by M. W. Muse
River glanced at the sky and then back at her eyes. “It’s nowhere near enough, Legacy. You’re so blinded by your love for him that you can’t even see him clearly. First, he doesn’t tell you about himself until I told you to drag it out of him, and now he’s not willing to swallow his pride and chat with Venus to help you!”
She jumped out of her seat before she’d even realized she’d moved. “Get out!”
The force of her order directed at River caused the air to crash into his face. River gasped, and his mouth fell open. “Legacy, you just—”
“Now!”
River stood up. “Baby, I didn’t mean to make you—”
“River!” A flash of lightning struck a nearby tree, but she didn’t care. She wanted him out of her sight. Right. Now.
“Okay, I’m leaving.” He lifted his hands in a placating gesture before making his retreat.
After River left, she stood outside trying to calm herself. The nerve of that prick! She could spit nails she was so furious.
She turned to walk into the house, but caught something move through the privacy fence next door. Probably just Adin’s grandma. If so, she would’ve heard everything that had happened out here between her and River. Whatever. She was still too mad to completely process that.
A few hours later, she heard Adin’s car pull up into her driveway. She was still irritated, so she didn’t even get up. After he knocked on the door, she yelled for him to come in, which he did.
“Is everything okay, sweetheart?” Adin asked as he took a seat next to her.
“I’ve just been really angry this afternoon, so I’ve been trying to stay focused on calming my nerves.”
“What has you upset?” Adin rubbed her knee.
“It’s not what…it’s who.”
“I take it you’re mad at River about something.”
“Yep.” She glared at Adin. “But why would you just assume it was River?”
He raised an eyebrow at her, not rising to her challenge. “History. Now, what did he do?” Adin asked as he stroked her hair.
She sighed. A few seconds of Adin’s gentle touch did more for her than an afternoon of self pep talks. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She leaned over, put her arms around Adin, and squeezed him against her.
“Okay,” he whispered.
She rested her head against Adin’s chest. “Tell me about your weekend.”
“Well, I got in the Zeta Omega Fraternity.”
“Yea! That’s great, sweetie.” She squeezed him tighter.
Adin laughed. “Thanks. Other than that, there wasn’t much else that happened.”
She slid one of her hands down to his chest and rubbed it. “Did you see Venus?”
“Yes.” He was barely audible.
“What was she doing there?”
“She was joining a sorority.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“Umm…yeah. She came over and told me we have a study group meeting tomorrow night. We have to assign the outlines.”
She nodded into his chest. What could she say about that? At one point, she wanted him to get to know her, so she could use that knowledge to her advantage. At this moment, however, she felt relieved that he hadn’t agreed to that ridiculous plan.
“Legacy?”
“I’m okay.”
Adin leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “So, what did you and River argue about? Or do you still not want to talk about that?”
“He didn’t understand why you chose to stay out of the Venus investigation.”
Adin sighed. “I’m sure he’d love nothing more than me bonding with her.”
“Yeah, I kinda told him that. But he was saying that you’re not putting my needs ahead of your own. That if he were in your shoes, he’d do whatever I asked of him, no matter what kind of position that would put him in.”
Adin glided his hands to her face, pulled her away, and looked into her eyes. “Is that what you think, sweetheart?”
“No,” she breathed, shaking her head.
“I told you he would tell you things to try and make you lose faith in me.”
“I know. But I think he really believes what he said. I’m glad you chose not to help me out with this in that way, but I think he’s so wrapped up in his feelings for me that he’d act first and think later. Especially if given the chance to do something for me.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
Legacy shut her eyes briefly before looking at Adin again. “I got mad at him for saying bad things about you, so I yelled for him to leave, and he did.” She started to feel the irritation building again. She looked at Adin, but his eyes were calm. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Okay.” He slid his hands back around her and hugged her gently. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Why don’t you tell me about your family?”
Adin chuckled and put both of his hands back onto her knee. “What do you want to know?”
“Start with your lineage.” She smiled. She needed a positive distraction. Besides, she could listen to this hot man talk for hours. He could make reading a dictionary sound like sin.
“Okay. Let’s see. I descended through Apollo’s line. Apollo had a son, King Cinyras of Cyprus. My father, Cyprus Sheppard, is of his likeness. My grandma, Rose, created my mom, Myrha, in the likeness of the original Myrrha. The original Myrrha and King Cinyras of Cyprus were the parents of Adonis; since my parents were of Adonis’s parents’ likeness, they created me in the likeness of the original Adonis.”
“Tell me about Adonis.”
Adin twisted in his seat and leaned back to get more comfortable. He rubbed her knee while he spoke. “He’s a vegetation god who’s connected to the calendar. Kind of like you being tied to the seasons. Of course he’s incredibly handsome too.” He smirked.
She smiled. “What about his involvement with Persephone and Aphrodite?”
Adin looked down. “Aphrodite found Adonis and gave him to Persephone to look after while he grew up, but since Persephone was Queen of the Underworld, she didn’t want to give him up. Aphrodite and Persephone fought over him, so Zeus ruled that Adonis would spend a third of the year with each and the rest of the year with whomever he wanted.”
“Who did Adonis stay with when he didn’t have to be with either of them?”
Adin squeezed her knee. “Umm…he chose to stay with Aphrodite. But the fighting continued, so Zeus stepped in again and changed his original ruling. He decided that Adonis would spend half a year with each.”
“So even though Adonis grew up around Persephone, he still chose to be with Aphrodite? It was only because of Zeus that he was ever with Persephone?”
“Sweetheart, we’re not them.”
“I know we’re not them. But we’re just like them, and I have Persephone’s soul. We’ve grown up with each other, and now Venus is here to take you away from me. I know you see the parallels here, Adin.”
Adin put his arms around her. “I do see the similarities, and I’m scared too. But I want to be with you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we stay together.” He moved his head back to look into her eyes. “I love you with all I heart and soul.”
“I love you more,” she whispered.
Adin smiled. “That’s not possible.”
She looked away from him. “Do you have any theories on why you didn’t ascend when you turned eighteen?”
Adin’s eyes narrowed for a second. “The most plausible reason is because my mom is mortal.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
“Well, the original Myrrha was turned into a tree, so there really wasn’t any hope that my mom would be divine.”
“A tree? Really?” She remembered thinking that it would be weird to have a tree as a parent.
Adin chuckled and nodded.
She took a deep breath. “I did my own research about Aphrodite.”
Adin l
ifted his hand and caressed her cheek while she spilled all that she and Calli had found out.
“How does that make you feel?” he asked
She took his response to mean that she didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know. “I don’t know. I don’t like her control over men or her connection to rose trees. And it’s weird that we have the same dad. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around that concept. You know, the idea that Greek gods could have a parent in common and not be blood related.”
“Yeah, I know it’s weird to think about it like that, but if that wasn’t the case, there’d be a lot of inbred gods.” Adin laughed.
“True.”
Adin played with her hair and her scalp tingled at his touch. “Are you having any new dreams?”
“No, not new dreams. I’m having old dreams. I keep dreaming the two dreams I had the night before I got hurt. I thought I had figured them out already, so I don’t understand why I keep having them.”
“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
She smiled at Adin and leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“What was that for? Not that I’m complaining. You can kiss me anytime you want.”
She was happy that Adin said they would figure this out together. The thought of him being supportive and helpful made her smile. Even though she didn’t always agree with his methods of being helpful, she knew that those methods were centered on what he thought was best for her. “I just love you.”
They put their arms around each other and cuddled while they continued to talk. Throughout the rest of the evening, they chatted about Adonis, Aphrodite, and Legacy’s dreams. Being with him made some of those topics easier to digest. And even after he’d left, she continued smiling at just the very the thought of him.
River.
The name drifted as if floating through the air, and her smile slipped the moment he crept into her mind. She had been furious at him for his behavior, but she didn’t feel herself getting angry again.
She realized then she wasn’t thinking about her fight with him at all; she was thinking about how her heart reacted to his arms being wrapped around her. She couldn’t allow that kind of reaction. She’d have to do something to make sure it didn’t happen again.
It was time to put River in his place, and he was not going to be happy about it.
No, not happy at all.
Chapter Seven
Legacy avoided River as much as possible the next day. She didn’t talk to him unless he talked to her first, and when he tried to walk her to her classes, she made sure Calli tagged along. In the classes she shared with River, she stayed busy talking to other classmates. She’d made up her mind and she was sticking to it.
By the time she and Calli got to Spanish, Calli didn’t wait for her to start talking on her own.
“Why are you ignoring River?”
“We got into a fight yesterday.” That wasn’t the only reason, but it was still true.
“What about?”
“Adin. River got mad because Adin isn’t getting to know Venus in an attempt to fish out information from her.”
“Well, you know I agree with Adin on this.”
“I do too. River thinks I’m so blinded by my love for Adin that I don’t see him clearly. But the truth is that I think River is the one who’s blinded by feelings. He’s the one that doesn’t make the best judgment calls because he lets his emotions control his actions.”
“It sounds to me like you’re referring to something specific.”
She sighed. “River sort of hit on me yesterday.”
Calli’s eyes got really big. “What did he do?”
“Umm…he wanted to show me something. One of his abilities. He said he was thinking about me the other day and felt tremors. But instead of thinking about me to generate the tremors yesterday, he wrapped his arms around me. Of course my heartbeat picked up, so when he finished showing me the tremors, he had to comment about that.”
“Legacy, he hugs you all the time.”
“I know, but yesterday was different. He thinks there’ll come a time when I’ll want him to cross the boundaries that I put up.”
“What do you think?”
“I just don’t want him making passes at me. I need him to be a friend. I don’t want anything more from him.”
“Then maybe you should tell him this. The fact that he makes the earth move just by thinking about you is pretty significant.”
“I have told him this on several occasions. How many times do I need to tell him to back the hell off?”
“As many times as it takes.”
Legacy sighed and turned back around. Calli was right. Legacy would talk to River.
The rest of the morning, she thought about the conversation she needed to have with him. She had hoped that she’d be able to save it for after school, but by the time lunch rolled around and she finished eating, apparently River couldn’t take the silent treatment anymore.
He leaned over to her ear, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was talking to Calli on the other side of her. “Can I talk to you outside?”
She slowly turned her head in his direction to look him in the eyes. They were pleading with her, so she sighed and nodded. No time like the present.
He stood up first, pulling her chair out for her. She rolled her eyes at this gesture, and Calli saw her. Her BFF half-smiled at her as she got up.
They walked outside, and River leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. She stood a few feet in front of him, mirroring his posture. She stared at him, waiting for him to speak. She wasn’t going to be the first one to start.
“I’m sorry,” River whispered as he shut his eyes and bowed his head.
She continued staring at him without saying anything. The submissive gesture was too little too late. He looked up and sighed when he saw that her stern expression was still clearly evident.
“Legacy, I’m really sorry. I had no right to talk about Adin like that. He is who he is, and I am who I am. Everyone is different, and he certainly is within his right to do whatever he wants. I’m sure he has his reasons, and if you understand what those reasons are, then that’s all that matters to me.”
“I’m not going to keep fighting with you about Adin.”
“You won’t have to. I’m going to try harder at respecting your relationship with him.” River stepped forward and reached for her arm. “Just please don’t be mad at me anymore.”
“Stop!” She shoved her arm out from under his hand as she stepped away from him. “You have to stop treating me like I’m more than just a friend.”
River’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“You shouldn’t have held me like that yesterday. I know you didn’t have to in order to show me the tremors, and as soon as you got finished showing me your ability, you got mad about Adin. That wasn’t the first time that we’ve had a close encounter that resulted in you asserting your feelings for me. You did the same thing over the summer after we looked for Calli’s dog!”
“Legacy, you know how I feel about you.”
“And you know how I feel about you.”
“I think you’re confused.”
“Ugh! You are such a self-righteous prick! You know what? Forget that. It doesn’t matter. I’m not confused, so keep your hands to yourself.” She turned away from him and started to walk off.
“Wait!”
She turned back around and glared at River. “What?”
“What do you mean I have to keep my hands to myself?” He looked panicked. “I-I, umm, I told you I was going to respect your relationship with Adin. I’m not going to get mad about petty things anymore. I know your relationship with him is none of my business.”
“Then what do you not understand here?”
“Our friendship has nothing to do with Adin. Why do I have to keep my hands to myself?”
“Really, River? Because you try taking it too far. Don’t act li
ke you don’t.” She crossed her arms.
“Please, Legacy, please…” River stepped over to her. He had his arms reached out like he was going to hug her, but crossed his arms and rubbed on them with his hands. He stepped closer to her, shaking his head. If she wasn’t so fed up with him, she’d feel bad. “Don’t do this to me. The only joy I have in life is being near you. I don’t get to touch you very often as it is. Please don’t cut me off completely. I don’t know how I could manage going through life without the hope that I’d get to touch you in some way. You have no idea how much I look forward to stroking your arm, caressing your cheek, hugging you…”
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head and started to turn around again.
“Legacy!” River jumped in front of her, stopping her from leaving. “Calli touches you all the time. It’s not fair to hold her to a different set of standards.” Oh, he was grasping all right.
“Calli isn’t in love with me, and she sure as hell isn’t seeking out opportunities to take advantage of her friendship.”
“I’m not taking advantage of you.” River shook his head and closed his eyes.
“But you are in love with me.”
“Legacy, please don’t.”
“But you are.” She needed him to face it.
“With all my heart,” he said slowly as he shut his eyes. He had his arms wrapped around himself as if he were trying to hold himself together physically to keep from falling apart emotionally.
“Which is why you’re not the best judge of character when it comes to how you interact with me. You can make the earth move by just thinking about me. That’s major.”
River opened his pleading eyes. “It’s not what you think,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “The first time I felt the tremors, I was thinking about you, but it wasn’t because I was thinking romantic thoughts. I was sad.”
“What do you mean you were sad?”
“I was feeling ignored. You were out with Adin, and I was wallowing in my own neglected feelings. Granted, I didn’t have to hold you to show you what I could do, but I wanted to see if I could still embrace those neglected feelings with you in my arms. The conflicting emotions caused a powerful result, which was what I wanted to see. You were the only one I could have tested that with.”