tongue twister • paul lahote

xiii

H E  W I P E D  A  B E A D of sweat from his forehead. "This is a lot more work that I thought it would be." Paul sighed. That week, Paul went to the bank to request a loan to buy a house. It was approved, and with minimal effort, the old homeowners handed over the keys to the two teens. They wasted no time starting their renovations. Santana was picky, but she had the time. She did a lot more than Paul, not that he didn't want to, but because she didn't have to sleep or eat, and she never got tired. She had spare time to dedicate to the house, and at the pace they were going, it would be finished before Edward and Bella returned from their honeymoon.

"Maybe you're just a wimp?" She offered, picking up a few paint cans. She set them on the covered floor of their bedroom, and cracked them open.

"Or," he grumbled, walking in behind her. "I just don't see the point of all of the remodelling." He poured a can into a tray and grabbed a roller.

"If this is going to be our house, we might as well make it a home. There's no point in living somewhere that you don't like the look of." She picked up a roller, too, dipping it in the dark grey paint. She plastered it over the sad blue colour that already existed on the wall.

"It wasn't that bad of a colour, Tan." He said, doing the same.

"It was boring and tacky." She shot back, already making progress. Her superhuman speed gave her a little help. "Besides, grey goes with everything. Whatever they thought this would match," she pointed to an unpainted spot. "They were wrong." Within minutes, she had coated her two walls. "This is the last room to paint, anyway." He barely responded, but instead stood baffled at the fact she was already done her first coat. She rolled her eyes at his expression. "Oh, go start moving furniture into the living room. I'll finish in here." She shooed him away, to which he obliged.

He trudged outside, looking at the furniture on the lawn. Carlisle and Esme helped them out with money, buying them some new things. Or, everything, really. Carlisle wanted to help her out, as he already thought of Santana as a daughter. He didn't mind paying for the furniture. He made sure she knew that she always had a home in their house. She knew she'd be there often, anyway. She liked their company. Paul stood staring at a couch when Jared and Embry tumbled from the tree line. They gave a stupid smile and a wave. "Hey, Paul!" Jared ran over, looking at the mess before them. "Looks like the furniture people came early." He noted. The two boys happily agreed to help them move in. While Santana did the fine work, the painting and the decorating, they were there to move things. She could've done it all herself, but Paul wanted to make himself useful.

"Yeah, and they just threw it out in the yard." He joked. In reality, they told the home furnishers to leave them there, wanting to limit Tana's human exposer. "I think it'll be better to bring it to the other side. We have two doors and it'll be easier to get them in." The two agreed and began to bring the items to the other side of the house.

Inside, Tana took a look at her finished paint job. She smiled and exited the bedroom to join her boyfriend. She didn't want to rush a second coat when they had forever to do it. She went to the boxes in the kitchen, and opened a few. She saw the two new boys and went to greet them before she started. "Hey, who let you two in here?" She grinned at them.

"Had to come see your pretty face." Jared had grown much more comfortable with her since the day at the Cullen's house. He started to see the old Tana come back when her memories resurfaced.

"I'm flattered, really." She stepped out of their way as they carried in the couch through the open doors.

"Where do you want it, boss?" Paul asked. She pointed to the wall she wanted them to place it against. They had painted the living room and the kitchen the previous days, and it was ready to be decorated. Embry tumbled inside with the kitchen table. She chuckled as she instructed him on where to put it. The open concept of the living room and kitchen made it much easier to order them around. Paul returned to grab the arm chairs and Jared grabbed a coffee table. They placed them around in the room while Embry put chairs around the table. She went out and grabbed the T.V. stand and carried it back in the house. She placed it across from the couch and took the new television out of its box. While they fumbled with bookshelves and the likes, she hooked up the T.V.