Chapter 5
He pushed himself off the doorway and slowly strode away, using a much lighter step than I was used too. Once we stepped outside, he blocked the grave sunlight with the back of his hand, looking less than pleased that it should hover over him. He never let his arm go downwards until he stood in front of the car, and then inserted his key into the car door to swing it wide open. I walked past his pick-up truck to let Ashley know what was happening, assuring her she could take out our stuff to put it inside of the cabin. The second key was tossed in the backseat between Ben and Taylor, knowing the two of them would fight over it like they always did.
A small chuckle escaped me after I shut my car door, and then I strode towards Damian’s pick-up truck where he was still waiting for me. “It’s open,” he mouthed, so I pulled on the handle and heaved the heavy door open. The first thing I noticed was the overwhelming scent of mint from his car air freshener, and the second was the bundle of clothes stashed at my feet. I was going to point out the absurdity of it all, but the sternness of Damian’s profile made me change my mind.
He reversed backwards with ease, using the manual stick without having to look down at it, before he did a sharp U-turn and let the car drive down the bumpy road. I looked over my shoulder to look at the back seat, taking note of the long gun case that laid over top of it. There was an emergency first-aid kit in there too, and a large flashlight that must have been extremely heavy.
“What made you want to come here?” he asked as a way to spark a conversation.
“Get out of the city,” I simply replied, since it was the painful truth. “What made you want to live out here?”
“I like the isolation.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like people,” he stated, but something in my heart told me it was all a lie.
“Why not?”
“I just don’t,” he replied in a bored voice. “What do you have planned for dinner?”
“Hot dogs.”
“Over the fire?”
“Well, not anymore,” I replied with attitude. “Since someone told me I couldn’t have it.”
“You can use my kitchen.” I knew he was ignoring me, but I was expecting at least some kind of reaction from him. “But you will have to be out of there before sun-down.”
“Why?”
“You just have too.”
“Okay,” I said with curiosity, just before he pulled into the car driveway. “What do you have for dinner?”
“Some fish.” He put the car in park, and for once in his life took his time to undo his seat belt. “Not enough for the four of you though.”
“What about two?” I teased, since I wanted a reaction out of him.
“One.”
I rolled my eyes at him, which earned a dark chuckle from the man beside of me.
My seat belt was undone at this point, and I cracked open the door to step outside. The air was brisk, showing the drop in temperature as the day gradually drew itself to a close. The car shook after Damian slammed his door, proving he was stronger than he looked. He stalked his way up the hill without me, letting his hands fall deep inside of his coat pocket. I liked the way his high collar just brushed against his chin line, taking note that his coat was the only expensive thing he owned so far. He stepped inside of his house without me, leaving me to follow him only by the sound of his footsteps. I met the back of him around a corner of a wall, realizing he was standing in front of a narrow staircase.
“I realized …” He removed his hands from his pocket and turned around to face me. “I shouldn’t bring you upstairs, since the two of us don’t know each other very well.” He licked his bottom lip meditatively. “I will grab the bed sheets— my bed sheets to be exact. Umm … it will be too much work opening the other place, and I have no idea where they store the stuff for the rooms are kept. Just make sure you keep my sheets clean.” He blushed slightly, realizing that he was implying something that he really shouldn’t. “I’ll—I’ll be back,” he stammered out, and then crept up the stairs silently.
Damian really was a curious person. I would say he was a hermit, but he didn’t strike me as that type of guy. He was isolated to be sure, and nervous, but for what reason was still a mystery to me. I took the liberty of turning on the hallway lights to see the empty hallway was a creamy shade of tan brown. It was odd to see no pictures up, or even paintings for that matter. This place didn’t feel like a home, and I was starting to wonder why that was the case.
He came down the stairs eventually, carrying clean white sheets with a heavy blanket in tow. Damian instructed me to put it in the truck, assuring me it was still unlocked before he headed up the stairs for more blankets.
The short moment in the truck alone allowed me to investigate his backseat more, taking note of the hunting knife on the truck floor. There was an open box of fishing hooks and other items that Damian must have used for fishing. I couldn’t see a fishing rod though, a curious thing, unless he laid it out in the trunk. The mint smell was alluring to me, making me not want to slink out the car but eventually I did. Damian was waiting for me outside of the front door, holding up another handful of blankets with a suspicious gaze.
“Looking around?’ he darkly remarked, since he must have caught me snooping.
“I was …”
“Yes, I know what you were doing.” He dropped the heavy items into my arms and then closed the front door behind him.
It’s like he has something shoved up his ass.
I stormed down the steps and turned to the grassy hill where his pick-up truck was waiting for me. I dropped the items in the backseat since there was no more room in the front and made sure to move the heavy gun case until it was no longer touching the blankets.
Footsteps came from behind me, and Damian came into my view with a heavy cardboard box in hand. “Towels,” he commented. “And some snacks that you guys might want to eat.”
“Wine?”
“Wine,” he confirmed with every attempt to not smile at me. “You can get in.”
“Thanks,” I said with sudden sarcasm, and walked past him to get around the front of the car. “You have everything?”
“Just have to lock the door.”
“And then triple check it,” I quipped.
Damian ignored me once again, simply shutting the door with a loud sound before he strode up the hill as fast as he could.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.
I propped the door a little to let in some fresh air, hearing an unfamiliar whistle from a bird that was native to this area. The sound of heavy boots pounding against the gravel made me look upwards and to my left, seeing Damian opening the door with a lengthy gaze on my person. “Okay, we can go,” he muttered, and then climbed into his car seat beside me.
“Sorry about what I said earlier,” I apologized, hoping that would ease away the tension between us.
“I just want to be safe,” he uttered with uneasiness.
“That’s why you have a gun?”
He nodded his head slowly, while he let his hand hover over the key ignition.
“Bears?”
“Yes,” he said in a thin voice. “A lot of wild animals out here.” He placed the key into the silver ignition. “Coyotes, foxes, and sometimes moose.”
“You said wolves.”
“Wolves too,” he replied in barely a breath.
“You’ve been attacked by them?”
He wore a smile, but it was false looking. He sharply turned his head to me, letting his gaze search all over my telling visage. “No,” he exclaimed. “I haven’t been attacked by them.”
“Okay.”
“But others have,” he warned. “So, you …” he raised his right hand to point a finger at me, “stay inside tonight.”
“I will.”
He made no response, only turned the key to make the engine roar. A long arm stretched over the back of my car seat, bringing his body closer to me as he reversed out of the spot. I took a moment to truly look at his face, wondering why his eyes looked so eternally sad.
“Hey!” I called out, which made him stop mid-way to lock the storminess of his green eyes onto my pale blue ones. “You should join us for dinner tonight.”
“I already offered you guys to make dinner at my place.”
“Yeah, but we should spend the evening together,” I quickly replied. “My friends aren’t so bad.”
Damian continued to reverse out of the parking spot, only stopping to put the car in drive. He hadn’t responded to my statement, which made me regret my words. “Sure,” he replied through barely parted lips.
“It should be a good time.”
He nodded his head, though he looked like he didn’t believe it.
“I don’t want to force you.”
“It’s fine.”
“You don’t seem—”
“It’s fine,” he interrupted in a somber voice. “I’m not used to company, that’s all.”
“I see.”
Damian slowed down on a particularly bumpy track, not wanting our ride to be more uncomfortable than it needed to be. “As long as I sit next to you,” he piped up suddenly. “Only condition.”
“That works.”
The corner of his left lip curled upwards, compelling him to turn his face away so I could no longer see it.
“And Sara,” he began in a much more agreeable voice. “You can have some of my fish.” I laughed at his remark, glad that Damian was finally warming up to me. “But no one else.”
“Understood.”
“I like to go fishing.” He slowed down once he noticed Ashley’s car parked outside of the small cabin. “You could join me tomorrow, if you’d like.”
“I think my friends and I are going for a hike.”
“Yes,” Damian breathed out. “Friends.”
“But …” I let my voice trail away, unsure what I could possibly add to that.
“I’ll give you guys a map for the best trails.”
“Thanks,” I sadly droned, feeling like I rejected his subtle offer.
“First-aid kit since the trails will be rough at this time of year. I maintain it the best I can, but I’m only one person.” He parked the car and let his hands drop to the side of him. “You will stick to the paths.”
“Okay,” I smiled, since I liked that fatherly tone to his voice.
“If you are lost, it will be next to impossible to find you. These forests are deep.” He blinked at me with pain. “Very deep.”
“I’ll stay on the path, but just in case … can I have your number?”
“Why?”
“My friends might do something stupid.”
“Umm … sure.” Damian waited until I pulled my phone out of my pant pocket and then relayed the information, half smiling once I told him I got it all. “So, it’s only for emergencies?” he teased, after he stretched out his arm to lay it over the back of my headrest. “Or—"
“We’ll see.”
“Okay,” he said with a grin. “We will see.”
“We should take the stuff out of the car,” I suggested. “It’s going to get dark.”
Damian’s eyes widened at that statement and then he turned to the front window to look at the skyline. “No, not yet,” he breathed out with relief, and then pushed open his car door to step outside.