Heaven In Hiding
Chapter Seven
"I felt like I was being ripped in half."
Jacob POV
Five Days. That's how long it had been since Lainey had done everything possible to cut me out of her life. The small hold I had over it broken, seemingly beyond repair.
I was beyond confused of the series of events that had occurred less than a week ago. When Kim had called me from her car saying she and Lainey were headed to the pet store I was ecstatic. This would allow Lainey to spend time with me and get to know one another. I practically flew over there feeling like this was finally my chance.
As soon as Lainey spotted me I knew something was wrong. She seemed like she didn't want to see me, even more than usual. Then, when Kim left her heart started beating so fast I was worried something was medically wrong. When I realized it was caused by me I felt like I was being ripped in half. I'm supposed to calm her nerves not be the cause of them. She almost ran out of the store after paying for her items. When I asked if I could walk her to her car she didn't even stop walking as she nodded her approval, as if she couldn't wait to get away from me.
When we said our goodbyes, I knew it wasn't just for that day. The only silver lining was hearing her say my name. Something I had been dreaming of hearing her say since I've met her. Now it's been five days and I'm falling apart.
On the first day, everyone thought I was overreacting when I was so upset. "She'll come around." "It's only been a day." "You should go see her." Were the responses I got from my brothers. On day two they convinced me to see her on her shift at 'Sue's Diner'. I sat in a booth after being dressed and styled by the imprints. Lainey was polite and professional while she serviced my booth. It broke my heart. She treated me like a stranger, if it wasn't for her pounding heartbeat and the slight glint of fear in her eyes I would almost think she didn't care. After paying for my meal I almost phased in the parking lot.
On day three I patrolled all day and night to avoid thinking of her. It didn't work, she would forever be on my mind, but at least I was busy. On day four I was banned from patrolling for a few days by Sam. I wish I could say that's what caused my breakdown but it wasn't. The same day I went back to the diner. When I walked into the diner she walked out into the kitchen to never return. She had taken her break to get out of talking to me. Its day five now and I've been in wolf form for almost 24 hours straight. Not even bothering to try and phase back. If this was the only way I could be close to her so be it.
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I was outside Lainey's in wolf form. The cover of the forest disguising my movements when I felt someone phase in.
"Hey Jake." Leah thought to me.
I was used to this happening, someone checking on me every few hours ever since I refused to phase back. It usually was accompanied by encouraging words, worried glances, or stories meant to distract me. Nothing worked and no one stayed long, sensing I wanted to be alone.
"Hey now. I actually have news. Can those hooligans say the same?" Leah thought back after hearing my thoughts.
"What is it?" I said intrigued by her words.
"I saw Lainey." Leah said.
"What! When?" I questioned her after stopping mid step.
"Yesterday. I went in to have a meeting with my mom when I met her." Leah said.
Flashes of her filled my head. Her blue eyes and nervous smile filtering through my eyes.
"She looks tired." I thought back just barely holding in a whimper.
"Yeah. She does. Must be the imprint bond, being away from you is affecting her too. She just doesn't realize what it is yet."
"I hate that I can't help her." I said.
"She'll be okay. I'm more worried about you right now." Leah thought to me.
"What?"
"You haven't phased back in a day which means you haven't eaten or slept. Your scaring people Jake."
"I can't leave her place. I can't." I said desperate like.
"Why not? We can post someone out here if that will make you feel better. But you have to leave sometime." Leah said trying to reason with me.
"I'm not worried about her safety. I-I can't leave. What if she never talks to me again? What if she doesn't want anything to do with me? Ever?" I said all my concerns hitting me at once.
"Jake. You can't go to the 'what ifs'. You will be with her someday. You just have to be patient. Give her some time." Leah said sternly.
I thought about her words. I could give her time. Hell, I would wait eternity if that's what she needed.
"Thanks Leah. Really." I said.
"Your welcome. Now go home."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXx
I woke up to hands caressing my hair. I laid there enjoying the touch.
"No more sleeping Jake. You have to get up." Rachel said.
I sighed and tucked my head further into the pillow. I had only gotten home a few hours ago and was extremely tired. All I wanted to do was sleep.
"No, no Jake. You have to get up." She said removing her hands from my hair and tugging on my arm.
I stubbornly stayed where I was not even bothering to turn around and look at her.
"Jake, I have your favorite! Rocky Road Ice-cream!" She said in an excited tone.
I still didn't move, though my stomach growled at the thought of food.
"Jake. Please get up. Just for a little while. Dad is really worried, we all are…" She said trailing off with a sigh.
After a minute of consideration, I got up out of bed. I didn't want anyone to worry about me. While I felt better after letting some of my concerns slip to Leah I was still upset but I knew I couldn't stay in bed forever. Rachel smiled at me and gave reached up to give me a pat on the shoulder.
"Why don't you get cleaned up and we'll wait for you in the living room. No sneaking back to bed mister! I'll have Paul drag you out if you do." Rachel said with a smile, though I could see the fear for me reflected in her eyes.
I nodded and headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up. After a full day of being in wolf form I could definitely use a shower I discovered after taking a curious sniff. When I was done I stood in front of the mirror, wiping away the steam from my shower. I looked tired. There were dark bags under my eyes and my face had a sickly paleness I had never seen. 'No wonder everyone was so worried' I thought to myself running a hand over my face as if to erase the symptoms of ill health.
I headed into the living room to find Kim, Emily, Leah, and Rachel sitting around with ice-cream in hand.
Leah spots me first and hands me a tub of my favorite ice-cream. I sit on the couch in between Rachel and Kim.
"Welcome to the heartbreak club! We meet monthly or when Jared pisses me off. Which is weekly." Kim says with a wave of her spoon.
I dig into my ice-cream eagerly while the girls laugh at Kim's comment.
"True. This is the first meeting we've had in a while that isn't based around what Jared did this time." Emily says with a smile.
"So, the purpose of this meeting is to talk about Lainey and Jacob and how to get them together." Kim says talking about me like I'm not even there.
"Maybe we can talk about that later." Rachel says nervously glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.
"It's up to you Jake." Leah says.
I think for a minute before making up my mind. Some advice from the girls couldn't hurt. I didn't mind their input about what was going on. I could surely use some help.
"Don't let me stop you." I said.
"Great! So, first off what happened when I left you two alone in the pet store?" Kim asks.
"Well, as soon as she saw me I could tell she didn't want to see me." I said.
"How do you know that?" Emily asks.
"Usually I can just feel her nerves and she has a hard time meeting my eyes. But, when Kim left, it was like she was terrified. Even more so than when I walked her to her car the first time. It was like she couldn't get away fast enough." I said.
"Maybe she was just surprised to see you." Leah said.
"No, it was more than that. I feel like I messed up. Badly. I just don't know how." I said.
The girls were silent for a minute, contemplating my words.
"So, what was Lainey like when she was with you, Kim?" Emily asks.
"I'm still jealous you got to meet her and spend time with her before me." Rachel said which makes Kim laugh.
"I know! I know! I just heard her name and couldn't let her get away. But, she was really sweet. Not exactly shy, but like she hasn't really hung out with anyone in a long time. I did notice one thing that was kind of strange though…" Kim says trailing off.
"What?" I ask confused by her words.
"I don't know how to explain it. But, it's almost like she doesn't want to talk about herself. At all."
"Are we sure she's not just shy?" Emily asks.
"No, it was more than that. It was as if she feared giving to much away or something." Kim said.
I was interrupted by Emily's question from my thoughts.
"Wait. When did you walk her to her car?" Emily asks.
"After I went to the diner alone for the first time. I waited in the parking lot to give her my number." I said.
The girls let out a chorus of "Aww."
"So, she accepted it? Your number?" Leah asks.
"Yeah."
"Jake! That's great!" Rachel said excitedly.
"She hasn't called." I said confused by her and the excitement on the rest of the girls faces.
"No, but she must feel the imprint pull if she has your number!" Kim said.
"She probably threw it out." I said saddened by the thought.
"Or! She's holding onto it. Waiting for the right time. Don't give up hope just yet Jake." Emily said.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The girls had left a little while ago, having to go back to work seeing as most of them were visiting on their lunch breaks. While I felt a little bit better after the food and the company I was still worried. The what ifs running through my mind with alarming speed. No. I couldn't think like that. I had to remain hopeful that this would work out. I couldn't go to worst case scenario just yet. The phone rang startling me from my negative thoughts. I didn't look at the caller id, figuring it was one of my brothers checking on me.
"Hello?" I said a bit more snappily than I meant.
I could hear breathing on the other line letting me know someone was there but no one said anything.
"Hello?" I said again.
I could hear beeping of a machine and talking far off in the background. I almost hung up before I finally heard someone answer.
"H-hi. This is Lainey."
"Lainey? Hi." I was beyond shocked but excited. Maybe this is the opportunity I've been waiting for.
"Hi. I'm really sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could give me a ride?"
"Yeah, of course." I said. While it wasn't what I was hoping for I was happy that she had kept my number.
"Are you sure? It's fine if you can't. I don't mean to bug you." She said.
"Lainey, it's fine. Where are you?" I said.
I heard a shaky sigh on the other end of the line and I started to get worried.
"Lainey? Are you okay? Where are you?" I said.
"I'm in the hospital."
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Authors Note:
My first cliffhanger! Ha-ha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. Please leave me a comment or send me a message about this chapter or how you're enjoying the story. Both make me smile. Next chapter will be on Monday July 3rd, 2017.
