Body On Fire (Jacob Black)

Chapter 5

     It was Bella's first day of school, and although it was just another day to Reyna, she woke up extra early to make sure she was ready in time for Bella's arrival. Reyna usually was one to wait til the last possible second to get ready for the day, but not too late to the point she couldn't make herself presentable. However, she wasn't sure what time Bella would arrive that morning and she didn't want to keep her waiting.

     Reyna opened her bedroom door, at the exact same time, Paul decided to leave his room as well. They made eye contact just for Paul to look away quickly, and walk down the stairs grumbling to himself about something like, 'it's too fucking early" which only caused a giggle to erupt from Reynas throat. Paul having heard this, looked over his shoulder at the bottom of the stairs and sent her a mean glare. While Reyna thought she probably should have been intimidated she wasn't, because Paul wasn't fooling her, his hard demeanor that he tried to put up as a front for everybody didn't work on her.

"Good morning to you too, Paul," Reyna greeted with a grin as she sat still standing at the top of the stairs, his eyebrow lifted at the greeting. It was obvious Reyna was unfazed by his glare, and that bothered him, he didn't like that he couldn't get under her skin, make her stutter over words, or shrink away from his eye contact with fear. It wasn't as if he wanted her to be afraid of him, as much as it was he didn't want her to talk to him, because Reyna was the type of girl that once you get to know her, you'll soon find yourself spilling all of your deepest and darkest secrets.

     Paul only sent her a nod knowing that if he didn't acknowledge her greeting, she'd only try harder to get under his skin, and he didn't want that. Seeming satisfied, Reyna began descending the stairs quietly. Her parents were both off to work, and it was again another morning left with her and Paul, alone.

Reyna began making herself a bowl of cereal as Paul sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, eating an apple, and once again reading the paper as he did so every morning. The silence in the room was tense, Paul not wanting to utter a word, and Reyna munching on her lucky charms, not so quietly because she had thought if there was even a little bit of noise it would help ease the tension that hung thick in the room.

She had thought wrong.

"You don't have to pretend you hate me, Paul" Reyna said after swallowing, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Paul glanced up at her over the newspaper that sat rested in his hand, he averted his gaze back down to whatever article he was reading this morning, without acknowledging her words. Reyna sighed heavily, and placed her bowl in the sink behind her before turning back around and locking her eyes to the heavy tempered boys forehead, the only thing that she could see above the paper in his rough calloused hands.

"Look, you were fine with me a few days ago, when I mentioned cliff diving, now you look at me like I'm the one that causes you so much pain." Reyna spoke to him softly, her nose scrunched in confusion, because the boy in front of her was just that, confusing! Paul sighed and set the paper down in front of him softly against the cold, white marble of the island table beneath it. "I guess, I just don't have much to say." He said, with a shrug, and Reyna knew this to both be true and a lie.

Yes, he may not know what to say, he may not know how to converse with the girl that stood before him, but she also knew he wasn't shy either. If he wanted to talk, he would, and although Reyna knew she should accept his wishes she didn't feel like she could. Because, the boy in front of her who tried so hard to display a mean facade she knew he wasn't at all as hard as he tried to play himself off to be. Everybody has a certain depth beneath the surface, and Reyna knew it was selfish, because she didn't know him all that well, and it'd only been a couple weeks since he'd moved into her home. However, she couldn't stand when he shut her out. She felt like she could help, like she could ease his pain if only he would let her in, and maybe she could become his best friend, that she knew everybody needed. But Reyna also knew, that despite everything, it was too soon. He needed time to heal on his own before he let anybody else in, because if he pawned the pain off onto somebody else, it would mean the pain never really left in the first place because later, when all alone, the pain would creep back in and he'd have to deal with it anyway. It was like ripping off a bandaid on a freshly sealed wound, the bandaid helps for a while, but the second it's ripped off, the wound becomes fresh again. He needed to heal on his own, on his own time, in his own way.