to pay my tab, and dug my keys out of my pocket. "See you tomorrow, Sugar?" Dee Dee called from behind the counter. I smiled and nodded, giving her a little wave as I swept out the door. The sun was just beginning to set and The sky was awash in varying shades of blue, teal, and orange. The air was cool and humid, smelling of sea salt, pine, and earth. I hummed in pleasure and wrapped my arms around myself with a big smile on my face. I loved this place. I had only been here two weeks, but in that short time I had acclimated to my new environment and fallen completely in love. I felt whole here. I felt strong. I felt safe. It had been a long time since I'd felt any of these things. Once inside my car, I rolled down the window a few inches and lit a cigarette, sighing in contentment. I put the car in reverse and carefully backed out on to the main street, looking over my shoulder for any traffic. Seeing none, I pressed the accelerator a bit more. Suddenly an obnoxiously loud horn blared as a black truck flew past, nearly swiping my bumper. "What the actual fuck?" I growled, pausing again to check for traffic. This time was much less stressful. Successfully entering the main road again, I sped off toward home.