Attraction

38.

As I sit up in bed I realize I'm back in the house with Paul, I remember him giving me C.P.R and I remember him carrying me into the house.
My throat feels dry so I get out of bed and gulp down a glass of water from the kitchen where Paul sits at the table in the dining room. His eyes beam as he sees me, he stands up from his seat as he walks over to me.

"You're awake..." His lips turn upward in that perfect smile that I love so much as he wraps his arms around me—I lean into his chest.

"How many days was I out?" I ask sitting up slightly.

"Since yesterday, but I was so worried about you." He responds.

I look up at him, peering my eyes into his warm brown ones. Paul kisses my forehead as he gently strokes the side of my face with his hand, I can't believe I survived what I had just gone through with Dylan—I should probably be dead right now but I'm not, I'm here and alive.

My mind goes to when I knew Dylan had planned on biting me and turning me into what he was, shivers filled my body at the horrible memory. I can't imagine what I would have done if he had turned me into a vampire— Paul would have rejected me and be repulsed by me.

He would have turned me down, I wouldn't have him anymore if Dylan would have changed me.
My arms wrap around Paul as I cuddle my head against his chest, the sound of his steady heartbeat comfort me.

"I'm okay now." I say looking up at him, "You saved my life."

Paul places a tender kiss against my forehead as he exhaled softly through his nose. Being in the comfort of him makes me feel so relaxed and safe, I still can't believe I'm actually alive. When I had planned on jumping off of that cliff I didn't plan on Dylan trying to take away my oxygen, I just knew I had to get away from him.

"Are you hungry?" He asks.

"Very." I lightly giggle.

"Do you feel like eating here or do you want to go out to a restaurant?" Paul questions.

I ponder for a moment as the empty feeling in my stomach begins to pang.

"Let's order food here." I respond calmly.

We search Google for local restaurants that do delivery services in the area, after searching we find a good restaurant that cooks the best Italian food in the Forks. I get up from the bed as Paul orders our food, my body is low on energy from lack of food but my muscles need a good shower.

After showering and washing my hair I get dressed in a pair of warm clothes, it's quite cold outside today. The food arrived quicker than I had expected it to but I'm not complaining, Paul and I ate our food. I grab a few cleaning products from under the sink as I began to spray down the counters and the table in the dining room.

"Whatcha doing?" Paul puzzles.

"I'm just cleaning." I half chuckle.

"The house looks clean to me." He shrugs as I glance at a fresh coffee stain on the counter and some of his dirty shirts laying on the floor next to the dirty clothes bin.

He chuckles musically as he picks up the clothes and puts them in the bin.

"Do you want help with anything?" His offer is heartfelt but I like to clean a certain way. Besides, I'm trying to distract myself from what happened a few days ago.

"That's okay, I've got it. Just relax or something." I smile up at him.

"I should be telling you that." He responds.

"Maybe. But I've been sleeping for a while." I reply to him as I continue scrubbing the kitchen table with cleaning products.

I throw my hair up in a messy ponytail as I begin sweeping the kitchen floor—the only room in the house without any carpet. After I finish sweeping, I mop and then do the dishes, then the laundry.

My energy level is high and sufficient given what I had gone through a couple of days ago. But I can't stop cleaning, it's distracting me from everything that I don't want to think about. All of the possibilities of what could have happened to me with Dylan, the fact that he is now dead and I no longer had to worry about him— That was a good thing.

But in the back of my mind it still hadn't clicked and I was worried it might not be the last I would see of him. Dylan is dead, he isn't coming back and I need to get that through my mind. A sigh leaves my lips as I crash my body onto the comfort couch in the living room.

"I made you some tea." Paul's voice fills my ears and I sit up to see him bringing me a hot cup of tea. He sets the cup down in front of me as he places a kiss on my forehead and sits beside me.

"Thank you." I give him a smile.

"I'm surprised at how much energy you have. Most people would need a day or two..." He trails off.

"This is just my way of dealing with what happened." I tell him calmly.

"I know. I'm here if you need anything, you know that right?" He says soothingly.

"Of course." I say giving him a small smile.

I lean my head into Paul as I listen to the sound of his heartbeat, a content sigh leaves my lips as I close my eyes for a moment just relaxing and enjoying his company.

My phone buzzes and I lift my head from its position to check the notification.

I haven't heard anything about him. You? - Regina.

My heart jumps as I remember our last conversation, she had told me Dylan was near Vancouver. But now Dylan is dead, he was a vampire, he was the murderer of Jessie—How can I ever explain any of that to her?
What could I tell her that might bring her comfort or ease her mind about what happened to Jessie.

"Regina, Jessie's ex the one I met at the funeral had been keeping tabs on Dylan for me from the news." I say softly, "She just texted me asking if I've heard anything."

Paul nods in understanding at what I'm getting at, I don't know what to say to her.

"Well, you haven't heard anything on the news either." He says.

It's not a lie, it's honest—I haven't heard anything on the news about Dylan either. He's dead now and he will never hurt me or anyone else again. I type back to Regina that I haven't heard anything either, she doesn't text me back but I figure she might be satisfied with my reply.

We're safe now, I'm safe now, a small sigh leaves my lips and a take a sip of the tea that's cooled down in front of me. My phone buzzes after a few moments and I grab it to check the notification.

Meet me at the coffee shop tonight at 7pm, I need to talk to you. -Regina