Attraction

6.

The sound of the crashing waves from La Push brings a feeling of my childhood back to me. We decided to stay until the sun went down which excited me, I hadn't been to La Push in such a long time and I wanted to enjoy every second here.
I smile to myself as Paul and I make our way down to the edge of the water, our hands tenderly brush while we walk side by side, and I feel my heart jump nervously. Paul carefully intertwines our fingers together and I smile softly looking at the ground where we walk.

"Is this alright?" Paul asks, "Me holding your hand like this?"

"I don't mind, I like it." I smile and Paul begins to rub circles on my hand with his thumb.

We continued to walk along the shore for about ten minutes until we stopped. Paul laid a blanket down on the sand for the two of us to sit on, we sat down and watched the sky become darker. I look over to see his eyes watching me, he quickly looks away once caught, and turns his gaze to look out toward the water.

My eyes can't help but look at him and study his features, his eyes are such a warm shade of brown. They feel so inviting and kind whenever he looks at me, it makes me feel almost vulnerable. His copper skin seems to glow, it feels so warm even as we sit out in the chilly weather. I am tempted to scoot closer to him and warm up, but I won't allow myself to do so.

"Have you always lived in Forks?" I hear myself ask him softly.

"No." Paul begins. "I was born in Tacoma. I lived there with my parents, they divorced and then my father and I moved to Forks to be closer to his family."

I feel him scoot his hand closer to my own until our hands connect. Our eyes are still fixated on the water, the waves relax me but being with Paul relaxes me even more.

"What about you?" He asks curiously. "What made you decide to move back to Forks and leave Colorado?"

My eyes gaze down at the sand and my heart beat increases; my nervousness grows as I try to figure out how to word my answer. I bite down on my bottom lip; he seems to notice my nervous behavior and he gently squeezes my hand causing my heart to jump.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything you don't want to." He responds gently. I smile at him apologetically.

"It's fine, I'm just trying to figure out a way to word this without saying too much." I state. Paul nods understandingly at my words.

"After my mom and I moved to Colorado, I started high school and I began dating this guy." I begin, He suddenly tenses up but I give him a reassuring smile and he begins to relax once more. I figure he may know where this is going, but I hope not.

"We dated for two weeks and I ended things with him. After things ended, he began stalking me. He wasn't necessarily doing anything that is considered illegal." I sigh in frustration at the memories.
"When someone has stalked you all through high school it's exhausting. I was constantly living in fear. So, I decided to move back to the only other home I knew he would never find me."

By the time I finish talking, his breathing is deep and quick. He looks as if he's trying to control what he might say or that he's trying to calm himself.
He looks pretty angry, I frown softly.

"Paul?" My voice is soft, I don't want to startle him. "Are you okay?"

"Willow..." He whispers quietly, I am surprised I heard him. He closes his eyes and takes a deep and slow breath; I give hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry for everything you had to go through." He finally manages to say. "You didn't deserve any of that. No one deserves to live years through fear and hell." He seems agitated.