Page 72 of Winter
She felt a ball of tension lodge in her chest as he stared at her, his eyes searching but a mocking smile on his face.
“You’re right.” She made her tone soothing.
Keep him sweet.
She had no idea where that idea had come from, but suddenly she knew it was the right thing to do.
He pulled her into his arms, surprising her. She resisted for a moment, and his grip tightened. His gaze was intense as he gazed down at her. “It’s a new start, Inca. A new start for you and me. It’s our new home.”
Inca stared at him, her heart thumping unpleasantly against her chest. “Olly … I don’t understand.” She pulled away from his embrace and moved away from him, putting distance between them. She studied his face. He was smiling, and his expression was victorious.
Inca felt irritation flood through her. “What do you mean for ‘us’? Olly … we’re not … I live in Willowbrook, Olly. I have a home.”
“I know that.” He reached for her hand. “But it’s time we planned for our future. Come on. I’ll show you around.” He started towards the house, his hand gripping hers so that she was forced to follow him. “I got it for a steal, as well. For some reason, it had been on the market for over a year.”
She pulled her hand away from his. “Olly, stop. What do you think you’re doing?”
He turned, and the expression on his face made her heart stop. Anger.
“Inca, don’t spoil this.” He stepped towards her, and she felt her breath quicken. He towered over her, his hand on her arm, fingers biting into her skin. Inca stared up at him, searching his expression. She was alone with this man and no one,noone, knew where they were.
She could feel her skin start to prickle, her legs like cotton wool. His grip was too tight, fingers pressing deep into her skin, bruising, constricting the blood flow. Her hand started to numb. She tried to pull away, but Olly’s hold was unyielding. Trapped.
“Olly … please …” Her voice broke.
He put his finger over her mouth and smiled, but his eyes were that flat gray steel again. “Just listen. You need somewhere to go, away from the town, away from Winter.” Olly spat his name. “Being around him is destroying you; I can see that. Everyone can see that.” He cupped her chin with his fingers. “This is what’s best for you, Inca. Somewhere you can get away from him. Where I can look after you.”
She could feel icy needles of fear creeping up her spine. “Olly, I’d like you to take me home, please.” Her voice broke and faded. He stepped toward her, seeming to grow bigger, stronger. His eyes were locked on hers.
Even if you run, you won’t stand a chance.
Inca swallowed, not taking her eyes from him.
“Olly … please. I want to go.”
He laughed and took her hand. “Later. We’ve only just arrived.” He unlocked the front door and pulled her into the house. “You know, for what it’s worth, Nancy and Tyler agree with me; they think you should get some distance from Winter too. Clear your head. Isn’t that what you wanted?” He didn’t wait for an answer and, heart thudding, Inca stepped into the house after him.
The entire inside was painted white. Everything.
Inca swallowed. For some reason, the starkness of the décor scared her and made her uneasy. The outside walls were dark, stone and wood, giving no clue to this blankness inside. Olly was talking, leading her around the place. There was very little furniture, the few pieces there were, were covered in white sheets. Inca started to feel disconnected to the world outside.
She walked to one of the windows and looked out at the view. The windows felt thick and unbreakable; the view seemed a long way away as if she were looking at it through a telescope even though the perspective was all wrong.
“Inca? I thought you wanted to get away—after all, that’s what you told Luna, isn’t it? That’s why you were looking at apartments in the city—you remember when you were attacked? Reminds me, did Tommaso ever explain himself about that?”
She gaped at him. “What has Tommaso got anything to do with that? It happened before I even met him.”
Olly rolled his eyes. “You really are blinkered when it comes to that waste of space, you know? Anyway,” he interrupted whatever she was about to say. “Let’s go upstairs. I want to show you the master bedroom.”
He made her walk up the stairs in front of him, motioning to a door to the left of the staircase. The master bedroom was huge, with a dressing room and walk in closet, an ensuite bathroom, and a bed. A huge bed, made up with white sheets, white pillows. And on the nightstand, a picture frame. Inca walked over and picked it up. A photo of her, smiling, looking away from the camera. She recognized the photo; it had been taken by Nancy on her last birthday.
“You took this from my home?” She held up the frame, her eyes filling with tears. Olly smiled, seeming oblivious to her distress.
“Just to help make it homey. Hey, look at this.” He walked out of the room to another down the long hallway. He threw open the door—another white, blank room. He wrapped his arms around her, tightening his hold as she tried to pull away. “And next door, Inca, don’t you think, it’s the perfect space for a nursery? For when we have kids.”
Inca wriggled violently out of his embrace, trembling so badly she stumbled a little as she pushed her way out into the hallway. Olly caught her up, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. His expression was confused.
“Inca, what’s wrong?”
