tongue twister • paul lahote

xvii

H E W A S L I V I D. He was bouncing off the walls with anger, throwing things and breathing heavily. His heart rate was fast and he was sweaty. He couldn't believe the nerve that bloodsucker had to come near his love. Santana sat on the bed and watched his rampage. She had never seen him this way before. She was nervous, though she knew he would never touch her. Despite the knowledge, the holes in the walls were enough to scare anyone.

Then he looked at her, finally realizing his anger was belittled to her terror. He ran to her, bringing her shaking body into his arms. He never wanted to let her go. He loosened his grip, pulling back slightly. He gazed at the marks on her neck and his anger resurfaced, but he kept it quiet for her sake.

"What did she say to you?" His words came out harsher than intended. He felt guilty as soon as they left her lips. He watched her closely as she recapped the events. He was shaking. His eyes twitching with every nerve in his body reacting. She placed her small hand on his bicep. It calmed him, but not by much.

"Why weren't you here?" She pried. He explained to her how he had seen the vampire the night before. "But why were you still gone when I woke up?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"Harry. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. And Bella jumped off a cliff." She was stunned at his explanation. She furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side, similar to a dog. She opened her mouth to speak but he did it for her. "Harry passed away. Bella was trying to cliff dive, but her above average intellect got her caught under a wave. Jake pulled her out. She's fine. Apparently, according to him, she's on her way to Italy to save her bloodsucker. Something about him wanting to get himself killed. Really unimportant to me."

"So why are we sitting here?" He was puzzled at her question. "We should be at the Clearwater's. They need us." She jumped out of bed, with his hand in hers and pulled him along. He loved that she was considerate about his family and packmates. It meant more to him than she would ever know.

She got him to the front door, but stopped him before he could continue. She stood for a moment, then pulled him down by the neck and kissed him hard. She kissed him like she would never see him again, and held him there. She didn't want to let go. Unlike the first time their lips met, she did feel fireworks. Fireworks at the thought of what she was about to say next. She surprised herself at the sudden decision, but knew that this was what she wanted. She wanted him, and nothing was going to get in the way of that anymore. Not Jacob, not vampires, not stupid Bella Swan.

"I love you, Paul." The four words exploded in his chest and made every thing seem like it was going to be okay. He couldn't believe how happy it made him. Suddenly the world made sense to him. He held her like she was temporary. He believed this moment was just made up in his head. Like this was all false information, like life's cruel  way of tricking him. But she was there, in front of him and she wasn't going away. It wasn't a dream. he could feel her touch and her breath on his lips. This was real life, something he's been dreaming about forever. Now that the moment was right in front of him he didn't know what to do. So he didn't say a thing, he just grabbed her and kissed her again. She let it happen, and then she pulled away.

"I've been thinking about this for a while. I know what I've said before, and I know that you may think I'm acting irrationally out of circumstance. But I love you and I always have. You've been what I've needed all along. No matter how awful Jake has made me feel and how awful the situation was, you were always by my side. I love you Paul. And I'm ready. I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. No more games, no more holding off. I want to be your girlfriend, Like it was always meant to be." Her speech was strong. It left him baffled. He waited so long for this and he was scared to say anything in case it ruined it.

He let his hands dance in her hair and she smiled at the touch. It was so little but to her it meant the world. He didn't have to say anything for her to know how he felt. She was in love with him and she knew he loved her as well. It only took this long for her to realize it. Months of waiting and uncertainty pushed her to realize that he was what she wanted all along. The waiting on her part was foolish, and she knew that now. She wished it would've been evident to her from the beginning.

"I don't think you understand how long I've been waiting for this." There was a tear in his eye, but he blinked it away before she could notice. There before him, stood the girl he waited his whole life for. The girl he was made for, the one person the universe designed for him. He was overjoyed at the thought she reciprocated these feelings. He had been ready since the day he met her on the beach. With her brown hair blowing in the wind, and her green eyes twinkling in the light of the campfire. Every touch and every word spoken between the two was something he cherished. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. The adoration he had for this woman was unexplainable. "I'm so in love with you, it makes me feel like every part of my body is on fire. I can't explain the way you make me feel and I know I'm not supposed to understand that, and I think that's the best part about it. I would want nothing more than for you to be my girlfriend. And eventually, my wife. Then maybe the mother of my children. But we can think about that later, just thought I should throw it out there." He laughed. She couldn't contain her giggles as well. Just watching him made her happy. No matter how awful things got, he was always with her.

"Maybe we should wait and talk about that later, for now we have to go see Sue and the kids." She grabbed his hand and led him out the door, closing it tightly behind them.

As they walked, a happy silence followed them. Yet, they knew it wouldn't last long. For the circumstances they were about to encounter were much greater than them. They had no idea the tragedy that the next months of their lives would turn into. But for now, they basked in happiness. In that moment nobody could take it away from them. After so long waiting, they could finally understand how right it was for the two to be together. And that was the most important thing.