CHAPTER NINE
The walk to Sam's probably only took me fifteen minutes, but it seemed like an hour. Jacob held onto my neck with his uninjured arm, his head resting on his own bicep and his eyes closed. Finally I reached the house and climbed up onto the porch.
"Sam!" I yelled and kicked the bottom of the door. It flew open in a second and Sam stared at us in horror.
"Bring him inside," he said quickly, standing back to let me pass.
I went into the lounge room and carefully lowered Jacob onto the sofa, trying not to jolt him. Even so, he groaned painfully and when I stood back and looked at him in the light, I felt as if my heart was being crushed. His nose had bled heavily, covering his chin and neck and soaking into his shirt; his shoulder was the wrong shape as if it had been torn out of the socket and his arms and hands were bruised and grazed.
"Oh my God, what happened?" Emily gasped. "I'll call an ambulance."
"No. No hospital," Jacob moaned at once.
"Then I'll get Sue Clearwater," she said, snatching up the phone.
I found myself backing towards the kitchen door now, unable to stop myself shaking. It wasn't the wolf in me trying to get out, it was the horror of seeing the person I cared for more than anyone in so much pain.
"I can't do this," I whispered.
Sam caught my arm. "Do you need to get outside?"
"No. I'm ok. I just..." I stopped and squeezed my eyes shut.
"What is he to you?" asked Sam quietly.
I looked up at him again. I didn't speak, but I guessed what I was feeling was in my eyes. He just nodded.
"Then you need to help. Come on, get a hold of yourself." He gave me a light shove back into the lounge.
I took a deep breath and went over to the sofa, kneeling down on the carpet beside it. Emily had already fetched a bowl of water and cloth and was beginning to wash the blood off Jacob's face. His eyes were closed, but he groaned every so often, indicating he was conscious. I grasped his hand and held it tightly.
"Is Sue on her way?" Sam asked.
"Yes, she'll be five minutes," Emily told him. "She's a nurse," she added for my benefit and then pointed at her face. "She helped me once."
A few minutes later, Sue Clearwater let herself into the house and hurried over, quickly deducing that Jacob's shoulder was dislocated.
"We need to deal with that first," she said. "Emily, have you got some scissors? We better cut his shirt off, it'll hurt less."
I stayed where I was on the floor, holding onto Jacob's hand and trying not to give way to my feelings when I saw the terrible bruises all over his upper body. Sue checked for broken ribs, but found none. Then she directed Sam and I, getting Jacob to sit up and making us hold him still against the back of the sofa. She grasped his arm by the wrist and the elbow, rotated and manoeuvred it until there was an audible click of it going back into the socket. Jacob screamed in agony and I shuddered, feeling sick with his pain. Once again he passed out and Sue carefully laid him back down on the sofa and began to strap his shoulder up.
I couldn't hold myself together any longer and leaped up, running to the kitchen. I threw the back door of the house open and half jumped, half fell out of it, landing on the grass outside on all four paws. I flew towards the woods, growling and snarling, filled with fury and pain which seemed to be swallowing me up. I ran until I was breathless and my temper had begun to ebb, then skidded to a halt and turned to face home again. I knew I had to calm down and get back to Jacob, however hard it might be. He was hurting a hell of a lot more than I was; I could deal with my own feelings properly once he was ok again.
I raced back to the house and stopped at the kitchen door. It was closed now and I sat down in front of it, willing myself to phase back. To my relief it happened quickly and I opened the door, peering cautiously inside. I didn't want to burst in naked if Emily or Sue were in the kitchen. The room was empty and the door leading to the lounge also closed. I stepped inside and snatched a pair of cut offs from the pile in Emily's ironing basket, quickly pulling them on. A moment later Sam came in.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You did the right thing. Jacob's ok, it's mainly just bruises and scrapes. His nose isn't even broken, it was just a heavy bleed. Sue gave him some painkillers; she left a minute ago."
I nodded. "Can I go and see him?"
"Of course."
Sam stayed in the kitchen and as I headed into the lounge, Emily passed me and went to the bathroom. Jacob was still lying on the couch now covered with a quilt, his uninjured arm resting on top of it. I crouched beside him and touched his hand.
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Sore." He opened his eyes and looked into mine for the first time since I'd found him.
Something strange began to happen to me. His eyes were like dark pools and I felt almost as if I was falling into them. I seemed to be floating, everything around me fading away and leaving me with nothing except for Jacob. He had hold of me somehow, holding me down and I felt myself filling up with heat - not the kind I had when I was in a rage and about to phase, but something different. Brief flashes of images filled my head - Jacob and I as wolves running together; fighting side by side; as humans walking on the beach holding hands; kissing. Suddenly he was all there was; nothing else - none of the shit that had happened to me - mattered any more.
I fell back to earth with a thump and my knees hit the floor suddenly as I fell forwards out of my crouch. I shook my head, stunned.
"Oh, shit," I heard Sam say quietly from the kitchen doorway.
"Paul?" Jacob blinked and frowned slightly. "What happened?"
I Imprinted; that's what happened. It frustrated me that I couldn't tell him.
"I think you passed out for a second, you have done a few times." I backed away and got to my feet. "I'm just going to get a drink." I headed for the kitchen. Sam pushed the door closed gently.
"You Imprinted," he said in a low voice.
"I know." I poured myself a glass of water and spilled half of it, my hand shaking. I put the glass down quickly on the table. "Oops." I laughed stupidly and then bit my lip. I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to feel, but my heart was pounding and I wanted to jump up and down and shout at the top of my voice. Sam didn't looked particularly amused.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"You Imprinting on him is kind of awkward."
"Why? I'm nuts about him anyway, I wouldn't want it to be anyone else," I blurted and then felt myself turning red.
Sam sighed and leaned against the counter, his arms folded.
"Jacob's destiny is to become Alpha," he began.
"What? But you're Alpha," I said, puzzled.
"Yeah, for now. Only because I was the first to shift. Jacob's the great grandson of Ephraim Black, the Quileute chief of his time and Alpha of his pack. That means he'll follow in Ephraim's footsteps when he phases and I'll step down."
"Ok. So why is that a problem?"
"Because you Imprinted your instinct will be to protect him; to get in between him and things that might hurt him; to take control. But when he's Alpha, he'll naturally take control of you. It'll cause friction, maybe even fighting for the upper hand. I don't know, it's not something that ever happened before."
"Well, if it never happened before, how can you know it'll cause trouble?" I asked. "I'm not going to fight him; I'd do anything he asked of me."
"I don't know for certain, it just seems likely," Sam said. "It's too late to do anything about it anyway; your life has just been mapped out for you. We'll have to hope for the best."
His seriousness failed to dampen my mood and I returned to the lounge to sit with Jacob. He had dozed off and I sat down on the floor next to the sofa and watched him sleep.
I heard Sam on the telephone, first of all talking to Billy, telling him Jacob and 'a couple of others' were at his house 'hanging out' and that it would probably be a late night. He finished the conversation by saying he would dig out some sleeping bags and send Jacob home in the morning. Next he called my Dad. Sam was in the kitchen, but when I turned I could see him through the open door.
"Mr Lahote, this is Sam Uley. I'm calling about Paul." He didn't have chance to say much. I saw him holding the phone a foot away from his ear, scowling at it as my Dad apparently yelled a stream of insults about me at him. Sam put the phone back to his ear.
"I'd say you're not fit to be a father. Paul will be living with me from now on, until he's old enough to make his own life. If you have any inclination to see him in the future, you had better call me first and make an appointment." He hung up and came into the room.
"What did he say? You're welcome to me?" I asked.
"Something along those lines, yes. I'm sorry, Paul."
"Don't be. I know what he thinks of me and I don't care if I never see him again."
I wasn't even trying to put on a brave face. It was a relief that my Dad didn't want me back. Everything I did want was right in front of me, sleeping peacefully.
He didn't wake for over twelve hours and I didn't budge all night except to go to the bathroom and get a snack from the kitchen. Sam and Emily went to bed around midnight and I sat in the dark by the sofa, eventually falling sleep with my head resting on my folded arms beside Jacob. When I woke my legs and my back were stiff and I stretched uncomfortably. It was still dark and there was no sound from Sam and Emily's room. Jacob stirred a moment later.
"Hey." I touched his hand lightly.
"Paul? What are you doing here? Where am I?"
"At Sam's place. You remember what happened yesterday?"
"I remember getting beaten." He shuddered at the memory. "And you finding me. Not much else. Why am I at Sam's?"
"You didn't want your Dad to see you. I brought you here because this is where I live now."
"Wow, when did this happen?"
"It's a bit of a long story." I tried to think of a good way of bringing Sam into the equation. "Thursday night I had this horrible nightmare that something happened to you. I ended up screaming your name and my Dad went crazy. I ran away and this was the only place I could think of to go to. Jared introduced me to Sam briefly and he was the only other adult I could think of who might help."
"You could have come to ours, my Dad would have let you stay," Jacob said at once.
"I know, but - no offence - your Dad is on wheels and mine's a drunken bully. I wanted someone around who could put him on his ass if necessary."
"Ok, that makes sense," said Jacob. "So how long are you staying here?"
"Sam says I can stay until I finish school, as long as I want really. Him and Emily have been amazing." I changed the subject then. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok. My shoulder hurts, but it's not too bad. Did anyone call my Dad? He'll be worried."
"Sam called him last night and said a bunch of people were here hanging out and you'd be home in the morning."
"I should probably call him myself," Jacob said and began to sit up. "I lost my phone. Actually, I think those guys broke it."
"You can't call him now, it's about 6am," I said.
I had almost put out of my mind the way I had found him. After I Imprinted, that was all I had been able to think about and now I was reminded that those sons of bitches out there were probably laughing to themselves that they hurt Jacob so badly.
"Who was it?" I asked. "Who hurt you? Tom Stewart?"
"No, he wasn't there. It was the other two. Mainly Bobbie, but the other one helped. They were waiting by the gas station in a truck until the bus arrived."
"Bastards," I hissed.
"Maybe you ought to stay away from me," Jacob said miserably. "They only turned on you because of me."
"They hate me because I upset Melissa and then turned out to be gay," I said. "I got in a fight with them earlier in the week and came out on top; made them look stupid. They only hurt you to get back at me. It won't happen again."
"How can you know that?" he asked.
"Because I'll sort it," I said fiercely.
"What are you going to do? You'll land yourself in trouble, or end up hurt..." Jacob protested.
"No, I won't. I'm just going to point out the error of their ways, that's all; come to an arrangement. They won't come near you again, I promise."
Sam wanted us to speak to Charlie Swan and report what had happened, but Jacob refused, mainly because he didn't want Billy to hear the details of his attack, but also because he thought Tom's gang had got what they wanted and reporting them would only aggravate them into causing more trouble. I wasn't so sure about that, but I didn't argue; I didn't want Charlie Swan sticking his nose in either, when I'd already decided how to deal with the situation. I had a plan and I couldn't wait until the end of the day to put it into action.
I took Jacob home after breakfast. Sam offered to drive him, but he said he'd rather walk. He went to take a shower and I gave him some of my clothes to change into. Sue had left instructions for him to keep his arm as still as possible for three or four days and then start to use it gradually as long as it didn't hurt too much. She had strapped it up before leaving, but now he had taken the immobilising strapping off and supported it by half fastening my leather jacket and tucking his hand into the front of it. I held his other hand as we walked over to his house and then I stayed a few hours, clearing up the workshop.
I moved boxes and swept dust from the big old couch in the corner and then Jacob sat on it while I did all the work. By the time I finished we had a comfortable place to chill out with a CD player sitting on a barrel and an old oil heater to chase the cold out, not that I would need it. I was wearing just t-shirt and jeans and sweating furiously, while Jacob sat huddled in my leather jacket until I had cleaned up the heater and plugged it in. It would certainly be needed, I thought, especially if I managed to get Jacob out of his clothes any time soon, although it would be later rather than sooner, given his injuries. I grinned to myself as I thought about getting closer to him. With everything that had been going on lately, I hadn't even been able to think about it. Now I had images in my head of me lying on that couch with him, touching him...
"What are you smiling about?" Jacob's voice cut into my thoughts.
"Nothing much."
"Oh, come on, you can't grin like that for no reason," he teased. "I'm practically a cripple here; the least you can do is tell me something that'll cheer me up."
I grabbed an old rag and wiped the dust off my hands, then sat down carefully on the couch next to him.
"You sure you want to know?"
"Humour me."
I leaned closer and brushed my lips against his cheek.
"I was just thinking..." Another kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"...what we could get up to on this couch..." Another kiss.
"...when you get over being a cripple." I covered his mouth with mine and he responded immediately, heatedly, sliding his unhurt arm up around my neck. When I drew back after a minute we were both breathless.
"I can't wait," Jacob whispered.
I stayed with him until late afternoon and when the sky began to darken, I reluctantly left him to go home, promising to return in the morning. Once I said goodbye I walked until I was out of sight and then sprinted the rest of the way home. I spent a few minutes chatting to Sam and Emily, telling them Jacob was ok and then that I would be going out again and may be late. They immediately assumed I was just going back to Jacob's and I didn't disillusion them. I went to my room, changed clothes and opened my window a crack, just wide enough to get a hand through from the outside and then placed a pair of shorts on the sill. I put a single dollar in my pocket, said goodbye to Sam and Emily again and headed out the front door.
As I walked back to the gas station, my stomach filled with butterflies and my heart thumped unevenly. I was full of a kind of nervous tension and I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms. Temper simmered just below the surface and I kept it from bubbling up by thinking about Jacob - smiling at me, kissing me, telling me he couldn't wait to be with me. I would keep those thoughts with me for just another hour or so before I let the image of Jacob beaten and screaming in pain take over.
I stood at the side of the road opposite the gas station, waiting for the bus going out of the reservation. Five minutes later it pulled up and I climbed aboard. I bought a ticket to Forks and went to take a seat at the back, where I stayed until the bus pulled up on the south side of Forks, two stops after the school. As I stepped down onto the street, there was just one thought in my mind - vengeance.