Текст книги "Frozen"

Автор книги: L.A. Casey

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

No.

No. Bloody. Way.

I was not snowed in with Darcy inside his house.

I was not trapped here alone with him.

Just... no!

I scrambled back away from Darcy and the wall of snow and pushed myself to my feet. I turned and ran down the hall and into the living room. I rushed to the window and opened up the blinds and gasped. The snow was built up and completely covered the glass. If the living room lights weren't on, the room would be coated in darkness thanks to the snow blocking out any light from the outside.

"What are you doing?" I heard Darcy ask from behind me.

Trying to find a way out of here.

"The window is blocked up too," I said and turned to face him.

I looked to his hands and growled.

He had the doll box.

"Give that to me," I said.

Darcy rolled his eyes and leaned over and put the doll box on a table next to a lamp. I was momentarily confused, he did what I told him to do but why? I found my answer when I looked at his face and found his eyes almost popping out of his head.

He was about to lose it.

"We can't be trapped in here. No way... check all the windows and doors. There has to be a way out of here!"

I blinked when he took off running down the hall and in the direction of the kitchen. I jumped when I heard him spew out a number of foul curse words. I guessed the kitchen door and windows were blocked with snow, too.

I picked up the doll box and hid it behind the couch then I walked out of the living room and headed down to the dining room. I frowned when I didn't even have go to the window to know it was blocked up with snow as well. The blinds were open, and the snow was pressed against the glass plain as day.

I stared at the glass as my stomach churned.

This could not be happening.

"Please, Jesus, don't do this to me!" Darcy shouted from the kitchen. "Trap me with anyone else but her, please!"

I rolled my eyes.

He was such a dickhead.

I walked out of the dining room and down the hall back into the living room at the same time as Darcy.

"What have I done to deserve this?" he asked me as I sat down on his couch.

I blinked. "You were born."

"I didn't ask to be born," he hissed. "I had no say in the matter!"

I couldn't help it, I laughed.

"You're laughing?" Darcy snapped. "You think us being snowed in together is funny?"

I continued to laugh as I shook my head and said, "No, but if I don't laugh, I'll scream or cry... is that what you want?"

Einstein shouted from the kitchen, "Fuck off, Neala!"

I glared at Darcy.

He winced. "No, I don't want you to scream or cry. Panicking is the last thing we need to do."

I nodded my head. "Exactly, so sit down and shut up. We'll think better in silence."

Surprising, Darcy did as told and sat down on the other end of the couch.

I looked at him, and quickly looked away. "Darcy, put some clothes on.... You'll get sick."

It sounded like I cared about his well being, but I didn't. I just didn't want to stare at his body any longer because he was surprisingly very well built and I was definitely noticing.

Who knew Darcy had a six-pack?

"And a V line," I muttered aloud.

I felt Darcy look at me. "Did you just say something about me V line?"

Shite.

"No," I laughed. "I didn't even notice you had one."

I felt Darcy's smirk as I spoke the white lie, and it irked me.

I hated lying, but what got on my nerves even more at that very moment was that I knew Darcy caught me looking at his body a few times, and I hated myself for it. I both hated that I was caught, and that I looked in the first place.

"I don't know why you're smirking, but knock it off."

Darcy adjusted himself on the couch so he was now turned to face me. "Nah, let's talk about you liking my incredibly ripped body."

Oh, here we go.

"Let's not," I said then snickered. "I wouldn't say you're ripped either."

"I thought you didn't check me body out?" Darcy questioned.

"I didn't."

"Then how do you know if I'm ripped or not?" Darcy asked, sporting a shit eating grin.

Well... crap.

"Shut up, Darcy," I muttered.

Darcy cackled, "Not a snowballs chance in Hell, Neala Girl. I don't get the opportunity to tease you over liking me body every day so I'm going to enjoy this."

I scowled. "You're a real moron, you know that?"

I looked at Darcy and became infuriated when I noticed he was nodding his head.

"I hate when you do that," I hissed.

Darcy grinned. "Do what?"

"Agree with me when I'm trying to insult you."

He snickered, "Not an insult if it's true, but yeah, I mostly agree because you get this look on your face like you're going to bite me or something."

I snorted, "And you think that's funny? Poking the lioness when she's angry?"

Darcy winked. "I'm sure if you came at me I could handle you."

Oh, really?

"In the last week I've come at you twice, and I recall I've done well both times."

"Yeah, but both times my back was turned so that doesn't count," he said and kept direct eye contact with me.

He was enticing me to come at him now that we were facing each other, and I could tell he was trying to make me uncomfortable, so I decided to flip the situation on him.

I batted my eyelashes. "Darcy, are you flirting with me?"

He blinked, then swallowed, and shook his head indicating he wasn't.

I leaned in closer. "Sounds to me like you are... Do you want me to come at you now while we're facing one another? It might be bit dangerous though, you have so little clothing on after all... What if I scratch you? The thin fabric on those trousers of yours won't protect you."

Darcy's jaw dropped open, and I couldn't contain the belly-rumbling laugh that escaped my mouth.

"Gotcha."

Darcy scowled. "Don't do that, I really thought you were about to try something on with me."

I cackled, "Darcy, you're the last man on Earth I would ever have sex with."

That wasn't a complete lie.

I'd have sex with Darcy if his mouth was sewed shut.

Darcy reared back at my jab like I slapped him.

"Yeah? Well, that's a shame. I know no lad in the village has touched second base with you let alone pull off a home run so if not me, who would you lose your virginity too?"

It was my turn pull back and stare at him.

He did not just say that.

"I'm not a virgin, Darcy," I lied.

I wanted to kick myself because for someone who hated lying so much I seemed to be doing plenty of it, but this time it was to hide something personal so it didn't mean anything. I mean, I was a virgin, but how the hell did Darcy know that?

Did I have it stamped on my forehead or something?

"Yes, you are," Darcy argued.

What the hell?

"Go ahead, tell me how you came to that conclusion. I've apparently got nothing but time here with you, so ahead," I said and made a big deal out of getting comfortable.

Darcy looked at me, really looked at me and shook his head.

"Never mind."

He went to stand up, but I grabbed his wrist and held him put.

"No, tell me."

Darcy, again, shook his head. "Drop it, Neala."

He was being serious now, there was no trace of a smile on his face.

"No. Tell me."

Darcy growled, "You don't want me to, trust me."

What did that mean?

"Darcy, will you just tell me?"

He shook off my hold on him, and dropped his head to look at the ground. "Fine," he grunted. "Do you remember when we were sixteen, and Laura Stokes had her eighteenth birthday party down in O'Leary's pub, but it went on to the early hours and we all went back to her house?"

I swallowed. I did remember that party. Laura Stokes, was, and still is, Darcy's fuck buddy or secret girlfriend. She was something along those lines, but I knew her too because we grew up in the same small village so attending any party invites from her were the norm. That particular party was different though. Very different.

I don't think I could ever forget that night even if I tried.

"Yeah, I remember. What about it?" I muttered.

Darcy swallowed then said, "It was around two in the morning, and Sean asked me to go check on you. You told him you were going to the bathroom before we took you home, but you were taking your time. He figured you were off somewhere in the house with Jess and Sarah drinking and shite like that."

I sat in silence as he spoke.

He lightly laughed, "I thought you were off somewhere in the house and that you just didn't want to be near me. But to appease your brother I went upstairs to check on you, and I heard you inside the bathroom... I heard him too."

I froze in my seat.

"W-what?" I whispered.

"I know, Neala," he replied, his voice barely audible.

Oh, my God.

He knew?

That was the worst night of my life, my only secret and Darcy knew about it?

"I heard you laughing, then slurring so I knew you somehow got some drinks into you," Darcy said then balled his hands into fists. "I heard Trevor Nash, the fucking wanker, telling you to give him head, and then I heard you do it. I wanted to stop you, but I knew it was your mistake to make and if I intervened, you would have just hated me even more than you already did."

He sat back then and leaned his head back on the couch.

"I don't know why I stayed outside the door, something in me gut told me to, so I did. I was lucky I did because when Trevor told you to pull up your skirt and you said no I heard the noise of the slap he gave you. I didn't hesitate, I kicked the door open and the sight of you on the ground with Trevor standing over you undoing his jeans enraged me. As you can expect, I punched the shite out of the prick." Darcy kept his eyes closed as he spoke.

"I only stopped hitting him when I heard you starting to cry. I picked you up and when I tried to bring you downstairs you begged me not to because you didn't want Sean to know what happened. You knew it was me you were talking to, but you didn't at the same time. It was weird. You asked me not to tell anyone because everyone would think you were a slut for giving Trevor head even though you were really a virgin."

I blinked back tears when Darcy turned his head to the side and looked at me.

"So I didn't tell anyone, and to this day I haven't. I brought you down the hall and sat down with you until you fell asleep. Trevor stumbled out of the bathroom and out of the house without notice, during your slumber. You woke up about thirty minutes later, and instead of being upset, you shouted at me for being so close to you. You remembered what Trevor did, I could tell by the look on your face, but you didn't remember any of what I did. It didn't matter that I didn't tell anyone what he was about to do to you either because karma got him back later that night."

The karma he is referring to is the car accident Trevor got into after he stole a car with two of his friends after he left the party. A drunken Trevor Nash crashed the car – he was driving at such a speed down the mountain that he wrapped the car around a tree. Literally. The crash instantly killed all three people in the car.

I couldn't say I was sad to hear it either.

I felt for Trevor's family, and the family of his friends, but that was it.

I remembered the look on his face when I told him no, and I knew that he was going to try and force me to do what he wanted me to do. If he got the chance, he would have raped me that night.

But he didn't, and now I know why.

Darcy stopped him.

"Darcy... I-"

"Don't. Don't thank me for something anyone would have stepped in to stop."

I swallowed. "You stopped him from raping me, I don't think you realise the years of hurt and pain you saved me from."

Darcy looked back up to the ceiling and sighed, "I don't think that's true. I've put you through some crazy shite over the last few years."

I wiped my eyes as I unexpectedly snorted, "Our fights were that best thing for me back then, it gave me something to focus on so I wouldn't focus on what... what almost happened."

Darcy gave me a one-shoulder shrug. "I know, that's why I was such a cunt to you up until we were twenty. I was your personal distraction."

I rolled my slightly swollen eyes. "You didn't stop at twenty, you're still a cunt to me. The doll, remember."

Darcy groaned, "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

I shook my head.

"Well, I hope you enjoy disappointment because you aren't getting it."

What?

"Excuse me?"

Darcy looked to me and raised his eyebrows. "What's the shocked look for?"

"You just revealed something so deeply intimate to me. You just told me you stopped me from being raped when I was a teenager... and yet you still won't give me the fucking doll?"

Darcy blinked at me. "I didn't think telling you what you asked to hear was invitation for you to think you had a claim on the doll."

I couldn't believe it.

"You're unbelievable."

Darcy shrugged. "Tell me something I don't know."

I glared at him. "You still didn't answer my question, you said I was a virgin, but how would you know that? I was a virgin back when I was sixteen, but I'm twenty-five now."

"So?"

"So I'm not a girl anymore."

Darcy did something that caused my insides to jump. He looked down to my body then back up to my eyes. "I can see that, but so what? Your body grew, but you're still the same girl I've known all my life. You took what happened very seriously, like any person would. You wouldn't get with just anyone back then, and even more so now. I don't know for certain if you're a virgin, but I'm pretty damn sure you are. You're guarded, you don't get close to people. Your idea of a night on the town is a trip down the pub with our families. You aren't an out there kind of girl so I can't imagine you just dropping your knickers at the drop of a hat for anyone."

"Like Laura Stokes you mean?" I widened my eyes right after I said it.

I didn't mean for that thought to slip out.

Darcy chuckled, "Yeah, you're nothing like Laura Stokes, Neala Girl."

Wow.

Talk about a low blow.

Laura Stokes was everything I wasn't. She was tall, slim, had a big arse, and big boobs. She was beautiful and had naturally long thick strawberry blonde hair. Darcy saying I was nothing like her shouldn't have hurt or upset me so much, but damn it, it did.

"You know what? Fuck you, Darcy!" I snapped and stood up off the couch and stormed out of the room. "And I am virgin," I shouted, "but so what?"

"What the hell did I do?" Darcy shouted as he followed me out of the living room and into the kitchen.

I stormed all the way to the storage room and slammed the door shut after I was inside it.

"Neala, are you seriously escaping me by going back into the storage room?"

I was trying to escape.

I slapped the door. "Leave. Me. Alone."

He was silent for a moment then a little thud came against the door and I didn't know if he was leaning against it or not.

"I don't know what is wrong with you, and you can bet your arse we'll be talking about it, but if you wanna sulk in there like a child for awhile, go ahead."

Don't take the bait.

"I will."

"You do that," Darcy laughed.

I screeched, "Go. Away!"

God.

"No, this is my house, remember?"

He couldn't just leave me alone!

I grunted in defeat and kicked the door open, it hit Darcy who was standing behind it and he yelped like a girl. That made me feel a little better. I stepped out of the storage room and walked out like nothing was wrong. I made sure to ignore Darcy and stupid Einstein.

Darcy grabbed my arm in the hallway and spun me around to face him.

"Okay, what is wrong with you?"

I deadpanned, "You don't know?"

"I really don't so enlighten me."

He did look confused, so I decided to enlighten the lad.

"You called me fat and ugly."

Darcy started at me with wide, unblinking eyes. "You've officially lost your mind."

I scoffed, "How did you figure that?"

Darcy placed his free hand on my other arm and shook me.

"I did not call you fat or ugly. I never even mentioned the words."

"You didn't have to, it was implied!" I hissed.

Darcy look so confused that I almost pitied him.

Almost.

"Neala... What the fuck?"

I blew a large amount of air through my nostrils and said, "You said I was nothing like Laura Stokes. She is perfect if there is such a thing. She is gorgeous, tall, and skinny, and everything else that I'm not. I don't care that I'm not, but you didn't have to say it."

Darcy's shoulders slumped a little.

"You got mad because I said you aren't like Laura?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Call me crazy, but no girl, even an enemy, likes hearing they're nothing like a girl who could easily pass for a supermodel."

Darcy stared at me for a long moment, then the bastard burst out laughing.

I was instantly furious.

"You're an insensitive piece of-"

"You're crazy if you took what I said as an insult instead of a compliment," Darcy cut me off, still laughing.

Come again?

"Wait a fecking minute, I'm supposed to be flattered you think I'm nothing like Laura?" I clarified.

Darcy nodded his head.

"How do you figure that one?" I snapped.

He just shook his head and laughed.

"Answer me," I demanded.

Darcy tilted his head back and sighed before he lowered his head, and gaze, back to mine.

"Do you want to stand here and talk about this, or do you want to get out of this house?"

Topic change.

I hesitated for a moment then said, "Get out of the house."

Darcy nodded his head once. "That's what I thought, so help me figure a way out of here."

I'd let it go for the moment, but as soon as we weren't in a survivor panic mode I would be back on his case demanding to know what he meant.

"Okay, so all the door exits and windows are blocked up with snow. The smart thing to do now would be to ring someone to help get us out of here."

I chewed on my lower lip for a moment then gasped, "I left me phone in the pub with me ma last night!"

At the time I didn't want to bring it with me because I had no pockets on my blazer or dress and I didn't want to hold it while cycling the bike I got a loan of to go up the mountain. I then thought about the bike, and the kid who loaned it to me and inwardly groaned. He was so going to tell his parents I stole the stupid thing from him.

"Good thing I have mine then, isn't it?" Darcy quipped then turned and headed down the hall to his bedroom.

I pulled a face at the back of his head as I followed him. I leaned against the doorway of his bedroom and watched and he retrieved his phone from his bedside table. He turned to me and smirked as he waved his phone in my direction. I stuck my finger up at him to which he shook his head.

"Nice," he snorted and pressed on the screen of his phone.

He did this at the same time the lights in his bedroom went off.

I yelped, and so did Einstein from the kitchen.

"It's okay, sweetie!" Darcy called out.

I gripped onto the panel of the doorway. "I'm okay, Darcy."

Silence.

"I was talking to Einstein."

I glared into the darkness. "You're more concerned for your bird than you are me?"

Darcy snorted, "Uh, yeah."

Dickhead.

I stumbled back when something hard collided with my chest.

"Bloody hell, Neala. Where are you?" Darcy snapped.

He walked into me, and he was the mad one?

Typical.

I grunted and extended my arms out, and grabbed at thin air searching for him. I grabbed hold of what felt like his bare arm. I patted my way down his arm until I interlocked my fingers with his.

"Okay, you won't bump into me now. Lead the way."

Silence.

"Darcy?" I pressed.

He cleared his throat. "I heard you... I'm just wondering why the power went out."

I thought about it then grunted, "The weather? It seems to be fucking up everything else, why not the electricity?"

Darcy groaned. "Bollocks. We have to get out of here, man. My cooker is electric, so is the central heating system, the fridge runs on power, too. We're fucked."

Duh!

"Just ring one of our brothers to come and get us."

I looked to Darcy's phone when the screen lit up.

"Oh, shite," Darcy muttered.

That didn't sound good.

"What is it now?" I asked.

Darcy shoved his phone in my face. "I've only two percent battery left."

That was all?

"So charge it."

I felt Darcy turn his head to look at me. "They power is out... remember?"

I cringed and felt stupid for my snotty suggestion.

"Forgot," I mumbled.

Darcy lightly snorted as he pressed on the screen of his phone. Justin's picture came up onto the screen as Darcy's phone tried to connect to his. Darcy brought the phone to his ear when Justin's phone answered.

"Justin? Bro, you have to help me and Neala. We're snowed in at my house, and we need– What do you mean you're snowed in too? You can't be serious!"

My stomach sank as I clenched my hand in Darcy's and he gave me a squeeze back which surprisingly reassured me – slightly.

"Is it bad everywhere? The snow I mean," Darcy asked.

I strained to hear what Justin was saying, but his voice was very muffled so I couldn't hear his reply.

"Justin? Hello? I can't understand what you're saying. Bro, can you hear me?"

That didn't sound good.

Darcy cursed as he pulled his phone away from his face and when he looked at the phone, the home screen was visible indicating the call to Justin ended. I was about to suggest he redial Justin but Darcy's phone screen suddenly went black indicating his battery was drained. I gripped onto Darcy's hand when darkness consumed us once more.

"We never going to get out of here," I said and gnawed at the inside of my cheek.

Darcy grunted from my side. "We will. If our families can't come and help then we'll just have to help ourselves and get out of here."

I humourlessly laughed, "We're snowed in you bloody gobshite!"

Darcy growled, "I'm going to get out of this house even if it kills me."

I pulled my hand free from Darcy's hand when he moved away from me. I heard him make his way into his bedroom. I snorted once or twice when he cursed because he stepped on something or walked into something. He was making a lot of noise, and just as I was about to ask what he was doing a candle's light appeared in the hallway.

"I'll look for a torch, but for now I've a bunch of candles we can light to brighten the place up. Hold this one."

I took the candle from Darcy and when I inhaled, a sweet vanilla scent filled my nostrils.

"Scented candles, really?"

Darcy playfully shoved me as he passed me by. "Go ahead, laugh it up. Vanilla scented candles smell lovely, and if you disagree hold your breath."

I chuckled, "I like them, I just didn't think you would like scented candles."

"Why because I'm a man?" Darcy asked.

Well... yes.

"If I say yeah will you think I'm sexist?"

"Yep."

"Then no." I grinned.

Darcy laughed, "Typical."

I smothered back a warm smile, and force down the giddy feeling that since the conversation between us minutes ago things were... changed. I don't know if it was Darcy's admission of what he did to help me when we were teens, but I can say I didn't one hundred percent hate him anymore.

That freaked me out more than a little.

To get my mind away from my thoughts I focused on the situation at hand.

"So... what's your plan to get us out of here?" I asked, and leaned my shoulder against the wall in the hallway.

Darcy looked to me and smirked.

I didn't like his smirk, not one bit.

He cracked his knuckles then his neck. "The time on me phone before it died said it was close to six in the evening. We slept most the day away. The temperature will drop below freezing again tonight, so first thing tomorrow morning when I wake up I'm going to dig me way out of here and you are going to help me."

I laughed, but Darcy didn't and it caused my stomach to sink.

We were going to dig our way out of here?

Well... crap.