Haunting past
Chapter 3. Isobel & Jubal: A Matter of Trust (Part 1)
"Here it is. Make yourself at home, please," said Jubal, leaving the travel bag Elise had brought for Isobel to the hospital on the chair by the door.
Isobel frowned, confused.
"But, Jubal... This is your bedroom."
The furniture and his things -the garments on the clothes valet, the historical novel book on the bedside table, the photo of his children, the little teddy bear with a T-shirt saying 'the best Dad in the whole world'- had given it away, no doubt.
"Yes, I'll stay in Tyler's room," he replied.
"I don't want to take your room," Isobel protested.
Ignoring her, Jubal helped her to get to the bed and sit down.
"Not that you're in any position to stop me," he joked and pretended to run for the door, chuckling.
With her bruised ribs, Isobel didn't have much mobility. He had held her by the waist all the way from the cab to there.
"Jubal!" she called him, almost angry.
He stopped and turned, leaning with his shoulder on the doorjamb.
To get her to come to his house, he had had an arduous argument with her when Isobel had been discharged. Jubal had only managed to convince her of it when he had hinted he needed someone to take care of him, even though it wasn't true.
Or maybe it was, considering even if Jubal was hiding it, the strange sensations were still crawling through his body had not disappeared. In fact, he had asked for his voluntary discharge because he didn't want to leave her alone, but he did so despite the opinion of the doctors, who would have wanted to keep him under observation for a longer period of time.
"Don't give it any more thought," Jubal downplayed it shrugging his shoulders. "This bedroom is bigger and has its own bathroom. You'll have more privacy."
Isobel looked at him still disgruntled. He offered her a smile, like an olive branch, which made her smile in return, and finally agree to it.
Jubal approached her again and helped her solicitously to take off her shoes, to remove her hoodie, to get comfortably into bed. It was still early afternoon, but the doctors had told her she should rest.
"Thank you," Isobel murmured.
She seemed self-conscious, as not being used to not doing things by herself. At least Jubal didn't have to help her change out of the comfortable clothes Elise had brought her to the hospital.
"Don't mention it," he replied matter-of-factly, trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
She lay back on the pillows and watched Jubal grab a few of his own clothes from a chest of drawers. Pulling an extra blanket from a closet, he spread it at the foot of the bed. He filled her a glass of water and left it on the bedside table next to the painkillers she had to take.
"How are you?" Isobel asked him.
Jubal noticed himself smiling.
"Getting better by the minute," he lied. The truth was the sensations of those little pricks on his skin were becoming more acute. "If you need anything, call me, okay?"
He saw Isobel hesitate to say something, and decide against it. Jubal waited for her nod before leaving, carefully closing the door behind him.
Outside, it started to rain.
"Isobel," she heard Jubal's deep voice calling her softly.
When Jubal had left her in his room, Isobel had taken the painkillers and lay down, noting the strain and pain during the journey had left her exhausted, but she had only intended to rest for a while. She must have fallen asleep without trying.
She had rested very well, anyway, without the nightmares filled with spiders and tragedy plaguing her nights in the hospital, the sound of rain on the windows lulling her to sleep.
"I called the deli next door to order food," Jubal said very quietly. "Do you want to have dinner?" Isobel tried to answer, but all coming out of her lips were unintelligible moans. "Or would you rather I let you sleep?"
She noticed a light caress pulling her hair back from her face, and reaching much deeper into her. But, by the time she blinked and managed to open her eyes, Jubal already withdrawn his hand.
"No... No. In fact, I think I need to eat. And it will be good for me to change my position."
She felt like she become a little stiff.
Jubal helped her get to the living room and settled her on the couch with the help of several cushions. Then he brought the food to the coffee table. Caesar salad and a wok stir-fry of beef strips with mushrooms. The two shared, sometimes exchanging take-out containers, while Jubal brought her up to date.
Stuart, Tiffany, Maggie and OA also already made their statements. Following Isobel's instructions, they had been completely candid about what had happened.
"We're all going to have to undergo psychological evaluation..." said Jubal, not at all excited by the prospect.
"Yes, but I hope the consistency of what we have all told will help to achieve a favorable report more quickly."
"At least our versions all support each other. I have to confess I was afraid I imagined it all..."
Isobel, who left out of her statement what only she could see, simply nodded, feeling quite hypocritical.
For dessert, she asked for fruit. Jubal brought her an apple and opened a yoghurt for him.
"What have you been doing? Have you been resting too?" Isobel then expressed interest.
She had made a resolution to take care of him and planned to follow through.
"Yeah," Jubal answered without looking at her. "A bit."
It was clear to Isobel he was lying. She admonished him with stern eyes.
"Jubal, you need to rest to fully recover." Her tone became sweeter unintentionally, "Please..."
He smiled slightly as if enjoying her attention. A warm feeling arose within Isobel.
"I will..." Jubal replied softly, averting his eyes somewhat sheepishly. "I'm just a little restless, that's all."
"Let's see, show me the bite on your arm."
He rolled his eyes in mock impatience, and rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt.
The wound, which crossed his biceps, was still surrounded by a purplish rim, but no longer seemed inflamed.
Leaning toward him, Isobel leaned on Jubal's other arm to get near and take a closer look. But when she touched his skin, he recoiled, shying away almost sharply from her touch.
Embarrassed, Isobel withdrew her hand. In a non-invasive way, but normally Jubal sought contact, not the other way around. Perhaps she made him uncomfortable...
"It's healing," Jubal said, pulling down his sleeve. Then he suddenly changed the subject. "Ian stopped by earlier to drop off the laptop and our new cell phones you asked for."
Isobel couldn't figure out what just happened, but she didn't know how to deal with it, so she decided to let it go.
"Oh, why didn't you say so before? Give it to me; I have a lot to do."
"Because I knew you would say that and I didn't want you to go at it without having dinner," Jubal replied. He stood up. "Alright. I'll give it to you. But only if you promise not to overdo it," he said firmly, pointing at her with his index finger and his other hand on his hip.
Isobel couldn't help how attractive he was to her at this moment. "Yessir."
She stared at him with bright eyes and a small smile, managing to make him nervous. Clearing his throat, Jubal went to get the new laptop.
The first thing Isobel did was contact the county sheriff. The agents she sent were still unable to find the house the six of them described. Isobel hoped to have the cooperation of the Sheriff's Office in this.
Sheriff Ellis surprised her by telling her his Office was not aware of any lodging in those particular hills, and perhaps they had traveled a different road than they thought. Just in case, he agreed to send information, locations and photos of houses which provided accommodation in the area and could fit their description.
After that, Isobel began to write the report, a summary of all the statements, which she promised to deliver to the ADIC. Then, with the material loss reports.
On that fateful night they had left behind the encrypted cell phones from the bureau of Maggie, OA, Isobel and Jubal, the service weapons of the four of them as well, and all the agent badges except Stuart's. And an SUV. It will take a lot of paperwork to justify it and to request replacements...
Jubal clear the coffee table and washed what little they used during dinner; then sat at the dining room table with his own laptop to work as well, helping with the pile of paperwork.
"I lost my watch there too," Jubal complained, displeased, as he continued typing.
"I'll give you the time when you need it, don't worry," replied Isobel, who had not taken off her watch to sleep that night and so had not lost it as well.
"It wouldn't be comfortable for you if I carried you tied to my wrist..." he joked, making her laugh and feel a little embarrassed by the mental image.
"No, I suppose not," she conceded.
"Besides, it was a gift from my grandfather..." added Jubal.
"Oh, no... I'm sorry to hear that."
"Anyway. The most important thing for me is we all got out of there alive."
Isobel had to suppress a shiver of apprehension at the thought that one of them might not have made it.
Then she realized the intensity with which Jubal was looking at her, shedding light on a part of herself that had long been in the shadows. She lowered her eyes and pretended to continue what she was doing. She need several minutes to really get back to it completely, though.
In any case, Jubal did not allow Isobel to work herself to exhaustion. At one point he took the laptop away from her, giving her only a moment to save the files she had open, and put the TV on for a while.
As if to prove Jubal right, Isobel didn't even last ten minutes before she began to fall asleep on his shoulder.
Isobel slowly opened her eyes to find herself in her room at her mother's summer cabin. The sun was streaming in through the balcony along with the pleasant fragrant afternoon breeze, and the melodious, cheerful song of blackbirds and finches.
"Isabelita"
Her mother was sitting at the foot of her bed, wearing one of those summer dresses which suited her so well. On her face, the blush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes were those of before her illness.
"Mamá," Isobel sighed.
She crawled over the bed and hugged her mother, tears rolling down her cheeks. This really did feel like it was she.
"What are you doing here?" she asked without letting go.
"I'm always with you, m'hija..." said her mother, stroking Isobel's hair. "It's just that now you seemed to need me more."
Isobel pulled away to look her in the face... "[Yes, Mom, I needed to see you so much]," she sobbed with joy.
Her mother smiled tenderly and embraced Isobel again as only she had ever embraced her.
Isobel awoke with tears in her eyes, but immense peace in her heart. Smiling into the darkness, she sighed deeply, despite her ribs. It was as if until now she didn't really breath since she left that cursed house...
The pain in her sides was pretty bad, anyway. She needed to take some anti-inflammatory meds, and soon. But it had been too long since she ate, she didn't want it to hurt her stomach.
The rain continued to fall, incessant.
She decided it wouldn't be right to wake Jubal just for that. Struggling, but she got up quietly and went to the kitchen. She ate one of the muffins Jubal kept in the same cupboard as the breakfast cereal, with half a glass of milk. Maybe she could ask Jubal to buy some oat milk for her, which she liked better.
As she was draining the glass, Isobel heard the door to Tyler's room open behind her, and felt as if Jubal's barefoot footsteps cross the hallway.
Turning around, she saw the light in the second bathroom was on, the door ajar, leaving a line of oblique glow on the hallway floor. Isobel approached. Heavy breathing, almost panting, could be heard from within it. Then there was a growl and a mumbled curse. Isobel recognized Jubal's voice.
Puzzled, she peered through the crack in the door. She found him standing there, naked except for the dark boxer briefs, which were his underwear. He was clinging to the sink, knuckles white, head down, an expression of suffering on his face.
All this worried Isobel to the point she went into the bathroom without even announcing herself.
"Jubal, are you okay?"
He turned his head and looked at her through winking eyes. "Sorry. I woke you up..."
"No. What's the matter?"
Isobel put a hand on his shoulder, but Jubal pulled away.
"No," he said through clenched teeth. "Don't touch me, please."
"What's wrong?" she insisted, increasingly worried.
Sighing, he closed his eyes and hung his head again. "I have... I have very strange sensations all over my skin," he finally answered, with obvious difficulty.
"Sensations?" What sensations?"
"Pins and needles. Like when an asleep foot wakes up, but- But much stronger. It also burns."
"What? How? Why?" Isobel was alarmed, studying him up and down.
He didn't seem to be in bad shape, his skin had no redness, no apparent inflammation. Other than the wound on his arm, he looked healthy. Really healthy. Irritated with herself, Isobel forced it from her mind the fact she was contemplating Jubal's nakedness for the first time.
"Some kind of neurological reaction," he explained, gripping the edge of the sink tighter. "Paresthesias... they call them. The doctors think they are... due of the venom. But it's very atypical. They couldn't find an explanation."
This explained his evasive attitude from earlier... Guilt overwhelmed Isobel for not having inquired more at the time.
"The doctors? Wait. Was this already happening to you at the hospital? You didn't tell me anything," Isobel protested in dismay. "I thought you were fine."
"Me too. But today it's been getting worse."
"Haven't the doctors given you any medication?"
"It doesn't seem to be working. Right now it's-" Jubal gritted his teeth, "worse than ever."
"Let's go, I'll take you to the hospital," Isobel decided.
He shook his head vigorously, eyes squeezed shut. "No."
"But-"
"If anything touches me, it's worse. I can't even stand clothes right now. Besides, you- You shouldn't be going anywhere now, damn it!"
Jubal's desperation made Isobel reconsider the decision even more than his arguments.
"Give me a few moments..." Jubal asked. "I will be able to control it. I have to be..."
Isobel left him for a few seconds, but no apparent change occurred.
"Have you tried taking a shower?"
"Yes, in the hospital. Pressurized water doesn't help, believe me."
"You said it burns," said Isobel. He nodded. "Let me... let me try something."
Jubal swallowed hard and glanced at her apprehensively out of the corner of his eye. But he nodded again. He trusted her. Needless to say. Isobel's heartbeat quickened even more.
She put a towel under the tap with cold water, wrung it out, and applied it extremely gently to one of his arms.
Jubal's face twisted into a grimace. He resisted, until he could take no more. With a gasp, he withdrew his arm, shaking his head again.
"No. No. Worse. Much worse... It's like-" He gasped for air. "Like my brain is chewing wool."
Unable to handle her anguish but not knowing what to do either, Isobel watched Jubal to straighten his back and close his eyes again, trying to force himself to relax. He unclenched his fists, breathing in and out deeply. For an instant, his face became serene. And then he staggered.
She took a step towards Jubal but, at the last second, she restrained herself from grabbing him, fearful of making the situation worse. Fortunately, he regained stability on his own.
"Sit down, Jubal. You're exhausted," she asked in dismay.
"No..."
"You can't stay on your feet all night long..."
"Right now I prefer it, actually." Jubal then gave her a guilty look. "You're the one who shouldn't be standing here. Please, go back to bed. It will pass."
Concern for her made his warm hazel eyes focus again. And that gave Isobel an idea... A slightly crazy idea. But not much crazier than sharing a bed or the other experiences they had gone through together that monsters-ridden night. Or maybe it was...
She did not allow herself to hesitate any longer. Raising herself a little on the tiptoes of her feet, Isobel kissed him on the lips, slowly, carefully so their bodies did not touch. Jubal stood very still for a moment, but then, he responded. He did so with growing abandon, fascinated by the new, different and very pleasurable physical sensation. Isobel prolonged it by chaining one restrained kiss after another until the temptation to hug him was too strong. She was already raising her arms to his neck when she clenched her fists, and broke away.
At first, Jubal chased after her, his hands about to grab her waist, but then he stopped. He stared at her with half-lidded eyes, as if she made him slightly dizzy. He let out a faint confused groan.
Isobel adopted a formal posture, straightening her clothes, but lowered her eyes shyly.
"Aaam... I thought... I thought what you needed was a distraction." She tried to look composed, but the hint of a goofy grin escaped her. "Did it work...?"
Taking a breath as if to speak, Jubal seemed to have trouble finding the words. He cleared his throat licking his lips.
"In fact... yes. You've certainly... distracted me," he said, blushing.
He was covering the front of his boxers with his hands, which were not enough to hide Isobel's kisses didn't leave him indifferent.
"But do you feel better?" Isobel wanted to know, anxiously.
He sighed from sheer lack of air. "The prickling is still there, but yes, it has worked quite well. It's bearable now."
Maybe it's worth trying again..., Isobel thought, her gaze fixed on Jubal's mouth.
Suddenly, a twinge in her side nearly doubled her over and made her bring her hand to her ribs with a wince, remembering why she had gone to the kitchen to get something to eat in the first place.
Jubal threw his hands forward, alarmed. "Isobel, you shouldn't be standing for so long..."
He held carefully her under her arms, despite what it must have made him feel. Aware of this, Isobel tried to avoid contact but her pain repeated.
"Come on, I'll help you back to bed," said Jubal firmly, leading her out of the bathroom.
Isobel had to compromise. At the second step, Jubal could not suppress a fresh shudder of displeasure.
"I'm so sorry," he hastened to apologize. "It's not because of you."
She knew. She smiled to herself, remembering the eagerness on his lips and cursing the injuries to her ribs.
Before going to bed, Isobel took a pain pill. Jubal helped her to tuck in well.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked him. She wanted to hold his hand, and hated with all her might it would do more harm than good doing so.
"Yeah, I think I can bear to lie down now. I'll try to get some sleep."
Isobel watched him walk in the dark toward the door. The night was unusually quiet. It must have stopped raining outside. "Why...? Why don't you stay...?" she murmured in an impulse to his shadow.
It took Jubal a few seconds of silence to answer.
He felt a bit of relief after her kisses; also, his body ached from standing up. Maybe he could lie down while he look after her...
"O- okay."
He pulled the duvet back in the other side of the bed and lay on his side toward Isobel, but without covering himself.
Turning as much as her pains would allow, she gazed into the gleam of his eyes in the darkness. She was sorely tempted to 'distract' him again.
"Did you have nightmares?" asked Jubal in whispers.
"I did, but not since I've been here... I'm much better now." Isobel almost felt him smile. "And you?"
"This hasn't let me sleep much, but yeah. I can't stop dreaming about Rina..." He didn't want to mention the nightmares of Isobel suffocating to death in his arms. It made him feel too vulnerable. "I- I heard her calling me that night, asking me to stay with her."
I know, thought Isobel with a heavy tightness in her chest.
"Now she reproaches me for leaving her there. For instead of staying with her, choosing to return to the world... with you."
There was a dense load of implications in those last words of his. Isobel was startled by the force with which it pulled at her heart.
"Jubal... What you heard was not Rina," she said, not wanting to get into the other issue. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I guess... Did you hear her?" he asked apprehensively.
"No, I heard my mother. That's why I'm sure it wasn't real."
"Oh… I see."
For a few long seconds, Isobel could feel the heaviness radiating from him. "Jubal..."
"It's alright. It's just part of me wished she'd really been there, even though she held a grudge against me now. Does this make any sense at all?"
"Yes... In your heart," Isobel said with a stiff throat, "you don't want to let her go."
"No... Why would I want to remember her like that... angry and hating me?"
Isobel's heart leapt. She thought it was a very good question.
She was walking down the dusty hallway of the mansion, her bare feet silent on the old carpet; there was light at the end, coming out of a half-open door. Peeking out, Isobel saw the same bathroom that was actually inside the room she shared with Jubal.
She found he was inside, covered only by a towel around his waist, staring at the mirror with a pained grimace and a sad look on his face. A scarlet, thick, spiked scarlet aura covered his entire body.
In some unknown way, Isobel knew this was not a dream. It wasn't hers, at least. The level of awareness she had there allowed her to detect any detail out of place. She entered the bathroom, calling Jubal by his name.
He did not react.
There was a strange, oppressive silence in the room.
In the reflection of the mirror, Rina could be seen next to Jubal, although she was not physically in the room. She was wearing a white cotton nightgown, Isobel was not sure why, seemed familiar. Her back was turned to him, and only part of her face could be seen. Isobel felt this hurt Jubal in a subtle but profound way, and she had a strong desire to be able to change it. To her surprise, the reality around them shook like a reflection in water.
Isobel clung to it, to this ability, to this talent. She decided to start small, moving some shampoo bottles on the shelf. It was incredibly easy. Encouraged, she replaced the tattered T-shirt Jubal had lent her that night with a long midnight blue satin nightgown. All she had to do was wish it...
Trying something more radical, she changed the bathroom completely, replacing the worn white tiles with a dark tiling with iridescent effects, the old iron bathtub with a modern shower cabin, the bronze faucets with chromed steel.
She failed, however, to expel Rina's image from the mirror.
Jubal didn't seem to be aware of anything, but turned towards her, finally noticing her presence.
"Isobel," he sounded calm, but as if he didn't expect to find her there.
The furtive way his eyes roamed over her almost made her shiver.
But then, she could see the poisonous aura was gushing from the wound in his arm, from something similar to a dark anemone inserted there. It looked like a little piece of the shadow which had tormented them in the old mansion. Jubal didn't seem to be able to see any of it, or he would be much more agitated.
Isobel approached him with trepidation. She needed to do something to help him.
"Do you trust me?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
He nodded without hesitation. Isobel noticed the strength of her power grew with this gesture.
She reached out and grabbed the anemone, which wriggled between her fingers. Her skin stung as if the creature was made of acid, and Isobel's insides shook at this glimpse of what Jubal had been suffering all this time. She gripped it tighter, as he gritted his teeth through the pain. Isobel's mind filled with unpleasant thoughts, of sadness, disgust, heartbreak and self-loathing. For an instant, she was on the verge of releasing her grip, but she focused on Jubal's eyes, on the devotion they could not hide. She realized all of this was coming from the parasitic shadow, not from herself. Isobel resisted. She understood this was what had been tormenting him with Rina's ghost.
With a roar, she gave a yank. Jubal let out a scream. Isobel watched the anemone wither and die in her hand.
"What the hell was that?" Jubal asked, panting and frightened. "Did I have something there?"
Isobel made a slight affirmative grimace. Suddenly her heart sank when she saw Jubal was still completely covered by the harmful reddish aura... and Rina was still in the mirror.
"What? What's the matter?" he was alarmed to see the consternation in Isobel's eyes.
Distressed, Isobel took his hands, hers becoming immersed in the thick layer of bad vibes.
No. She had to fight it. That was what it was all about. The red aura trembled at her will... But it wasn't enough.
She needed something else.
She sought support in how much Jubal needed her to overcome the barrier of her fears, to face it at last.
Embracing what she truly felt for him, she caressed Jubal's hands gently. Jubal's aura turned a luminous golden where Isobel's fingers passed by.
He sighed. "Wow, this eases it..."
Isobel looked up, hopeful. "Stay put," she asked.
Slowly, she slid her hands up Jubal's forearms, removing the thing. Isobel ran them even higher, up his arms, to his shoulders. She required concentration to make it work, but it was possible to get it off him.
Rina had turned around and was glaring at her with visceral hatred. Isobel just ignored her.
Jubal watched her breathlessly, his heart rate racing. He could feel how the sensations torturing him were disappearing at the contact of Isobel's hands.
When those reached his neck, they ascended over it. Her fingertips slowly traced, healing as they went, over Jubal's jawline, his ears, his cheeks, his lips and nose, his temples, his eyelids and his forehead. He let out a shaky breath, looking at her with narrowed eyes full of fascination.
Knees trembling, and trying to not get distracted by her own sensations, Isobel slid her nails across his scalp, from hairline to nape. Shaken by waves of relief and delight, Jubal couldn't help but close his eyes and utter a long moan. Isobel bit her lips, barely controlling the burning that welled up inside her.
Going around him, she stood behind.
In the mirror, Rina seemed silently seized with anger. Isobel tried her best to continue disregarding her.
She spread her palms from his shoulders down Jubal's back, making a titanic effort not to leave a kiss between his shoulder blades. As she reached his waist, she discovered with frustration the towel covering him hindered her efforts. Direct contact with Jubal's skin seemed essential for it to really continue working. Blushing furiously, Isobel tugged at the towel and pulled it off.
Jubal inhaled in surprise. "Isobel...!"
"Ssh..." she said, dropping the towel on the floor. "I need to focus."
Fighting the fire raging inside her, Isobel slid her hands down his buttocks. Jubal sighed heavily again.
Descending down the back of his thighs, down the back of his knees and calves, Isobel reached his ankles, the instep of his feet. From behind, she moved back up the front of his legs, knees and thighs.
"Isobel..." Jubal gasped.
"Silence, please," she begged.
It was hard enough to ignore her own urges.
Biting her lip, she ran over his belly, up his sides and torso, to his chest, sliding her fingers through his chest hair. Jubal couldn't help but moan again.
Struggling to maintain control, Isobel took several deep breaths against his nape to tackle the last remaining part. She lowered both hands down his belly to his most sensitive flesh and ran them over it carefully, lovingly, at last ridding him completely of his curse. She couldn't help but cling to him as she did so.
The growl from the back of Jubal's throat echoed off the walls of the room.
Before letting herself go all together, Isobel gathered her strength and broke away, panting.
Noticing this, Jubal spun around facing her, dark flames in his gaze.
"You're set," Isobel said breathlessly.
Rina had simply disappeared from the mirror.
"You bet I am," he replied and took a decisive step toward her.
The fire in his eyes burned her from head to toe.
Then Jubal stopped abruptly. He looked down, embarrassed. He tried to cover himself, but it wasn't entirely possible.
"Thank you..." he said in thin voice. "You didn't- You didn't have to do this..."
Isobel couldn't resist it any longer. She rushed at him and kissed him with the least of restraints.
Jubal immediately pulled her close to him, impossibly hungry for her. The two of them roamed each other with avid hands. When he hitched her nightgown and lifted her weight, Isobel, clinging to his neck, wrapped her legs around his waist, whispering hot words into his ear. Pressing her against the cool iridescent tiles, Jubal plunged into her black eyes, ardently melding his body with Isobel's, eager to comply.
~.~.~.~