The Plan || Paul Lahote

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CHAPTER 1

March 10th, 2006 – Friday

A car stopped in front of the house, from the passenger's door, came out Grace Miller who looked around before taking a deep breath.

All the bad memories didn't matter at that second.

The Quileute Reservation in La Push – Washington, smelled like home.

And after spending almost one year away, the feeling of being where she belonged settled well in her being.

That place had been Grace's home since she was eleven, when her father married a local woman after being a widow for eight years.

Lis was the only mother Gracie had ever known and the girl loved her very dearly.

But despise that, she always dreamed of feeling closer to her biological mother's side of the family and when that opportunity had come around the year before, neither of her parents opposed to it.

So, there she went. The plan was to stay one year in the small town of Holmes Chapel – England and attend 10th grade there.

Life got in the way of it when, 3 months before the end of the school year, Grandma Lottie had a heart attack and died in her sleep.

Tragic, but life do be like that sometimes.

After that, the girl did not feel like staying with any of her other relatives and decided to just come back home.

The ginger girl opened the back door of her father's car to get her backpack, which contained things she didn't feel comfortable putting away in any of her 3 large suitcases – Grace was well aware that that was a bit too much, but she was one of those people who freaked out while packing a bag to spend the weekend away; you couldn't possibly ask her to go easy when she packed her luggage to spend a year in another country.

"Home sweet home," her dad, Walter Miller, said while hugging the girl. "How does it feel to be back?"

She breathed in again. "Good! Better than I thought, actually."

"Guess someone missed her old man more than they care to admit, hum?" Mr. Miller said pocking her on the side.

Grace shrugged out of his embrace and gave him what he lovingly named "The Death Glare". The girl hated being tickled! What infuriated her was that she was extremely ticklish. Everywhere.

"Nop. I really missed Lis, though. Where is she?" Gracie said jokingly, walking towards the trunk, pulling it opened and starting to take her bags out.

Walter walked her way before saying, "Funny. I think she didn't miss you as much. Otherwise she would be here instead of inside cooking your least favorite desert, don't you think?"

"Mom is making brownies?" Grace asked already on her way in, leaving behind all her baggage and a father with a huge smile on his face.

***

"Is that Jacob Black?" Grace squinted her eyes, looking through her bedroom window on the second floor, before concluding that yes, that was her next-door neighbor, having what looked like a lover's squat at the Blake's backyard.

"Yes! I'm telling you, a lot has changed since you left," her best friend, Jess Cameron, said getting up from where she was lying in Grace's bed and walking past the girl's opened cases on to the floor, heading to where an astonished ginger girl stood.

Despise being one year younger, Jess was already taller than Grace. With long legs, beautiful russet skin and sleek black hair, the girl looked like a model.

The Miller girl had always felt like 'The Ugly Duckling' around her friend. Her bright orange hair, small stature, curvy body and pale complexion, didn't fit in the reservation. But that no longer bothered her – and even if did, she would never admit it.

"Why did he cut his hair?"

"Why are you looking at his hair? Look at those abs, Grace. I think I'm in love." Jess looked about to combust.

"He does look... buff," she said for lack of a better word.

"He is not the only one. Do you remember Sam Uley?"

"Yeah, Leah's ex-fiancée who dropped her for her cousin, right?" Grace turned around, starting to fold her clothes again.

"Harsh, but yeah. That's the one." The tallest said, still looking out the window, while biting the skin next to her nail.

"Sorry..." Grace grabbed her friend's arm, trying to save her cuticles.

"Its's cool. Just... don't say that near her. Even better, don't mention him at all."

"Gotcha!"

"He was the first one to grow huge. After that a bunch of other boys started hanging out with him and they all look like they are... in steroids or something. I swear." Grace looked at her friend who had started to sound a bit too upset. Like it was something personal.

"Yeah, I vaguely remember Leah saying that it looked like he was getting taller by the day."

"That's right, you were still here for the first one. I forgot," Jessie's tone came down a few notches, so Gracie figured she was calming down. "Latest additions were Jake and Embry."

"Embry Call?" Grace looked at her friend.

"Yes! Him. Then there's Paul Lahote."

Grace stopped listening there. That was a personal name for her.

Her story with Paul went back to when she first moved.

Summer vacation, 2001.

Lis's sister is Jessie's mom. That's how Grace found her way to the Cameron's house and where she met Paul Lahote, Jared's best friend at the time.

They all used to play together, and the Miller's little girl develop a huge crush on the Lahote boy. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone.

It all came crashing down when summer was over and 6th grade started for the three older kids. Because Jess was on the grade below, Grace decided that she would stick with the other two people she knew. Paul didn't enjoy the idea and after being rude to the little girl for a few weeks, he finally said the phrase that would hunt Grace all throughout Middle School.

"Get away from me, cold one. I bet they just sent you here to spy on us and plan how to get us all by surprise! You won't fool me, though." The little boy spat angrily.

After that, all the kids started to torment her, calling her The Cold One and refusing to touch her, because her skin was supposedly so cold, it would burn them.

Younger Grace blamed it all on Paul Lahote and made sure he knew that.

"He looks hot!" Jessie said bringing the ginger girl back to the present.

"Who?" she looked at her friend confused.

"Paul, duh. He's right there." The youngest pointed at something right where the forest began. Gracie's vision wasn't the best, but she could still count four shirtless figures waving at Jacob and his unknown friend.

"Who's the fourth dude?"

"That would be Jared," Jess frowned looking at what Grace assumed was her brother.

"Your brother Jared?" the tallest girl nodded. "Your brother is running around looking like that?" she pointed at Jacob who had just left his friend standing alone in the rain. "Oh my... maybe we will end up being sisters after all." She smirked.

Jess glared at her friend, who couldn't hold her laughter after that. "Not funny, Grace."

Grace Miller just laughed harder.