When I finally decided I was ready to go, I also noted that it was far too early to be getting to the party. As much as I was excited for the party I didn’t want to seem so excited that waiting around for an hour before everyone else was my only option. So I decided to go and check on the boy.
I left the apartment and thought about where I was heading, arriving right in the hallway that held his bedroom. I was beginning to really familiarise myself with his door. It was different from mine, a darker wood accented with dark brushed silver handles and a knocker. It was the knocker that made his door original, like people would want to knock on his door before entering. I wondered if there was a particular reason for that before opening the door.
I, myself, didn’t want to knock at all.
The apartment was just as I had left it; dark, ominous and only the soft glow from the bedroom where I had left the candles burning offered some light.
I walked straight into the bedroom without a second thought; surprised to find the bed I had left him in empty. The toilet in the bathroom flushed and the door opened, making me turn with a start. The boy was leaving the bathroom, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when he stopped and stared at me. It was a strange moment where we both stood there staring at each other questioning; then I remembered I was the intruder and this wasn’t actually my apartment. I shouldn’t have just let myself in.
“I’m sorry!” I stammered, stepping toward the door quickly, feeling the flush creep up my cheeks.
“It’s okay.” He said, stepping toward me and shaking his head. “It’s alright, I don’t mind. I owe you... You’re the one who has been taking care of me, aren’t you?” He smiled, or tried to, licking his lips and holding out his hand. “Griffin, I’m Griffin.” I blinked slowly, still hovering in the doorway before conceding and shaking his hand.
“I’m Valentina.”
“It’s nice to meet you, finally. I knew I had a nurse but...” He smiled shyly and looked at the side table laden with all the things I had been bringing him.
“I’m sorry I let myself into your house. I just, I saw Atlas bringing you in and you looked so sick, I just wanted to help.”
“You did, it’s alright. I don’t mind.” His face contorted suddenly like he was in pain and he stepped away from me. I felt offended, not that I had any reason to, as he grabbed the side of his head like he had a headache and continued to move away from me like I was the source of it.
“You need to go now please.” He muttered softly, keeping his back to me as he continued to fold into himself in pain. I reached out, half stopping myself before even touching him.
“Okay, but... Griffin... Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
“Go! Leave!” He shouted suddenly, making me jump away from him in fright. He didn’t have to tell me twice, especially in that voice. Swallowing hard I turned and ran from the room, accidentally slamming the front door behind me as I left.
Once in the hallway I could feel shaken I was, holding my stomach slightly as I bit down on my lip.
I didn’t want to dwell on it, knowing I would only worry myself into misery. I was supposed to be heading to the party and enjoying myself tonight. I was not supposed to be worrying about some ungrateful, mean boy.
But even as I made my way down the hall, thinking about my garden and trying to re-excite myself for the party, I couldn’t stop thinking about how strange his behaviour had been. Had I been the one to cause him pain? Did it have something to do with my Goddess?
I walked through the door into the garden, startled suddenly by the other two people who were standing there. They turned to look at me, both sizing me up for a moment when finally the girl smiled, moving over to me and holding her hand out.
"I'm Nikki," she said, "or Nicola, but most people call me Nikki." I held out my hand, letting her take it as we shook hands.
"Valentina." I said, offering her a smile of my own.
She looked over her shoulder at her companion and then back at me, "that's Zane." Zane looked at me, nodding his head silently and waving his hand just slightly.
"It's nice to meet you." I said politely, "Do you guys know who you are... I mean, as Gods." Nicola gave me a beautiful grin and nodded her head.
"I have some idea." That seemed to be everyone's answer. Was no one hazarding a guess until more people got here and more Gods and Goddesses were ruled out? I wanted to pry and see what she would say if I tried to push the subject, if only to help me figure out who my Goddess was.
Then I thought again about Griffin, the on,y explanation was that he had sensed who I was. Perhaps his God didn't like mine and that's why he had pushed me away so suddenly. But what Goddess could I be that someone would hate me? I tried to recall the things I had read but no one in particular stood out against the others.
"Like who?" I finally said, against my better judgment and mostly to carry on the conversation. It was awkward feeling like I might have interrupted something with my presence between the other two Gods so talking was the only remedy I knew of for the situation.
"Aphrodite." She said with a curious smile, tucking a piece of her long blond hair behind her ear. I sized her up then, deciding that she was in fact one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. She looked like she'd walked straight out of a fashion magazine. A woman that other women strived to look like but could never fully achieve.
"And Zane?"
"Oh, Zane is definitely Ares." Well, that made sense then. Aphrodite and Ares were lovers according to the book Atlas had given me. I must've interrupted something. I felt myself flush slightly, turning away from them to look at my set up of food.
"Well, help yourselves to whatever you want. I mean, this isn't my party but I did prepare it all." My worked were stilted and awkward now. I wanted to change the subject so drew on my obligation to play hostess after offering to help Jed with the party. I had enough experience with years of hosting church events, it made the actions seem innate.
"You baked this?"
"Oh, no. Not like that. I just imagined it all into reality." I said quickly.
Nicola looked around and smiled politely at me, "well, it's lovely. When I walked in I was breathless at how beautiful the gardens are."
"Oh, I planted those." I amended my earlier statement, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks in modesty. Nicola smiled sweetly and nodded once more before looking down at me.
"You are wonderfully talented then." I giggled slightly, feeling dizzy from the praise and out of embarrassment excused myself, going to the table to fuss with the food. I stole a glance over my shoulder, hoping my strange behaviour wasn't too off-putting but Nikki was unfazed, returning to Zane's side and whispering in his ear.
She definitely had to be Aphrodite, there was no question in my mind.
I arranged and rearranged the treats on the table as I heard the door behind me open and close several times. The voices got louder behind my back and I finally grew the nerve to turn around and face them all.
Growing up in a family of 12 made it easy for me to talk to people, but here I felt out of place. Especially around someone like Nicola who had obviously had everything she could ever desire in her life. She just exuded glitz and glam and I was a farm girl. I felt naive and sheltered, more of a child than I had felt in years. I was 18 but to these people I was 12, the eternal little sister.
With a small plate laden with a cupcake, a mini cheesecake and some quiches I moved back over to the growing group of people and began to introduce myself. Some knew who they were and others were like me. They were moving listlessly through the days trying to source their God out. It was comforting though to be around non-believers, people who felt this was all a crazy dream. But those who had united with their Gods, as they called it, talked about the wonderful experience it was to finally blend with the voice in their head that they hadn't known how to deal with. The trouble was: I didn't have voices in my head, just the one that had kept me company since arriving here. Unless the one I tho
ught was my own all along wasn't really me.
Thinking so hard about these things made my head hurt, it was far too complicated and did it really matter all that much? Atlas was sure he had the right person so when the time came I would know, wouldn't I? I repeated this to myself over and over again hoping to silence the doubt that festered in the back of my mind.
Jed was late getting to the party, but when he arrived the garden suddenly seemed alive. He brought everyone together, flitting around the room so seamlessly making everyone feel comfortable. I wanted to be able to do that, I was still too awkward and nervous.
When he came to me he scooped me up in a hug like we were old friends and grinned down at me.
"It's perfect! I knew you would do an amazing job Val. I could sense you were an amazing person when we met." He winked and I knew I was blushing but I tried not to think about it. He wasn't flirting with me. He was just being nice.
"Thank you, I had a lot of fun doing it."
"Well, count yourself as my official party decorator. How can I ever repay you?" I knew he was teasing but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask.
"Maybe, you could teach me... how to, you know, be so social and welcoming like you are?" He grinned at me and nodded his head.
"Absolutely kiddo. Easy as pie."
Chapter Six
Jed didn't waste any time teaching me his ways. He barely even let me finish my food before taking me around to introduce me to everyone. In between meeting people he explained the "foundations of being social", as according to him.
They weren't hard concepts: be present, be real, be honest and be nice. People liked knowing that when they were speaking to someone they were genuinely listening to whatever they were saying, so Jed said to always reply with something thoughtful. He also said when striking up a conversation it was extremely important to start it with a compliment. It didn't necessarily have to be about something right in that moment but if they had done something earlier that you knew of like: a different hairstyle, a recipe they gave you to try, a pair of shoes; whatever it was, you needed to compliment them first. People - especially this kind of people - enjoyed being flattered.
But Jed said it was important not to be flattering in a false way. People will know when you're doing that too and resent you for feeling obligated to tell them how wonderful they are. They want to believe it's an innate thing, so your compliments need to seem real and natural.
But being honest with someone when they ask for your opinion is also important because as much as these people wanted to believe they were important and perfect, they also wanted to know what their flaws were so they could fix them. So being honest, while being nice, was extremely important.
I asked Jed how he knew all this and he told me about his upbringing. His mom hadn't been very well off when he was a kid but then she ended up marrying his step dad who was a blue blood. He had to learn quickly how to fit in with that kind of people. So he taught himself on trial and error. He was pleased to be teaching me the things he'd learned because he hated seeing someone thrown to the dogs not even knowing they were a bone. I certainly didn’t like thinking I was a bone.
The rest of the party went by smoothly, everyone had a good time and got sufficiently drunk. Except for me, but with everyone else being drunk it was easy to pretend I was too even if all my drinks were virgin. I think Jed knew, but he didn't say anything or pressure me to have some. He merely mentioned at one point that what might've been illegal back home wasn't in this world. Except I wasn't illegal back home either, I just didn't like it thanks to my uncle.
People slowly began to filter out of the garden after a while. I had expected to find a mess to clean up once they were gone but there wasn’t even a napkin to pick up. I was simply left with the serene tranquility of my garden. I could get used to living in a place like this, it was certainly a nice change of pace from back home.
Over the next few days there was more parties and more lessons from Jed. I was getting more and more comfortable being social with people who were certainly a class or two ahead of me while also narrowing the field of possibilities for my Goddess.
But the more people began to show up the more anxious I felt myself growing. What if my Goddess never made an appearance? I seemed fixated more on this idea, obsessing over it, than I was on Griffin. His rudeness had left a bad taste in my mouth so I hadn't gone back to his apartment in days. I wasn't even sure what had happened to him without my help because he never seemed to be at any of the parties either. However, not thinking about him gave me lots of time to go through all the books in the library on my hunt for my Goddess.
One afternoon I was crossing through the hallway, carrying a load of new books to try out for clues when a door opened and Griffin stepped out. We both paused in our step, staring at each other awkwardly. I didn't want to be the first one to speak, I wanted him to know exactly what I thought of his so-called gratitude but I didn't have to worry.
"I'm sorry, about the other day." He said sheepishly, running a hand through his long, messy blonde hair. "I wasn't myself, I'm sure you can understand. The drugs... they messed with my head pretty bad." He was making excuses so I nodded my head and smiled tersely before carrying on my way. There was nothing for me to say anyways, that's what I told myself.
"Can I help you with those?" He nodded at my books and I paused, taking a deep breath before finally nodding and holding them out to him. He smiled, making my stomach knot slightly as he crossed over to me and took them from me.
"Doing some light reading then?" He teased as he took the heavy tomes and tried to adjust them in his arms.
"Trying to figure out who my Goddess is." I said simply, making him frown.
"No leads then?"
"No, no one seems to be biting yet." I said, leading the way to my doorway. He nodded and smiled in a way I presumed was meant to be comforting.
"I'm sure she'll make herself known when the time is right." I nodded and pushed the door open, stepping through before letting him in.
"Me too. You can set them down over there." I pointed to the living room table before closing the door behind us. I watched him cross over and do as I said before straightening up and turning to look at me again. He ran his hand through his hair once more, a nervous gesture no doubt, before smiling.
"Well, it was nice to see you. I'm sure carrying your books for you doesn't make up for the whole... helping me with rehab thing, but it's a start." I nodded slightly and looked down at my feet, unsure of what else I wanted to say to him. The awkwardness hung between us before Griffin cleared his throat and crossed to the door.
"Well, again, nice to see you Valentina. Good luck with the research." I nodded and smiled, turning to the tomes with more interest than I had for him. I shouldn't have been so cold, it wasn't in my nature, and I regretted it the moment the door closed behind him. But I was afraid he might yell at me again if I said too much. He had started out nice last time too and still ended up biting my head off at the end. He was strange anyways; that's what I told myself.
I had just settled in to reading one of the tomes when another knock at my door came and I twisted in my seat, looking toward it.
"Come in!" A trick I had learned: the door opened itself to reveal Jed standing there with a pack of flowers in his hand and a cheeky grin on his face. "I hope those aren't from my garden." I said in a teasing tone making him look down at them worriedly before looking back up and flashing me another grin.
"What? These? Never." He smirked as he entered the apartment and switched them out for the wilting arrangement he had given me two days ago - also taken from my garden.
"There is a party tonight."
"There's a party every night with you Jed." He grinned at me like I'd told a funny joke before nodding.
"This is a special party." I raised my eyebrows slightly, intrigued by his definition of special. I wondered what he could possibly mean considering he told me every night was going to be special and every mor
ning he confirmed it had been.
I liked how close I had grown to Jed; our relationship reminded me of how I had once imagined one with my brothers would be like. Of course, my actually brothers and I were so distant in age that it made it hard for us to be close or to even understand each other. That was the impression they had given me. But Jed was just a few years older than me, at least, and yet he made me feel like I was his favourite little sister out of the hundreds he had (but didn't really).
"Alright, I'll bite. Why's tonight going to be special?"
"Zeus," he paused for dramatic effect. "Has arrived." He grinned, bowing with flourish just to add to the level of drama his statement had already possessed.
Zeus, huh?
This guy had to be pretty certain he was the King of Gods to claim he was Zeus; that, or pretty arrogant.
"Have you met him then?"
"Yes, and he is the one and only almighty one."
"Not entirely the one and only." I pointed out, it rarely surprised me anymore how different my opinion was from the one I had held in my mortal life.
"Well, you get what I'm saying."
I smiled and nodded, "Of course, now what are we going to do to celebrate the King of the Gods then? To make this night even more special."
"We need a venue better than the garden, one he'll like." Jed was looking at me with puppy eyes like I was the one who came up with everything for our parties.
Finally I sighed and nodded, "alright Dionysus. I'll see what I can do." He scrunched up his nose and shook his head.
"Don't call me that."
"But why? It's true isn't it? You're the God of parties and drink. It is rather fitting." He thought about this and tilted his head from side to side.
"Guess I was just hoping for someone more important."
Gods Save the Princess (Grace of Gods Book 2) Page 5