Chapter Seven
Penny
Like yesterday, Otto’s gone when I wake up. The bed is cold, telling me that he’s been gone for a little while. I sigh, pushing down the disappointment that comes with waking up alone.
It’s not fair for me to feel this way, I know that.
I have no idea what Otto gets up to during the day.
For all I know, he has a job that he needs to get to.
Although, he hasn’t mentioned anything about work to me.
Regardless, he’s allowed to take care of his responsibilities.
I’ll just have to tell him that I’d like to wake up next to him if I want to get what I want.
With that thought in mind, I get out of bed and head to the living room.
Yesterday, we sat on the floor and played cards after our bath, and I spotted a stack of books on one of his end tables.
I can’t think of a better way to kill time, considering there isn’t any electricity and even if there was, my phone is back at my house in Evergreen Hills.
I settle into a large, comfortable chair with a nonfiction book about the plants in this part of the country.
There were a few novels that caught my attention, but I figure that if I’m going to be spending my time out here, I should know a thing or two about what’s growing.
It makes me feel useful, like I’m not just sitting around biding my time until Otto gets home.
After a few chapters, the front door opens. I mark my place before setting the book down and turning around, intent on greeting the man who I’m starting to think of as mine. The words are on the tip of my tongue when I see that he’s carrying a large, black garbage bag.
“Uh,” I start, tilting my head curiously. Otto has an almost guilty expression on his face. “What is that?”
“It’s nothing,” he says, though there are nerves in his voice that lead me to believe there’s something he doesn’t want me to find out about in that bag. “Just some provisions.”
“I see,” I say as I push myself to my feet and cross the room. When I stop in front of him, I give him a reassuring smile and ask, “What did you get?”
“Nothing, really,” he replies, dodging the question and refusing to meet my eyes.
“Did you go to Cherry Peaks?” I ask patiently. I don’t like the feeling of him hiding something from me, even if it probably isn’t anything serious.
“Ah, no,” Otto says with a shrug, stepping around me and making a beeline for the kitchen. “I stopped by Evergreen Hills.”
“Oh?” I say, hoping to prompt him into giving me more information. He seems intent on keeping quiet, though.
He puts the bag on the counter but makes no moves to open it. His hands stay on the plastic, and his back stays toward me. His shoulders are tight, making a strange feeling settle in the pit of my stomach.
“Otto,” I say, my voice firm, leaving no room for argument. I wait until he turns around to face me before continuing. “What’s in the bag?”
He sighs, looking me in the eyes when he says, “It really doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”
“If it’s not important, then why don’t you tell me?” I challenge, feeling myself start to get nervous. What could he possibly be hiding from me?
After a few minutes, he sighs and turns back around. He hesitates before untying the bag. I stay where I am, waiting for him to turn around and show me whatever it is that he’s hiding from me.
“I’m not proud,” is all he says as he turns around with the bag open.
I give him a curious look before stepping forward and glancing inside. There are countless pastries, and at first I don’t understand. Then it dawns on me; he didn’t buy these.
“You stole these?” I ask. I don’t know why I’m so disappointed.
I knew he was the Evergreen Hills thief from the first time I saw the pastries lying on his counter the night we met.
Still, I place my hands over my stomach, nauseous that he felt the need to steal again and scared that he could have been caught.
“I told you I’m not proud,” he repeats, an edge of defensiveness creeping into his tone. It’s barely there, but it bothers me.
My head spins. I don’t know what to think about this. I don’t want to excuse this kind of behavior, but I don’t want to write him off completely. Maybe there’s a good reason for this. I can’t come up with one, though. I can’t imagine that there is one, either.
“Why?” I say after a few minutes of tense silence. “Why would you do this?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says, retying the bag and turning his back to me when he puts it back on the counter.
“It does matter, Otto,” I insist, my hands balling into fists at my side. “Why would you do this? Do you not have money? I could help. I don’t mind.”
“That’s not it. I have money,” he replies, the set of his shoulders getting even harder. “You wouldn’t understand.”
I sigh, my frustration starting to leak out. “Maybe I will. But there’s no way that I can understand if you don’t tell me why.”
“Can we just drop this?” he says after a beat, turning around to look at me again.
The fight has left him, but it’s clear that he’s still not interested in talking. I know he probably wants to move on, but I can’t. If he’s not able to give me any answers, then I need time to figure out what I’m going to do.
“I–” I start to say before I cut myself off.
“Penny,” he says, taking a step toward me.
Instinctively, I step backward. I don’t want to be near him right now, not when my emotions are all tangled up. I need to make sense of them first. I don’t want to do anything that might jeopardize what’s developing between us.
“I need a minute,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself when he reaches out to me.
“Please,” he says, stepping toward me again.
“Otto, I need time,” I snap, feeling terrible about the way his face falls a little bit.
But I need to step away. “I know you’ve stolen before, but I don’t understand why you’re still doing it.
Don’t you understand they could take you away from me?
I don’t know why you’re hiding whatever it is that you’re hiding, but I’m hurt that you don’t trust me. ”
He takes another step forward, my name on his lips. I don’t stay to hear whatever he’s trying to tell me. I make a beeline to the door, walking faster when I hear his footsteps behind me. I don’t bother looking over my shoulder once I get outside.
I start walking toward the woods but stay just inside the clearing’s treeline. I have no plans of getting lost or coming face to face with any animals. I just need to walk.
As I walk, leaves and branches crackling under my feet, I wonder what possessed Otto to do what he did. Is he a compulsive thief? Or a kleptomaniac? When he said he had money, does he mean money that he stole?
How could I be so stupid? I should know better than to fall for someone I just met. As I wear a path around the cabin, I realize that Otto stealing from the town isn’t my main concern. Should it be? Probably. But I’m more concerned that he doesn’t trust me enough to confide in me.
My chest aches and my heart starts to pound. What if he doesn’t love me? What if he’ll never trust me with his secrets?
I start to slow down and then finally come to a stop, leaning against a tree. Slowly, I slide down until I’m seated on the ground. Taking a deep breath, I let myself actually think about what I’m going to do when I see Otto again.
But before I come up with a solution, a hand covers my mouth and jerks me to the side, another arm wrapping around my chest, pinning my arms to my body.