In This Life ○ Paul Lahote

Seven

I groan as I sit up in bed, rubbing my eyes and taking in a large yawn. I look to my clock and slump pathetically when I see that it's four in the morning. I slide out of bed, get my running clothes, and slip out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.
I do my daily morning routine and as I walk out of the house, I see Jacob run out from the woods in jean shorts. Not even shoes or socks.
"Uh..." I mumble and he freezes, looking to me with wide, nervous eyes.
Mine narrow playfully and my smirk widens.
"Sneaking in from some late night hanky-panky, are we?" I insinuate and his eyes practically bug out.
"N-No it's not-"
"Are you using protection?" I cut him off, knowing all to well that I'm wrong but not wanting him to that I know.
"No, I-"
"I don't care how good your game is Jacob Black, one day it's gonna feel just a little too good and then you're gonna get her pregnant." I sigh before opening the door and grabbing my bag, taking out one of the many brown paper bags. I stuff my bag back in the closet and jog over to Jacob, handing him the bag.
"Oh, you even got the after sex sweat." I nod and clap him on the back as he looks into the bag.
"I don't-"
"Yes you do my friend." I nod with a chuckle before running off into the woods. I chuckle to myself with a shake of my head and push myself to run just a little faster. My breathing was just starting to pick up when I hear a twig snap from behind me. I slid to a stop and spin around, throwing a fist but an unnaturally warm hand catches my fist. I sigh out the breath I had been holding and let my muscles relax as I step back.
"Way to scare the crap out of me." I breathe and Paul smiles in return.
"Sorry." He apologizes but I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean it.
"What're you doing out here? More hanky-pinky?" I ask and eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"What?" He asks and I chuckle and shake my head.
"Nothing, I just saw Jacob sneaking in." I nod my head back in the direction of the Black house.
"Oh, yeah that... We uh-"
"It's fine." I tell him with a small smile and he looks into my eyes.
"You know why I chose to become a Behavior Analyst?" I ask and he waits for the answer.
"Because it's always been easy for me to tell when a person's lying. And I've only gotten better at it." I tell him and his jaw flexes as he looks away from me.
"So, you don't have to make up lies." I smile to him and lean against a tree.
"A secret is meant to be kept." I tell him and he looks up at me except this time he looks guilty. I chuckle and pat his shoulder before going to continue on my run.
"Why are you out here so early?" Paul asks, grabbing my hand but not in a demanding tone.
"I don't sleep late. This is my morning routine." I tell him.
"Insomnia?" He asks and I shake my head no with a smile.
"No, insomnia is just not being able to sleep. Usually the insomniac will stay in bed because they're drained emotionally but their body tells them they can't sleep yet. Usually stress induced or a fear of the dark, or the unknown." I rattle off before biting my lip.
"No I'm not an insomniac." I take a deep breath, stretching.
"I have a bad case of ADHD." I tell him.
"That's why I took off yesterday, got the jitters. I was sitting still for too long so I have these bursts of adrenaline."
"It looked like you were in pain..." He mumbles and I nod, looking all around before looking into his eyes, not knowing if I should tell him or not but I can't bring myself to keep anything from him.
"It causes too much strain on my heart." I nod a little. "Doc says it'll end up killing me." I chuckle to try and lighten the mood but the kid looks utterly shattered.
"Hey. Hey are you okay? I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you upset, I-"
"How are you okay with that?" Paul asks in a quiet voice and I shut my mouth, my lips forming a line. I take a deep breath, looking all around before sitting on the floor, leaning my back against a tree. Paul slowly sits down too, sitting against the same tree but off to my side so I couldn't really see him.
"I've had it since forever." I start, looking all around with a small smile on my face.
"I always knew mine was a little more extreme than the usual case, and when I was thirteen my doctor told me I'd die because of my unusual adrenaline spikes. I should've been dead by sixteen, well I was. I was legally dead for three minutes, but I woke up." I nod, patting my chest.
"My heart's built tough." I chuckle.
"So don't worry about it, okay? I ain't croaking any time soon. I've still got a lot to do." I sum up.
"Like what." He asks after a moment and I smile even wider.
"Get a book published." I start, nodding my head a little.
"Get married, start a family. Live in a little place like this so I can go running through the forest every morning." I trail off in a whisper, suddenly feeling really tired. I take an uncharacteristically huge yawn before cracking my back and neck.
"You're tired?" Paul asks.
"Yeah it's weird." I mumble and before I could think about keeping my eyes open, I slip into sleep once more.
•~
"What happened to her?"
"She fell asleep."
"Just like that? I don't think so."
"I'm telling the truth! You think I'd actually do something to hurt her?"
"Holy shit." I gasp, shooting up so fast I get a head rush. I hiss out a breath and grab my head before running my eyes and looking all around. Emily's house.
I look up to see Sam and Paul talking to each other.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry-"
"It's no problem, are you okay?" Sam asks, shooting Paul a look that means more then just frustration.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good." I nod, glancing to Paul who must've been the one to carry me here.
"I don't know how I fell asleep, that's never happened to me before." I confess and I see Paul look to the ground with a small smile on his face. Maybe it has something to do with him. I do feel pretty comfortable around him, he doesn't make me... anxious. That thought in it of itself makes me anxious, but not the type I'm used to. Weird.
"You sure you're okay though?" Paul asks, more worry than usual in his eyes and I couldn't hide the dissatisfaction that crossed my features but I tried hiding it as quickly as I can.
"Yeah just a link in my neck." I nod before I thank them all dearly and promise to make up for it. I walk out of the house and just as I was about to jog out Paul runs in front of me.
"Are you mad at me?" He asks and I sigh out, letting the dissatisfaction show freely. Not that I could hide it from him if I tried.
"I didn't tell you all of that so you could worry about it. I told you... I don't even know why I told you but that's not the point." I rush out before closing my eyes, my jaw tight and I take a deep breath.
"I am twenty four, Paul Lahote." I remind him with a nod, opening my eyes to look him straight in his.
"I can take care of myself." I finish with a stern nod, no rudeness in my tone, before jogging off into the forest.