by Raye Wagner
“Uh-huh.”
“Swapping digits, huh?” Haley bounced up in a new denim skirt and flip-flops. She looked ready for the beach. “I bet you’re so glad those creeps won’t be calling anymore.”
Hope shook her head and tried to signal Haley to shut up.
“So freaky . . . What?” Haley looked back and forth between Hope and Athan, and settled again on Hope. “You mean you didn’t tell him?”
Athan frowned. “Tell me what?”
Hope pursed her lips. “It was nothing. I got a couple prank calls.”
Haley grimaced. “Nothing? You looked like you’d been chased by Apollo’s army. Freaked. Out.”
“You got a new phone because some guys were prank calling you?”
“Not just some guys,” Haley continued. “Some guys that were threatening her, like ‘We’re going to hunt you down—’”
“Do you know who they were? That’s harassment.” Athan’s nostrils flared, and he looked like he wanted to hit something, or someone.
The bell rang.
“Come on. It doesn’t matter now. New number. They don’t even know who I am.”
Haley waved good-bye, and Athan walked Hope to class.
“Seriously, if something like that happens again Hope, you’ve got to tell me. It’s not right to keep secrets from me. You don’t keep secrets from your boyfriend.”
Did he just say . . .
Athan leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Come on.”
When they got to the door, he paused, holding her back with the conversation. “Please don’t keep things from me. I’ll see you at lunch?” His gaze held her, his cadence wrapped her in silk.
“Um, okay.”
“I’ll meet you by your locker.” He turned to leave, but looked back with a wink.
She heard a nearby student giggle, but she didn’t care. She smiled and went into class.
“How many of you have seen this?” Mrs. Biggers held up a newspaper and waved it in the air. “I’m shocked. It’s just so exciting!”
Hope slid into her desk and looked around the room. Heads were down; a couple people were texting on the phones in their laps. A few students had glassy stares fixed on their eccentric teacher.
“Let me read this to you,” she continued. “This is the second sighting of the monster many think is the ancient Sphinx. Mythologists around the world are flocking to Eastern Washington to hunt for the creature.” She looked up, her face alight. “Can you imagine?”
Hope felt her face get hot.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a monster,” Krista whispered.
Hope glared at her. “Who cares what you think?”
“Everybody.” Krista tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“Do you have something you need to share?” Mrs. Biggers stared from Krista to Hope.
Hope shook her head.
“Then I suggest you let me finish my lesson, ladies.” She took a deep breath in. “Now where was I . . . Oh, yes. The sons of Apollo have been petitioned to hunt the monster. But some say there is no such organization. It’s most exciting. Krista, what are your thoughts?”
Krista looked from Mrs. Biggers to Hope. “Personally, I think all monsters should be hunted and slaughtered. Even if they look human.” She turned back to Mrs. Biggers and smiled.
“A very interesting view, Krista. You aren’t the only one that feels that way. What defines a monster? And who should make that determination?”
Hope waited until the students filed out of class to address Mrs. Biggers.
She took a deep breath. “Um, Mrs. Biggers?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll be out the last half of this week. My lawyer, Mr. Davenport, called, and I need to see him about the trust.” She wanted to sound confident, but it sounded more like a request.
“Of course.” Mrs. Biggers nodded. Students filed into the room. “You have the assignments. You can keep up.”
Chemistry was next.
While Mr. Burgess was doing a “dangerous, don’t try this at home” demonstration, whispers from Angela and Krista floated across the aisle.
“Did you and Athan have fun at the river on Thursday?”
Hope’s breath caught. She told herself it didn’t matter what they said, but her focus zeroed in on the two girls.
“So. Much. Fun. You should’ve come. Tristan and Lee were there, and Scott showed up later, too. Haley and Heather came, and Heather brought some friend of hers from the Dalles.” And then, louder: “It was perfect.”
Hope felt hot, and her stomach dropped.
“What did you guys do?” Angela asked, clearly more than a little jealous.
“Oh, you know, just hung out. Lit a campfire, told scary stories, roasted marshmallows. Did you know that Athan can play a whole bunch of musical instruments? And he can sing.” Krista’s voice dropped further, “He’s so incredibly . . . sexy.”
“Did anything happen?” Angela asked. Hope found herself shifting to get a better look.
Krista looked like she won the lottery. “Well, he took me home, and do you count kissing? And, Friday for Twister.” She giggled, and her voice dropped. “And Sunday for poker.”
“You guys played poker.”
“Mm-hmm.” She raised her eyebrows. “Strip poker.”
Hope couldn’t wait for class to end.
Angela’s eyes went up. “Really? Who won?”
Krista rolled her eyes. “Uh, when you play that game, everybody wins.”
“So did he pick you up Friday?”
“Uh, no. He was over at . . .” Krista inclined her head.
Angela’s gaze followed, and her eyes locked on Hope’s.
“What was he doing at her house?” Angela whispered.
“I don’t know. It was kinda weird. I think she was trying to get him to stay. It was sad.”
Hope gritted her teeth to stop herself from saying anything. It was torture to pull her focus back to Mr. Burgess, and despite facing front, her attention kept drifting elsewhere.
When the bell rang, she collected her books and headed down the hall. She saw Athan standing at her locker, playing with the dial. When he looked at her, her heart rate picked up.
“What’s the matter?” Concern danced across his features.
Hot with emotion, she responded, “Krista and Angela were talking about the weekend in chemistry.” She looked at him, expecting him to understand.
“They’re not your friends, are they?”
She glared at him. “No way.”
“Okay. Are you mad because you weren’t invited? I tried to invite you, but—”
“No.” She cut him off, frustrated. “Krista said that you and she kissed. And you took her home, and played strip poker . . .”
Athan suppressed a chuckle, a grin stretching across his face. “Let me explain . . . just a little.” When she nodded but said nothing, he continued. “I told Scott and Tristan I would go with them last week. I tried to invite you Thursday, but you made it clear that you didn’t want to hang out.”
She remembered the abrupt text she’d sent him and nodded.
“We played a game about truths and lies, and I’m not sure winning is really best. Anyway, I did take Krista home then, and Tristan. I dropped her off first. I’m not interested in her. Not at all. And Sunday night? I had to take off my shoes and socks. That’s all. I promise I wasn’t the one who lost that game.” The smirk remained, like he was enjoying an inside joke.
“What’s so funny?”
He shook his head. “You can’t call what happened a kiss, either. And that was all before there was an us, Hope.”
She dialed her combination, dropped in her books, and grabbed her lunch without glancing back at him. Was that supposed to make her feel better? She closed the locker, and he was still staring at her, his smile just playing at the corner of his lips.
Because it didn’t.
HOPE SLAMMED HER locker shut, then looked around for Athan. He’d
left in the middle of algebra, and she thought he’d be back by now.
She stared down the hall, willing him to appear. A group of students passed her then started laughing. Then another group.
The smell of overcooked vegetables and beef gravy wafted down the hall from the open doors of the lunchroom.
A group of girls pushed past her, bumping her shoulder. A couple of them snickered as they passed.
Someone shoved her, and she lurched forward. Hope turned and faced Krista.
“I’m sick of you always putting your face where it isn’t wanted,” Krista spat.
“Excuse me?” Hope could hardly believe Krista’s hostility. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re disgusting, you know that?”
Hope shook her head. “What did I ever do to you?”
“Ugh. Your entire life is offensive. And not just to me.” Krista looked back at her friends with a nod. They were like a horde of wannabe Barbies. “You’re a monster, and we’ve already sent a message to the sons of Apollo.”
Her heart stopped. Was she serious? “You don’t even know what you’re messing with.” Hope took a step forward.
“And when the demigods find you,” Krista sneered, “they’ll rub you off the face of the earth.”
With all the bravado she could muster, Hope closed the gap separating them, and looked down on Krista. “You’re just jealous because Athan picked me.”
Krista’s hand drew back, and this time Hope knew what to expect. She caught Krista’s wrist before it could strike.
“I told you not to do that again.” Hope released Krista’s arm with a little shove.
“You have nothing that I want,” Krista shrieked, “Nothing.” She drew her leg back.
Hope swung her arm, changing the trajectory of Krista’s leg.
Hope knew it before it happened.
Krista was too close to the lockers. She spun, then wind-milled her arms, and lost her balance. Her face bounced off the metal as she went down. Crimson gushed, and Krista’s hand flew to nose and lip.
Hope backed away, her hands up.
“What’s going on?” A cafeteria worker came up to the gathering crowd. “Oh. Oh, no.” She looked at Krista and yelled for someone to get ice. Then, surveying the group, her gazed landed on Hope. “You. You did this?”
The other students backed away.
“It was an accident.” Hope’s fear warred with her pride. “She tried to kick—”
“And yet,” the lunch lady said, “she’s the one bloodied on the floor.”
Krista’s sobbed hysterically.
“To the principal’s office.” The matronly woman’s voice was steely. “Now.” Then, she bent over Krista. “All right now. Let’s get some ice on that and get you to the nurse.”
Could this day get any worse?
“MISS TREADWELL, YOU seem to be causing quite a stir today.” Mr. Jeffers waved her into the office.
Hope sat down on the edge of the chair and leaned away from the sunlight. “She tried to kick me, sir, and when I blocked her she fell.”
He nodded, as if considering his words. “Do you want to tell me what the fight was about?”
Not really. “She was with a group of her friends, she pushed me, called me a monster, and told me that she was going to get the demigods to kill me.” Hope explained the details of the fight.
“I see.” He took a slow deep breath. “Normally, we suspend instigators, but you’re not really in a position to be missing any more school.”
Had he not heard a word she’d said? “Sir, I didn’t start the fight. You can ask anyone in the hall. They all saw it.” And she was hardly flunking out. Her lowest grade was ninety seven percent in algebra. Last time she checked that was still a solid A.
“And Mrs. Biggers said you will be out the rest of the week?”
“I have meetings with my attorney in Seattle.” She spit out the words.
His leaned forward on his elbows and templed his fingers. “That’s a lot of time to meet with your lawyer.”
What was she supposed to say to that?
When she said nothing, he dropped his hands. “Well, you better go get your homework for the rest of the week. I’d hate for you to get behind.”
Hope stood and walked to the door.
“Oh, and Miss Treadwell?”
She turned and looked back at him. “Yes?”
“No more fights in my school.”
For real? “Yes, sir.”
She stepped out into the hall and leaned against the wall. Students pushed their way through the halls.
“Hope!” Haley yelled over the ruckus. “Oh. My. Gods! I just heard what happened. Did you kick her butt? I can’t believe she did that to you.”
“Word spreads fast.”
“She sent the picture to everyone.”
Hope’s eyebrows drew down. “What picture? What are you talking about?”
Haley’s face mirrored Hope’s confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“No. You first.”
Haley pulled out her phone and turned it to Hope.
There she was. Hope’s face amid a mass of writhing snakes. She looked every bit a Gorgon. Part of her felt outraged, but another, albeit smaller, part was relieved. At least Krista didn’t know.
“Now, what are you talking about?” Haley dropped her phone back into her purse.
“Just a few minutes ago . . . Krista tried to kick me, but when I blocked she fell.”
Haley laughed. “Poetic justice.”
“Sadly, Mr. Jeffers didn’t see it that way. What’s up with him? He keeps lecturing me on missing school, and it’s not like I’m even a bad student.”
Haley snorted. “Oh, yeah. He would totally hate you. You get good grades, but miss classes a lot. You’re like proving how wrong he is, and how school doesn’t even matter.”
“What?”
“His grandmother is Athena.” Haley said by way of explanation. “He thinks the school is his way to get her approval, or something.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“My dad. He’s big into mythology.”
Haley Stanley. Hope shook her head as the dots connected. “Your dad is Mr. Stanley? The butcher?”
Haley shook her head. “I know. I know. But, really, he’s pretty cool. For a dad.”
Hope nodded. “He is cool.” She felt a pang of jealousy. The bell rang, and Hope looked around. “Where’s Athan?”
Haley grimaced. “Sorry. I was supposed to tell you. He had to run home, but he told me to tell you he’d be back before school got out.”
With a sigh, Hope went to algebra.
“HEY, BEAUTIFUL.” ATHAN leaned against her locker, his head resting on the metal door. He stood up, almost as if peeling himself off. “Sorry I missed your fight today.”
Hope rolled her eyes. “Nothing like the fight you got in. This wasn’t even a fight. No one got hit.”
“I got in a fight? When?”
“Like a month ago, I think?” Hope grabbed the books she’d need for homework for the rest of the week, which was all of them.
“I never got in a fight . . . Whoa! Why are you taking all your books? Are you . . . running away?”
She slammed her locker shut. “If I was running away, I wouldn’t be taking homework.”
“True. All right, I’ll bite. Where are you going?”
“If you’d been here for more than five minutes today, you would know that I have to go to my attorney.”
“For a month?”
“No. just a couple of days.”
Athan nodded. “Bummer. I was going to ask if you wanted to go to Portland. Maybe we should get together tonight?”
They got to her car, and he leaned against the driver’s door, blocking her entrance. As he reached up and twisted the loose strands of hair back into the knot at the nape of her neck, his shirt hem lifted above his waistband, revealing taut golden skin.
It took a moment to gather her th
oughts. “Won’t you be tired after your work out?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Hardly.” He hooked a finger in her jeans and pulled her closer to him. “If you’d like to go for a run, I promise I’ll have plenty of energy for you.”
Despite the cold fingers that played with the hem of her shirt, Hope could feel the heat emanating from him.
She shivered and put her hands on his chest. A gust of wind swirled around them. The smells of spring carried possibilities and hope. His free hand took her unruly hair and tucked it behind her ear, then trailed down her neck. Her heart, already a staccato drumming in her chest, surged into cardiac arrest territory.
The sun peeked out from behind the clouds. The light touched Athan’s shoulder revealing a silvery spot, almost like a scar. As Hope traced the odd, irregular mark, it took shape. It seemed unlikely, but it looked just like a lyre.
She shook her head. “What is this?”
He shrugged. “A birthmark. Weird, huh?”
The light dimmed as the wind blew more clouds over the sun. The mark all but disappeared.
“If looks like a harp, kinda.”
“Yeah—” A thumping bass sound from Athan’s pocket interrupted him. “Just a sec.” He pulled out his phone. “Hello?” Silence.
Hope watched as he grimaced, then his jaw clenched.
“All right. All right! I’ll be right there.” He disconnected and sighed.
“Who was that?”
“My dad,” he said. “He came into town this morning.” He frowned. “Do you really need to go away this week?”
Was he using her as an excuse to get out of seeing his dad? “You don’t want to spend time with him?” She would give anything to spend just an hour with her mom again.
“No. It’s not that . . .” He pulled her close. “Could we still do something tonight?” The small gap between them disappeared, and their lower bodies were touching one another. His hands moved to her hips and kept her hostage. “Can we go have dinner, or just . . . spend some time . . .”
Her breath hitched as he kissed the hollow below her ear. “I wish . . . I could,” she managed to say with an uneven breath, “but I’ve got to get stuff ready for my appointment.” She stepped back. “I’d better go.” She didn’t know what else to say.