He smiled and mouthed “coffee?” at me from across the cafe. I nodded. Not that I’d be drinking it. As much as I tried, coffee still left a gross feeling in my mouth.
Marco returned with an espresso for him and a milky latte for me. “I thought this might be more to your taste,” he said, after giving me a kiss on the lips. If it was any other time, I would have appreciated the sweet gesture. But the sickly smell of hot milk made me queasy.
“Helen, I saw the weirdest thing last night,” he said, eyes wide with excitement.
“I’m fine, thanks, how are you?” I said, smiling. It was unlike him to forget the pleasantries.
He laughed. “Honestly, once you see this video you’ll totally forgive me for being rude.”
“Show me, then! Unless it’s something gross?” I asked. You could never tell with boys.
“Not gross, just … extremely weird.” He handed me his phone and I pressed play.
The video was shot at night, and I couldn’t see much at first because it was dark. Then I noticed a column of white light hovering in the sky. The video zoomed out to show a house on a street.
My street.
Marco had seen and filmed Aphrodite floating above the house.
When I realized what I was watching, I nearly dropped the phone.
The video zoomed back in again, close enough to see a face and long dark hair. It wasn’t recognizable as Aphrodite unless you knew her face.
Which thousands of people now did, thanks to her aggressive self-promotion.
Marco watched my face for my reaction, as I desperately tried to hold it together.
“Strange, right? I saw that round the corner from here. I thought I was losing my mind!”
“Um, it certainly looks strange,” I said. “But I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for it.”
“You think? It sort of looks like a UFO. I bet some newspaper will pay good money for it,” he said.
I wanted to throw up. If this video made it to the national press, someone was bound to recognize Aphrodite. And how on earth could she explain floating in mid-air? The Council would be on my family like a ton of bricks.
I had to fix this.
I’d never been any good at drama class. But here I was, about to persuade Marco that the video wasn’t worth sharing. “Any idea what it could be?” I asked. I tore open a sachet of brown sugar and stirred it into my latte, just so he wouldn’t notice my trembling hands.
“I mean … who knows!” he said. “That’s why it’s so exciting. You know that I’m a rational person. But even I can’t explain this one.”
I stayed quiet. The sound of hissing coffee machines and children crying filled the silence.
“I’d love to hear your theories?” Marco asked as I stirred my latte. I still couldn’t bring myself to drink it.
“Listen, I know it looks dead weird,” I started. “But there must be an explanation for it. We just don’t know it yet.”
“Like what?” Marco challenged.
I leaned back and shrugged. “Oh, I dunno. Fireworks, police helicopters, a laser light display from a nearby concert. You know there’s a stadium five minutes down the road, right?”
He nodded but didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know … it didn’t look like any fireworks I’ve ever seen. Plus, it doesn’t explain why the roof of this house was completely destroyed! I saw it explode but didn’t have time to capture it on camera.”
Oh crap. So Marco had seen Aphrodite slam our roof into oblivion. Persuading Marco that it was some trick of the light was going to be even harder.
“Isn’t this really close to your house? Did you hear anything?”
I shrugged. “I heard the storm, but that’s about it. Maybe that’s what you heard?”
The only way I could keep this secret was if Marco realized how stupid he sounded. And I felt terrible, because I knew he wasn’t making it up.
“I know how it sounds. But I’m telling you this because I trust you.” Marco reached across the table and put his hand on my arm. “You don’t think I’m lying, do you?”
I couldn’t look him in the eye. “It’s not that I think you’re lying, Marco. But you’ve got to admit, it does look a bit like…”
“Like what, Helen?”
“It looks like the video could be made up, or something. Just a bunch of computer special effects that anyone could download.”
It was so cruel of me to make out that Marco was crazy or a liar.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“If I saw this video from anyone else, I would think the same as you. Probably some prank.” He leaned in closer to me. “But if you showed me this video, I wouldn’t for a second think that you faked it. Because I trust you.”
I hated myself. And I hated that the hurt look on his face was because of me.
“I’m not saying you made it up, Marco. But that is how it will look if you take it to a newspaper. I’m just being honest.”
Marco stared deep into my eyes. “Thank you for your honesty,” he spat out. “But it’s a chance I’ll take.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m going to get a second opinion. I’ll share it with a few friends tomorrow.”
Oh god oh god oh GOD. Despite my best efforts, Marco was going to share this video. No one else could see it. They’d persuade him to post it online or send it to a journalist for sure.
Marco stood up and put his coat on. “I wonder if they’ll accuse me of being a fraud, too.” Then he grabbed his rucksack and walked out of the cafe.
I wanted to punch the table but I held it together. This video getting out would mean a one-way ticket to Mount Olympus.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“Marco, wait!” I yelled, squeezing through the chairs and people. He heard me and waited at the door.
“Let’s go somewhere we can be alone,” I said.
It was cold and dark, and the threat of drizzle hung in the air. The playground was empty. I sat on the swings, ran my feet across the tarmac and launched my legs in the air. It felt soothing to swing back and forth a little. I could almost pretend I was a kid again, with no real problems.
I felt sick with worry. How on earth was I going to persuade him to delete this video?
“I don’t know why we couldn’t stay in the warm,” Marco said, sitting on the swing next to me.
“This video. Have you sent it to anyone else?” I asked.
“No. No one else. Why?”
I took a deep breath. “Marco, this is going to sound strange. But you have to delete that video and never mention it again.”
He looked confused. “What? Why?”
“Just … trust me. No one can ever see that video. I need you to delete it,” I said. “Please.”
“Helen, you’re acting strange. Tell me why I need to delete it. Why is it so important that—”
“I can’t!” I snapped. “I can’t tell you. You’ll think I’m a liar.”
We were getting dangerously close to the truth. I couldn’t let myself reveal it.
Marco’s expression changed from confused to hurt. “I would never think that of you, Helen. I meant what I said earlier. You can tell me anything.” He turned to face me, taking his gloved hands in mine.
“Can’t you just believe me and delete the video?” I pleaded.
“That’s not the point, Helen,” he said. “We can’t have secrets hanging over our relationship. We need to trust each other, and there’s no trust without honesty.”
We were both silent, his brown eyes wide and open.
“So you really don’t trust me,” Marco said, breaking the silence. “Helen, I don’t think I can do this any more.”
I felt sick. “W-what are you saying?”
He sighed. “I’m saying I can’t have a girlfriend who doesn’t trust me.”
It was the first time he’d called me his girlfriend. And I couldn’t enjoy the moment, because I was too busy thinkin
g about how I’d persuade him not to share Aphrodite’s video. Once again, my family found a way to ruin my life.
I’d messed up my friendship with the girls. I couldn’t lose Marco. We’d just started to get to know each other. It could have been the beginning of something special.
“I don’t even know where to begin.” I looked down at my feet, the black of my shoes indistinguishable from the tarmac. Marco didn’t say anything. He was waiting for me to fill the gap.
“So the video, right? There’s a … thing floating in mid-air. That thing was floating above my house. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it.”
Marco’s face was impossible to read. He nodded, as if to urge me to carry on talking.
“And the bright thing floating? It wasn’t a thing, exactly. It was a person. Sort of,” I said.
I felt my face go hot. Any minute now, Marco was going to call me a compulsive liar and dump me on the spot.
“Are you very sure about that, Helen?” he asked me slowly and carefully, as though he was talking to a small child.
“I’ll prove it.” I unlocked my phone and brought up the video Marco sent me a few hours earlier. I paused it at the bit when Aphrodite’s face came into view. “Can’t you see? That’s a person’s face,” I said.
“I can see that, Helen. Which is why it’s so weird. But that doesn’t explain why I need to keep this secret,” he said. “What’s the connection here?” he added in a softer voice.
I opened one of Aphrodite’s YouTube videos on my phone and showed Marco. “That’s her, right?” I said.
Marco’s eyes widened. “It’s uncanny,” he whispered under his breath. “Why was this person hovering above your house?”
I took a deep breath. “Because she’s my sister. Well, half-sister. And she’s not a person, exactly. She’s a god.”
“So you’re saying that your half-sister is a god, Helen. Have I got that right?” Marco kept his face and voice neutral. He was impossible to read. Did he think there was a glimmer of truth to what I was saying?
“I know it sounds mental. I probably sound mental. But it’s the truth,” I said. “And if this video gets out, my family will get into serious trouble.” Just the thought warped my stomach into knots.
“I don’t care if you believe me,” I lied. “But all I ask is that you delete this video and keep this secret. I’ll lose them all if you don’t.”
“What do you mean by god? Like, someone with superpowers? Immortality? I just don’t—”
“I’ve already said too much,” I said. But if sharing this secret meant that Marco would delete the video, then it was worth the risk.
“I can see how important this is to you, Helen. And because I care about you, I’m going to delete the video,” he said. “See?” I watched as he deleted the video file from his phone.
“Swear you won’t tell anyone about this, Marco? If it gets out, I’ll know it was you. And I’ll never trust you again.”
Marco stood up from the swing and pulled me close to him. “I swear,” he whispered in my ear.
It started to rain and the tarmac turned slick, but Marco pulled me closer into his coat.
What had I done?
THIRTY
I was woken up at one a.m. by what sounded like World War Three in the living room. I couldn’t hear exactly what was going on. But it sounded like we’d soon get a knock on the door from the neighbours if my family didn’t pipe down.
I crept out on to the landing and tried to make out what they were shouting. Then I realized I wasn’t five years old, this was my house and I was part of this family. I didn’t have to creep about and eavesdrop on their discussions.
I followed the voices to the living room. I was getting serious déjà vu vibes. What if Aphrodite had tried to mastermind another jailbreak? I couldn’t deal with another night of that.
“What’s going on?” I asked. We had a full house. Dad, Aphrodite, Eros and Apollo stood in the living room, deep in discussion.
There was someone else there, too. A man I’d never seen before. He was tall, head and shoulders above everyone else in the room, and totally bald. Even though he was dressed head to toe in navy-blue Lycra, I could tell straight away he was a god. He had that air about him.
“Unless someone’s going to write me a sick note and let me have a lie-in tomorrow, I need you lot to keep it down,” I said. “I’ve got school in the morning!”
Dad turned to look at me, but no one else reacted. It was like my voice barely registered. I was sick of this. What was so important that they could flat-out ignore me?
Their focus was on the tall, bald god. And he was looking annoyed at the interruption.
“This isn’t one of your tricks, is it, Hermes?” Aphrodite said.
So that’s who the towering bald guy was. Hermes, the messenger god.
Hermes smiled, and something about it didn’t look right. It was the same smile someone gives you before they chuck a water balloon in your face or trip you up in the corridor at school. It was a smile that said “I know something you don’t”. If Hermes was here on the Council’s instructions, I doubted that he had anything good to say. “Dearest Aphrodite,” Hermes said, his lip curling into a sinister smile. “I’m only ever on earth for business. Rest assured that this is genuine.” He held up a scroll.
Aphrodite swore under her breath.
“Oh, don’t look so down,” Hermes added. “You might enjoy coming back. Mount Olympus is lush and verdant all year round. Certainly nicer than this dump.”
Hey. London might be dirty and drizzly and full of deformed pigeons, but it was my home. At least it was for now.
“That’s my city you’re talking about!” I said. Not expecting anyone to hear or notice me. Hermes raised one eyebrow. “Well. Enjoy it while you can, little girl. You may not be here for much longer.”
He checked his watch. “If you’ll excuse me, I have another delivery to make to the Underworld in just a few hours. And traffic on the River Styx is ghastly at this time of year.”
“You can leave through the back door, Hermes,” Dad said. “And please be inconspicuous,” he added.
Hermes laughed. “I think it’s too late for discretion, Father,” he said, and walked towards the kitchen.
As soon as he left, Aphrodite sighed dramatically. “I cannot stand him. Did you see how smug he looked?”
“You know Hermes has wanted to see our downfall for centuries,” Apollo said. “The guy is basically the Council’s messenger boy. Surely he must be going out of his mind with boredom running their errands? I know I would be.”
“Enough gossiping,” Dad said in a quiet voice that somehow shook the whole room. Apollo and Aphrodite stopped chattering.
“Helen, come here and sit down, please,” Dad said. “I was going to tell you in the morning, but you’re up now.” I perched on the edge of the sofa.
“I’ll get straight to the point. The Council has ruled that we must leave London and return to Mount Olympus for judgement. Immediately.”
I nodded, too terrified to ask why.
I had a sinking feeling I already knew the answer to that one.
“The Council found out about Aphrodite’s destructive episode. It was the last straw, apparently,” Dad said.
My heart beat so loud that I could hear it in my eardrums.
“Someone out for a quick buck recorded a video,” Apollo said. “They caught the whole thing on camera and sold the video to a newspaper. Can you believe it?”
I tried not to cry. Had Marco done exactly what he promised he wouldn’t?
“What’s even more unbelievable is that the Council thought it was genuine,” Aphrodite said. “Any runt with a laptop could’ve rustled up a fake video.”
“Except it wasn’t actually fake, was it, Mother?” Eros said sheepishly.
So it was happening. My boyfriend had just ruined my life. I wanted to be alone to sob and punch my pillow.
“The Council must have eyes everywhere,
” Eros muttered.
Dad sighed. “Everyone has a camera in their back pocket, these days. We should count ourselves lucky that no one recognized Aphrodite.”
“But don’t you think it’s strange that someone just happened to be outside the house in the middle of the night?” said Apollo. “I wouldn’t put it past the Council to send their spies to check on us.”
“Apollo!” Dad yelled. I jumped out of my skin and everyone else looked stunned. Dad’s rage went from simmering under the surface to exploding. “It would behove you to accept some responsibility for this. You and your sister.”
Any moment now, they’d find out that Marco shared the video. They’d find out that my boyfriend, a regular mortal, knew our earth-shattering secret.
I had to tell them. The thought terrified me. But I wanted them to find out from me and not anyone else.
I took a deep breath, and burst into tears. Big, thick sobs. It was so embarrassing and went on for a good few minutes. Dad responded by leaping off the sofa and turning the kettle on. I think a few decades in Britain had taught him that tea is the cure for all distress. Aphrodite rubbed my shoulder with what I assume was meant to be tenderness, but felt more like a kneading motion. I’m pretty sure it left bruises. Eros got up to give me a cuddle and I instantly felt ten years old again.
“You don’t have to say anything until you’re ready,” said Eros as I cried into his T-shirt.
By the time Dad came back with a too-milky cup of tea, I had calmed down enough to talk.
“Whatever you have to say, Helen, you won’t be in trouble. You know that, don’t you?” Dad said.
I nodded and braced myself. For all his understanding looks now, I knew he wouldn’t like what I was going to say next. There was no point trying to skirt around the truth. I had to be honest.
I decided to break down my announcement into a list. I could handle lists.
“I guess there are three things you should know. The first is that I’ve been seeing a guy called Marco. We’ve been spending a lot of time with each other since New Year’s Eve,” I said. “He’s from Greece and taking a gap year in London.”
Oh My Gods Page 15