COLD WATER

four.           goodbye

▬ "YOU'RE NEVER GIVING IT BACK ARE YOU?" Paul mused, his eyebrow raised slightly as he looked at the girl that sat next to him. She had a smile on her face as she pulled the hoodie she wore over her knees before putting the hood on her head.

"It's not like you need it." She mumbled, pulling her arms into the hoodie.

"The heat's on." He told her and she shrugged. "So, Munchkin, you gonna tell me about last night?" He asked, eyes on the road while Rachel snored lightly as she leaned against the window – a blanket pulled over her and one of Cori's pillows between her head and the cold glass.

Cori took a breath, her eyes unfocused as she watched the name of the radio station roll across the tiny screen on the dash. "Bella wanted me to go to her party. At the Cullens' house." His hands tightened around the steering wheel a little, but he didn't say a word. He knew she had been with them, he could smell it on her even if she had taken a shower. "I'm not exactly sure what happened, I was talking to Travis. I guess Bella cut her finger and Jasper kinda lost it-" he turned to look at her, his eyes frantically searching for any sign of injury. "And Edward, he threw Bella backwards and she cut her arm pretty bad then I-I was outside. Emmett got me out of the house." Her fingers laced together and she gripped them tightly, shaking her head a little.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No." She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "But it just... it brought up stuff with James, not that it ever really went away. Some days it's just easier to not think about it." She lightly pressed her hand against her rib cage. She didn't feel much pain initially, but the weeks following that night were hell. And sometimes she could still feel the memory of the pain.

"I'm sorry, Munchkin." He reached his hand over and placed it on her head, lightly pulling her towards him and she leaned against him. "I wish I knew how to help you. I wish I could make you forget."

"Talking about it helps some, I think." She mumbled, picking at her nail polish – her hands still inside the hoodie. "I know I feel better after talking to you about it and for at least a few days I'm okay."

"Yeah, but I want you to be okay for more than just a few days." He huffed, pulling into the school parking lot. "I want you to be okay for all the days." She giggled lightly, turning her face a little so her cheek was against his chest.

"I'll get there." She hummed. "Eventually."

"I know." He nodded, pulling into the empty spot next to the red Camaro before the two got out, neither bothering the sleeping girl – they knew she loved to sleep.

"Lahote, what are you doing here?" Noah asked, his arms crossed over his chest but the smirk that played on his lips was anything but menacing.

"Just dropping off the munchkin." He answered, his arm slung around the girl's shoulders. "Still pouting about the last time we kicked your ass?"

"You're not on the team anymore."

"No, still support my school, though." He grinned and Noah rolled his eyes, chuckling a little.

"Miss you on the field." He held his hand out and Paul shook it, a sad smile crossing his face.

"Me too."

"I smell a bromance." Carter mused from where he leaned against his car, a cigarette between his fingers and his sunglasses resting in his face despite the fact that the sun hadn't shown itself in weeks.

"Zip it, Moore." Paul huffed jokingly and Cori just smiled as she looked between the three of them. Three of her favorite people on the plant and they got along, it was simply the best.

"So, Pipsqueak, how was the party?" Noah asked the girl and her smile faded just a little. Paul tightened his arm around her just a little, just enough to keep her grounded.

"It was pretty boring, actually." She lied. "And awkward. There were nine people and one of them was my ex-boyfriend. How do you think it went?"

"That bad, huh?" He asked and she nodded.

"That just proves that you shouldn't go to parties without us." Carter told her before taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that." She hummed sarcastically, her eyes moving to the cigarette between his lips. "And you should really stop smoking. It's bad for you."

"I cut back." He shrugged, getting an eye roll from the girl which made Paul laugh.

"It's true." Noah added. "He was smoking, like, a pack a day."

"Now I have this annoying little shit that gives me hell when I light one up." The lanky boy muttered, his eyes narrowed playfully at the girl.

"My bad for caring about you." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I just want you to live and have a decent set of lungs – if you haven't damaged them beyond repair yet."

He stopped and looked at her before looking at the cigarette. It was more of a habit than anything else, his cousin had given him his first one when he was thirteen. Every time his cousin would visit, they'd sneak off and smoke a few. And at the time, he looked up to his cousin.

"Okay." He hummed before dropping it to the pavement, much to the surprise of the other three. It was barely halfway gone. "I'll stop." He pressed the toe of his boot into the cigarette, putting out the embers and Cori looked up at him completely shocked. "Thanks for caring."

"Always." She moved towards him, Paul let his arm fall from her shoulders, then she wrapped her arms around the lanky boy.

"I might cry." Noah mumbled, wiping at his eyes jokingly and Paul chuckled as he reached over and lightly shoved the boy.

"Alright, Munchkin, we should head out." Paul sighed and she pulled away from Carter. "See you later?"

"Yeah." She quickly hugged him, relishing in his warmth for a moment before they pulled back. He bid both boys goodbye before climbing back into his truck and leaving. And Cori couldn't help but look up at Carter once again, confusion twisting her features.

"What?" He asked, his eyebrows pinched.

"Can't believe you just quit."

"He only said he'd quit." Noah piped in. "The real test will be when lunch rolls around and he doesn't have another one."

"I'm done." He nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack. "Toss 'em." He handed the boy the box then held his hand out to Cori. She smiled as she latched onto him and they started towards the school, leaving Noah to look at the box in his hands for a moment.

He was still very much confused. Carter had smoked for years, he was rarely seen without a cigarette the first three years of high school. And he had only cut back because the smell made Cori sick to her stomach. It didn't make sense, but if his friend wanted to quit, he wasn't gonna stand in his way. He quickly caught up to them, tossing the mostly full pack into the trash can as he passed it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

▬ "HAVE A NICE DAY." Cori smiled, waving at an old couple as they left the shop. "Come again soon!" The woman smiled, her frail hand raised in a wave as her husband held the door open for her, a small paper bag in his other hand. Once they were gone she leaned against the counter, her blue eyes scanning the shop.

It was a cute little place that sold things that people in the town had made. Things like soap, candles, jewelry, purses and tote bags, glassware, and even art. And Cori absolutely loved it.

"You gonna be alright if I head out to get dinner?" Mandy asked, a smile on her face as she stopped next to Cori behind the counter.

"Yeah, of course." The girl nodded. "I can manage for a while."

"You want anything?"

"A burger, if you don't mind."

Mandy nodded. "I'll be back soon." With that she took her purse and left. Cori hummed as she looked around, her fingers tapping lightly against the counter. But she stopped when she saw that one of the shelves that held the soaps was slightly askew. She made her way around the counter and bent down before moving things around.

Just as she had gotten a few bars moved the bell on the door rang as it was pushed open.

"Hi! Welcome in!" She called out before pushing herself up, her eyes still on the shelves. "Let me know if there's anything I can help you find." She looked up to make her way back towards the counter but she stopped when she saw Emmett standing in front of her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey, Cori."

She blinked a few times, her lips parted but no words came out so she took a breath before she tried again. "Can I help you find anything?" She asked, her customer service smile on her face.

"No, I, um... can we talk for a minute?"

"I'm working."

He looked around, his eyebrow raised slightly. "No one's here." He stated, clearly amused before looking at her once again. "It'll only be a minute, I promise."

"Okay." She mumbled as she made her way by him and rounded the counter – she felt like she needed a barrier between them.

"Are you okay? After what happened last night?"

"Yeah." She nodded, her hands tugging at the hoodie she wore. "I'm fine. Just brought up stuff from before, is all. But I'll be okay."

"I know you will." He gave her a soft smile. "You're stronger than you realize."

"Thanks, Emmett." She mumbled, her head down and it was quiet between them for a while.

"Look, um, I know that you don't really talk to any of us any more, but I wanted you to know that we're leaving town."

"Because of last night, right?" She looked up at him and even though she didn't want it to, the news did upset her.

He nodded his head once. "Um, Edward is telling Bella that it's because people are starting to notice that Carlisle isn't aging. But I couldn't bring myself to lie to you. Not again."

"Do-do you really have to leave?" She asked, playing with the chain of a necklace that hung from the display next to her.

"Yeah, we do." He nodded, his hand moving towards hers. He slowly placed his hand on hers, stopping her fingers from toying with the necklace. Her fingers curled around his, gripping his hand a little and despite everything, there was a sense of comfort when her hand was in his. "But not without saying goodbye." He gave her a small smile when her eyes met his again, then the door opened and Travis walked in, Rosalie following him.