Revenant j. hale

Chapter 30

After the night had come to a close and Paul and I went home, I could feel a shift in our friendship. 

"How come you waited so long to tell me that story?" Paul asked. We were sitting on the couch watching a movie, blankets discarded since he was basically a walking heater. 

"You told me to save it, and I thought maybe the other pack members might like to hear about it as well. So many of you feel disconnected now that you've shifted. It's hard, but I like to think they feel less alone with everything now. Less primal." His eyes shifted over to my face and ran a quick diagnostic as if trying to read my mind. I almost giggled at the thought of how Paul wanted to be able to so badly and Edward would rather not. 

After a ridiculous intake of snacks and many yawns from myself, Paul had determined it was time for me to go to bed - but my bed felt like nails compared to the one I slept so peacefully in at the Cullen's. 

"Do you think I'm weird, Paul?" He looked down at me confused for a moment. "Because of the stuff I see." 

It only took a few seconds before he howled in laughter. "God, Cay. You're funny." 

I wasn't laughing. The thoughts of the things I spoke to Alice about replayed in my head, sending aftershocks down my spine. My best friend's face soon became serious as well once he recognized my earnest gaze. 

"I'm a big dog, so what. You attract the supernatural and watch people die," Paul stated. "Cay, you're my best friend. The only one who really looked out for me and made me feel a sense of love and family, before I was literally thrown into a weird spirity wolf one. You aren't weird because of it. It makes you you. I became your friend even without knowing all the stuff you go through, and now knowing I can have a bigger appreciation for all that you are."

His words warmed my heart and made me emotional. He was rarely sentimental, and I was usually the only one that got to see his vulnerable and meaningful moments, which made this all the more special. 

I crushed him in a big hug and whispered thank yous in his ear before he admitted to having to go to deal with pack stuff. So instead, I tried my best to get as comfortable as possible and drifted to sleep. 

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I was running. Cold air hit my lungs like a thousand needles all at once. 

I have to keep running.

It was an old building. The smell of mold and the wet floor was making it hard to keep traction. Slipping and tripping over the wreckage that looked to be an old factory. Breathing was difficult as it is and my hair was whipping my face as I tried desperately to run from whatever was chasing me.

To no avail, it was too late. A blur quickly passed my eyesight before crashing into a brick wall. 

No, not a brick wall. A very hard guy. Tall in height and lips pulled up over his teeth, snarling with his deep red eyes gleaming. 

It made me cry. A sob breaking through as I mumbled incoherently to leave me alone.

"Oh, no. I'm offering you something so much better than letting you go." An icey finger trailed its way down my neck, gently pushing my head to the side so he could nuzzle his faze in between my head and my shoulder. 

"Welcome to the army," was all that was whispered between a tearing at my skin came, and the release of a burning substance flushed its way into my veins.

I broke from my dream, a wave of nausea hitting me quickly. I tried to scramble out of my bed only for my legs to get caught in the sheets and me fall clumsily to the floor. 

It hurt a lot, but I had to move. Rushing to the bathroom I barely made it before spewing anything that had been previously in my stomach into the toilet. It kept coming and coming, for so long that I thought it would never stop. 

It burned. The bile stuck in my throat was hot and thick, clinging to the walls as it tried to come up, coming out of my nose as well as I continued to throw up. It made it nearly impossible to breathe. 

After what felt like forever it finally stopped. Pushing my weight up just enough to flush the toilet, I fell back down afterwards and curled into the freezing tile of the bathroom floor. 

I don't know how long it had been before Paul had found me, asleep and shivering badly. 

"Caylee!" He rushed over, scooping me in his hot arms and attempting to brush the hair away from my face. 

"Paul?" My voice croaked and he quickly shushed me as he pulled me back to my bed, leaving once again and returning with a bucket to place beside me and a water bottle to help replenish my fluids. 

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Despite my shivering body, I felt hot. Sticky sweat was covering my body and I could barely see straight. "I'm just sick Paul. Get the medicine out the cabinet please - the kind Gran gave us when we got the flu."

He scoffed, mumbling something along the lines of "when you got the flu".

It wasn't surprising. I always got the flu really badly once every year, around the same time. 

"Maybe I should call Dr. Cullen." Paul fussed. 

"No no. You know how I get, I'll be good in a day or two," I responded stubbornly. Instead I chose to yank his body down and hug him for warmth. However, that didn't last long as I immediately got too hot and shoved his body away. 

A little too hard I might add since he fell off the bed with a grunt. Moments passed before I sat up in bed. "Oh no, I have a date!" 

"What the FUCK?" 

Cringing and glancing down with a guilty look on my face, Paul was sat upright on the ground with glaring eyes. "Y-yeah. Jasper asked yesterday." 

"Well you aren't going, especially not now that you're sick." It was annoying. The over protective friend act had long since flown out the window and it was infuriating getting told what to do once again. 

"I don't have the energy to fight right now Paul. Would you please just call him and let him know I need to reschedule and that I'll talk to him soon." It was more of an order than a question, which resulted in a very sassy and over dramatic Paul getting up and stomping down the stairs. 

The rest of the day was spent with my friend's hovering before I had to force him to attend his patrol. Nevertheless, he ordered that Jared come stay with me until he was finished. It didn't bother me much since I didn't have to worry about any of them getting sick, but Jared's incessant talking might be problematic when I want to rest. 

Standing up to go the bathroom was awkward, legs shaky and stomach churning. I decided just to brush my teeth and wash my face before returning to my slumber. 

Only my body didn't agree. Instead, I grasped the sink tightly and my body swayed heavily. Sight very blurry and body on fire. Daring to look up at the mirror I saw my reflection -  very pale and sickly, dark eyes, and lastly a deep red liquid spilling from my nose. Drop after drop falling into the sink as my vision began to stir again. 

Trying desperately to clean up with mess, I somehow managed to slump to the ground before my vision went black.