by M. W. Muse
I turned my face so that it was right up against his, pretending I was going to kiss him. He leaned in, willing, but I eased back. I turned my head to the other side and tilted it toward him like I was going to kiss him from a different angle. He leaned in more quickly, but I edged back again. I grabbed his head and feigned another attempt. He tried more forcefully to follow through with it, but I grasped his head within an inch of my lips. He groaned.
"I'm going to have to separate you two," Chloe said as she approached us.
Don sighed heavily and bowed his head in defeat. I giggled as we got in the car and left.
When we got to Don's house, I got out with him. He wanted to take me home, so we said our goodbyes to Chloe and Zach and got in Don's car.
"Do you want to go hiking tomorrow?" "Sure. What time?"
"Early. I want to get back before it gets too hot. I'll pick you up after breakfast." Don was quiet for several more minutes before he spoke again.
"I have to go to orientation in a couple of weeks. I'll probably be at school all that week. They have these seminars scheduled, show us around campus, meet with the parents, have a banquet for the entering freshmen . . . those kinds of things."
"Oh. Well, I guess that's good, then."
"I'm going to miss you. I don't like the thought of being away from you for an entire week. I hated going on vacation earlier this summer, and then when you went, it was excruciating."
We pulled into my driveway, but Don didn't get out of the car. He leaned over to me and put his hand on my face. His mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile.
"If I lean in to kiss you, are you going to tease me again?"
He was trying to distract me from him leaving. It was working. I shrugged and grinned.
"We both know you're much better at teasing me than I am at teasing you. If Chloe hadn't walked up when she did . . ." He shook his head.
"If Chloe hadn't walked up when she did, I would have kept on teasing you until you couldn't stand it anymore." I smirked.
"I was already at that point when she walked up."
"I don't know, I think you could have taken a little more." I reached up and stroked his chest playfully. "I think you like it when I tease you."
He didn't say anything. He just leaned over and kissed me, and I laughed. "I'm going to have to get better at this," he said between kisses.
"I love you just the way you are."
* * *
That night all my dreams converged. The storm clouds were there, and the snakes were all around me. I stood in the middle of the three snake holes. Don stood at one hole, Chrys stood at another hole, and a faceless man stood at the other hole. The girl, to the side, screamed at me to run, but I wanted the tornado to come for me. As it formed and almost consumed me, I yelled, "No!" and it dissipated. After it cleared, the sky turned bright-pink, and lightning bolts floated down from the sky but disappeared before they reached me.
Then a new dream started. I was in Florida at the beach, and the red warning flags were out while the storm brewed in the Gulf. Don was with me, and he wanted us to evacuate before the hurricane hit. As we started to run, a woman appeared in front of us. She had wavy, blond hair, just like my mom, but she had a red-colored, strong- smelling kipper in her hand. She stared at us before speaking.
"Everything isn't always as it seems."
Then her wavy hair turned into snakes, falling all around her. The snakes slithered toward us just as the hurricane made landfall. As the hurricane hit, it turned into Chrys, and he threw himself in front of the snakes.
"No!" he yelled, and the woman screamed so loudly that the ground trembled.
Chrys turned to Don and yelled, "I will tear you apart!" Then Chrys turned back into a hurricane, charging for Don.
The phone rang, waking me, but I was completely dazed by my dreams. I realized the three holes weren't literally snake holes. They represented three men. Two of whom, I understood. But I had no idea who the third man was. And I was wrong about wanting the tornado to come. I still wasn't afraid of it, but it felt like I needed to stop it.
The new dream was so vivid because I had been to Florida when a hurricane had developed, and Don had been there during a tropical storm. The red flags were sending
me a warning, but not just about the hurricane. They were warning me about the woman. The woman appeared motherly but then turned evil. And I couldn't understand why she was holding a red fish. A kipper. A herring. I gasped. A red herring. Something really wasn't as it seemed. But what? And why was Chrys a hurricane? At least he wanted to stop this woman from hurting me, but then he turned on Don. He wanted to kill him. If he killed Don, then Chrys and I couldn't be together. Why would Chrys attack Don with deadly intentions when he believed in the prophecy?
I grabbed the phone as it rang again. "Hello?"
"Season, it's Chrys. I need you to come in today. Tracy had a family emergency, and my mom's out of town."
Ugh. I didn't want to cancel my plans with Don to help Chrys. But this was my
job.
"Fine. I'll be there." "Thanks. I'm really sorry."
I hung up and called Don. Luckily, he was already awake. I explained the
situation to him, and he understood, though now I wouldn't get to see him at all today since he had plans later with his mom and grandma.
As I got ready for work, I noticed it was raining outside, the first time it had actually rained in weeks. That was good because we really needed it. But it felt prosaic, which was symbolic of my emotional state—totally lacking any creativity or initiative. I found out yesterday that Don would be going away for a week, and now I wouldn't get to see him today. At least we couldn't have gone hiking in the rain anyway.
When I got to work, Chrys was storming around the store. It seemed as if he were trying to take care of something, but he was clearly irritated.
"What's going on?"
"The roof is leaking again." He stalked past me with a ladder as thunder rolled outside.
"I'll get a mop."
"No. I've already cleaned it up." It was raining and the roof was leaking. Did he really think there wouldn't be another mess?
He walked up the ladder and took down the ceiling tiles. More water spilled out.
Surprise, surprise.
I grabbed a mop and started cleaning up the water while Chrys examined the roof. I stared up at Chrys, making sure he didn't fall, and not paying attention to the mess I was cleaning. I slung the mop around quickly, as I stood in a puddle of water.
Chrys yelled a curse word. "The handyman didn't do this right! I'm going to have to call a roofer."
The thunder got louder outside.
He climbed down and made the call while I continued cleaning up the water.
After he got off the phone, he started preparing the register for the store to open since I hadn't done it—I was still busy with the mess.
"Did you have fun last night?" he asked curtly. Thunder crashed.
I didn't want to talk to Chrys about that. It was none of his business. "Yes."
"I was really happy to see you until I realized who you were with." "You should have known," I hissed.
The rain pounded on the roof, leaking through the ceiling onto the floor. I continued to mop it up, but it was coming in faster than I could dry it.
"I didn't like seeing you with him that way." "You didn't have to watch!"
Lightning flashed through the windows.
"It was hard not to when he was all over you like that!" "You could have left!" I screeched.
"I was entertaining family. And he thinks I need to treat you with more respect?
What a joke!"
"What the hell does that mean?"
baby!"
"It means he should follow his own advice and not treat you like a conquest." "Ugh!" I screamed.
Thunder crashed and lightning glared violently outside.
"You have no idea what my relationship with Don is like! You're just jealous." I
was yanking the mop, sloshing the water around.
"Of course I am, but I'm not the one who's afraid to admit how I feel. That's you,
"Oh! Don't baby me! I'm not your baby!"
"I guess it was a good thing I called you in today. You couldn't have gone hiking
in this weather." He smirked.
"What? How did you know about that?" I was too mad to be as shocked as I should have been.
"I know everything," he said, glaring at me.
"Did you set this up so that I'd have to cancel my date?" I screamed.
I slung the mop into the base of some metal shelving right when lightning struck the building.
I felt a jolt and slumped over.
I could feel water all over my face as I sprawled, unable to move, on the floor. "Season?" I heard Chrys ask frantically and felt him pulling on me.
"Season, please answer me."
Chrys kept tugging on my arm until he managed to gently turn me over. I felt his hands on my face, opening my mouth.
"Oh no . . . you're not breathing. Season, baby, please, please."
I wasn't breathing? Then, how could I hear everything he was saying to me and how could I feel the cold rainwater soaking my clothes?
I felt Chrys's lips on mine, forcing air into my lungs. It hurt going in. Then I felt his hands on my chest, compressing against my heart. He continued to go back and forth while I heard the beeping of his cell phone.
"I need an ambulance," his voice broke; he was crying. "1887 Main Street. Med
U.S.A. Pharmacy. M-e-d U.S.A. Season, stay with me, baby. They'll be here in a few minutes." I heard him say, as he continued the chest compressions.
But I was too busy reeling over what he'd told the dispatcher. The store's address. I knew 1887 was dangerous. Don warned me about this number in my dream, and Chrys told me his mother was evil. But what I hadn't discovered until Chrys spelled it out just now was the pharmacy's name, Med U.S.A.— Medusa. Of course. She was the monster who had snakes instead of hair.
The woman in my dream last night was Ms. Gorge. Chrys told me there were monsters in his lineage. His mom was Medusa. He said she had weather abilities and wanted to kill me.
It was apparent she'd just tried.
Chapter 19
I was rushed to the hospital and put in intensive care. My life hung on by a thread. Though I could hear and feel everything, I couldn't move or speak.
I heard Chrys at my side, crying and holding my hand. "I'm so sorry," he kept repeating.
I wanted to comfort him and tell him everything would be all right, but I couldn't. And I didn't really know if everything was going to be.
I wondered where Melissa was and if she'd contact Don. I knew Chrys wouldn't because he wouldn't leave my side. I was beginning to feel the bond he'd always talked about. It had always been there. He was right; I was fighting it. I'd have to continue fighting it because I didn't want to be with him like that. But I could no longer pretend that it didn't exist.
While I lay in the hospital bed, I started to drift. The voices in the room faded.
Then I began to panic. What if I was dying?
You're not dying, a beautiful voice said. Every season will be yours. Mom? I thought to myself.
Yes. I must tell you to be careful, my beautiful Season. Chrys and Don do not understand, but they will. You must be patient with them.
What do you mean?
You are changing. In some ways, you have already changed. They will not understand how you feel about the other, but they will both be there for you in the end. Medusa will try to interfere with your change, but your greatest fear is Hades. He has a plan. If he gets his way, you will not be with Chrys or Don. I don't want that to happen to you again.
Again?
Yes, you are my beautiful Persephone. Hades drove you to the afterlife, but you are reincarnated. You are a new body but an old soul. I am Demeter, the goddess of nature. As will you be.
to see.
Why can't I see you?
Because you have no true memory of me. You've only seen the photographs I wanted you
I was really talking to my mom. Well, sort of. But I needed to try and get all the
answers to the questions Melissa refused to answer. What about my dreams?
That's your old soul trying to help you cope with everything. The little girl in your dreams is you. That's why you wanted to protect her in the beginning and that's why she was scared. You wanted to protect yourself from the unknown, and you were scared of what was coming.
Why did I see a death certificate?
Because that is the day you officially ascend. It was not meant to signify your ending. It was to signify your beginning.
If this is common among ascending gods, why didn't Melissa tell me this when I asked
her?
Melissa is not a god; therefore, she had no firsthand knowledge of this.
The prophecy? Why would I stay with Chrys if Don lives? I want to be with Don.
I know, my darling. Stay strong, and you will have what you want. No matter who you want in the end. If you do not stay strong, you will have neither.
The beautiful voice faded into the blackness of my mind. I could hear Chrys's weeping more clearly now. He was alone with me, and I was okay with that.
"Season?" I heard Melissa call after a few minutes. "She still hasn't . . ." Chrys's voice cracked.
"Season, it's Melissa." Her voice was right by me, her hand stroking me. "I'm Melissa Beasley. I don't think we've met."
"Um, Chrys Gorge. Season works at my mom's store." "Have you called her friend, Chloe?"
"No, ma'am."
Melissa seemed very calm despite what was happening. "I'm going to call her." She walked away.
"Baby, can you hear me?" Chrys whispered in my ear, stroking my face. He leaned down, crying. "Please . . . wake up."
"She's on her way," Melissa said as I heard the door open to my room. "You have to stay positive," she whispered, but not to me.
"I—I don't know how to be positive. I love her so much. It's hard enough not being with her, but I—I . . ." He starting crying again. "I don't want her to be hurt. I'd rather never have her, for her to keep on living without me, than to ever see her hurting."
"You know who's responsible for this."
"Yes," he hissed. "I know. She doesn't understand."
"It doesn't matter. She's not going to allow it to happen. I know you know that."
I'd never heard Melissa talk about any of this before. I was briefly relieved she had no idea I could hear her.
"I know. I can stop her. I just didn't expect her to try so soon. I thought she'd wait until Season got stronger."
"Your mom doesn't need to wait. In her mind, she has less than a year to take down a god, defying other gods in the process. She's going to take every chance she can get."
Chrys kept stroking my hand in his. "Why does this have to be so hard?" "Because you're changing, too. You may not realize it, but Season was helping
you when you thought you were helping her."
"What do you mean?" His hand stopped moving.
"I mean you have both been helping each other cope with the changes in your lives. I can't tell you if she will love you in the end. Only she knows the answer to that, and she doesn't know that answer yet."
"I don't even want her around Don, much less in love with him," Chrys muttered. "She can't stop the way she feels, just like you can't. He's not your enemy. You
both want Season safe and happy." I heard the door open.
"Melissa?" It was Chloe's voice. "Oh no! Season?" I heard Chloe run to my side, and I felt her rub my arm. "What happened?"
"She got electrocuted," Chrys whispered.
Chloe gasped, but I could tell it wasn't from the news. She must have seen Chrys's face.
"Um, I called Don," she said gravely. "He should be here any minute." "Good," Melissa said. "She needs to hear his voice."
Chrys sobbed, holding my han
d up to the side of his face. "I can't leave her." "No one's asking you to leave," Melissa said calmly.
I heard the door swing open and a breath catch. It was quiet in the room except for heavy footsteps coming around to the other side of me.
I felt a familiar hand on my face and melted into his touch. Don. He put his lips on my ear.
"Season? Sweetheart, can you hear me?" His breathing was jagged. He must have been crying before he even got here. "Please . . ."
He reached over and took my free hand. Now, both guys were holding my hands. He leaned down, resting his forehead on mine.
"Season, please wake up," he pleaded through tears. "I love you so much. I need you more than anything. You have to be okay."
After several minutes of Don crying with his head down on mine, he finally spoke to the others, but he didn't move from his position.
"What happened?"
"She got struck by lightning," Chrys whispered. "She thinks your mother controls things like that." "I know."
"Do you think that?" "Yes."
Even though they were being short with each other, they were trying to be civil. "She should have tried to kill me instead," Don mumbled. "Not her . . . not her." It seemed like the two men in the room where the only ones crying. Melissa and
Chloe must have been sitting there watching the two of them fall apart.
I wanted to console them. My love and my friend. We were all bonded together. But Don wasn't the link. I was. If I hurt, we all hurt. If one of them was hurt, I'd be the only one suffering. It was me all along.
"She no longer works for you," Don said, his head still down. It wasn't a request.
It was an order.
Chrys didn't say anything. I was sure he agreed with Don on this. "Excuse me, we need to examine the patient," I heard a male voice say as he
entered the room. "Only her family can stay while we do that." I felt Chrys's hand slip from mine, but Don didn't move.
"I love you," Don whispered into my ear, and I wanted to tell him I loved him, too. I wanted him to stay. I didn't want him to let go of me. He lifted his head off mine and placed my hand back at my side. He started to release it, but I squeezed his fingers.