by P. J. Hoover
Reese opens the door to one of the greenhouses, and we go inside and sit on a bench. It’s foggy from the humidity, and I can’t see the world outside through the glass. I sit there for a few seconds just breathing him in.
“My life started again when you opened the box, Persephone.” He slides closer to me, pressing his leg against mine.
I shake my head, still trying to sort out the truth—if there is any truth floating around the strange stories I’m hearing. It’s like I’m finally getting every answer I wanted, and it’s too much to process. “Why did opening the box matter so much?”
His breath is hot; it’s on my ear as he speaks. I don’t pull away. His finger traces the line of my face.
“Only you could open it,” he says. “Deceit made it that way. You opened the box and freed your identity. I felt it the second it hit the air. And I came to you the very next day.”
I remember the day I met Reese. The same day I met Shayne. Just after my eighteenth birthday. “Who gave me the box? Who is Melina?”
Reese shrugs, and his muscles harden next to me, and I want to reach and touch them. “Aphrodite, though I think she was trying to kill you.”
“Kill me?”
“She loves me,” Reese says. “She always has.”
“Do you love her?” I force the words out of my mouth. As absurd as the thought seems, I don’t want Reese to love anyone but me. But I also think I hate him.
“She’s nothing next to you.”
I can’t help but glance around. Can Aphrodite hear him? Will she smite me on the spot? “Reese—”
“Shhhh…” Reese whispers in my ear. “You can be with me forever, Persephone.” He puts a hand on my leg, and a jolt runs through me, making every thought in my brain run off to the shadows.
“Forever?” I repeat. And his scent hits me hard. I fight it for a second—it’s like a drug—but the smell is powerful, and it takes over. I inhale, and exhilaration moves into my lungs. It reaches every muscle in my body as his scent makes its way through my blood.
Reese nods, tickling my leg with his fingers.
I quiver under his touch and breathe deeply again.
His words are music in my ear, lulling me exactly where I want to go. “Forget about your mom. You can live in my world. We can be together like we should have been together so long ago.”
But I shake my head. “My mom will never let me.” And I’m not sure I will let me. Reese is lethal, but the thought of being near him for eternity empties my mind of every rational thought and makes my head spin. And there’s something else niggling in my mind, but it won’t take shape.
Reese smiles and rubs my leg sending a fresh wave of chills up me. “I’ll take care of your mom.”
I’m possessed, and the overwhelming urge to kiss Reese takes over me, and I lean into him. When his lips meet mine, I never want us to be apart. He separates his lips, and his tongue explores my mouth, and I let him and explore him, too.
His hands are rubbing me. Moving up my thighs. I want so badly to be with him. I want to feel this way for always. I tip my head back, and he kisses my neck, sending electricity down my chest and stomach. I spread my legs, and his hand begins to move, and I know I’ve felt this way before. I want to feel this way again. I ache to be with him. I want him to be a part of me. And when his fingers just barely reach me, I remember.
“Shayne.”
It’s like a whisper in my mind, but I say it aloud.
“No. Don’t worry about him.” And Reese’s lips are on mine again.
“Shayne.” I say it again this time, louder, and when the word comes out of my mouth, Reese’s hand stops briefly, barely grazing me. I want Shayne. Not Reese. It’s like a fog has been clouding my mind, but I’m trying to make it lift.
“Shayne tricked you, Persephone.” His hand retreats slightly though, and rubs my thigh again, willing me to relax my legs.
An ache inside me wants to. To let him take me. Like I let Shayne. But Shayne is who I should be with. “No. I want—”
Reese’s mouth moves to mine again, but this time it’s fierce. His lips press on me, and I can’t breathe. But I’m kissing him back all the same with equal ferocity to his own. His hand on my leg begins again, and his other hand moves up my stomach, sliding under my shirt, until it finds my nipple, hard and waiting.
I gasp when he touches it. But I know this is wrong. Why am I letting him do this? It’s so not right.
“I want you to stop.” I don’t want him to stop. I want him to keep going. At least right now I do.
But Reese doesn’t stop.
“I want you to stop.” Louder this time. I can’t do this. I won’t do this.
When he pulls back, it takes every bit of effort I have to not reach for him again. I’m breathing so hard, it comes out in gasps. And my heart is pounding with enough force I can see my eyes beating.
“Oh, gods, Persephone. Please just give me a chance. I can be everything and more to you than Hades. I can make you feel like a woman. To live above the earth. And what does Hades have to offer you? Life in Hell? Torturing and burning. Dead souls everywhere. Is that what you really want? If it is, I can give you that, too.”
I’m dying to be with Reese. To let him have his chance. But it’s all wrong, and my mind screams it at me over and over.
“I love Shayne.”
“Love! He’s lied to you. Tricked you.”
I shake my head. “Shayne wouldn’t do that.” But a fresh wave of Reese’s intoxicating smell enters my nose, and his words shift around and weave into something that makes sense.
“Why don’t you ask him what he’s been doing with Chloe? You think you’re the only girl Hades is looking at?”
“Chloe?” I can’t believe Reese’s words.
But he nods. “Why do you think she’s acting so strangely? She can’t look you in the eye. She’s sleeping with your boyfriend every chance she gets.”
“Not Chloe. She wouldn’t do that.” But I remember Chloe and her sheets. The ones she’d cut to shreds because they’d felt dirty. Not to mention how distant she’s been and her dates she’s told me nothing about.
“She would. Over and over. Why do you think Hades saved her?”
“Because he loves me.”
Reese jumps to his feet. “Wrong, Piper. Because he wanted to have her for himself.”
I get up and move away, turning around so my back is to him. “You’re wrong.”
I hear him coming behind me. His hands are on my bare shoulders, and he leans into my ear. “I’m not wrong. And you know it.” And he nibbles on my earlobe, sending a fresh wave of desire on top of the hurt I’m feeling from Shayne’s lies. The lies which all fit together now. I can see them burning clearly in my mind like a hideous jigsaw puzzle. Reese’s scent gives me perfect clarity.
I lean back into Reese, letting his hands rub me. Explore me. And then he turns me around and kisses me again, and it’s all I can do to not drop to the floor right there on top of him. His breath tastes like wine, and I go after it, trying to draw as much of it into myself as I can. His hands move everywhere, and I don’t stop them. Reese is willing to tell me the truth. And Shayne has lied to me. Shayne is with Chloe. Shayne doesn’t want me.
“Yes, Persephone. Be mine. I’ll love you forever. Protect you from your mother. You’ll never have to go back with her. We can be together always. Side by side.” His lips move to my neck and then farther down, pushing aside the strap of my shirt.
But when I see him, the top of his head, the color of his hair, I know I’m not ready. I moved too fast with Shayne which it turns out was a huge mistake. And I don’t want to make that mistake again.
“I can’t.” I force his aroma from my nostrils and speak the words as flat as I can.
Reese keeps kissing. Rubbing. Ignoring me.
“I’m not ready.”
He looks up, and his hands stop. “Great Zeus. If you’re not ready, then I don’t know who is.”
I shake m
y head, my brain and my body fighting inside me. Wanting him. Not wanting him. “I’m not ready. I need time to think.”
Reese drops his hands, and his face hardens. “When then?”
I shrug, taking a step backward. Away from his smell. “I don’t know.”
Our eyes meet, and Reese looks hard at me. “Don’t take too long.”
I close my eyes and shake my head. “I won’t.”
And then he moves toward me again and kisses me. I fight to keep the smell from overpowering me, but the kiss is deep and sweet, and I don’t pull away.
But he does. “Something to remember me by.” He steps back, moving toward the door and opening it. “If you need me, just call my name. I am at your disposal.”
When the door finally closes behind him, I fall to the ground, trying to get a hold on the flood of emotions moving through me. I want Reese so badly, yet I want Shayne, too. But Shayne doesn’t want me. It’s Chloe he wants. Not me. Chloe.
I throw the door open once Reese is gone to try to clear the air. As his scent evaporates, I’m convinced I must be crazy. I don’t want Reese. Reese cannot be trusted. He’s drugging me with his scent. That’s all it is, just more lies. It’s an entire world that can’t be trusted, and I’ve fallen into it.
Chapter 40
Blame
I run back into the school because I have to talk to Chloe. I refuse to believe what Reese said about her and Shayne, but I just have to hear it from her lips.
“meet me in the auditorium,” I text her. They don’t use the eco A/C in the afternoon to cool it, so no one will be there.
“k,” she texts back. Just like that.
I sit on the stage and wait for her. She looks up at me when she walks in and smiles almost like the old Chloe I used to know. The happy Chloe who took me to get a tattoo. The one who tied a present for me with a red ribbon. I try to smile back. My heart knows Reese’s words can’t be true, but lingering thoughts in my mind keep making me think what if.
The curtain’s drawn, and it’s hot as a sauna, but we have the entire place to ourselves. My stomach convulses every time I think about bringing up her and Shayne, about confronting her—especially since she seems so normal now. But I have to.
She beats me to the punch. “So, Piper, is there anything you’re not telling me?” She says it so normally, like we’ve been hanging out as if nothing’s happened. As if the last time I saw her she hadn’t told me she killed Randy Conner’s dad.
It’s a fair question. But in my defense, Chloe has not been in any state to tell anything. I’ve wanted to tell her everything. To have her help me. Give me advice. Things that friends do.
“Like what?”
Chloe reaches behind her head, untying her gray bandana. “Oh, I don’t know. Has anything unusual happened recently?”
She knows. Has Shayne told her who I am? Have they really been together? Blood rushes to my head, pounding in my ears. But I keep my face as normal as possible.
I purse my lips. “Why do you ask?”
Her eyes flash to me, and for a split second, I see the ghost Chloe inside. The one who nearly died at the creek. But then it’s gone, and this new deceiver Chloe is back. “I just heard a couple things, that’s all.”
I try to keep my expression from changing. “From who?”
“That guy, Shayne.” She reties the bandana, but it’s off center. Chloe never ties her bandana off center.
My heart stops when I hear his name. “What did he say?” I realize I’m holding my breath, waiting for her to answer.
“He said you’ve been keeping secrets from me.”
“Secrets?” I whisper the word in response.
Chloe nods. “Yeah, secrets. Like things you should have told me.”
I shake my head and push the image of Chloe and Shayne out of my mind. It’s not real. “You haven’t been around, Chloe. You’ve been sick or not taking my calls. It’s like you’ve been a ghost.” And now the ghost is gone—replaced by some alien creature that looks like Chloe but acts nothing like her.
“It doesn’t matter, Piper. Best friends don’t keep secrets.” Her eyes rip into me when she says it, and what I thought was a smile turns into a sneer.
I stand up, taking a few steps backward. I’ve had just about enough of the whole world turning crazy on me. It was bad enough when Chloe acted like a phantom. Now I almost wish I hadn’t saved her. “Who are you to talk about keeping secrets? You’ve been sleeping with my boyfriend.” I spit out the lie to test her.
Chloe laughs, showing her teeth, and I hate her.
“Your boyfriend. I don’t remember Shayne saying he was your boyfriend. And anyway, you’re the one who went on a date with Reese. You knew I liked him, yet you still went on the date.”
My heart sinks. She doesn’t deny a thing. Doesn’t even flinch. Her lack of denial confirms every worst fear I have. Was this all my punishment for going on a date with Reese? Is this how Chloe has decided to get even? I can’t trust Chloe, and I can’t trust Shayne, and I can’t trust my mom. And I sure as hell can’t trust Reese; he scares the crap out of me.
Chloe stands and pulls off her bandana. She tosses her head and shakes her hair until it’s fallen into loose waves around her shoulders. And then she begins to rub her hands up and down her sides. “He’s so perfect and so warm. God, he makes me feel so good.”
I stare at her, unable to move my eyes. They’re glued on her like I’m being forced to watch an execution. I think Chloe’s gone crazy.
“He told me he loves me.” Her hands glide over her hips, and she sways to unheard music. Images of Chloe and Shayne, naked and lying together, flash before me. They’re wrapped around each other. They’re kissing. He’s running his hands through her hair. He’s moving on top of her. I want to banish the images, but they hold their position.
I want Chloe to die.
And then she looks at me and smiles, her hands caressing herself, as if she’s imagining Shayne’s hands on her. Rubbing parts of her I know he’s rubbed. Her eyes close, and her lips part, and I think of his lips kissing her. Lips I thought only wanted to kiss me.
“He wants me so much, Piper.” She licks her lips and her teeth. “Do you know how good it feels to be wanted so badly?”
I thought I did. I thought that was how Shayne wanted me. But Chloe’s taken every bit of that dream and smashed it under her foot.
“And he’s promised me the world, Piper. All for me. He’s perfect. Do you know what he said to me?”
I don’t want to know, but the words escape anyway in a voice so soft I wish she doesn’t hear it. “What?”
Chloe’s eyes open, and she looks at me, pupils so small I’m sure she isn’t bothering to even see me. “He said I’ll be his queen. His queen! He knew it would always be me.” And then she licks her lips again and smiles.
I can’t take anymore. I turn so I don’t have to see another second of Chloe’s madness and Shayne’s betrayal, and I run, tearing through the curtains on the stage and then down the aisle. Trying to get away from her. Trying to get away from the hideous truth.
Chapter 41
Jealousy
I head out of school, shielding my eyes from the blazing sun. The row of black clouds still hangs in the west, but it’s closer than it was before, and the air almost feels electric. All this is because of me. The seasons are stagnant because of me. It’s eternal summer because of me. Why does it have to be my responsibility anyway? My burden. As if my life falling apart isn’t enough.
I remember standing here talking to Shayne. I think of his arms around me, taking me to the Underworld, and sadness crushes me. I want so much to trust Shayne. Maybe Chloe lied; she has to have lied. I want to trust him, but now I also want to hate him.
I hop on the first shuttle that comes by the school, not caring where it takes me; what does it matter anyway? My life feels like it’s over. I get the brief feeling that someone’s following me, but when I scan the people on the shuttle, no one looks famil
iar. It’s just a sea of people trying to survive the Global Heating Crisis. A sea of people doomed to slowly incinerate if nothing changes.
I’ve only just turned back to the front when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see Melina.
“Did you get dumped, Piper?”
I want to punch her. “Just shut up, okay.”
“Oh, poor, Piper. She isn’t getting everything she wants for once.” Melina laughs.
I clench my fingernails into my palms. “Was I supposed to die, Melina? Was the box supposed to kill me?”
She presses her pouty lips together. “That would have been ideal.”
“Ideal! For whom?”
Melina laughs and leans forward on the bench seat so her lips are only inches from mine. I hold my position. I am not going to back down from her. She may be a goddess, but so am I.
“Why for me, of course. What a dumb question.”
I glare at her. “What have I ever done to you?”
Scorn flickers across her beautiful face, but she seems to catch herself and erases it quickly, replacing it with her standard serenity. “Piper. Persephone. What haven’t you done? Here I am the goddess of love and beauty, yet you’ve taken the hearts of the only two men I could call my own.”
“Your own?” My mind processes this. “Ares and Hades?”
Melina mocks my apparent stupidity. “Ares, of course. But then there’s my cripple husband Hephaestus. He pined over the box holding your identity, worshipping it like a golden idol. I watched him for years, going to the altar, praying for your release. His prayers are the only reason I knew what was in the box in the first place. The precious secret. Your mother and Apate didn’t tell anyone but him—and him only because he crafted the box and kept it safe. But all it takes is one weak link. So I stole it from him and gave it to you.”
I fix my eyes on her, trying not to let anything show on my face. I can’t believe my mom had worked with the goddess of deceit. Apate defines untrustworthy. My mom should know this. “But I didn’t die, did I?”