17Chapter Eight:
Tortured, Tangled Hearts
Her first night at the cabin wasn't as awkward as it could have been, all things considered. She spent a while getting to know Nathaniel's sister. Emily was a nice girl, with an easygoing manner and a pretty smile, and she found herself responding likewise. Judging from her own experiences she couldn't detect many similarities between brother and sister. Emily gave of herself so easily, was open and friendly and easy to get along with. Nathaniel was aloof, arrogant, insulting, and selfish. But, for all his faults, his sister didn't have a bad word to say about him, really. Other than admonishing his manners, or rather lack thereof.
She'd done her best to steer the conversation away from Nathaniel. It was difficult to do. She could sense the younger girl was curious and was doing her best to hold in any questions she might have had though. She showed Wendy around the cabin, at which point she was surprised to learn that it belong to the Barstow's. Emily told her that her parent's rarely used it themselves anymore; their father often let it out to business associates of his.
It was pretty early when she crept downstairs in the morning. She had left Clarissa snoring lightly in the bedroom. She was surprised to see that someone else was up as well. Nathaniel was in the kitchen sitting on a stool at the island eating a piece of toast and reading a magazine. He looked up and stared at her when he heard her padding into the room. His hair was messy, sticking out from all angles like he hadn't combed it yet, and his glasses, usually absent, were firmly planted on his face. He was wearing nothing but a plain white tee shirt and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. If she hadn't hated him so much she would have described him as looking deliciously disheveled. As it was, she felt a certain amount of satisfaction catching him at such an unguarded moment, even if she was a little more than irritated by his presence. Clearly, he had he had just gotten up. He probably hadn't gotten up much earlier than herself.
Her first thought was to turn around and head back up the stairs. But he'd already seen her so it was a bit too late for that. She would just have to make the best of the situation.
'Morning,' she said, stepping fully into the room.
'Good morning,' he replied, looking to have regained his sense of speech. 'Hungry?'
'Um...sure,' she said with a little shrug. 'Whatcha got good?'
Nathaniel's mouth quirked up in a little smile. 'Was that even English?'
'Nah. It was American,' she replied. 'I can just make some toast, if it's too much trouble...'
He shrugged. 'Suit yourself. The bread's on the counter next to the toaster,' he said, gesturing. He shifted slightly on the stool. 'You were hanging around with Emily for a while last night. I hope she didn't pester you too much.'
'Of course not. She was just showing me around a little.' She looked up at him briefly before sticking the bread into the toaster over and hitting the toast button. 'I didn't know this was your family's cabin.'
'Yes. Just one of many residences,' he replied offhandedly. 'What do you think?'
'It's a nice place. It's really big, but somehow manages to feel cozy at the same time. Your parents have great taste.'
He chuckled lightly. 'I didn't mean the cabin. I meant, what do you think of my sister?'
'Oh.' Wendy smiled genuinely. 'She's great. Nothing at all like you.'
'I should probably take offence at that.'
'You definitely should,' she agreed.
He paused and ran a hand through his already messy hair. 'I realize that you didn't expect to run into me, and that this situation may be a bit uncomfortable for you, but I appreciate you being so nice to my sister. She was really excited to meet you.'
Wendy shrugged. 'I have manners,' she replied. The implication, that he did not have manners, clearly wasn't lost on him. He frowned.
'Only when it suits you,' he countered.
'I'm sorry, but you can't really expect me to be nice to you. Especially after everything you've done. I'll do my best to be civil when the others are around but that's all I can promise.'
He let loose an almost imperceptive sigh. 'I suppose that's better than nothing.'
Her toast was done. She took it out of the oven and looked around for the butter. It was sitting on the island counter near Nathaniel. She took a seat next to him and began to butter her toast. She wasn't going to let him get to her.
'Do you normally get up this early?' he asked her after a few minutes.
She nodded, as her mouth was full. She swallowed and answered him. 'It's habit. My father owns a diner, remember? I used to work there too, when I was home. We had to be there by five-thirty to start getting ready for the breakfast crowd. I guess I just got used to getting up really early.'
'So, how come you didn't go home for Christmas? You missed Thanksgiving as well,' he reminded her.
'You don't get to ask me questions like that, ok? We aren't friends.'
'How will we get to know each other then? So that we can be friends?'
'I don't want to know you,' she said, finishing off the last piece of her toast. 'And I don't want to be your friend. Thanks for breakfast,' she murmured, and then headed back up to her room to get dressed for the day.
Nathaniel watched her walk away from him as she made her way back upstairs. One of the reasons he was up so early was because he'd had trouble sleeping all night to begin with. Her presence disturbed his being, like the way even the slightest movement causes ripples across the perfectly calm surface of a pond. It wasn't a bad disturbance, it's just that she moved him in some way, a way that he wasn't used to being moved.
After he got over the initial shock of seeing her again, he rationalized that perhaps he'd been given an opportunity to try and make things right with her. She wasn't vindictive, or unkind; if she had been she wouldn't have made an effort to be so nice to Emily. However, she didn't like him, and with somewhat good reason, so that posed a dilemma for him. He finally had decided on just being himself. Not the person that his parents wanted him to be, but the person he was inside, the person he kept hidden from almost everyone. If he could just show her what he was truly like, then maybe she would change her opinion of him at least.
When he first had noticed her this morning, standing so still in the entryway of the kitchen, looking extraordinarily pretty with her short hair tangled about her face and her cheeks slightly flushed, he had felt his heart lurch for a second before regaining its regular rhythm. He couldn't have torn his eyes away from her, even if he'd wanted to. It was somewhat disconcerting to realize what sort of an effect she had on him.
The entire time she was there he felt as if his body was on pins and needles, although he did his damndest to try and hide it. He'd already made a fool of himself once in front of her, he wasn't eager for a repeat performance. So, he had done his best to make friendly conversation. And, although she had been perfectly civil, if not a little sassy, he quickly came to the realization that nothing between them had changed.
After she left the room he felt his hopes begin to fade. He wanted to impress her, but he couldn't help but fail. Her mind was already made up about him and he suddenly felt that there was nothing he could say or do to change that, no matter how hard he tried.
'So, what's on the agenda for today?' Clarissa asked. They were all gathered in the living room. Clarissa had made hot chocolate and they were enjoying the soothing sweet beverage while they considered what to do with their day.
'Not much for me, I'm afraid. I'm going to hang back here and wait for Rob to arrive,' Nathaniel answered.
'Robbie's coming up here?' Wendy asked.
Nathaniel gave her a direct look. 'Yes. We'd been planning this trip for more than a month. When I talked to him last night, and told him that you were here, he seemed...really happy to hear that. I hope you'll behave,' he told her.
Emily laughed, cutting the sudden tension in the room. 'What are you on about, Nate? Why would you say such a thing? Wendy's been nothing but pleasant so far, to all of us. Even those of us that may not deserve it,' she said pointedly looking at her brother.
'That's right, Nate. If anyone should be told to behave, it should be you,' Clarissa joined in, playfully sticking her tongue out at him and throwing Wendy a wink.
Wendy was both embarrassed and delighted by their defense of her. Not that she needed anyone to stick up for her; she was quite capable of doing that for herself. Still, it was nice to have others on her side for once. Clarissa and Emily went upstairs a moment later to get dressed for the day, until then they'd been lounging unselfconsciously in their pajamas, leaving Wendy and Nathaniel alone.
'What did you mean, you hope I'll behave?' she asked him furiously once she was sure the others were out of earshot.
He sighed and set down his magazine, giving her a look through the thick frames of his glasses. His gray eyes looked tired. 'I only meant that I hope you won't bring up Julie to him. Unless of course he brings her up first. He's been through enough and he's just finally stopped moping around.'
'This is rich, coming from you. Especially considering he has you to thank for his predicament.'
'I thought I was doing what was right, at the time,' he replied tiredly.
She faltered for a moment at that statement. 'What do you mean, at the time? Are you admitting that you were wrong?'
'No. Not entirely.' Her hopes deflated. 'More like that you were right. Perhaps I did go too far. Although I thought I was acting in his best interests, I wasn't being a very good friend. I shouldn't have lied to him. It was a tactic reminiscent of my father. And that is unpardonable.'
She gave him a steady look. 'This doesn't change things between us,' she stated firmly.
He gave her a wry grin. 'I didn't expect it to.'
While they were busy arguing in the foyer, Robbie arrived. He was genuinely happy to see her, and even gave her a hug. The girls came downstairs a few minutes later and they all exchanged greetings.
She found it hard to hold her tongue around Robbie. Oh, she was happy to see him, of course. Robbie was as congenial as ever. Still, it was just as difficult to say nothing to Robbie about what she knew as it was with Julie. And, as much as she wanted them both to know the truth, she didn't feel like it was her place to tell them. She wanted Nathaniel to fess up. He made the mess, so he should make it right. It was only fair.
'So, you up for the bunny slope today?' Clarissa asked Wendy after a while.
'Er...I'm not really that coordinated,' she began.
Robbie laughed. 'Hey, neither am I so if I can do it you should be able to.'
'I didn't really peg you as an avid skier,' she commented.
He grinned, 'Actually, I'm more into snowboarding than skiing. But same difference, right?'
'Not really,' Nathaniel said causing everyone to laugh. 'That's a terrible expression, by the way.'
'Anyway,' Clarissa said loudly, 'are you ready to try it out?'
'Um, I guess,' Wendy laughed uneasily.
The others decided to stay back at the cabin and catch up while she and Clarissa ventured out into the snow.
After she managed to get the skis on, that was an accomplishment of and in itself, she slowly followed Clarissa over to the slopes. Clarissa, she noted, was having no problems at all with her skis, and appeared to be rather good at the whole thing. Wendy did her best to emulate her friend's movements, but only managed to wobble around unsteadily trying not to fall down. Eventually, she became a little better at it and even made it down the hill a couple of times with little incident. At the end of the day she was feeling exhilarated, and extremely proud of herself.
'You're getting better,' Clarissa said, when they were back inside the warm lodge.
'You're right. I wasn't that bad. I kind of feel like celebrating,' Wendy told her friend as she finished removing the cumbersome skis.
'Really? They have this great bar on the other side of the lodge, if you want to go.'
'I'm only twenty,' Wendy said. 'I doubt I'd get served.'
'That's ok, they rarely card,' Clarissa said with a grin. 'Let's get hammered.'
Luckily he was having trouble sleeping again or he probably wouldn't have heard her plea for help. He left his bedroom and wandered toward the sound of her voice. He found Wendy half laying, half sitting on the stairs babbling to herself incoherently. Clearly she was drunk out of her mind. Knowing his friend, he knew immediately that Rissa was to blame for it. He glanced over the railing to see that she was passed out on the couch below, snoring fairly loudly for someone that was a relatively small person.
'Oh good, someone's come to help me up,' Wendy said when he sat down next to her. 'Would have per-pre-perferred Robbie. But you'll do.'
'What happened to you?'
'Nothin'. Sat down. Can't get up,' she stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
'I suppose you need help getting to your bed,' he said, more to himself than to her.
'Course I do. Wouldn't have yelled otherwise. Boy, you are slow. In the brain, I mean. Your mind is slow.'
'Thanks, I think I got it,' Nathaniel replied, helping her to her feet. He had to half drape her around him, but he managed to get her upright. He carefully maneuvered them upwards and into the upstairs hallway. He took his time, afraid that one or both of them would slip and she would roll down the stairs and break her pretty neck. He didn't think she was the type to drink often and had demonstrated in the past that she couldn't hold her liquor very well. He made a mental note to have a chat with Rissa in the morning about responsible alcohol consumption and why friends shouldn't let friends get fall down stupid drunk.
She hiccupped suddenly and he looked over at her. Her hair was hanging forward in her face, which was flushed prettily. She let loose another hiccup and he couldn't suppress his chuckle at her expense.
She rolled her head to the side and looked up at him with a disgruntled frown. 'Why d'ya have to be so good looking?' she complained suddenly.
He raised both his eyebrows at that. 'You think I'm good looking?'
She snorted. 'Ah, come off it. You're hot and you know it. But don't tell yourself I said that. I don't think your head should get much bigger. It's already ginormous enough.'
'Hmm. I'm sure you're right about that,' he agreed affably while half carrying her the rest of the way up the stairs. Although she was supporting most of her weight she seemed incapable of walking without assistance.
'You confuse me. I want to hate you. But you're being all nice now. Why is that?' She seemed angry about that, and continued to frown. 'Nate?'
He smiled at the shortened form of his name coming off of her lips. He thought it was the first time she ever called him that, after he'd admonished her for it the second time they'd met. 'Yes?'
'I...uh...'
'What is it?' he asked, leaning in closer to hear her whisper.
'I don't feel so good,' she said, suddenly bolting out of his arms and into the nearby bathroom. Nathaniel sighed and followed her, only to find her retching into the toilet. He kneeled down beside her and brushed her hair back and away from her face as she continued to empty the contents of her stomach. When she finished heaving she sat back. Nathaniel got up, wet a washcloth and handed it to her.
'Thanks,' she murmured, wiping her face.
'You're probably going to feel horrible in the morning,' he told her.
'I feel like shit now,' she stated frankly. 'Can you help me get up? I don't think I can move much right now.'
He looked at her dubiously. 'Are you sure? You're not going to vomit again, are you?'
'I don't think so.'
He helped her to her feet and all but carried her into the room she and Clarissa were sharing. He set her carefully on the bed. She laid down and he pulled the covers up and over her. He bent down and smoothed the hair back from her face.
'Try and get some rest.' He went to stand up, but was stopped by Wendy's hand on his wrist.
'I thought you liked me. If you like me you're supposed to kiss me good night,' she said.
'I'm not going to kiss you,' he replied, exasperated.
'Why not?' she demanded.
'Because, it would be wrong to take advantage of you while you're in such a state. And, also, because you just spent the last few minutes vomiting into a toilet bowl.'
She sighed and waved her hand, narrowly missing hitting Nathaniel in the face. 'Whatever. Tomorrow you're not gonna remember any of this, anyway,' she said.
'Is that so?' It was too dark for her to see him, so he felt safe to grin. 'And why might that be?'
'Tha's the way it works. When you're drunk. People forget things,' she explained.
Even in her inebriated state she was stubborn and bossy. He couldn't help but be charmed. 'I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens,' he told her. 'Good night, Wendy darling.'