VIII
Solus
I dropped to the couch between Aunt Olivia and Viktor, a bottle of rum and eggnog held to my lips. I didn't pause in swigging from the bottle as I got comfortable, drinking deeper when I felt his knee brush against mine.
"Callie!" Mom scolded. "What are you thinking?"
"Yeah, Cal, at least get a glass." Lucas appeared in front of me, snatching the bottle from my hand. "You swine."
"Hey!" My protest turned into a strangled laugh when he took a drink from the bottle.
Neither Uncle Andy nor Aunt Olivia said anything, as if used to Lucas drinking like this. They continued their conversation, neither batting an eye when we began handing the bottle back and forth. Viktor stiffened beside us, his muscled arms bulging as he clenched his fists. Was he holding back drinking with us, or was he trying not to judge us for it? Either way, I didn't care.
Mom pursed her lips but averted her eyes. I could tell by the blank look on her face she was trying to listen to the conversation between the group and ignore me embarrassing her.
"Bah humbug," I smirked, drinking deeper.
There came a point when the alcohol no longer burned on the way down, and I found myself talking loudly and laughing obnoxiously with the group. I usually drank alone, wallowing in my thoughts, so it was nice to enjoy the nicer liquor with my family.
"Don't you think you've had enough?" Viktor whispered, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine.
"Don't you think you should suck my dick?" I hiccupped, the sour taste of alcohol and vomit burning my throat.
I grinned at him, staring him in the eyes as I chugged down half the contents. Viktor snatched the bottle from me before I could finish it, his jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth. "That's enough ,” he growled, low enough for only me to hear.
I scowled at him so hard I could have pierced him with the daggers. "Fuck you, asshole," I snapped, baring my teeth. "You don't get to tell me what to do," I enunciated my words, speaking slowly so I didn't slur.I pushed up from the couch, swaying on my feet as the rum went to my head. The floor floated around me, and as I stumbled toward the front door I felt like I was walking on a boat that was sailing on choppy waters.
"Ow," I barked as I bounced off of the wall.
"Definitely had enough," Lucas's laughter followed me.
"Fuck them." I turned on the spot, flipping off the wall. I swiped a set of keys from a bowl by the front door then stormed out of the house. "I'll drink somewhere else."
The roads were blanketed with snow. They had been cleared the previous day, but a fresh layer of sleet had appeared overnight, and there were no new tire tracks. I couldn't see where the sidewalk and road met, but I decided driving in the middle was my safest bet. The trees that whizzed past were blurred by my rum-infused brain, and I struggled to focus on the world.
"Who the hell does he think he is."
I gripped onto the fluffy steering wheel cover, my knuckles white. Whose car is this? No one uses fluffy steering wheel covers anymore.
"Fucked me and then pretended like I didn't exist—" A car beeped at me as I swerved to the left. "And then he had the nerve—no, the audacity , to tell me what to do. He thinks he gets to fuck me like he did and then baby me!" I slapped the steering wheel, screaming in frustration. "Fucker!"
Another car blasted its horn, headlights shining through my windshield and blinding me momentarily. I shrieked, yanking the wheel to avoid a head-on. The horn was long and shrill, growing louder as it grew closer. The horn continued as I swerved to the right, then it grew fainter as the car sped past, snow pushing up in its wake.
I slammed my foot on the brake, not so used to driving in such conditions. My tires spun, spitting up sleet as the car hydroplaned. I tried to gain some semblance of control, but the car fishtailed. The steering wheel was yanked from my grip again, causing my left wrist to twist at an odd angle.
I cried out, the pain secondary to fear as a wall of snow and trees rushed toward me. The car hit the bank hard and flipped, rolling to the side, roof, and side, only to land with a loud, solid, bone-jarring bang back on the tires.
For what seemed like only a moment, I blacked out. I blinked the shadows away. The world came back to me in slow motion. I could hear nothing but a slight buzz inside my right ear. It felt as though I was underwater as my eyes and head moved to look around me, feeling like tar. In a few shallow breaths, the world sped back up. Sound and pain exploded around me, an overwhelming cacophony of noise.
Tears leaked from my eyes, freezing solidly on my cheeks before they fell onto my chest. "Oh, God," I whimpered.
Everything hurt ; my whole body ached from the cold, only adding to the new injuries that stole my breath. My wrist was sprained, maybe even broken. My hand shook as I lifted it to my face, tentatively pressing my fingers to my hairline. They came away sticky with blood, the tang of copper mixing with the smells of the burning engine. I had worn a seatbelt, so the injuries weren't substantial, but I could already feel the bruises forming, even with my rum-addled brain.
The windshield had shattered, along with the side windows. Tiny shards of glass covered me, sticking to the blood and tears. Through the open windshield, I could see smoke billowing from the hood, and strange ticking noises came from inside. I didn't know much about cars or what kind of smoke meant explosions, but I had to get out in case it burst into flames. I unclipped the seatbelt with stiff fingers. I jimmied the door handle. Fear closed my throat as the door stuck, refusing to budge.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I cried, looking around for something to pry the door open.
A gust of wind came in from the driver's side window, tussling my hair and pushing the glass shards from my clothing. Okay. With a grunt of pain, I dragged myself through the window, only managing to cut my hands slightly on the glass. But that pain was forgotten when the cold air knocked all sense from me. The day was harsh, with clouds covering the sun enough for streetlights to be on. But there were no streetlights where I was. I had managed to slide from the road, crashing into a snowy bank so far from the road that I didn't even know where it was.
The snow swallowed me up, burying me to the knees and soaking my clothes down to my skin. My face hurt from the cold, my nose stinging as it began to run, before it froze above my lip. I shrunk inside myself, fear and adrenaline causing my body to shake uncontrollably. My feet were frozen, my shoes soaking through to my socks the moment I crawled out of the car. Panic clawed at me, threatening to take me under and refuse to let me go. I stepped far enough from the car to avoid harm from any possible fire, but that was as far as I went. I stood in the snow, cradling my injured wrist against my chest, staring at the smoking wreck. I just crashed a car that wasn't mine, because I lost my mind over a man. What did I do? What do I do? I hadn't thought to grab my phone before I took off. Why did I have to have a tantrum? It's funny how something so traumatic could sober someone up.
With the sobering up came the utter overwhelming dread. I sucked my bottom lip into my teeth, biting down to try to stop my chin from trembling. A metallic taste filled my mouth as blood coated my tongue. My eyes blurred with tears, the snow and trees merging into one. I squeezed my eyes tightly, trying to clear my eyes and my mind. My chest tightened, my heart held in a fist that I could not shake.
Dropping down to the ground, the snow enveloping me, I pulled my knees to my chest and wept. The tightness intensified, refusing to let go. My chest burned. I sucked in rushed breaths that did not fill my lungs.
"I'm going to die out here," I sobbed, my disjointed cries echoing in the silence.
The echoes grew, bouncing from tree to tree, only to be thrown back at me mockingly. I held my right hand against my ear, my left hand still cradled against my chest. I gasped in breaths, trying to calm my cries, but the echoes only grew.
Closer and closer the mocking spread. The taunting morphed into voices and words that I longed to hear.
Callie.
Where are you?
Callie.
I curled further into myself, begging the voices to stop.
Callie.
Can you hear me?
I sucked in a breath, quieting my cries.
CALLIE!
I jerked at the startled voice that came from behind me.
"Callie!" Snow crunched beneath boots at my side. "Callie." Viktor dropped to his knees beside me, his hand going to the cut at my hairline. "Thank God." His touch was gentle as he checked over my injuries.
" V-Viktor!" A wail tore from my chest, louder than I had intended. I clawed my way onto his lap, throwing myself into his arms. He pulled me closer, holding my head to his chest.
His hold was tight, comforting, steadying, real .
Viktor adjusted himself, readying to stand, but I balled his leather jacket in a tight-knuckled fist, not wanting to let him go. He stood anyway, placing me on my feet as he did so.
I shivered from the loss of contact.
Viktor shucked his leather jacket off, holding it out for me to step into. I gulped once, twice, trying to find the words to thank him. He nodded his head toward the jacket, urging me to wear it.
"You must be freezing."
I nodded, licking at my chapped lips. He helped me into it as much as I would allow, before he noticed my left hand, still held to my chest. He draped the left side of the jacket over my shoulder and then held out his hand.
"Let me see."
My hand shook as I held it out to him. I hissed at his touch, as soft as it was.
"Just a sprain," he said more to himself than to me. He kept my hand in his, rubbing a thumb over my wrist. He watched me from under hard brows. "That was really fucking stupid, you know that?"
I glared, but I didn't have it in me to argue. I lowered my eyes, looking at his chest, his arms, anywhere but his face. I knew he was right. "I know," I whispered.
I gasped as Viktor closed his mouth on mine. He kissed me deeply, pulling away only to rest his forehead against mine. His warm breath washed over my face as he spoke. "Next time you have an issue with me, you talk." I could hear the accusation in his voice. "You're a fucking idiot putting yourself in this situation."
I stepped back, opening my mouth to defend myself. "Hey, you're the one who fucked me then ignore—"
"I'm not finished." He held his hand up to silence me and I was too surprised to speak. "We're adults, Callie. Yes, we fucked. But we should be able to join in the Christmas festivities without wearing a neon sign that says so."
I crossed my arms, jumping slightly at the pain in my wrist.
"I wasn't ignoring you. I was being myself, which if you haven't noticed is—"
"Broody and dismissive?" I finished for him.
Viktor blew out a breath, shaking his head to hide the smile I saw there momentarily. "Yes, exactly." He stepped back.
I tilted my head, my eyes watering again. "So you weren't going to just have sex with me then pretend like it never happened?"
He did smile then. "No. In fact, I had planned to fuck you some more, then get to know you."
My cheeks heated. "You want to get to know me?"
"I've never wanted to know a woman more in my life."
My lower lip quivered. "Oh."
"Come here." He opened his arms, pulling me against him once more. I shivered as his warmth seeped into my frozen bones. He stood back, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. "Now let’s get you in the car before you freeze to death."
Viktor placed his hand against the small of my back, leading me toward the road. The walk was slow, but doable in his arms. I whimpered when the road came into view, Viktor's truck pulled over right where I had lost control of the car. He held the door open for me, then cranked the heater when he climbed in. I held my frozen fingers in front of the air vent, cringing as feeling came back to every part of my body.
Viktor pulled away from the curb. Once we were on the road, traveling back toward my family's house, he rested his hand on my knee. The warmth shot a spark right to my chest. I looked over at him, admiring the way he drove, so methodical yet relaxed.
"Thank you," I rasped. "Thank you for saving my life.
Viktor flicked his eyes off the road just once. His eyes were soft. "I'm glad I found you."
"Me too."
"For a moment there I thought I was too late."
I gulped. "For a time there, I thought I would die alone and no one would know where I was."
Viktor's voice was thick with something I couldn't tell. "I'll always find you."
I closed my eyes, my chest aching. A single tear slid down my cheek. I lifted my left hand, still sore, and instead of wiping the tear, I placed it over Viktor's hand.
He squeezed my knee once, a small comfort. He kept his hand there for the rest of the drive back.