by Bella King
Anthony let out a wicked laugh. “Women. They’re all the same.”
Oh great, so now he was a misogynist as well. Just what I needed. “Fuck off,” I said, grabbing an oversized t-shirt to wear to bed.
Anthony leaped toward me, pulling the t-shirt out of my hand. “Either you’re going to respect me or I’ll make your life a living hell. I swear to you, Amy, you’re fucking with the wrong guy. Do you think I have anything left to lose?”
I was stunned by this sudden turn in his attitude. I knew he was a douche, but this was next level danger radiating from him.
Anthony went to the window and pulled it open, throwing my shirt out into the snow.
I rushed to the window, pushing Anthony aside and leaning out to see my shirt sitting in the snow. I turned to him. “Why’d you do that?”
Anthony shrugged. “You pissed me off. I warned you.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to harass me,” I said, still defying him as he grew angrier.
I knew that at this point I was playing with fire, but I wasn’t going to let Anthony get the upper hand. I was stuck with him for a week, and even though our parents were here with us, they were too distracted by business talk to care much about what we were doing. I doubted my parents would be much help if Anthony began to misbehave more than he already was.
Anthony stood beside me with a smirk on his face, as though he had won this argument. I wasn’t going to let it slide that easily.
“Go get my shirt. Bring it back inside,” I demanded.
“Why don’t you go get it?” Anthony taunted. “Too cold for you?”
“You threw it out so you’re going to get it.”
Anthony looked at me for a minute, rubbing his chin. “Actually, I have a better idea.” He lurched toward me, grabbing me in his arms and scooping me off my feet.
In any other scenario, this would have been a pleasant experience. Anthony was a strong man with powerful arms. I felt like I was weightless for a moment before I went flying through the window, feet first.
I landed in the snow on my ass, hard. Thank god we were on the first floor or I would have been seriously injured. I rolled over in the snow, hold my lower back and groaning. “What the fuck?!”
Anthony closed the window and left me outside. It was too cold for me to lay in the snow, wallowing in pain. I climbed to my feet, snatched my shirt out of the few snow, and trudged back around the cabin to the front door.
When I entered, my parents were already holed up in the bedroom, as I assumed Anthony’s were as well. I wished they weren’t going through a divorce so that I could have my own room. It made me wonder if Anthony’s dad was as much of a prick as Anthony was. There had to be a reason why Anthony was so cruel.
He could only blame his bad attitude on what happened to his sister for so long. People usually grieve that sort of thing, not harass innocent people about it. There was something else fucked up in his brain, and I wondered what.
I went back to the room, but the door was locked. I knocked on it. “Anthony, let me in,” I said loudly.
The door opened a crack, and Anthony’s eyes peered out at me. “Say the magic word.”
“Please?” I guessed.
Anthony opened the door. “It’s not that hard to be nice,” he said as I walked into the room with my soggy shirt.
“Speak for yourself,” I muttered.
“What?” Anthony asked aggressively.
“Nothing,” I replied softly, not wanting to anger him again. I felt like I was walking on eggshells. I had enough of his outbursts and I just wanted to sleep.
Anthony peeled off his shirt and stepped out of his jeans, kicking them to the corner while I searched for a different shirt to wear to bed. I rubbed my lower back. The pain of my fall wasn’t fading anytime soon.
Anthony notice my back and tilted his head to the side. “Did I hurt you?”
I didn’t make eye contact with him. “No, it’s alright.”
He came up behind me anyway, placing a hand gently on my lower back. “I got angry. I’m sorry.”
I flinched when he touched me. I didn’t want him anywhere near me. Not only was he verbally aggressive, but he proved to be violent as well. His sister being a murderer made a lot more sense now. Maybe I shouldn’t have doubted Alice.
“Do you forgive me?” Anthony asked quietly.
I knew this trick. He was pretending to be sorry so that I would overlook what he had done. I knew better than that. Violent men don’t just change like that.
“Yes, just don’t do it again,” I said, attempting to get him to stop bothering me.
I didn’t forgive him, but I wanted him to believe that I did so he would leave me alone. Maybe he did feel bad about what he did, but that wasn’t good enough for me. He would have to change who he was to make me look at him favorably.
I doubted he could make that change. He had serious issues in his life and his family. His parents were going through a divorce, he was in juvenile detention for a portion of his high school years, and his sister got sent to prison for murder. Even before all that, I remembered him to be a punk. Now, he had to be worse.
I grabbed a clean shirt and slunk to the bathroom to change, leaving Anthony in the bedroom. He was already in bed when I got back, sleeping, or at least pretending to. I slipped under the sheets on the bottom bunk in my t-shirt and panties, relieved that Anthony had fallen silent.
Chapter 11
The next morning, I woke up early to ski, leaving Anthony sprawled out in his bed. He looked like a goofball, half-naked with one arm and leg hanging over the edge of the bed. I was tempted to pull him off and crack his skull open on the ground. I could say it was an accident.
I got changed in the room while he slept, putting on warm underclothes and leaving a puffy jacket and pants on the chair to put on before we left.
When I got into the kitchen, Mr. Cadwell was making coffee. He turned to me. “Would you like a cup?”
“Yes please,” I said, flashing him a tired smile.
He nodded, getting out another mug from the old wooden cabinet above the stove and placing it on the granite countertop. “You sleep well?” He asked.
I yawned, sitting down at the table to wait for my coffee. “It was alright.”
“Yeah, always hard to get comfortable in a new place. It helps if you tire yourself out through the day. Skiing will do that,” he said.
I nodded.
“You know, Anthony is pretty good on the slopes. He doesn’t do much in school, but if he wanted to, I knew that he could. He’s a talented young man.”
He sounded more hopeful than honest to me, but I believed him about the skiing part. Anthony wasn’t a complete dolt, so he had to be channeling his intellectual efforts into something.
I felt bad for Mr. Cadwell, having Anthony for a son. I mean, I would think myself a failure if I had the same fate. It must have been stressful for him. I could tell he wanted the best for Anthony, but Anthony had to be a rebel.
Mr. Cadwell handed me a steaming cup of coffee and sat down across from me. He leaned toward me slightly. “Did you know my daughter, Grace?”
I was surprised by his question.
He searched my face, sensing my discomfort at his question. “I didn’t mean to jump that on you so early in the morning, but Anthony seemed to know you already from school.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s no problem. I was friends with Grace for a while.”
Mr. Cadwell nodded. “That’s nice to hear. I’m sorry about her. She was always a little troubled. Anthony took it really hard when she was sent away. It was hard for all of us.”
I felt like he knew his son was an asshole and he was trying to excuse him. I didn’t want to pry into this, but Mr. Cadwell seemed intent on telling me more.
“I think he just needs some friends. He’s always been a bit of a loner,” he continued.
“Yeah, maybe that would help.” It was the only thing I could think of to say to him. I
felt awkward that he was dumping all this on me. Maybe he thought I could be friends with Anthony. Fat chance after what had happened yesterday.
Mr. Cadwell and I both looked up when Anthony entered the kitchen. His eyes were half-closed and he stumbled in like a zombie.
“Coffee,” he uttered, gravitating toward the coffee machine.
Mr. Cadwell chuckled. “You sleep well, son?”
Anthony groaned. “Coffee,” he said, pouring a mug full and taking a large sip. That had to burn his tongue, but he didn’t seem to notice, pulling out a cigarette from his jeans and putting it behind his ear. He turned around and walked out of the kitchen, not acknowledging me or answering his dad’s question.
“He won’t talk until he’s had his fix,” Mr. Cadwell said, shaking his head and taking another sip.
I was amused by Anthony’s behavior. He was so extreme in his emotions. At one moment he was excited, the next, furious, and then, dead silent. This time he was groggy and grouchy. I shook my head with Mr. Cadwell and slurped down some more of the bitter liquid in my cup. I would need the boost when we hit the slopes.
✽✽✽
Anthony recovered from his sleep coma after a half-hour outside in the cold. He came back in with pink cheeks and life in his eyes again. I was impressed that he could stay out there for so long in a t-shirt and jeans.
We all headed to the slopes once my parents, the slow people that they were, got ready. It was still morning time when we got there, and Anthony began to grow talkative again in the car.
“We should race,” he said, patting my thigh and leaving his hand there.
I pushed his hand away. “I don’t want to break my neck.”
My mom leaned back. “Don’t do anything dangerous, please. The nearest hospital is hours away.”
Anthony winked at me. “Of course not, ma’am. I would never put your daughter in danger.”
I rolled my eyes. He was a real piece of work, playing up his gentleman façade in front of everyone but me. In private, he was a monster. I knew that now.
I clutched my belongings tightly as Anthony as we rode up the ski lift together. You had to go in pairs, so I wasn’t surprised to be paired off with Anthony. It’s like people assumed we were a couple.
The ski lift took us to the top of the slopes, where there were many different paths you could take down. I had all but forgotten how to ski, so I knew this was going to be a struggle for me.
Anthony watched me as I struggled to move myself sideways at the top of the slope. My goggles were foggy and I could barely keep myself from falling over. I was a mess.
He skied over to me, holding his arm out for me to hold onto. “Here, let me help.”
“I don’t need your help,” I tried to insist, but I nearly fell over immediately after saying that, clutching to the reflective fabric on his arm to keep myself from toppling headfirst down the slope.
Anthony laughed. “I’m just trying to help you. You’re going to need to spread your legs out a little more.”
“I bet you would like that,” I responded sarcastically.
Anthony shook his head. “Pay attention to what I’m telling you or you’ll never get down this hill alive.”
I huffed but parted my legs slightly. I did have a better balance that way.
“It’s like skating, really. Just use your ski poles to help balance and propel your body when you’re ready,” Anthony explained.
Frost was already creeping under my goggles. It was freezing up there at the top of the slopes. The sooner I got down, the better.
I clung tighter to Anthony’s arm as I let myself begin sliding down through the snow. He masterfully controlled his pace to match mine, slowly bringing us both to a steady speed downhill.
“You can use the poles to slow down,” Anthony said, “But you’d be better off turning you body so that you move diagonally. That way you don’t building up too much speed. Just zigzag.”
I tried to turn myself, but I found it easier to cling to Anthony while he did all the work. For once, I felt safer with him with me than when he wasn’t. We slowly inched down the slope, avoiding anything remotely scary-looking bumps.
“Let’s go a little faster,” Anthony suggested, digging one of his poles into the snow behind us to give us a thrust.
“No,” I shrieked, nearly making us both fall over as I pulled Anthony closer to me.
“Relax,” Anthony said, laughing. “We’re hardly moving.”
“I’m not going to relax until we’re done skiing,” I replied.
“Sounds like you need another trip to the spa,” Anthony teased.
“Not with you.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in that bikini again. Delicious.”
His words made me temporarily forget that I was scared of skiing. I felt weird inside when he said that to me. All confused and aroused. I was fighting that feeling he had giving me at the spa again. If it had just been the weed then I would’ve been able to brush it off, but here it was again, squirming inside of me.
I didn’t want to be attracted to Anthony. I would admit that he was physically attractive, but that was it. It took more than looks to get into my pants. And yet, yesterday I hadn’t stopped him from touching my breast.
Anthony let go of me while I was thinking back. “Try it on your own,” he said.
“What? No!” I began to speed up down the slope, frantically trying to figure out how to slow down. I weaved to the side violently, heading nearly horizontal toward a tree. Shit, I needed Anthony’s help.
“Help me!” I cried as I barreled toward the tree.
I met with the tree in a glorious spray of bark and ice. I slammed against it, cracking my plastic goggles and wrapping around it. The poles flew from my hands and I came to a stop.
I heard Anthony’s laughter. “Jesus, Amy. You really do suck at skiing.”
He pushed himself toward me, shaking his head and laughing as I pulled my body out of the snow.
“Fuck you,” I said, struggling to pull myself up. I was covered in sticky droplets of amber tree sap and dirty snow.
“You really did a number on that tree,” Anthony noted. “That wasn’t my fault.”
“You left me to die!” I shouted, being overdramatic. I knew I was, but I didn’t care. It felt good to hate Anthony. It covered up those weird feelings I had developed for him.
Anthony helped me up. “If I wanted to kill you it wouldn’t be that hard.”
I didn’t want to press him on that. I accepted his help getting up and brushed myself off. “Can we just get down the slope?”
“Fine,” He replied, skiing over to my poles that had embedded themselves in the snow and bringing them back to me. “Let’s get going, but you’re traveling at my speed this time.”
I clung onto that man for dear life as we flew down the ski slopes together. I didn’t want him to let go of me again, so I used both hands to make show that he couldn’t shake me off. If he did, I would fly off into a tree traveling a lot faster than I had been before.
A dramatic crack ran down my goggle, and I could barely see through them as we flew down an incline. I had to trust Anthony to get us to the bottom in one piece, but as his dad had said, he was very good at skiing. It was only a few minutes until we were at the bottom.
“Not so hard,” Anthony said, as I let him go.
I glared at him. “Maybe for you,” I replied.
“Do you want to go again?”
I shook my head frantically. “No way. I’m staying down here until you guys are done.”
“We could go back to the cabin together,” Anthony suggested, leaning on his ski pole and pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
“I’ll pass,” I said, not wanting a repeat of the spa incident.
Anthony shrugged and lit his cigarette, taking a satisfying drag.
I wondered why he smoked so much. It was a nasty habit, terrible for your health. I’m sure he knew that, but nothing stopped him f
rom doing what he wanted.
“Why do you smoke so much?” I asked, taking a seat on a bench that was conveniently located at the bottom of the ski slope.
“It’s nice,” Anthony replied.
“Yeah, but it’s bad for you. Aren’t you concerned about that?”
Anthony shrugged. “I don’t care. We all have to die someday. Some of us die sooner than others.”
“Well, cutting off twenty years of your life doesn’t sound that great to me,” I said.
“Some people never live, Amy. I don’t want to be one of those. You never know what might happen to you,” he replied, looking into the distance.
I knew he was talking about his sister. Her life was already over despite the fact that she was only 18 years old. That must really suck for her and her whole family.
“There are better ways to live,” I said, trying to get him to see the ridiculousness of using that as an excused.
Anthony laughed, flicking his cigarette into the dirty snow along with many others there. “And there are worse ways.”
Chapter 12
I rushed to the shower once we all arrived back in the cabin. I wanted to rinse the sweat and snow off my cold body and relax. Plus, I needed the time to myself. I hadn’t gotten much of that since I had arrived at the resort.
Anthony was being nicer to me since throwing me out of the window the previous day, but I wasn’t going to keep my fingers crossed that this would continue for the entire vacation. I wasn’t going to allow myself to normalize his behavior.
I double-checked that the door to the bathroom was locked before removing my clothes, clicking the brass bolt into place a second time. I wasn’t going to risk a surprise entrance catching me off guard. I knew Anthony well enough now to realize he would see an opportunity while I was vulnerable in the shower.
I peeled off my long underwear, not realizing until now how sweaty I was underneath all those layers. I despised winter because you would be cold but sweating like it was the middle of summer under all the layers of cotton and wool. Nothing helped.