by M. W. Muse
I was in the middle of that reverie when I heard three soft knocks on the door days earlier than Don was due back home. I leaped from the couch to answer it.
I gasped, watching Don smiling broadly, not believing I was actually seeing him. "I've missed you so much," he said, taking me into his arms and kissing me. "I've miss you, too," I mumbled against his lips, my heart racing.
I pulled him into the house, my initial excitement waning when I remembered my earlier resolve to talk to Don about what Chrys had said. I knew Melissa was wandering around, and we needed privacy. I didn't want an audience for this conversation.
"Come upstairs with me for a minute." I pulled on his arm, not giving him an option. My bedroom was the safest place to talk about this.
Once inside my room, I shut the door. I turned around to start my interrogation, but Don was standing right in front of me, desire burning in his eyes. He pushed himself up against me, which shoved me against the door, and locked his lips onto mine..
I was caught off guard by his reaction, but it slowly made sense. We hadn't seen each other in days, and I practically dragged him up to the privacy of my bedroom. Of course he would mistake why I wanted to be alone with him.
After the first few seconds of realization, my resolve wavered, and I threw my arms around him. I kissed him with as much intensity as he was kissing me. I felt his hands slid down my sides, but his right hand left my body. I heard him fumble with the doorknob, and I realized he was locking it.
The sound of him locking the door made me shudder slightly. Even though we'd been alone in my bedroom before, even slept in my bed, we'd never been alone like this in either of our bedrooms. I was excited and nervous.
He broke away from our kiss suddenly, slid his hand into my hair—grabbing it and tilting my head—and kissed down the side of my neck . . . all at the same time. I was squeezing him up against me as tightly as I could and gasping for air. The sound and feel of me panting against his skin made him moan, and he crushed his lips to mine again.
I could feel him all over me, and I wanted more. I started sliding my right leg up and down the side of his, and he pressed himself even harder against me.
"Don," I panted when he moved his lips back to my neck. "Mmm?" he responded without moving his lips off me.
"I-ahh-I . . ." I wanted to tell him that I wanted to talk to him, but his eager hands felt too good. I couldn't concentrate.
He moved his lips from my neck to my ear, kissing me along that path. "Yes?" he breathed into my ear. His hot breath sent a powerful shiver through
my body, and he liked that. He moved his lips hungrily to right below my ear, kissing me along my neck again.
"We have to talk," I whispered quickly. Don ripped his face off my neck so that his lips were not on me. He was still holding me tightly, and now he was panting against my neck. His breathing sounded like groans as he tried to catch his breath.
We stood there until both of our breathing slowed. Then Don lifted his head, stepped back one step, and rested his head against the side of mine. He moved his hands off me and onto the door. Our bodies were still touching, but at least we were not compressed against each other.
"What do you want to talk about?" he finally asked.
I rubbed my hands up and down his waist in an effort to ease the blow of the topic, but I was too worked up for that kind of touch.
"Umm . . ." Forget it! I squeezed his side and moved my lips over to his. He moaned as his opened mouth slowly found mine again, but he was trying to control his eager behavior. After a few seconds, he stepped up against me, kissing me harder, and I knew I had to stop this now.
I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away. "Wait."
I kept my hands on his chest as I threw my head back against the door, looking up at the ceiling.
"Sorry," he muttered.
He took a few steps back so that we were no longer touching and ran his hands in his disheveled hair. He left his hands on top of his head, and I could feel him watching me. I didn't want to look at him and see the desire still burning in his eyes.
"Maybe you should go sit at the desk," I whispered, still watching the ceiling.
Don retreated to the desk, and I took several deep breaths. I unlocked the door before I sat on the bed, hoping it'd provide the incentive for us to behave. I glanced at him, and, thankfully, his eyes were calm. We stared at each other for several seconds, and then he cracked a smile..
"What?" I grinned.
"You had a hard time controlling yourself." He smirked.
"Me?" I laughed. "You were the one who threw me against the door."
He took a deep breath, his gaze intensifying. It was way too soon to bring up any specifics of what just happened. If I didn't get this conversation going now, he'd find his way to my bed. "Stop," I breathed, shutting my eyes.
"We can't talk in here," he said, standing up. "Let's go outside and get some fresh
air."
me.
Excellent idea.
Don followed me outside to the backyard and sat at the patio table across from
"So what do you want to talk about?"
I sighed. "Chrys told me something, and I'm not sure of a tactful way to approach
the subject with you."
"What did he say?" Don growled.
This was so not going to be fun. "Ugh, it wasn't what he said. He…implied you've been keeping something from me. He wouldn't tell me what but said I should confront you."
Don gritted his teeth and stared at me. Then he shifted in his chair, put his arms on the table, and leaned his head down.
"That's none of his business," Don hissed. "But if you're my boyfriend, it's my business."
He raked his hands through his hair furiously. "I don't want to talk about this." "Why?"
"Because it's complicated." "I have a right to know."
He flashed his eyes up to me and leaned back, folding his arms against his chest.
It was obvious he wasn't happy talking about this.
"Fine. I'll tell you if you promise you'll hear me out on everything I have to say." I didn't like the sound of this. "Okay."
He laughed humorouslessly. "My family and I already knew everything about the Gorges, knew they descended through Medusa's line."
"W-Why didn't you tell me this?" If he'd told me, I could have avoided Medusa from the beginning!
Don's eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitation, I assumed.
"Just because we knew where they came from, doesn't mean we believed they were powerful. I didn't believe Chrys's mother was capable of what she did to you."
"But when I told you about Chrys that first time, you got mad at me for believing
him."
"Season, I was never, ever mad at you. I was angry with him for telling you. Once
he found out enough information, he was able to make the connection to your mother. It was his way in, and it infuriated me."
I felt the blood drain from my face, and I shook my head. "You knew who I was," I muttered incredulously.
He watched my eyes carefully. "Yes." "That wasn't a question."
He sighed. "My family has known, but I didn't know anything about you until after I asked you out. When I was bragging to my mom, she told me a little about you, careful not to say too much. Then I realized the possibility of who you really were when you told me about your conversation with Chrys. When I visited my Dad that first time, I confronted him about it. Remember, I told you we fought? Well, that's why. He confirmed what I suspected and wanted me to stay away from you."
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't want me to get hurt," Don whispered, briefly looking down. "He believes the prophecy?" Tears burned my eyes.
"Yes. He believes a lot of things," he muttered sarcastically.
"But why?" I stared at him while he sighed, shaking his head. He was reluctant to continue, and I felt the warning bells go off in my head, signifying we were on the v
erge of tearing into the heart of Chrys's warning.
"Because we descended from the Greek gods, too."
I stared at him, shaking my head in disbelief. My knees were wobbling and a cold sensation crawled down my back, feeling as if I were about to faint. "Chrys said you were mortal. You're already eighteen." No way. No way!
"That's also why I didn't want him telling you about all this. I've already lived with the expectation of changes, but my eighteenth birthday came and went without my ascension. That ascension nonsense was just one more reason to stop me from pursuing you before. I didn't know how to explain what I thought I was going through. So after I turned eighteen and nothing happened, I realized I put my life on hold for a bunch of silly family stories."
"I talked to my mom. She said I would be going through changes. I believe her."
"I believed my parents, too. I'm not saying it won't happen for you. I do know there are powerful gods out there. But it may not happen, Season."
"You should have told me this!" My breathing became hitched as reality sank in. "It's like you've been lying to me." I started crying, and my head slumped into my hands.
Don got up and took the seat next to me, putting his hands on my arms. "I haven't lied to you," he whispered. I cried, shaking my head. He pulled my hands down to look at my eyes, but I kept them closed. "Please, Season. You promised you would hear me out. Please let me finish."
"Fine," I said angrily, opening my eyes and folding my arms against my chest. "Then, what's the other reason you didn't pursue me before?"
He shook his head and shut his eyes before speaking. "I don't want to tell you
that."
I started to cry again, which made me even madder at him. "Too bad," I said
through my teeth.
He looked at me and stroked my arm. "Because the original god that I was created like already had a companion he was strongly linked to."
Just wonderful. Not only was I furious with Don, but now I felt sick for making him put up with Chrys and acknowledging our bonded triangle. I never realized I had competition to compete with for Don! "Which goddess?"
"Season, please don't . . ."
"Which. One?" I said each word distinctly. "Aphrodite."
My hands flew up to my mouth, and I shook my head. "The goddess of love? Are you kidding me?" How was I supposed to compete with a goddess of beauty, sexuality, and love?
"Please don't worry about this, sweetheart. I love you. I want to be with you."
"Besides the fact that you are connected to her, how can I compete with a goddess of that stature? With her power over love, she could have any man she wanted. I couldn't stop her if she wanted you."
"If you're worried about repeating the destiny of our original gods, then there are some stories that said the original god who I'm like spent part of his time with Persephone."
"The god that Persephone spent time with was Hades. Are you telling me you were created from him?" I started to cry again. Mom said Hades had a plan. If his plan was for me to fall in love with Don, then he was already winning.
"No! No, I'm not like Hades. He is a real threat to you. I'm not going to take you away from your family, and I'm not going to allow him to do that, either."
"So why didn't you just tell me everything?" I demanded.
"I wanted you to find out for yourself. I mean, I wanted to help you—like when I brought up Melissa babysitting you on the night of your parents' accident—but I wanted you to be the one to put the pieces together. I wanted you in control of your destiny.
"We all have our own destinies to fulfill. We don't have to repeat the ones of our creators or the original gods we are like. And even if we are destined to do that to a certain degree, we still have a good chance of being together all the time since our similar gods were together part of the time."
I took a deep breath, trying to rein in my anger. "The only other god I remember reading about that was with Persephone was Adonis."
Don smiled at me.
"Adonis?" I asked incredulously. Don. Don Davis. It fit.
"Yes. I'm not the original Adonis. I was created in his likeness, but I didn't ascend to a godly status when I turned eighteen."
"And this Aphrodite, have you met her?"
He sighed. "No. But she does exist, and that's one of the things my dad and I argued about. But she's with Adonis. They're happy. There's no reason for her to come looking for an alternative."
"Speaking of arguments, I take it you and Chrys argued because he found out about you and believed you should've been honest with me. How long has he known the truth?"
Don's eyes narrowed. "I told him when you were in the hospital. We were alone with you for hours and hours every day, so we both eventually opened up. I probably wouldn't have said anything then, but I was too upset to think clearly. Obviously, if I'd been in my right mind, I would've thrown him out of your room as soon as I got there. He cannot be trusted."
And I wouldn't have known to confront Don. "How can you say that? He hasn't lied to me!"
"Season, I have not lied to you! I love you, so I did what I thought was best for you, not what I thought was best for me, and Chrys is only looking out for himself!"
I stood, stepping away from the table. "I think you should leave."
Don's jaw dropped, and my heart ached to see the pain that formed on his face. "Sweetheart, please," he whispered, standing up.
"I heard what you had to say, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact you kept this from me and discouraged me from getting information from Chrys when you knew the truth all along." My breathing hitched as tears leaked down my face.
He stepped forward. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I thought I was doing the right thing for you."
I looked down, not able to stare at his watery eyes. "I know. I just need time to
think."
Chapter 22
I spent two days lost in my thoughts, trying not to cry at feeling betrayed by Don. At times, I understood what he said, but at other times, I felt let down by him not confiding in me. He called me several times, but I wasn't ready to talk. His messages professed his sorrow and love, which made me a little too emotional to deal directly with him just yet.
Chloe brought over chocolate ice cream, and I cried on her shoulder. I couldn't discuss this mess with my other best friend. I knew he meant well encouraging me to talk to Don about this, but talking to Chrys would just keep open the wound I was trying to close.
I woke up this morning realizing that I needed to wrap up this unfinished business with Don since his banquet was coming up. I finally accepted the truth, which was Don had no idea the Gorges were in town or that I'd confided in Chrys about anything until long after the fact, so he wasn't the only one that wasn't forthcoming with information.
As I sat in the bed thinking about Don, I realized I'd had another dream again last night. It was just like that last dream with all my old dreams and the new one merging into one, except I also dreamed my hands were two different temperatures. I didn't know what to make of that and also wondered why I'd dreamed again after all this time. I was obviously missing something. When I awoke, I felt both of my hands, and sure enough . . . one was hot and one was cold. I had no answers as to why I was dreaming again or to explain this new facet, but I wasn't really in the mindset to analyze it right now, anyway.
Since I'd learned that Chrys and his mom were out of town, I decided I'd run by the pharmacy to get my last check. Not having to worry about running into Medusa kept me from having to warn Chrys I was going by there or having to call Don before I was ready. I knew neither would be happy with me endangering myself, but with Medusa gone, I didn't see the risk.
I parked and ran into the pharmacy for probably the last time.
much.
"Hey, Season. What are you doing here?" Tracy asked. "Came to get my check."
"Oh. It's in the break room by your timecard. C'mon."
I followed her while she chattered
on about the things I missed, which wasn't
"And Ms. Gorge got the ceiling fixed fast. I think she was worried you'd sue her
for your accident. I mean, I don't think you can do that since it wasn't her fault. It was an act of God, you know."
Oh, was it ever, and it was, too, her fault.
"That storm was nasty. Good thing you didn't get stuck hiking in it," she went
on.
I felt my scalp prickle, the hairs on the back of my neck standing. "I never told
you that."
She turned around with an innocent expression. "Never told me what?" "About hiking," I said slowly.
Tracy's innocent expression morphed to a cocky one. "Oops."
It was my only warning. She lunged for me as the ground started to shake. I tried to fight her off, but she was strong. I didn't even have time to contemplate what was really happening. Other than that I was fighting for my life.
She grabbed my hair, banging my head against the wall. I saw stars and tried to stay conscious, the metallic taste of blood turning my stomach.
I elbowed her in the gut, straining to create enough momentum to knock her off her feet. It didn't, but she stumbled back enough for me to grab hold of something.
A chair. Thank the Gods!
She drew back her fist to punch me when I flung the chair to hit her.
"What is wrong with you?" I screamed as she dodged my retaliation. I swung it at her again, but she left for the door.
"This is only the beginning!" she screeched. Then her body dissolved into a bunch of snakes that slithered away.
I ran for my car, using my shirt to wipe the blood from my busted lip, as the tremors stopped. Was Tracy even real? Was she Medusa's pawn the whole time? I had to get out of here. I felt too rattled to explain what happened, but I knew I needed to call Don. Not talking to me in two days, he answered on the first ring.
"Season? Sweetheart, I'm so—"
"Tracy just tried to kill me," I screamed into phone as I tried to contain my sobs. "What? Are you okay? Where are you?" I heard him rustling with his keys. "I—I'm in my car, heading home."