Paul had a shift at Fireside's that Saturday. It felt like the whole town was dining there. Even his mom was there. She had lunch with the mayor, his wife, and the sheriff. Paul was certain it was a supernatural meeting. He wanted to eavesdrop, but he was really nervous to do that to those specific people; one carried a gun.
He approached the table to say hello to the group. His mom looked surprised to see him. "Paul sweetie, I wasn’t aware you were working today. You've been working a lot lately."
"It's the holidays so I could use all the extra cash." he lied to the table.
"What a responsible young man you raised," the mayor's wife chimed in.
"I better get these dishes back." Paul said and took his leave. Lying to his mom was worse than lying to his friends. He really hoped Thalia would come around. Plus Aiden was a normal guy forced into the supernatural just like him.
Six o'clock came around and that meant his shift was over. He still had the rest of the night to do something only he didn't feel like doing anything. He stayed home and helped around the house. Maybe his guilt might subside if he vacuumed.
When the chores were done he decided to actually look at colleges. The dining room table had more surface area than his desk, so he grabbed his laptop and all his college reading materials to set them up downstairs.
A fantasy of moving away and forgetting about all this popped in his head. He could lie low for 5 more months and move to New York and forget about all this. He wondered how many witches were in New York. Guilt came over him once again. Would it be a dick move to abandon everyone in his life? His friend didn't want him involved in the first place.
The door opened, interrupting his thoughts. His mom was home. As she walked in, she looked around, "Wow! The dishes are done, the garbage is out, and you vacuumed.”
Paul laughed and finished her sentence, "Who am I and what have I done with the real Paul?”
"Yes, that, and thank you," his mom responded. She walked over and kissed his forehead. Noticing the college information on the table, she asked, "Are you still working out where you want to go? You know you don’t have to stay close by. I will live if you leave the nest.”
"I mean, I was thinking about going to Charleston. It’s close by, and all my friends want to go there," Paul replied.
His mom sat down and grabbed his hands. "Or you can branch out. There are other places in the world. I’m not trying to separate you from your friends, but you need to think about yourself.”
Shewas definitely trying to get him away from Autumnvale and his supernatural friends. Goodnights were said. Paul went upstairs to take a shower before bed. Tonight there was no daydreaming or questioning everything, he just passed out. It was a much needed sleep.
When morning came, Paul texted Thalia first thing to see if she had made a decision. There was no response, so he went for a run. He headed to the high school so he could use the track field. Keeping in shape seemed important. Stamina might come in handy in the future.
After a lot of running, Paul took a break on the bleachers and checked his text messages, but there was still no response. Suddenly, Tyler and Noah walked up and sat beside him. Noah put his arm around him. "Greetings, Paul.”
"Oh my God, you used my name!”
"Yes, I’m evolving as a person and trying to be nice. Don’t interrupt. I know I’m rough around the edges, but I’m turning over a new leaf. So, I’m inviting you to guy's night at my place.”
Paul looked over at Tyler.
"I know. He assumed you never believe him, so he brought me. Aiden and Quinn have agreed, so you should come. Plus, Noah has really fancy booze." Tyler reassured.
Paul agreed. He went home to shower and tried to contact Thalia. She finally called him back, and informed her about night. They both agreed it would be good for him to go. His anxiety was through the roof, so drinking would be kept to a minimum. Getting sloppy drunk would not be beneficial at a time like this.
He told his mother about his plans for the night. She was hesitant to let him go at first. A thought popped into his head. Did his mom know about Quinn being a werewolf?
As soon as he arrived at the Carlyle brothers’ house, he was greeted with cheers and Noah put a glass of whiskey in his hands. The game of the night was poker. As suspicious as Paul was, it was nice to hang out with the guys.
The game began, and the men were all seated at the table. Zane was the dealer. So Aiden, Quinn, Tyler, Noah, and he would be the players. It was typical guy talk. There was sports talk. They discussed the Autumnvale football team winning only one game this season. Well technically two, they won another game by default because the other team forfeited. The topic then included whether they should try out for college sports. Soon the conversation turned to girls and romance.
Zane asked Quinn, “Any update on Rhea?”
“Yeah, man, she seems good. No memories back though,.”
Tyler chimed in. “I always thought Aiden and Rhea might date. “
“Nah, we are just friends.” Aiden responded.
The group needed more drinks and Quinn wanted to leave the conversation, so he went to get them. Noah reached across the table to peek at his cards. Zane slapped his hand away. “Play fair, brother.”
Noah’s eyes shifted to Paul. “What about you? Any woman stuff in your world?”
Paul paused. Did Aiden know he went on a date with Melissa? Should Paul have made sure he was cool with it? It was always his attention, but he got kidnapped right afterward.
“He went on a date with Melissa." Aiden stated.
Quinn was walking up while that was said, and Paul’s heart skipped a beat. He forgot to tell his best friend. He was secretly hoping Quinn didn’t hear.
Noah turned around to face Quinn. “Did you know this? Your b.f.f. and your ex-g.f.?”
“Seems Paul forgot to mention that to me. No worries, man. You have my blessing.” said Quinn.
Noah responded, “Damn,why is everyone here well adjusted and being mature? I was hoping for some drama.”
Zane looked at Noah. “Is that why you organized a poker night, to mess with the group?”
“No. Like I said, new leaf. I am a swell guy now,” Noah said while holding up three fingers. “Scout's honor.”
Paul’s guard went down a little. If Noah was up to something, surely his brother would be aware of it. Plus, there’s no way Aiden and Tyler would scheme with Noah. The group decided to do shots, and they kept on playing into the night. Eleven o'clock came around, they called it a night.
When he arrived home he made sure to be quiet so as to not wake up his mother. His head hit the pillow and he went straight to sleep. The next morning was a little rough for Paul. His head was throbbing.
“Paul answered your phone, you've slept enough.” he heard Thalia's voice say.
The cellphone on his table was buzzing. There were multiple texts from Thalia and she was trying to call. He picked up the phone.
"There you are. Did you learn anything from poker night?" she asked.
"Nothing, it seemed on the up and up.”
Thalia said something unexpected. "I had an interesting night. I watched your friend Beatriz break into your room."
"Wait? What!”
"Then she broke into Rhea's room. So it was a set up. My guess is Aiden recruited the twins into his crazy scheme." responded Thalia.
Paul could feel how annoyed and frustrated Thalia was through the phone. "Well you got your wish. I think we should tell Aiden. There's no way your friend Beatriz would do that for Noah alone. He's a killer and dick. However, Aiden. I can see her doing it for him. We tell him everything and hope he's on our side."