𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐋 [NEW MOON]

1.4

-

"She couldn't be phasing, right?"

"I've never seen a female phase" the male voice whispered "Charlie isn't Quileute..."

"What about her mother?"

"I'll ask the council about it- but until then, keep an eye on her for the rest of the night. If she is gonna phase, it's not safe for her to be alone."

"What do I tell her about me phasing?"

"You don't. Stick to the same story, and call me if anything."

-

I blinked my eyes, a splitting pain hitting my head the moment I opened them.

"Easy, tiger." Paul's voice was clear, right next to me, "You hit your head, pretty hard."

"What's going on?" I muttered, sitting up from the bed, looking around and noticing that I was in my bedroom, "How'd I get back home?"

"You passed out on the res. Sam had me bring you home, you were burning up." He explained, walking around my room and observing small things, "Probably just dehydrated."

I brought a hand to my throbbing head, turning to the glass of water on my side table and grabbing it and downing it.

"What time is it?" I let out a long breath, laying back down, "How long was I out?"

Paul cleared his throat, sitting on the chair next to my bed, "Only a few hours. Charlie came from work to make sure you were alright, told him I'd keep an eye on you until you woke up."

"Well...I'm awake. Feel free to leave." I avoided his gaze, playing with the hem of my blanket.

Seeing as he made it clear he had nothing to say to me, I felt justified in how I spoke to him.

"Athena, I-" He started, leaning his elbows onto his knees, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry?" I couldn't help but laugh a little, "For which part? The part where you completely ghosted me for weeks, or the part where you almost killed me?"

I looked at him, not expecting his eyes to be piercing into mine. He did look sorry, but for some reason his sorry just wasn't enough.

"I can't- I can't say much...except for sorry." He sighed.

He couldn't say much...except for sorry.

Wasn't that what I originally wanted? An apology?

No, I needed more. I wanted to hear the truth from him.

"Paul." I sat up, scooting closer to the side of the bed toward him, "If there's something your hiding from me, please, just throw me a bone. At least tell me that I'm not crazy."