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CHAPTER TWELVE: WHAT COMES AFTER
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AS IT TURNED OUT, it wasn't Embry that revealed the whole truth to Maggie, but Jacob. For a good six weeks, Paul and Embry avoided her at all costs. They would sit as far away as possible in any classes they shared and in the cafeteria, got to school at the last minute and left before the final bell could even ring. Maggie would be lying if she said it didn't hurt, but they didn't seem too happy about it either. Embry would always watch her sadly, like he wanted to break the ice again but physically couldn't. As for Paul, he didn't so much as acknowledge her existence, but Maggie soon noticed the exhausted rings around his eyes and the way he seemed to be constantly at war with himself. For truth be told, Sam had given Paul permission to tell her if he really wanted. She was his imprint, and Sam couldn't do anything about that. But Paul had chosen to stay quiet, terrified to cross that line, and nothing the pack said was enough to change his mind.
Though none of it mattered, in the end. Not Embry's regrets, or Paul's inner turmoil, or the pack's disapproval. For unintentionally, Maggie had dragged him over the line, kicking and screaming, by getting close to Bella Swan out of nowhere.
It started with Bella contacting her about Jacob.
I think he's ignoring me, she had said through the phone when Maggie had answered. We went to the movies last night, he got upset and stormed off.
What was meant to be just Bella asking one of Jacob's friends if he was alright turned into a sort of dependence on each other. Not quite friendship but a habit of picking up when the other called to rant, or meeting up at First Beach to walk Maggie's dog. Even Hayden came along a couple times, but her outspoken nature was a bit much for Bella, who was not quite her old self but somewhere in the stages of healing. Maggie was just the kind of mellow she needed to keep her head above water, to breathe easily for a second.
Which was why she said yes when Bella asked her to go on a hike together. She hadn't been sure at first. Something in her gut felt uncertain and foreboding, like she was a mouse approaching a trap, but the thought of being stuck inside with an arguing Vera and Dakota (they'd been at each other's throats a lot more lately) was so much worse than whatever problems could possibly come from spending a day in the woods with Bella Swan.
Or so she thought. But fate had a funny way of proving Maggie Sullivan wrong.
Bella came to pick up Maggie right after breakfast. The Sullivan house was in its usual state of disarray. Vera and Dakota were arguing about who got to use the shower first while Zeke sat between them typing away on his phone. Maggie had changed into comfortable clothes for the hike and was helping Wren wash the dishes while she waited. Energised by Vera and Dakota's raised voices, Scooby had started to bark up a storm as one of their neighbours paused their morning run to have a chat in the yard with Everett, who was busy fixing an issue with Wren's car engine. All in all, the chaos was a pretty common occurrence for the Sullivans, but it was something that Bella obviously wasn't used to in her own home with just Charlie around. She seemed shyer than usual when Everett led her inside, her hands tucked deeply into the pockets of her grey hoodie.
