Fic: Chapter 9 of A Place Under Heaven Updated
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Chapter 9: Interrupted
Everyone looked at Renesmee. In the silence, Jacob’s stomach gave a hollow growl, a sound that did not go unnoticed in the room full of super sensitized beings. Nessie rolled her eyes at him.
“So what? I’m hungry,” Jacob said. “Excuse me for being inconveniently human.”
“I’ll make you something here,” Tara offered.
“I’m sorry, the fridge is empty,” Bella apologized. “We’ll get some things now that Renesmee is home. Honey, I know you like food every once in a while, you are looking a little thin to me,” Bella said to Renesmee in mom-like fashion.
“I’m not staying, Mom,” Renesmee said definitively.
The temperature in the room got a lot chillier.
Jacob plowed through the sudden awkwardness. “Well that’s my cue to leave. I’ll grab something to eat while I’m out, if you know what I mean.” Casually, as if the thought had just occurred to him, he turned and faced Tara. “Tara, do you want to come with me? I think the family here needs a little alone time.”
Grateful for the escape, Tara agreed. They walked out into the starlit night, in haste to leave the tension behind them.
“Oof,” Jacob said, grimacing. “Times like these I’m glad I’m not the dad and I have a house of my own to escape to.”
“You are taking Nessie’s news really well,” Tara said, looking closely at Jacob. It was obvious that his relationship with Nessie was complicated and maybe even Jacob did not understand it.
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Jacob shrugged and did not say anything. Tara wisely decided not to press him on it.
He looked at her intently. “So you two seemed to bond pretty quickly, you didn’t seem very thrilled to see her at first.”
It was Tara’s turn to shrug. She had always been honest with Jacob but she wasn’t proud of her jealousy.
“What exactly is it that happens with you, anyway? You seem to bond instantly with anyone you touch, is that your special vampire ability?” Jacob asked.
Tara paused, trying to put the thoughts and feelings in her head into words. “I guess I hear people’s needs. Everyone has a little something that’s broken inside them, some part of them that feels all alone. No one understands that better than I do.” She couldn’t meet Jacob’s eyes. “I tell them that they aren’t alone, um, I don’t know…” she looked up “… I guess they sort of believe me.”
Jacob looked at her for a long moment. Finally he said, “It worked for me.”
He was looking at her so intensely; Tara felt suddenly uncomfortable standing in front of the Cullen house. “How far is your house?” she asked
“It’s not too far of a run.” He eyed her clothes. “I keep a few of my bikes here, why don’t we ride instead?”
“Jacob, I think I can run faster than I can ride a bike at this point. It’s kind of cool how fleet of foot I am.” She grinned.
“Ah, you misunderstand,” Jacob said, smiling.
He led her to the Cullen’s vast garage. It was immaculately polished and the tools were laid out on benches like medical instruments. Jacob tossed her a black leather jacket, zippers jingling, and then handed her a sleek black helmet. “Here, these are Bella’s, she won’t mind.” He backed out a red Ducati SR2 800, holding the handlebars lovingly.
“That’s a nice bike,” Tara said with absolutely no authority, on the sole basis of Jacob’s adoring expression.
“Yeah, she’s a dream,” he said reverently. “Climb aboard, but you will have to hold on tight. I drive really fast.”
Speeding through the starlit night with her arms wrapped around Jacob was heaven on earth. Tara stopped trying to look at the scenery and just shut her eyes, feeling the surging power and the way his warmth seeped through her clothes into her body. The contrast between his heat and the cool air rushing past her skin focused all of her sensations on the contact of their bodies. She clung to him, dizzy. Tara had no idea how long they had been driving when Jacob pulled up to a grove of trees. She pried herself away from him reluctantly.
“I hope you don’t mind the back-country living. I’m more of an off-the-grid man myself. My place is totally self sufficient.”
“That suits me fine.”
They walked along a pathway under a canopy of moss-covered branches. Jacob’s log cabin was built into the side of a massive stone face; the wide wooden plank front porch seemed to emerge from the rock. Ferns abounded in varied splendor in the front of the home, their delicate fronds a lacey contrast to the sturdy log walls. An old barn door, big enough that Jacob would not have to stoop to get in, was perfectly situated on the front of the house, flanked by two deep windows.
“The house is built into a cave. I live in the front and the back is my workshop. Emmett found this spot for me and we knew it had to be my place. He calls it my wolf den.”
“You told me about Emmett, he’s one of Edward’s brothers right?”
“Yeah, he helped me build this. He had to take off. His crazy girlfriend was torturing us all and she needed a change of scenery… before I gave her a permanent attitude adjustment. He’s pretty cool, but she is a piece of work.”
“That’s Rosalie? I’m looking forward to meeting anyone who can annoy you that badly,” Tara joked. “All kidding aside, I am amazed you built this. It is fantastic.”
“I designed it too,” Jacob said with some pride. “Come on in.”
He pushed open the wide door, which glided open with a silence that bespoke careful maintenance. The cabin smelled pleasantly of the aromatic spice of fresh cedar. Tara could see two large comfortably furnished rooms.
“There is an upstairs loft bedroom and bathroom,” Jacob announced. “All the comforts of home.”
“That kitchen table is bigger than the deck of my first apartment,” Tara exclaimed. “Some old growth tree gave its life so you didn’t have to eat at the counter.”
“It was salvaged wood,” Jacob explained. “I have lots of large friends who like to eat.” Jacob smiled, but then his smile faltered. “We don’t actually hang out here much anymore; most of them have their families now.”
“Family is important to you, right?” Tara asked, sensing the loneliness that she felt within Jacob at times was back.
“I’m a Quileute; our tribe is everything to us.”
“I never really felt a part of any place or any people,” Tara said, looking away.
Jacob slid his arms around her and effortlessly picked her up, holding her gently against his chest. His closeness drove away the sad memories of her life before she met him.
“Until now,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He smiled down at her in his familiar and possessive way. Tara was bemused by the attention Jacob gave her. He is just too good to be true, she thought.
“Jacob? Why are you so nice to me… and aren’t your arms getting tired?”
“No my arms aren’t getting tired, but I’ll put you down. Why am I so nice? Hmm, well I am a nice guy. I am known county-wide for my niceness.”
“Seriously.” Tara punched him lightly on the shoulder.
“It’s easy to be nice to you because you let me. When I watched you before, I saw you never wanted to let anyone be nice. Um… uh… you know about that, right?” He looked uncertain. She nodded. “Whew. Well, Bella asked me to watch you and I felt like she had given me a new best friend. I saw you in your private moments. I heard you singing when you thought no one was listening. I saw you put the walls up. You lived in the world but you weren’t part of it. That’s how I feel. I’m barely aging, I have this secret I can’t tell anyone, but when I’m with you none of that matters. I feel … whole.” He looked into her eyes, willing her to understand.
Tara was touched by his honesty and vulnerability. Her first instinct was always to retreat and protect herself against possible pain, but when she looked at Jacob, standing there with his heart in his eyes, she knew there was no need for her shell. She could trust Jacob with nothing between them.
“I have been out of synch with the world, like I’m in stop motion and things are rushing past and yet some moments drag on interminably,” she said and then hesitated for a moment. She decided to jump in. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Something flamed in Jacob’s eyes and he reached for her, but he took a breath and slowed himself. Instead, he slid his hand along her face and stroked her cheekbone gently with his thumb.
“You have me now … Danger is on the horizon, we’ve got Volturi vampires on our ass and this place does not get cable. So what do you want to do?”
Tara was momentarily spellbound by his gaze, his heat seemed to pull her in and fuse her to him, weakening her knees. Images flashed through her mind: Jacob’s face when she first walked into the cabin, his eyes filled with homecoming; him beside her while she burned in the fire of her transformation; the tender expression on his face after he had kissed her in the hammock. She stood on tiptoe and pulled his face to hers, brushing her lips against his over and over until he deepened the kiss. She felt his fingers slide deliciously through her hair to pull her closer to him and she was enfolded in his scent and the thudding of his heart, every sensation sparking from his silken skin. Thirst slashed Tara’s throat insatiably and a surge of strength shot through her body. She was losing control and Jacob was like a supernova of heat. Her hands started to shake.
Suddenly, Jacob made a growling sound in his throat and his body shuddered.
Tara wrapped her arms around him, but then quickly released them as an expression of pain crossed his face. Terrified that she had hurt him, she stepped back. Jacob fell to the floor making animal sounds of anguish. His eyes stared past her vacantly, as if he was locked in his own cage of agony. Panicked, Tara fell to her knees beside him. His arm lashed out, knocking her to the ground. Tara leapt to her feet, looking around in panic but she could not see a phone.
She shut her eyes and screamed in her mind, “Edward … bring help!”
Her attention was so consumed by Jacob that she barely noticed another movement in the room. A tiny, dark-haired girl in a long cloak stood in the doorway. Tara wheeled around and took a step towards her.
“We’ve got to get help,” Tara said urgently. “Something has…” The sight of savage red eyes smoldering from a white face ripped the voice from her throat. A frigid wave of fear swept up her back, petrifying her muscles into inaction even as hot adrenalin coursed into her.
“You… you’re Jane,” she stammered. Realizing that Jane was the attacker, Tara took a step towards her. She had no fear for her own safety, she just wanted to stop Jacob’s pain.
The tiny monster held up her hand. “Don’t… Don’t come closer. His pain can get worse. It is very hard for me to hold back. I’m trying not to kill him.”
Tara froze, her mind frantically considering her options.
“You are correct, I am Jane,” the woman said dispassionately, her eyes on Jacob. She glanced over her shoulder and closed and latched the door swiftly. “You have me at a disadvantage since I don’t know you. I followed your scent, it is quite unusual.” She jerked her chin at Jacob, still staring at him. “I can smell that he is one of those wolves. I wonder if the pack can feel his pain.”
“I’m sure they are on their way now. They’ll stop you,” Tara threatened, desperate to save Jacob. She took another step closer. “You are killing him! Please, I’m begging you, please stop!”
The passionate pain in Jane’s red eyes terrified Tara. Jane’s face showed no emotion at Tara’s plea.
“I will be done with him soon,” she said in an empty voice.
Jane stepped closer to where Jacob writhed on the ground, squinting at him as if analyzing how much more intensity he could stand. She completely disregarded Tara, as if all the years of terrifying people by reputation had made her invincible.
Tara lunged, feeling like she was crashing into a brick wall as she knocked the girl to the floor. Jacob immediately stopped writhing and lay still, eyes closed. Tara pushed down with all of her might, trying to hold Jane immobile, but Jane clawed at her with amazing strength, aiming for Tara’s eyes. Tara had the longer reach and she leaned her upper body back to avoid the fingers that attempted to rake her face, sliding her from Jane’s shoulders to the bare skin of Jane’s neck. At the touch of their skin, Jane’s body jerked as if electrified, arms and legs jutting out stiffly. Tara felt the energy pass through her hands and Jane went limp.
In a dizzying moment, Tara felt the fabric of Jane’s being. It was wounded and torn, raw and exposed. Healing energy rippled steadily out of Tara and through Jane, each time the colored threads wove and repaired, restored, and made whole. A part of Tara made a patch on Jane’s broken soul and the energy was magnified and made more precious by the entwining of the two.
Jane began to sob. Tara pulled the girl against her chest, feeling the tiny, hard form convulsing against her . She pushed back Jane’s baby fine hair and soothed her, rocking gently. Next to them Jacob lay still and unmoving.
With a shriek of hinges and splintering wood, the door was flung open. Tara startled and closed her arms around Jane. Edward burst into the room first, closely followed by Bella.
“Jacob!” Bella screamed in horror, flinging herself beside him. Tenderly, she pulled his head into her lap and put her hand on his neck, feeling for a pulse. “He’s alive,” she said with relief.
Tara had been certain that Jacob was alive. A part of me would have been gone without him, she thought.
Edward’s mouth dropped open as Jane’s thoughts flooded into his head. “Tara, watch out. This could be a trick,” he warned. “She’s dangerous.”
Tara wrapped her arms around Jane protectively. “She is grieving. Take care of Jacob.”
Edward was at Jacob’s side instantly.
Tara slid Jane to the floor and turned to go to Jacob.
Something … a whiff of scent, a movement of air, a sixth sense of instinct… caused Tara to look through the open door. A light gray wolf, smaller than Jacob but still huge by natural standards, was slicing through the air like an arrow. The wolf’s jaw gaped open, exposing scarlet and the gleam of ivory teeth. The naked blades of its claws were extended. In an instant of unthinking reaction, Tara dove forward to shield Jane’s defenseless form.
The wolf changed trajectory midair and sheathed its claws. Its massive body slammed to the floor and rolled over and over until fur and muscles ricocheted off the wall with a tremendous crash. Immediately, the gray wolf regained its feet and crouched, gouging the floor with its lethal nails as vicious growls tore from its chest. The baleful eyes of the wolf were fixed on Tara who was still shielding Jane with her body. Tara was disoriented, the room felt very small and the static sound in her ears rose to a crescendo as she felt the hot breath of the wolf against her cheek.
“Leah, calm down,” Edward said soothingly, rising slowly to his feet. “Jacob will be fine.”
Tara remained completely still, eyes on the wolf. She was trying not to stare and trigger an attack, but the wolf’s eyes were so compelling. She needs me too, Tara thought, knowing for certain that this was not a wild animal, it was a member of Jacob’s pack.
Edward continued, “Leah, you need to tell them the situation is under control. We can’t have any more wolves in here.”
Bella’s eyes were wide with fear as she continued to cradle Jacob. The gray wolf ducked its head and Edward relaxed. Tara rose, keeping herself between the wolf and Jane, the lines of her body taut with tension. Jane curled herself into a ball, oblivious to the danger. The wolf moved to Jacob and touched her nose against his arm, whining softly.
Still using the same conspicuously soothing tone, Edward said, “The rest of the pack is outside now. We aren’t going to move Jacob. I’m calling Carlisle.” Edward reached into his pocket and flipped his phone, speaking rapidly. Jacob started to stir, his eyelids fluttering. Tara and Bella hovered over him as his brown eyes came into view.
Jacob looked up at the women leaning over him. “Oh cool, I’m dreaming…” He smiled and then his eyes focused on Edward’s concerned face. “Buzzkill - you’re here. Either I am awake or this isn’t a good dream.” He flexed his muscles. “Ouch, which one of you was beating on me while I took a nap?” He fixed a glare on Edward. “I’m putting my bets on you.”
“Not on my honor,” Edward said, extending his hand to help Jacob rise to a sitting position.
Jacob looked at Leah and at his living room. “Ugh … Leah … Not in the house, you’ll get hair all over the carpet.” No one smiled.
“Tough room,” Jacob said.
“We are all freaked out with worry about you …” Bella said, “… and her of course.” She pointed at Jane.
The wolf growled and Jacob gave her a warning glare.
“I’m fine. You know I’m a quick healer. So, which one of you took out the mini badass over there?” he asked, looking over Jane’s prone form.
“I think Tara fixed her… or should I say, is fixing her,” Bella said.
Jacob shot Tara a look of admiration.
The howls of the wolves outside reached a fever pitch. There was no doubting their emotions. Leah glared at Jane with hatred in her eyes. The pack wanted blood for what had been done to Jacob.