by Abbie McAnn
As much as she was tempted to every morning, she resolved herself to stay out of his room. She was dying to know what books Sam was reading right now, but she didn’t want to snoop again.
Instead, she spent most of her time imagining what he looked like. She was forced to do that because even after a week of living together, he still wouldn’t reveal himself to her. Every time she tried to press the issue, Sam quickly shut it down. He kept insisting that she wasn’t ready for to see him yet.
But Kate had already seen parts of Sam three different times. And one of those times, when he flashed red, she had gotten a glimpse of his whole body. She had already seen what he wanted to hide from her: his lower body.
She had been thinking about his bottom half a lot over the past week. It was the most alien part of Sam. In that one moment when he showed himself to her, she had seen his appendages.
Kate wasn’t stupid; she knew that they weren’t just ‘appendages.’ Even though she had tried to ignore their existence the first couple of days with Sam, Kate had now come to accept them. They were a part of Sam as much as his swoon-worthy back and soul-piercing blue eyes.
So yeah, Sam had freakin' tentacles. But he was also thoughtful and funny and probably the most intelligent person she had ever met. She was ready for him to just man up and show himself to her. Kate was tired of feeling like she had an imaginary friend.
But that was exactly the problem. Even though he kept saying that she was the one who wasn’t ready, Kate was positive that it was the other way around. Hell, it didn’t even bother her anymore when one of his tentacles accidentally brushed against her. The things were so big that it happened at least once a day. But for whatever reason, Sam just wanted to pretend like they didn’t exist.
With every day that passed, Kate grew more and more frustrated with him. By the end of the first week together, they had their routine down to a science.
Their days were full of chores. Whether or not it was necessary, they did all of them together. Sam was an endless well of knowledge about the plants and animals of the Washington wilderness. He had an answer for every question she asked. Every day, she became more confident in her work and she learned so much just being around him.
They always took a break for lunch at about noon, though Sam never joined her inside. It was the only time during the day that they spent apart. She had no clue where he went during that time, but he was always ready and waiting outside for their afternoon chores when she was finished eating. In the evening, they always sat down to watch tv together.
Kate always offered to make Sam dinner and every time he politely declined. That meant that after a week, she still hadn’t seen Sam eat or sleep. Maybe he didn’t need either. But that couldn’t possibly be true. Everything needed to eat; even aliens with tentacles.
Sam always had a roaring fire waiting for her when she entered the living room with her dinner. To thank him, she let him pick the show or movie. It was also more fun that way because then she would get to hear his commentary on whatever he chose. He asked the most unexpected questions. He had such a different perspective on things than anyone she had ever met. She loved explaining things about people and society to Sam. He was so eager to listen and always had a million more questions.
As Kate laid in bed on that seventh night, she had a startling revelation.
This was the most comfortable she had ever been with another person.
Was it because I can’t see him? No, that can’t possibly be it. Just because he’s camouflaged most of the time doesn’t mean that I’m not completely aware of his presence. Even when I was with Eric, we were never this comfortable together. He never just wanted to sit and watch tv. He definitely wouldn’t have been down to just talk about anything and everything. He was much too busy gambling away all my hard-earned money to do that.
It rarely ever felt awkward when she was with Sam, except when she pressed him too much on his ‘off-limits’ topics. Not that he ever said that they were off-limits, but he would get really quiet if she mentioned anything related to his alien-ness. For instance, he would only talk about his life before earth if he was the one to bring it up. He had barely said anything about it since that second night. And he always shut down whenever she brought up his camouflage.
As long as she didn’t talk about this things, then everything between them was good. Great even. So good, that she was always eager to get to the barn in the morning to be with him again. And he always seemed just as happy to see her too. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had felt anything like that.
After a week of spending almost all their time together, she still enjoyed every minute she spent with him. There were moments of insecurity when she thought Sam might be getting tired of her. She assuaged those fears by reminding herself that nothing was forcing Sam to spend the day with her. She could do all the chores herself, and after all, she was the one getting paid to do them. She also couldn’t deny that he always seemed so excited to watch tv with her at night.
It made her heart warm just thinking about his enthusiasm.
To complete the last step of her now daily routine, Kate drifted off to sleep with her mind full of thoughts of Sam.
Chapter 9
The moment Kate’s eyes opened, she knew that something was different. For one, she was freezing.
Her room was always a little bit colder than she would like it to be, which is why every night she bundled up in wool socks, sweats, a sweatshirt, and two down comforters. But even with all that, it was cold. And she didn’t just mean that as a Nevadan in a cooler climate. Kate was used to it getting cold at night because that’s what deserts do. But the cold she was used to was very dry since there was little humidity.
This was different. Right now, Kate felt like she was chilled to her bones.
It was an exercise of great self-control to get out of bed. If she could’ve, she would have stayed there forever.
The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. Kate yawned and wrapped one of the comforters around her. Even through her thick socks, she could still feel the chill of the wood floor.
What kind of sick bastard puts a hardwood floor in a bedroom?
She silently cursed out the architect, the interior designer, and the recently deceased John (may he rest in peace) as she walked over to the bedroom window.
“Ah, shit,” Kate said, before not-so-silently cursing some more.
She didn’t even bother getting dressed for the day. She would have to at some point soon, but she was too cold and frustrated to think about it now.
When she opened her bedroom door, she was immediately hit by a wall of heat. An automatic sigh of relief left her. She hugged the blanket tighter around herself and ran down the grand staircase to find the source.
It was immediately obvious when she got to the living room. There was a huge fire blazing in the fireplace. She plopped herself right down on the hearth to soak up its heat.
Someone chuckled from behind her, giving her a small heart attack.
“Sam!” Kate said, clutching her poor racing heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry,” Sam said, though he didn’t sound very sorry. Sorry people normally don’t keep laughing.
She looked over her shoulder towards his oversized couch. Sure enough, there were Sam’s entrancing eyes staring back at her. For the millionth time, she wondered what the rest of him looked like. Not a general outline or a super quick glance, but a complete image of her him. She would give anything to know what his expression looked like just now when he laughed.
She could only imagine the way his face lit up with laughter. The pure emotion hit his eyes and she was at least able to see a reflection of it in them.
Did John make you hide? Is that why you won’t let me see you?
It was a fleeting thought, one she quickly forgot when she noticed the book sitting on Sam’s sofa.
She squinted her eyes, dying to know what he was reading. Was it one o
f those romance books? Had Sam been sitting down here reading Jane Eyre or The Notebook?
She was too far away to get a good look at it. She considered leaving her spot in front of the fire to go peek. Her curiosity was strong enough to overcome the cold. Before she could get up, the book was suddenly gone.
If she hadn’t spent all her time with Sam over the past week, then she probably would have been shocked by a disappearing book. But this wasn’t a novel experience. Sam had more control over his camouflage then she had initially thought. He could perfectly blend into his surroundings, but he didn’t always have to display everything in his background.
One of his tentacles was probably just covering the book. He stayed perfectly camouflaged to the sofa and the room around him, but somehow he chose not to reflect the book on himself too.
Like a child, Kate crossed her arms and pouted. The arm crossing was probably pointless since they were still covered by the blanket.
She couldn’t stay mad for long though, especially because he had made this nice warm fire.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you down here in the morning,” Kate commented.
“I thought a change in pace would be nice,” Sam replied.
What was that supposed to mean?
“Did you see the snow? The whole world is white! I haven’t seen any since I was a little girl. I’m going to turn into a popsicle when I go outside!”
“Really? Well, it snows all the time here. I’d say that there is a good foot and a half on the ground. Maybe even two feet.”
“Two feet?!” Kate shrieked. “How are we supposed to get any work done with that much snow! What about the animals? Are they okay? Aren’t they going to freeze?”
“Don’t worry,” Sam said. “They’re all used to the cold. They have nice thick winter coats and I blanketed them after we fed last night.”
“Well that’s a small blessing, but what about us?”
“Actually, I was thinking that I could handle the chores today. The cold doesn’t bother me, and I figured that you weren’t used to snow. Besides, you haven’t had a day off since you got here.”
Kate considered his offer. A day off next to the warm fire did seem like a wonderful break. And while the snow was pretty, she really didn’t want to have to go outside. But it wouldn’t be right to let Sam do her share of the work.
“As much as I’d love to stay right here all day, I can’t let you do all the chores by yourself. This is my job. Michael and Jessica are paying me to strap on my big girl boots and take care of the property, rain or shine or ax murderer. But I’d be happy to have you help me.”
“I insist, Kate. There is no reason for you to have to go out into the cold when I can handle doing all the chores myself.”
That stung. It hurt a lot, much more than she was willing to admit. “So you’re saying that you don’t need my help for anything?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. I just don’t want you to get sick from the cold. And even if you don’t, why should you have to be uncomfortable all day when you can stay in here next to the nice, warm fire?”
The heat of the fire licked at her back as she stared at Sam’s eyes. This was the first disagreement that they had had, which made it sting that much worse. Maybe it was irrational for her to be this frustrated, but Kate couldn’t help the way she felt. She didn’t even want to go outside. But she didn’t really want to be away from Sam either. And the insinuation that he didn’t need her help hurt.
She turned back toward the fire, trying to break the magnetic pull of his eyes.
The fire consumed the logs. The pops and crackling sounds that it made were usually enough to relax her. Instead, they only drove her racing thoughts.
Why had he made the fire if the cold didn’t bother him?
“Did you make the fire just for me?” Kate asked, turning back to look at him.
“Of course,” Sam said simply, like it was something that he always did.
“Why?” Kate prodded.
“I didn’t want you to have to wake up to a freezing house. And I thought that you would enjoy having a nice fire while you took a day off.”
“That was a sweet thing for you to do, but I’m not taking the day off. Not unless you give me a good reason.”
“Really, Kate. You don’t need to be so stubborn. I’m trying to do a nice thing for you, okay? No reason to read into it any further. I even made you some breakfast and there’s hot coffee in the pot. You’ve been working so hard, you’ve earned a day off,” Sam replied.
For some reason, Kate didn’t quite believe his words. It would be easier to tell if he was lying if she could read his body language. The tone of his voice was giving a lot away though. He didn’t sound gracious, he sounded frustrated. And worried, maybe?
She tried to search his eyes, but he refused to meet her gaze.
“Why don’t you want me to go outside, Sam?” She whispered.
“I don’t care if you go outside.” He still wouldn’t meet her eyes. “In fact, if you’re going to argue so much then why don’t you just do all the chores yourself! There are plenty of other things I could be doing inside while you work.”
“So either I go outside or you do?”
“Yes.”
“But you won’t go outside with me?” She accused.
His silence was enough of a response.
“Why don’t you want me to go outside with you, Sam?” Kate asked, more gently this time. “You’ve never minded before. Does it have to do with the snow?”
Sam still didn’t respond.
“So you’re okay with going out in the snow, but you don’t want me to go out there with you?”
Sam remained silent, which only annoyed her more.
This was infuriating!
She couldn’t read his body language because she couldn’t see his body. And he still refused to look at her, so she couldn’t read anything from his eyes either.
He was literally ghosting her.
She stood up, letting the blanket fall down on the floor. She was getting so fired up, that she didn’t even mind moving away from the hearth.
“Say something, Sam. Please tell me what’s going on,” Kate pleaded as she walked over to him. She wanted to grab him, shake him, make him talk.
“It’s not a big deal,” Sam finally mumbled. “Seriously, you should just stay here and enjoy the day off. Plus, I’m sure you're hungry. Why don’t you go enjoy your breakfast?”
“You’re deflecting,” Kate said as she glared at him.
Sam’s eyes briefly met hers before flinting away again to look at something over her shoulder.
She tried to search his face, but it was just so hard to make out his features through his camouflage. Instead, she saw the dazzling sunrise shining in through the large back window reflecting on his face. The colors he was able to display were just as beautiful as the rising sun.
She looked out the window, distracted by the snowy landscape. It was finally bright enough outside for her to see the white wilderness.
It took her breath away.
It was enough to distract her from Sam. She walked over to the back wall, pushing her face against the glass. It looked like something out of a painting. The still lake was framed by pure white ground and snow-covered trees. Even the barn looked like it was buried in snow.
As she looked closer, she realized that the lake wasn’t just still, it was frozen. She never even considered that as a possibility.
The last place her eyes landed was on the back porch. It was the only place that the snow was disturbed. In front of the back door was a large impression in the snow. The middle of it was round, with branches several feet long going in every direction. The branches seemed to be circular. They were thickest toward the round center and tapered off at each end. They weren’t sticking out in straight lines, instead, they were bent in every direction. There was something else in it too, though it was hard to see from here. It almost looked like there w
as a pattern in the snow, inside of the large impression.
She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look but she was too far away.
She started to walk over to the back door so that she could closely examine it.
“Wait,” Sam said.
She ignored him, just as he ignored her. She had already passed where he was standing, so she was surprised when she felt a hand grab her arm.
It was the first time he had intentionally touched her since they had shaken hands on the first day. It felt exactly how she remembered it: warm and rough and strong.
Eric had never made her heart race like this, especially just from a touch on the arm. It felt so good that it was enough to momentarily distract her.
But only for a moment.
“I want to see it,” she said.
She knew that Sam could easily overpower her if he wanted to. He was an invisible giant with lots of tentacles. So when she took a step away from him, she was surprised that he didn’t stop her.
His hand squeezed her arm for a moment before falling away. He gave her an unobstructed path to the back door.
She could hear him moving behind her, following her as she walked.
They both stopped when she reached the back door. She had been right. There was a pattern inside the compacted snow, inside of the indented patch right outside of the door. That patch of snow was dotted with tiny circles. They started inside the round center, though there were none inside of the very middle. The circles got a little smaller along the branches the further they got away from the round center.
“Is this why you don’t want me to go outside with you?” Kate asked, turning to look back at Sam. She knew that he was standing beside her, but she couldn’t find his eyes when she searched for them.
“Sam,” she whispered, reaching out her hand in search of his own. Her hand fell onto his strong forearm instead. She ran her fingers down, tracing the muscles until she found his hand. She felt a little thrill as Sam took a sharp breath.
