Forever Winter

Chapter 3

Winter

I stare up at the same dark eyes that I see every night when I close my eyes. He takes my hand and pulls me from the SUV. From the look on his face I think it’s going to be rough, but his hold is gentle yet firm. My heart starts to race. I almost forget where I am for a moment. So many emotions fill me, making me lightheaded. My heart and mind try to catch up with one another.

“Bo?” Mary, Cory’s mom, asks. Her eyes dart between him and me. I’m sure her confusion is as great as mine right now. Wait, did she call him Bo?

I pull on my arm, trying to free myself. “Don’t even think about it,” Robert warns. I still. Mary’s eyes grow wide. Everything grows silent. I could swear the snow stops falling for a moment before we’re moving again as Robert ushers me inside quickly.

Mary follows us. I can’t understand what she’s saying. I start to feel dizzy.

I trip over a box in my confusion. I hear someone bellow, “Fuck!” before I’m scooped up in Robert’s embrace.

“Why are you here?” I ask. He stares down at me and I wonder if I spoke the words out loud. I go to repeat myself, but he pulls me more into his arms, my feet leaving the ground and he’s moving once again.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I whisper. Robert stops for a second, looking down at me. My face must show I’m not playing around because he takes off running. Moments later I’m in a bathroom and leaning over the toilet. He pulls my hair back and puts a cold rag to my forehead. The dizziness starts to fade as he whispers into my ear, ordering me to take a deep breath.

I do as he commends, the nausea slipping away. “I think I’m okay now,” I admit. Robert lifts me again before I can protest. I rest my head against his chest. For the first time in months I actually feel relaxed, which is crazy because as my mind starts to play catch up on the last ten minutes I’m putting together that Bo is short for Robert.

Robert never told me his name. I’d only heard the other man from the table call him that. Cory and his mom always call him Bo when they mention him. Things just got even messier than they already were.

I peek up at Robert when I notice we’ve stopped moving and I’m now in his lap. His look is more rugged than I remember. His suit is gone, replaced with a tight black thermal. His beard is longer and more gruff. He went and got hotter while I went and got chubbier. Great. Oh, and I almost vomited on him.

“Winter, are you okay?” Mary asks, reminding me that we aren’t alone. I’m not sure if I’m thankful for that or not.

“Yeah, I think maybe the long car ride did it.” It’s not a lie. I’d grown uneasy on the way here. I hate lying and the closer we got, the worse my anxiety got. But I was going to do it. For Cory. Now I’m not sure what to do because things have changed. His brother is going to know Cory and I haven’t been dating for a year like Cory said. Or maybe he does believe his brother. Then that means he thought I was… I abandon that train of thought. It will only knot my stomach more.

“Maybe you should lie down until dinner. Sam is putting everything in your room now.” I feel Robert’s grip on me tighten. I’m not sure if he did it on purpose. It’s a silent warning that I’m not going anywhere.

“I just need a moment,” I want to say ‘alone’, but somehow I know that’s not going to happen. Plus, I’m not sure I want to be alone. If I would do anything at all right now it would be nothing. Just lay my head on Robert’s chest and enjoy his deep rich smell, which is helping my nerves.

“Maybe you should lay her down.” Mary motions to the rest of the sofa, where Robert could lay me, but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t even respond. “Okay then.” Her eyes dart back and forth between us.

“Where is Cory?” Robert asks. His voice is deep and rumbles from his chest.

“He is running behind. He had work to finish,” I answer. Mary rolls her eyes.

“These boys and their work. Did you learn anything from your father’s mistakes?” Robert tenses beneath me at his mom’s words.

“I mean, really? He can’t leave work a little early to escort his fiancée up to their family home?” She shakes her head, pacing back and forth and getting madder as she talks more to herself than to us. I want to stand up for Cory and tell her I’m not his fiancé so it’s not so big a deal, but Cory made that bed so he can lie in it. I’m not going up against his mom for him when it’s all a lie. I’ll keep on being quiet.