Chapter Three
Penny
I can’t deny that Otto makes me nervous. Apparently, all of those rumors about the wild man in the woods are true. Still, he doesn’t seem violent. Maybe all of my fears stem from the stories I heard growing up.
As he moves around his dimly-lit kitchen, I can’t help but notice that he isn’t much older than I am. I wonder when those stories started to circulate. Were they always around and he just happened to move out here, or did they come to be after he found himself here?
If the latter is the case, then he couldn’t have been more than a kid. The thought of that makes my heart ache. I know that I don’t know him very well, but he seems like such a sweet and protective person. I hate the thought of him being out here alone.
“I don’t really have much in terms of food,” Otto says as he puts a kettle on his stove. “But I have some deer meat and potatoes I can fry up.”
“That sounds good,” I say.
He smiles at me before heading to his ice box. I take the opportunity to glance around the kitchen. My eyes land on a pile of pastries on his counter. It takes a moment for me to realize that those must be the stolen goods from the bakery.
Apparently, they were right about the man in the woods coming in and stealing from them. I choose not to say anything. I think that my loyalty lies more with Otto than with the people who threw me out in the woods like I was nothing more than a sacrifice.
“This place is nice,” I say, deciding to make some conversation with him. I know the mystery surrounding him, but I’d like to know more about the man himself. From what I’ve gathered so far, he’s very different from what those people in Evergreen Hills were saying. “How long have you lived here?”
“Most of my life,” he says, the kettle screaming as the deer meat sizzles in the cast iron skillet. He leaves it at that, seeming uncomfortable with making small talk.
I don’t mind, though. I like his company. Even though we aren’t talking, I feel safe. It’s strange, I haven’t felt like this since before my parents passed away. I used to be surrounded by people who were supposed to be taking care of me, but they never showed me this level of consideration.
While he cooks, I let myself observe the space.
It’s nice, but a little broken down. It’s lived in, though.
There’s nothing here that screams abandoned at me.
In the corner of the living room, there are some tools that tell me Otto’s working on fixing this place up. I wonder if this is a family home.
“Here,” he says, sliding a cup of tea to me. “Food’ll be ready in a few.”
“Thanks,” I say as I wrap my hands around the cup. “It smells good.”
“It’s nothing special,” he says with a shrug. “I just want to make sure that you’re fed.”
“That’s sweet of you,” I say, taking a sip.
We fall into another comfortable silence as he finishes our plates. When he’s done, he slides a platter in front of me and sits down next to me. I thank him before I dig into my meal. A few minutes go by before he breaks the silence.
“I’ve been on my own for a long time,” he says, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “My parents passed away when I was young, and I ran off before I could be taken into foster care.”
“You don’t have any family?” I ask, feeling a pang of sympathy.
“Not that I know of,” he says, facing me fully. “It’s just been me for as long as I can remember. I got lucky finding this house when I did, otherwise I don’t think I would have survived out here.”
“That must have been hard,” I say, tightening my hold on my fork.
“It was my only option,” he admits. Then, like it’s something he has to get off his chest, he adds, “I’ve had to do a lot of questionable things to keep myself alive. I guess making friends wasn’t really high on that list.”
“You were just a kid,” I say, stifling a noise of surprise when he reaches over and grabs my hand.
“I guess,” he agrees, giving my hand a squeeze. “I’m not very good at talking to people, but I like talking to you. It’s easy.”
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly, feeling sparks of electricity in the air around us. “It feels natural.”
Otto smiles at me, and I know that I’ve said the right thing. He clears his throat then asks, “So, how did you end up in the woods?”
How do I tell him it’s technically because of him? Then again, he’s not the one who tied me up and marched me out here. If the people in Evergreen Hills weren’t so psychotic, I’d still be at home.
“I… disagreed with the people in my town,” I decide on finally. “I guess they brought me out here like I was some sort of sacrifice. They tied me up and blindfolded me.”
“From Cherry Peaks?” he asks, sounding affronted.
“No, no,” I say. “Evergreen Hills.”
“Ah,” he says, relaxing a little. “I don’t really fit in in Cherry Peaks, but the people that live there are good. Evergreen Hills, though… I have a bit of a reputation there.”
“I’ve heard some stories,” I admit, knowing that lying to him about it is stupid.
“It’s not like it’s without reason,” Otto says, shrugging like it doesn’t really bother him.
Maybe it doesn’t. “I used to break into houses to steal clothes and food and anything else that I needed. I know Cherry Peaks is closer, but the first friend I made was from there. After that I just couldn’t go and steal from them. ”
“The people in Evergreen Hills deserve it,” I say, surprised at the words coming out of my mouth. “They kind of suck.”
His voice drops an octave as he agrees, “They dropped you off in the middle of the woods for disagreeing with them. That’s not a community.”
I let that wash over me, thinking about how I’ve never really had that kind of connection before. Sure, I had my parents and their friends, but after they left, everything fell apart. It’s something I’ve always known but hearing someone else say it out loud makes it so much clearer.
“I don’t ever hang out with anyone back there,” I say softly, looking down at my half-eaten plate. “I spend most of my time alone. I don’t think I have anyone that I’d actually call my friend. Just neighbors and people I see every day.”
“Does it bother you?” he asks, tilting his head curiously.
That’s something I hadn’t really thought about, and now that I’m considering it, the answer is obvious. “It doesn’t bother me. Actually… I think I might like it better that way.”
He chuckles, squeezing my hand again. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Please,” I say, desperate for more of his words.
“I like that I have a bit of a reputation,” he says, leaning in close to me in a conspiratorial gesture. It makes me feel like we’re in this together. “It means that people will leave me alone. No one wants to come looking for someone that they’re scared of.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. It makes me feel lighter, like everything’s going to turn out okay. It is going to be okay. Otto found me, and as ridiculous as it seems, my heart hopes that he’ll save me from my life back in Evergreen Hills.
“I like your laugh,” he says, his wild, sandy blond hair falling into his brown eyes. “It’s cute. Fitting for someone as pretty as you.”
All of a sudden I’m blushing and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. I’ve never been complimented like this before. My body has never had such an extreme reaction to being in close proximity to someone.
“Thanks,” I force myself to say, feeling breathless like I’ve just run a marathon. “I– I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that.”
“I’ll make it my goal to get you to laugh as often as possible then,” he declares before picking up his fork and working on his meal.
“I’d like that,” I say, feeling my insides warm.
We finish our food in relative silence. The events of the day are starting to catch up with me. My eyelids start to droop when Otto stands up and gathers the dishes. I rest my chin in my palm as he washes them, using water from a bucket in the corner of the kitchen.
“I’ll show you to the spare bedroom,” he says when he finishes his task. “It’s nothing special, but the sheets are clean and the bed’s comfortable.”
“Oh,” I startle, opening my eyes. I hadn’t even realized that they’d closed on their own. “Honestly, I could fall asleep on the floor right now. But I should probably head home instead.”
“I’ll sleep on the floor and give you my bed before I let that happen. You’re way too tired to make the walk back to town. Stay,” he gently commands before putting an arm around my waist and helping me to my feet.
He looks down at me, waiting for permission, and I nod, my eyes slipping to his lips. His lips that are so close to mine.
Otto clears his throat and shifts his body, leading me through the dim house, only stopping to light a lamp in the hallway. He opens a door at the end of the hall and leads me inside, settling me on the bed – which is surprisingly comfortable. He lights another lamp before facing me again.
“I’ll be right back with something for you to sleep in,” he says. “The bathroom’s down the hall. Take that lamp with you if you need to go.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling dizzy with so many emotions coursing through my body. “Thanks, Otto.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” he says as he pads out of the room.