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viii. rumours

CHAPTER EIGHT

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     It smelled like cinnamon and fresh pine cones when Genevieve came downstairs after a long and hot shower. The orange shampoo she used, left wafts of scent behind her as she walked down the steps. It was Thursday and Joy sat on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate as she read the paper. It was her day off and she usually spend it inside or with one of her friends.

"Morning, mom." Gen yawned as she poured herself a cup as well before letting herself slide down onto the comfortable but worn couch. Rain hit the glass outside and she shivered slightly when thunder rumbled in the dark grey sky.

"Morning, sweetheart." her mother smiled as she put the paper down onto the coffee table, which Gen was resting her feet on. "How did you sleep? I heard you mumbling last night."

"Not too good." she shrugged with another yawn. "I've been having these terrible nightmares and I don't know what to do about them. I woke up around four and haven't slept since."

"What are they about?" Joy asked with a frown on her face.

"Dad." Gen whispered. "They're scary. Nothing is wrong with him, though. It is as if he was being haunted by some man in the forest. I can hear him calling for help before the man turns to me, trying to kill me."

Joy was silent for a moment. "That does sound terrifying."

Genevieve nodded and fiddled with her fingers, putting her cup down. It had been almost two months since her father had passed away but her dreams seemed to get worse and worse.

"Maybe it is your way of coping with his death?" Joy muttered. "Quil goes on runs to clear his mind, maybe you should join him one of these days. Might do you some good."

"Maybe," she nodded. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could go job hunting today? I know you said I couldn't but I can't be cooped up in this house forever and frankly I get bored."

"Alright," Joy smiled, silently agreeing with her daughter. "I heard the bookstore was hiring."

"Really?" Gen questioned. "John's place?"

"Yup," her mother grinned.

"I always went there as a child." Genevieve smiled, excited to see how much had changed.

"You can borrow my car. Be careful, the weather is horrible today." Joy said.

"Thanks, mom." the girl kissed her cheek." I'll be back around three, Paul is taking me out somewhere after that, if that's okay with you?"

"Of course it is." Joy smiled. "Just be careful out. Paul is a nice kid, i've known him for a few years now. He used to have a bad temper but he seems to have straightened out."

"I'm always careful." Gen rolled her eyes. "He is nice."

Genevieve said goodbye to her mother and pulled on her coat before making a dash towards the car. The girl cussed loudly as she shut the door when she got inside of the vehicle. Water dripped down her face as she started the engine, backing out of the driveway.

The youngest Ateara parked in front of the bookstore, watching the store front through the rain. Genevieve spent quite some time here before she moved away with her father. The John's were close friends of her family. Their daughter Dahlia and Genevieve went to school together. Gen grabbed her bag and got outside the car before jogging towards the shop.

"Genevieve Ateara?"

The brunette looked up after shaking the water from her long locks. There stood a girl about her age in front of her, dark eyes sparkling as she looked at Gen. The girl pulled Gen in a hug and laughed.

"Dahlia," Gen smiled. "You've barely changed."

"So my mom says." she rolled her eyes.

"How come I haven't seen you when I got back?" Gen questioned. She had gone to look for her but Joy said they had all moved away a bit after she moved.

"My sister went to college in New York." Dahlia said. "Mom and dad decided it was time for a change so we moved with her. Got back about two weeks ago and decided to re-open the shop."

"Well, i'm glad you did." Gen chuckled, glancing around the shop. "Looks a bit dusty, though."

"Obviously." Dahlia shook her head in amusement. "Help me clean?"

"If you hire me?"

"Deal."

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"Mom, i'm home." Gen threw the keys on the kitchen counter before entering the living room. Joy was reading a book and smiled at her when she looked up and her brother was sprawled across the other couch in an awkward position. "Is he okay?"

"Probably," she nodded. "How did it go?"

"Got the job." Gen grinned proudly. "But that is probably because it's Dahlia and her parents."

"That's why I told you they were hiring." Joy sat up and put her book down. "It's almost three."

"Yeah, I'm going to get changed. Paul should be here soon."

"You're going out with Paul?" Quil sat up quickly, glaring.

Of course he knew Paul would never hurt her, but Gen was still his little sister and Paul, well, Paul was Paul. A volatile, cheeky and temperamental young adult, that could burst into a silver grey wolf at any moment if someone looked at him the wrong way.

"Yes," she nodded. "He asked me last night when he drove me home."

"Where is he taking you?" he asked, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"Quil," Joy warned.

"He hasn't told me." Genevieve muttered, raising a brow and disappearing up the stairs.

The brunette brushed her long locks from her face and shook out her waves before pulling on a warmer top and another clean pair of jeans along with her black boots. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen.

Hey, Gen. I will be at your place in fifteen minutes. It is cold outside so make sure to dress warm, the wind feels like ice and I don't want you to get sick. By the way, I stole Jake's phone and got your number. See you in a bit.' - Paul Lahote.

Genevieve smiled and felt excitement bubble in her chest. Quickly, she threw her dirty clothes in the wash bin and looked into her mirror above her desk and frowned. Why did he want to taker her out? The questioned was beyond her and she brushed it off with a smile as she made her way downstairs.

"Gen, you don't even know him that well." Quil tried to talk her out of it.

"Quil," she sighed. "I am just making friends. We're not going to do anything strange. He is just taking me out to get to know me, okay? Aren't new friends supposed to get to know each other?"

"Just be careful." he said.

"Isn't Paul your friend?" Gen commented confused. "Why are you acting so strange? Is he really that bad of a guy?"

"He isn't that bad." Quil admitted. "But he has a reputation around here and I don't want you to get hung up in it."

"Has he done something bad?" Gen frowned, feeling her stomach sink.

"No," Quil shook his head. "It's all rumours. It's a small town, Gen. If one starts something – everyone will know within a day. He was a ladies' man when we were in high school, he'd like to mess around but nothing was ever serious. This one girl got upset that he didn't want a relationship and told the whole school she had gotten pregnant and that he forced an abortion on her. That wasn't true, he had never gotten her pregnant."

"That is horrible," Genevieve furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would she do that?"

"No one knows." Quil said. "The girl lives in Seattle now with her sister and left him a mess. He just has a bad temper ever since that incident 'cause people sometimes still judge him for her lie. He can lash out pretty rudely and I don't want you to take it personally."

"We'll see how it goes." she muttered, not in the mood to go out anymore.

Not because of Paul, no she was very excited to see him. It was because she was slightly annoyed with the new information and she felt really bad for the guy. He seemed like the sweetest man she had ever met before and couldn't believe someone could do something so cruel.

There was a knock on the door and the sour mood she was in just seconds ago disappeared at the thought of the tall guy standing outside her door, waiting for her.

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