“Don’t be like that,” he said. “I have something for you.”
She flinched as he knelt before her, clutching the jug from the blender.
“Open wide,” he said, extending a spoon.
Skye stared in horror at the brown mush.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s dinner, obviously. I thought you were hungry.”
Skye shook her head violently.
“I don’t want it.”
“Come on, now, this is expensive steak. The very best. We can’t have it go to waste.”
“You’re insane,” she hissed, and he smiled.
“Behave like a baby, and I’ll treat you like a baby.”
“I’m not going to eat that, Martyn.”
“Oh, you will,” he said, pushing the spoon hard against her chin. “Unless you want to spend the entire weekend locked in here.”
“I don’t understand,” she pleaded. “What did I do wrong? Why are you being like this?”
Martyn didn’t reply. He held the spoon aloft, waiting for her sobs to cease.
“Do you want me to pretend it’s an airplane?”
Two days later, Skye saw the story about the one-euro lottery.
Today, she faced the man who had become her tormentor.
“That’s the thing, Martyn,” she said. “I did try. But I’m done playing this game with you. You don’t scare me, not anymore.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said sourly.
Skye got up from the bench.
“There are plenty of hotels in Chora,” she said. “I suggest you check in to one of them.”
“Hang on a minute,” he said, grunting in pain as he struggled to stand. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Me?” she said, her smile spreading with the sweet surety of what came next. “I’m going home.”
Forty-four
Skye arrived back in Ano Meria as the day dipped toward evening. The light had grown mellow, heat loosening its grip.
Her neighbors were assembled in a small huddle on the hillside. Joy hurried over to greet her, a flood of questions pouring from her lips.
“I met your mum”; “I can’t believe Martyn’s here”; “Where is he?”; “Bloody hell”; “Are you OK?”; “Has he hurt you?”; “Where’s Andreas?”
Skye held up a hand to silence her.
“Sorry,” Joy babbled. “I was on my way to look for you earlier when Andreas rolled up. He’d just got the alert, and we didn’t have time to reach your place before the earthquake started.”
