“Jodi.” His voice softened, but there was still anger in his eyes.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m done for now.”
He looked at me, but I turned away. I was hurt. Betrayed. Even if he didn’t see it that way, it was how I felt. He led us back to the school, and without a word I went up to my room and locked the door behind me. I heard Leticia in the hallway. She knocked and called my name, but I didn’t answer. I buried my head in my pillow and cried. I didn’t even care that I was bleeding all over the covers. I cried for the hiker who hadn’t deserved to die for trying to help a girl in trouble. Even if the girl was Gorgon. I cried for Melodie who was carless, best-friendless, and stranded at the park. I cried for my mom, who was undoubtedly going out of her mind, not knowing her lost daughter was only one town over. And I cried for Alex and me. Our relationship was deteriorating faster than it had begun.
I skipped dinner to change the sheets on my bed and take a long hot shower. So long, I ran out of hot water. Even the warm water felt good on my aching body. I washed out all my cuts, noticing they weren’t as bad as I’d thought. I wrapped a towel around me and sat on the edge of the tub, letting the steam wash over me. I couldn’t help thinking my life had become a living hell. I had dead bodies stalking me in my sleep. Death was everywhere I turned, mostly because I was causing it. I thought about turning myself over to Hades. I didn’t have any fight left in me. At least in the underworld, I wouldn’t be able to hurt the living anymore.
Finally, the steam evaporated, and I started to shiver in my towel. I got up and went to my room, eager to get dressed and warm up, but the second I stepped into my room, I jumped back in shock. Chase was standing next to my dresser, holding Medusa’s locket, which had been buried in my top drawer since I’d drunk the blood inside the bloodstone.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I stormed over to him, holding my towel up in one hand and reaching for the locket with the other. “And what are you doing going through my stuff?”
He wrapped his fingers around the locket before I could grab it.
“Do you mind? That belongs to me. Medusa made it appear to me when I came to this school.”
“I know. I heard the story. Uncle Mason kept up with everything that went on here. He still does.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You mean, you’re keeping him informed.”
“You should be happy I am. If it wasn’t for me, he and the others from Serpentarius wouldn’t be coming in the morning.”
I held my hand out. “My locket.”
“Turn around.” He held the locket up by the chain. “I’ll put it on you.”
“It’s broken. I broke the clasp when I yanked the locket from Victoria’s neck. That’s why it’s been sitting in my dresser drawer. That, and the locket doesn’t hold Medusa’s blood anymore.”
“No, it doesn’t. You do.” He eyed me like I was the last piece of devil’s food cake in a room of starving people. I had no doubt he wanted my blood. He held the locket out to me, showing me the clasp. “I fixed it.”
“Oh. Well, thanks, I guess.”
“Turn around.”
I didn’t want to let him put the locket on me. I didn’t want him touching me at all. Things always got complicated when Chase touched me. But, he obviously wasn’t going to leave until I let him put the locket on me, so I turned around.
He slipped it over my head and fastened the clasp. “There. I know it doesn’t have Medusa’s blood anymore, but it seems to me you should still wear it.”
I faced him, reaching my fingers up to touch the empty bloodstone. “I guess you’re right.”
“In fact, you should consider putting some of your blood in the stone.”
“What? Why? I’m not Medusa.”
“I know, but you are the most powerful Gorgon, like she once was.”
“Yeah, and then I’d have to worry about some power-crazed Ophi, like Victoria, stealing the locket to tap into my powers. No, thank you. I’ll keep my blood in my veins.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. It was just a thought.”
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten you somehow broke into my room and went through my stuff. Care to explain?”
“I came looking for you. Leticia said she saw you come home but you wouldn’t let her in here. She said you were pretty banged up. I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to bleed to death.”
“How did you get in? I locked the door.”
He smiled. “I found a set of keys in the bedroom across the hall from yours.”
“Why were you in Abby’s old room?” I knew she had keys to my room. Unfortunately, she’d used them after I moved in.
“I was exploring. Call it boredom. Things weren’t exactly exciting without you around.” He looked down at me, and I realized I was still only in a towel.
I opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. “I’ll be right back. Then, you can tell me what made you think you had the right to use those keys to get into my locked room.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get that.”
“It’s probably Leticia.” I headed back to the bathroom.
“What the hell?” Alex said when Chase opened the door.
I turned as Alex pushed his way into the room. Chase smirked when Alex’s eyes fell on me.
I looked down at my towel and the clothes in my hand. This didn’t look good at all. Especially after the fight we’d had in the woods.
“Alex, it’s not what you think. I came out of the shower and Chase was in my room. I didn’t know he was here.”
Alex narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on my neck. “You just got out of the shower wearing Medusa’s locket?”
“No, I—I mean, Chase—”
“Yeah, I think I can piece this together myself.” He turned toward the door.
“Alex, wait.”
He paused, and for a split second I thought he was actually going to hear me out. But he pulled his arm back and punched Chase square in the face. Chase stumbled backward. Alex looked at me. There was nothing soft or caring in his expression. He looked like a younger version of Troy. Then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 13
Chase rubbed his jaw. “I’ve got to hand it to him, I wasn’t expecting that. I mean, I should’ve been, considering I’m in his girlfriend’s bedroom and she’s wearing nothing more than a towel.” He eyed me and raised his eyebrows.
“Get out.” I’d had enough of Chase. I’d had enough of this entire day.
“Until tomorrow then,” he said before he left.
I sighed, long and hard. I dropped my towel and got dressed. I barely had my clothes on when someone knocked on the door.
Ugh! I stormed over to the door. “Seriously, Chase, leave me alone. I’m not in the mood to—” I flung the door open. Leticia was standing there looking confused.
“Not in the mood to what?”
“Sorry, I thought you were—never mind. What’s up?”
“I wanted to check on you. I was in the hall when Alex went storming out and then Chase came out. Is everything okay?”
“Come in.” I didn’t really want to talk, but I needed some girl time. I’d had enough of the guys for one day.
Leticia came in and went right to my bed, plopping down like she was in her own room.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thanks.” She’d totally missed my sarcasm. “So, I was wondering what you know about the others coming tomorrow. Are any of the guys our age? Are they cute? We need some cute guys around here who aren’t totally obsessed with you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Come on.” Leticia picked up my pillow and hugged it to her chest. “You’ve got Alex, who is majorly hot, and then Chase shows up and he wants you too.”
I wasn’t exactly sure I had Alex anymore. After finding out he’d been keeping this huge secret from me, whether he’d had good intentions or
not, I wasn’t sure I could trust him. “It’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Yeah, well I wish my life was complicated by two guys fighting over me.” She put the pillow down and started picking at a loose thread on my bedspread.
“No, you don’t. Trust me. When two guys are fighting over you, you don’t have either of them. They spend all their time competing with each other, and you’re left out in the cold.”
Leticia shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d take just one guy looking at me the way either Alex or Chase looks at you. I mean, Alex is totally in love with you. That’s obvious. And Chase couldn’t be more attracted to you. The guy looks like he wants to devour you.”
I knew Chase’s stare all too well. It made me feel drawn to him, and completely scared at the same time. “You think that’s a good thing?”
“Yeah. Have you seen any guy look at me that way?”
“What about Randy? I always kind of thought you two were—”
“God, no! He’s like a brother, or cousin even. Definitely not the dating type. Besides, he doesn’t seem all that interested in girls.”
I sat down on the bed. “You mean he likes guys?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He doesn’t show any interest in anyone. He just wants to train and learn about being Ophi. When we both first got here, he talked to me all the time, but now, not so much. He probably thinks I’m a hopeless case. I can’t seem to get control of my powers.”
“You’re not the only one.” I tucked my leg up under me.
“Yeah, but your powers are awesome. Right from the start you could do stuff I still can’t do. I’m starting to wonder if I’m even really Ophi. I mean, I should be able to control the souls I raise by now. Maybe Randy’s right. Maybe I am hopeless.”
“No, you’re not, and you don’t know if he even thinks that.” I wasn’t sure how to tell her what I thought was really going on. I didn’t want to bring up memories she might not be able to handle, but it was obvious her lack of control over her own blood was killing her. “Listen, Leticia, our powers are tied to our emotions.”
“Yeah, I know. I take notes during Tony’s lectures.”
I nodded. Leticia was the perfect student when she was in a classroom. She had the theory part of being an Ophi down pat. But out in the cemetery, she couldn’t figure out how to put all that knowledge to use.
“Think back to before Victoria raised the Ophi in Washington.”
Her body instantly tensed, like I knew it would. I didn’t back off. She needed to understand what was going on with her. I wasn’t going to keep this from her the way Alex had kept the truth about where we were from me.
“You changed after Victoria brought your parents back. You’re not the same person anymore. That’s understandable, but it’s also what’s holding you back.”
“You think I fell apart at the sight of my mangled parents.” Her voice couldn’t have been more shaky.
“I think you acted the way anyone would have in your situation.”
“Oh, really?” She stood up. “Victoria brought Randy’s father back. He was worse than my parents, and Randy’s fine. A little angrier than he used to be, but his powers still work. And you. You saw your dead father for the first time ever. And—”
“My powers are messed up royally.” I stood up so we were facing each other again. “I know how you feel, Leticia. I’m going through the same thing.” Actually I was going through worse, but that wasn’t going to get me anywhere with Leticia. “My powers are screwing up big time, and in ways that could hurt all of us. I’d rather not be able to use my powers than do what I’m doing.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?” My voice was getting loud. I was starting to lose it. “I killed a man today. A human. He was trying to help me, and I killed him. And what’s worse is, I couldn’t even bring him back because the car I’d just stolen from my human former best friend burst into flames and took his body with it.”
“Jodi.” Leticia was staring at my hands. They were shaking in response to my blood, which was bubbling so much you could see it through my skin.
I shook my arms out and took several deep breaths. I couldn’t do this again. I couldn’t let my emotions cause someone else to get hurt, or raise another soul.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Leticia put her hand on my shoulder. “Can you stop it?” She was looking at my hands again.
“I’m trying. I’m really trying.”
“Think good thoughts.”
Good thoughts? I didn’t even know what they were anymore. Nothing in my life was going right.
“I’m going to get Arianna,” Leticia said. “She’s good at calming people down. I’ll be right back. Just try to make it stop, okay?”
I nodded, continuing to breathe deeply. Leticia ran from the room. There was only one way I knew how to calm down. A hot shower. Yes, I’d already taken one, but I didn’t care. I went right to the bathroom and got in the shower, fully clothed. No time to undress. I could’ve raised half the graveyard by then. I let the water wash over me, and I felt my blood simmer and then return to normal.
“Jodi?” Arianna called from my room.
“In here.” I poked my head out from behind the curtain.
“Leticia said you need some help.”
“I’m okay now.” I turned the water off and opened the curtain.
Arianna stared at me, soaking wet in my tank top and yoga pants. “Are you sure?”
“I know it looks strange, but really I’m fine. I promise. I’m going to put on dry clothes and go to sleep.”
“Would you like some hot tea before bed? I boiled a pot of water. You could join me.”
“Thanks, but no. I want to go to bed.”
“Alex told me what happened.”
I wrapped a towel around me before my wet clothes made me freeze. “Did you know? Did you know I was so close to my home? To my mom?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know where you were from. I knew we were close to Serpentarius, of course, but not that that meant anything to you in particular.”
I believed her. Arianna was trustworthy.
“Don’t be too hard on him. Alex did what he thought was best for you.”
“It’s not up to him to decide what’s best for me.”
“I know that, but put yourself in his shoes. What would you have done if the situation were reversed?”
“I would’ve told him.”
“Are you sure? Or are you letting your emotions control you?”
My emotions. I wished I could turn them off completely. They were ruining everything. “He didn’t think I could handle it. He thought I’d go back to my old life.”
“Didn’t you?” She stepped closer. “When you found out where you were, what did you do?”
I looked down at my feet. “I flagged down Melodie’s car.”
“Alex knows you pretty well.” She put up her hands in surrender. “I’m not taking sides, but it seems like what you did was exactly what Alex was trying to protect you from.” She walked over to me and kissed the top of my head. “You can’t blame him for wanting to protect you from what happened this evening.”
No, I couldn’t. “Thanks, Arianna.”
“Anytime, hon. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She left, and I stood there shivering in my wet clothes. I had to fix things with Alex. I couldn’t let this destroy us. I put on pajamas and ran to his room without even combing my hair. I must’ve looked like a drowned rat, but I didn’t care. I had to see him.
I knocked on his door, but there was no answer. “Alex?” Still nothing. I tried the knob. Locked. Where else would he be? I went to Randy’s room and knocked.
“Hey, Jodi.” He looked me over.
“Hey, I know I’m a mess. I’m looking for Alex. Do you know where he is?”
“He was heading out to the cemetery the last time I saw him.”
“Why would he go there?” We’d already
reburied all the bodies. Was he training on his own?
Randy shrugged.
“Thanks. See you in the morning.” I turned and ran downstairs, heading right past the Medusa statue and out the front door. The cool air slammed into me. I was only in pajamas and my hair was soaking wet. My teeth chattered, and I shook from head to toe, but I kept going. The lights were on in the cemetery, and I saw Alex sitting up against the mausoleum. I jogged over to him.
He looked up at me and wrinkled his brow. “You’re going to get sick coming out here like that.”
“I don’t care.” I stood in front of him, shaking uncontrollably. “I understand why you didn’t tell me where we were. You know me too well. You knew I’d go back home, that I’d find some way to at least glimpse my old life. You were right. What I did today was stupid. I hurt Melodie, and I killed an innocent man.”
“Is that all you did wrong?” His stone cold eyes bored into me. He was angry, which meant he was still thinking something had happened between me and Chase.
“I didn’t cheat on you, if that’s what you’re thinking. Chase was in my room when I got out of the shower. He had my locket in his hands. He had gone through my stuff. I was furious.”
“So furious you let him stay and hang out.” He pointed to the locket on my neck. “Did he put that on you?”
I lowered my eyes. “Yes, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
Alex stood up, chucking the rock he’d been holding. “I think you can’t stay away from him. I think you give him certain liberties the rest of us don’t have.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe this. Was he implying I let Chase—no, I couldn’t even think it. “You can’t be serious.” I’d come here to make up, and Alex was accusing me of screwing around behind his back.
He stared at me and finally his expression softened. “Why do you let him in? Why can’t you tell him to leave you alone? That you’re with me? You said you were going to get him to back off.”
“I’m trying, but he won’t take the hint.”
“He can’t take a hint if you don’t drop a hint.”
“You’re saying I’m leading him on?”
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