? DISCONTINUED ? Between the Perennial Blooms || Paul Lahote

Thirty Two | Narcissus

'Look how you've grown,' she could hear her say, that gravelly voice so clear in her ears that Bailey humored the idea that she was, in fact, losing her very mind. 'So beautiful and brave.' A gentle breeze blew the stray curls around her face and Bailey swore it was her Gran's hand pushing them off her forehead. 'So strong.'

A lot has happened, Bailey thought, squeezing Paul's hand in hers as he took a seat atop a rogue log of driftwood and pulled her down to rest in his lap. His arms moved to circle around her stomach and she leaned into the warm plain of his chest with a sigh while his nose nuzzled into her neck.

'And so much more will continue to come your way.'  Her Gran's voice replied. 'But you've always been tough, Bailey-Wren, and with that boy in your corner now... I don't think you've ever had a greater fighting chance.'

Bailey sighed, staring out at the waves lapping gently along the shore like a long-lost lover returned home. Her heart ached — clenched with pangs of loss. I miss you, she thought, pressing back more firmly against Paul's chest to alleviate the hurt. I miss you so much.

'No need for that, darling. I've always been right here.'

And though that gravelly voice no longer sounded after that, Bailey knew her words rang true. She could feel her — looking back now, she realized she could always feel her— and when she peaked over her shoulder and up into Paul's dark mahogany orbs above, the reflection of her Gran's stared back at her, begging to tell him what she kept hidden so deep.

"Baby?" He asked.

Seeing the concern in his eyes, she took a deep breath and decided she would confide in him.

"I miss my Gran," Bailey began, pulling his arms tighter around her and resting her hands over his so she could play with his fingers linked atop her belly. "With everything that's happened these past few weeks, I just... I miss her."

"I know you do," he murmured gently, smiling small when her brows furrowed ever-so-slightly to form a crease above her nose. "You call out her name a lot in your sleep, baby."

Her eyes grew sad and she sighed, looking to the sandy shore as she realized just how much his words made sense. "I-I guess I miss her a lot, then."

"And you probably always will," Paul remarked quietly, beginning to fiddle with her small fingers in return as he pressed a sweet kiss to her temple. "She was the only person you had supporting you for a long time baby, and now that she's gone..." he shook his head, unable or unwilling to say the words out loud. "It's okay to miss her. It's okay to miss her every minute of every day, and it's okay to feel sad that you do."

"But I don't," she countered in a voice no louder than a whisper. "I mean, I'm happy. Here, with you, with Papa and Bella and Jay and the pack; I'm happy."

Paul shifted her body sideways in his lap so that they could look upon one another face to face and freed one of his hands from her grasp to smooth back her hair. "You sound like you're trying to convince me-" she frowned in protest and opened her mouth to respond, but a quick finger to her lips kept her from doing so. Paul's eyes met hers with a knowing look and he shook his head. "I believe you baby, I do," he told her, lowering his finger as she was successfully pacified. "But you've been through a lot. With your Gran, moving to Forks, finding out about us Quileute boys and finding out about those stupid bloodsuckers. I mean, that's not even counting the whole mess with Quil." He continued, growling lightly in the back of his throat before just as quickly softening. "Hell, that's not even counting the whole mess with me. Because trust me baby, I know I haven't exactly been doing you any favors." Paul looked down at her sadly, tenderly, and brushed his thumb back and forth across her cheek as if committing the feeling to memory. "But if there's one thing I've learned from all the shit I've been through, it's that things will get better. They always do. And you've got a lot of people standing behind you now, baby. We'll all help you." His lips pressed a firm kiss to her forehead this time. "I'll help you."

"I-I know you will." Bailey replied, tilting her chin up to run her nose along the length of his jaw in an affectionate manner she realized had rubbed off from him. "It's just that- it's been so hard," she choked, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes as she looked down at her leg that was scarred and would remain so forever. "My leg, it- it's so... so- Paul, it's-"

"Breathe, sweet girl," Paul cooed in her ear, hugging her close to him and tucking her head firmly against his chest. She did as he said, ear centered over his beating heart while she tried to pace her breaths in time with his. Eventually, after several seconds went by, the panic in her chest had lessened to slight tremors in her hands.

"I knew you would get angry," she eventually spoke, breaking the silence that fell between them as Paul waited for her to regain her bearings. "I knew you would get angry if I told you I wanted to meet the Cullens and I knew you wouldn't let me go when I did." Her eyes met his through a sheen of tears and Paul could've sworn he felt his heart crack at the sight. "So I kept it from you." Fingers curled into the hem of his shirt as if it were second nature and Bailey anchored herself to him desperately. "And with Quil, I- Embry kept talking about how angry you were — how Sam was worried about what you'd do if you saw him. So when he gave me Quil's letter, I- all I could think about was how furious you'd be if you found out, how furious you'd be if you read it, and I- I just thought that- that maybe you shouldn't know. That maybe it'd be better." Bailey sighed then, long and soft and sad, and she rested her head tiredly against the crook of his neck. "I realize now that I was wrong though. And I'm sorry for that." She echoed, sounding much like a broken record from her endless apologies the day before. "I'm so sorry."

"I know you are," Paul replied, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand in a tender gesture that had her aching heart racing against her ribcage. "But the secrets have to stop," he added, not scolding, but gentle — a plea. "I can't help you if you don't let me, and even if you think it'll hurt my feelings, even if you know it'll make me angry, you've gotta tell me what's going on. 'Cause I know I get mad easy, baby," he told her, smiling as she stared up at him with those wide, glossy eyes of hers that he found so utterly endearing and so breathtakingly beautiful. "But if there's one thing you oughta know about me-"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she leaned in, anticipating the words set to leave his lips and getting caught off-guard by a swift kiss to her own. Paul smiled down at her as she blinked in surprise and rubbed his nose gently against her small one.

"-it's that when it comes to you, little Bailey-Wren, I can't ever stay mad for long."

And when her lips pulled up into a grin so soft Paul felt his heart physically lurch, he realized that of all the things he had ever said to his little golden-haired beauty, his last words had never been more true.

• • •

Author's Note

So... hope everyone likes fluff two chapters in a row because... well, there you have it! Anyway, if you happened to miss the little blurb earlier, I've posted a new Story on my profile intended only for the mature scenes between Paul and Bailey titled Beneath Silk Sheets! Once again, it is mature, and it should be pretty self-explanatory in terms of where it picks up because it's literally just this exact chapter with like 3,000 more words slapped in the middle that depict a saucy little scene. Soooooo for those of you hoping for some written *intimacy* between our favorite Imprint pair, go give it a little read and maybe even a comment on your thoughts and if you want more or think I totally failed! (Lol *nervous sweat*) Nevertheless, thank you once again for all of your support, sweet readers! I honestly couldn't do this without you!

—Vanillarain13