by Unknown
I considered his own dilemma.
Ari is the descendant of Adonis and Aphrodite. Adonis was the mortal God of beauty, and people flocked from all over to be near to him, especially women. When Ari and I are out together, I see people stare at him, or take a step toward him, just wanting to be near. Ari often finds himself caught in conversations with perfect strangers; they feel the need to tell him their whole life story. No wonder Ari has perfected the art of conversation. He has had years of practice, and is always kind to people who come up to him. We complement each other nicely that way. I keep most people away, and people who do approach Ari don’t feel comfortable enough with me around to talk with him too long. Lauren has the same effect as Ari; she is the most popular fifteen-year-old girl I have ever known, and she’s always in trouble because of it. She is always sneaking off at night to some party somewhere and there’s usually a boy involved.
“How come I can’t kill the Kakos by cutting their thread at night?”
“Hmm?” Ari had fallen back asleep.
“I can’t kill them at night in my dreams like I can anyone else. Why?”
“Mmm… You can. They are just harder to find. You find people by locating souls, but the Kakos don’t have souls. You are the only one with the power to end their lives. The trick is going to be to get them close enough to death for their threads to be visible. He pulled me closer, kissed my eyelids and fell back asleep.
Chapter 13
Merry Happy Love
I went over to Rory’s Christmas Eve morning when he failed to meet me outside for our run. He was asleep and still in the clothes he had had on the night before.
“Rory, get up!” I shook him and nudged him with my foot, but my prodding was of no use.
“If you’re trying to get him to run with you, Ava, forget about it. He just got home an hour ago.”
“You’re joking.”
Gianna shook her head in a playful way. “I wish I were. I was worried sick about him. Always out chasing girls,” she tsked and shut his bedroom door.
I followed her down the hall to the kitchen. She had been baking bread and the whole house smelled like a bakery; it was wonderful. Julia was perched on a stool, reading People Magazine. I glanced at the cover; some new break-up about some celebrity. I rolled my eyes at her.
“Don’t give me that crap, Ava. See what I am reduced to? Baking bread for hours on end? This,” she said, shaking the magazine at me, “is my only escape.”
“You could do homework,” I suggested.
“It’s Christmas break!” Julia bounced down off the stool. It was her turn to roll her eyes at me. She picked up a stack of magazines and carried them off towards her room down the hall next to Rory’s.
“Don’t worry about her,” Gianna said, waving her hand in the air at Julia’s empty seat. “She’s been moody for weeks. I think Thais is rubbing off on her.”
Gianna could be really naïve. She had no clue about Rory and Julia. Julia had started to really like Rory and Rory had backed way off from her. He had told Ari a couple of weeks ago that he had decided to try a “hard to get approach.” I didn’t think it was working in his favor, though. I could tell that the little comment Gianna had just made about Rory chasing girls hadn’t sat well with Julia.
I washed my hands and began to help Gianna knead bread dough.
Gianna loves to talk. I can see where Rory and Nick get their personalities. She is loud and has a full, happy laugh. I didn’t understand how someone like her had ended up with someone like Thais. I guess sometimes opposites attract. Almost as though reading my mind, Gianna opened her mouth to tell me her story.
“I met Thais in a job interview,” she smiled. “I had gone to his law office in hopes of becoming his legal assistant. I had no idea what he looked like and I was nervous. It was my first interview ever. My mom and dad wanted me to concentrate on school, so I never had to work. Not even a part-time job. Once school was finished and it was time for me to enter the real world, I found I had no idea what I was doing.
“Thais could tell I was nervous. He led me back to his office and got me a glass of water. He must have asked if I would be okay a dozen times. He started the interview, got a few questions in and then stopped. I thought I had really messed it up.
‘Ms. Marco’ he said, interrupting my answer to his last question. ‘I am afraid that I will not be able to hire you.’
“I was so upset I thought I was going to cry right in his office, but he continued. ‘You may be the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I can’t seem to think straight with you in here, so I know that this will not work out on a professional level. I hope this isn’t too forward, but I would like to ask you out on a date instead.’
“I was stunned. Thais was so smart and handsome and well spoken. I knew who he was. My father is Greek, a descendant of Achilles. My mother is from a Naiad Nymph. My father had actually lined the interview up for me. I never dreamed a man like Thais would be interested in someone like me.
“I could feel my face light up as he spoke and I quickly agreed to dinner that night.
‘Great, let me help you out with that job now.’ Thais stood up and walked across his office, took me by the hand and walked me down the hall to his brother’s office door. Andy was on the phone, but Thais took the receiver from his hand and hung up on the person Andrew had been talking with. Andy looked less than thrilled.
‘Andy, this is Gianna. She’s here about a job. I have gone through her references. She would be a perfect fit as your assistant.’ Andy shook my hand, showed me my desk, and told me to get that person back on the phone for him right away.
“I married Thais three months later and I have worked for Andy ever since. Don’t let Thais fool you. He is a very kind man. He would do anything for his family, Ava. And he would do anything for you.”
****
On Christmas Eve night, we all dressed up and spent the evening at Thais and Gianna’s home. Thais is older than Andy is by eighteen months and, like his brother, is a descendant of Adonis. He and Andy share a megawatt smile and handsome, dark-brown eyes. The two are partners at their law firm, Alexander & Alexander where they specialize in family law. Nick hopes to follow their example, but Ari and Rory have no desire to be involved with the practice of law. Thais is louder than Andy and can be a little bad tempered at times. He certainly does not have Andy’s patience and understanding. Gianna and Thais’ home is much more formal than that of Ari’s parents and, aside from at their beach parties, everyone is expected to be on a “best- behavior” setting.
Andy and Aggie’s get-togethers are always on a no-holds-barred basis; family and guests are free to relax and come and go as they please. Holidays are an exception – at those times, Aggie sticks to a tight schedule and wants people looking their absolute best.
The formality of Gianna and Thais’ home is probably why Rory and Nick are usually over at Aggie’s. I had heard, too, that Julia was having a difficult time living with Gianna and Thais, and had considered moving back to a dorm. Thanks to me, though, there were no openings. Julia had confided in Lauren, who, of course, blabbed to everyone, that she was planning to move out on her own once she graduated. I guess Rory had been devastated when he heard the news.
The house was packed, as usual, with people drinking and carrying on. The food was exquisite. Gianna served roast duck and potatoes in a rich glaze with a side of carrots, peas and crunchy bread. Every room in their house was decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations. Gianna had even decorated Nick and Rory with thick and scratchy-looking sweaters, red for Rory and green for Nick.
After a few hours, Ari and I snuck away. It always seemed that if we weren’t sleeping, we were surrounded by swarms of people, and while I loved the fact that there were always people around, I came from a home that held just my mom and myself. My mother worked eighty plus hours a week; down-time was the norm. Ari’s place was a nice change of pace, but if we had a chance to be alone, we didn’t take a pass
on it. We eased out the front door while the rest of the family had cocktails in Thais’ bar, got back to Ari’s house and put on a movie downstairs in the den; a space that no matter what the Alexanders called it was larger than most Chicago apartments that I had ever been. There was a huge, wrap-around couch and a large-screen TV mounted to the wall above a fireplace. There was also a fully stocked wet bar and a keg of Heineken that was always on tap. They also had a pool table, poker table and some other bar games that I had never cared to play.
Ari lit the fire with a push of a button and turned all the lights off. We watched all of thirty seconds of the movie before things between us started to heat up big time. My head was lost to the clouds within minutes and we started to cross the line a bit when suddenly we were stopped by the flick of a light switch. Rory, and half of the partygoers from his home, came barreling down the stairs. Ari shouted out quite a few profanities, while I quickly made myself more presentable.
“What?” Rory responded to Ari’s language with a laugh. “It’s getting late and mom kicked us out. We’re just going to play some pool. No big deal!”
Ari just stared at him for a moment with cold steely eyes then said, “I hate you, Rory.”
“Nah, you’ll thank me later.” He pointed at me, smiled and winked, “Especially you.”
He was probably right. I don’t know what I had been thinking; a basement couch was hardly the most romantic place. We headed up the stairs to Ari’s room, where he grabbed a pillow and kissed me on the forehead.
“You don’t have to sleep on the couch,” I pouted.
“Uh… yeah, I think I do. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I gave a small sigh, then said goodnight.
Despite my frustration, and cold toes, I managed to fall asleep. Right away I found myself running in the woods again, wet and cold, searching frantically for something. My bare feet slipped on the rocky terrain. I had to stop several times to keep from falling. The rain was relentless and I again heard screams in the distance. I shot up in bed with a start, breathless, my heart pounding and my palms sweaty. The clock read only four a.m., but I knew there was no way sleep would find me again.
Quietly, I made my way down the hall and took a cold shower, trying to wash the fear away and hide it before anyone could detect my uneasiness. Something different had emerged in the forest dream. Details had become much clearer and seemed much more real, but I still had no idea what I was doing out there in the woods and for what I was so frantically searching. I was scared to death of how the dream would end, and had no clue about how to control that end.
I had been firmly avoiding the fact that I was being hunted. I resisted facing reality while my actual life was so happy. I had been dealt a couple of really bad cards -- the passing of my mother, the loss of my best friend, and the fact that I felt solely responsible for my grandfather’s death – and I had never believed I could be as content as I was. Ari made me happy; I just wanted to revel in that happiness a little while longer. I had considered Julia’s warning seriously, but then had relegated it to an obscure part of my mind. Eventually it was nothing more than an afterthought.
I took my time getting ready for the day, then headed down to the kitchen; I was still the only one up so I made a pot of coffee and started on the paper. I got through the Chicago Tribune and half way through the New York Times before anyone else woke up.
Aggie and I made a breakfast large enough to feed an army. Ari popped his head in through the doorway and saw me sitting at the island, frosting cinnamon rolls. He gave me an award-winning smile, then came in and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Baby.”
Aggie smiled, “Merry Christmas to you, too, honey; you’re so sweet.”
He smiled playfully at her, “I didn’t mean you, Mom, but Merry Christmas to you, too.” I had frosting on my fingers and to my surprise, Ari popped one of my fingers in his mouth and sucked the white, sugary topping off, licking his lips. Ari then grabbed a roll, and headed to the shower.
My cheeks were red hot when I looked up at Aggie.
She giggled at me and batted her eyes.
“What’s going on with him on the couch, Ava; is everything all right?”
I smiled at her.
“If you don’t tell me, he will,” she said and returned my smile, putting a wicked twist on it.
“Not if I tell him not to,” I said and she didn’t like that response at all.
She hit me playfully with her dishtowel. “You’re no fun, Ava. You never give anything away.”
In the living room, I found Andy and told him about my most recent dream, trying to be as nonchalant about it as possible. He told me that he had friends back in Greece who were trying to track the Kakos, but no one had been successful yet. Panic began to rise in my chest.
“What if they aren’t after me? What if they’re after one of you guys? I mean, who was that screaming in my dream?” The idea that the Kakos would hurt someone in Ari’s family made me stick to my stomach; I would rather be the target than to have anyone in my new “family” hurt.
Andy could see I was starting to freak out.
“Don’t worry about it, Ava. Your father believed in you and so do I.”
“Believed in me to do what? Kill people? I don’t want to do that!”
Andy looked at me from the corner of his eye and then pointedly scanned the rest of the room. His look said that I had not chosen a good time for this discussion.
Ari came in shortly after and his presence alone calmed my nerves. He sat right next to me on the couch and held my hand tightly in his. He brought my fingers up to his mouth and kissed each one slowly, then filled my palm with little kisses. The rest of his family gathered in around us and around the tree, talking excitedly.
Thais played Santa of sorts and passed out presents. There were so many wrapped boxes that Aggie’s living room tree was completely hidden. She had holiday music on in the background and looked at the happy faces with delight as everyone began to open gifts. Lauren squealed with glee each time she opened a different box and Andy thanked me for helping him get started on his collection again. Rory plunked a box on my lap with a sheepish smile, a very rare look for him. I tossed a small box at him and we opened our gifts from each other at the same time. His eyes lit up when he saw the Tiffany’s watch he had been drooling over a couple of weeks ago and then threw his head back and laughed. I didn’t get the joke until I opened my gift and saw that he had gotten me the running shoes I had wanted for myself when he and I were shopping.
Even Julia had gotten me a gift, which made me feel bad because I had not gotten her anything. When I opened the box, I found an incredibly tiny, barely there string bikini. I snapped the box shut; but not before Ari snuck a peek.
“Ah, Julia, I knew you were good for something,” he said, wrapping an arm around my waist.
I elbowed him in the ribs, hard, and then turned to Julia. “You shouldn’t have, really,” I said, and she smiled, completely unaware of my sarcasm.
Luckily for me, Ari had been on top of things and handed her a box, saying, “This is from Ava and me.” I looked at him and he winked. I watched as she opened the gift with curiosity and Ari whispered in my ear, “don’t be mad, please.”
I didn’t have time to respond to him. I was too taken aback by Julia’s reaction. She swallowed hard and tears poured down her face. She got up, hugged me first, and then hesitated, not sure if it was ok to hug Ari or not. He stood up, grabbed her hard, and held her tight as she cried. The whole room, myself included, waited for an explanation.
She passed around the box and Ari whispered in my ear, “Airline tickets to England. She never got to pay her respects to her parents.”
I was speechless “Ari that’s…”
“Are you mad?”
“No, of course not, that’s so kind of you.”
He handed me a small box and I found the little box I had wrapped Ari’s tickets in and handed it to him. I took
the Christmas paper from my present and then popped the top off. Inside I found concert tickets and was instantly confused. Thinking these were the tickets I had gotten him. I checked the wrapping to be sure I had not opened the wrong gift by mistake. Ari opened up his box and held up two more tickets to the same show. All I could do was laugh. He was the person who had bought the other two tickets from the guy in the restaurant.
Rory had seen what had happened and was ecstatic, “Sweet, looks like I’m spending New Year’s Eve with you guys!”
Ari rolled his eyes at Rory then turned his attention back to me.
“Good thing that’s not the only thing I got for you.” He reached in his pocket, pulled out a tiny silver ring, and handed it to me. Inscribed all around it over and over again was Ava, Je t’aime, Ava, Je t’aime, Ava, I love you.
I gasped, “Ari, it’s beautiful.”
He pulled me to him and whispered in my ear, “Ava, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered back. “Je t’aime aussi.” We kissed sweetly, not caring that we now held the attention of the entire room.
The rest of the day passed at a nice slow pace. I helped Lauren carry all of her gifts to her room and get them put away. I took my gift from Julia and shoved the box with the bikini in it deep into the recesses of Ari’s closet.
“Ahhemm,” Ari cleared his throat, startling me. “What do you think you are doing with that?” He was leaning in the doorway to his room with his arms crossed causally over his chest.
I blushed, “hiding it.”
“You are hiding clothes in a closet?” He smiled playfully at me and I giggled.
“Ari I know clothes and nothing about the black scrap of material in that box classifies it as clothing!” Ari sauntered towards me and wrapped an arm around the small of my back. He took his other hand, twirled a tendril of my hair around his finger and kissed it.
“Do you know what I love about you, Ava?” I blinked and Ari continued. “I love your smile, and your laugh. I love that you are so wickedly smart and funny. I love this,” he said pointing to the blush on my cheeks. “I love you, all of you and I have wanted to tell you that for a really long time now.”