I haven’t slept at all. It was hard to, considering Aleks still wasn’t home and there were two people who were practically strangers sitting in my living room. I decide to get out of bed and do something productive when there is a quiet knock on my door.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDBdJMiVNj
“Don’t worry I’m not asleep.” I say to whoever is on the other side. Slowly the door opens to reveal Daemon, who is covering his eyes with one hand.
“Daemon what are you doing?” I ask trying not to laugh as he fumbles through the doorway trying to find the bed, so he can sit.
“I am under strict instructions to make sure I don’t see anything that I’m not supposed to.”, He replies. “Brit has threatened me with bodily harm if I fail.”
“Well you can uncover your eyes. What’s up anyway? Surely you guys should be getting some shut eye.”
“Nah, we’re good. Brit sent me to tell you that she’s making another pot of coffee and that the others should be here soon.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.”
After that Daemon gets up and leaves. I stay in my room for a few minutes thinking about who would walk into my apartment soon. How many people would there be? Would I know any of them? Would Aleks be with them? Is Aleks alright? I just need to see him. I need to know if he’s alright. I’ve spent enough time thinking, so I get up and head to the kitchen. I see Brit standing there making coffee. She’s changed clothes. Now she’s wearing a baby blue button-up blouse, khaki dress pants and a pair of flats the same shade as her blouse. Where she got the outfit or when she changed, I have no idea, but I must admit she looks good. The shade of blue complements her dark brown hair very well.
“Good morning, I guess.”, I say as I enter the kitchen.
“Good morning.”, Brit responded as she handed me a cup of coffee “The others should be here with Aleksander soon. I thought it would be better to give you caffeine now, so you have time to wake up. That way when they get here, they can explain things to you both.”
“Okay. Who are the others? You never call them by name.”
“They want to introduce themselves to you. I agreed to let them. They’ll explain everything to you and Aleksander.”
“That’s cryptic and vague. I just want some answers. Isn’t there anything you can tell me?”
“I wish I could tell you more, I really do, but I promised I would let them.”, Brit takes my arm and we walk around the counter to sit on the couch. “Look, I know your mind must be in a thousand different places right now, but you’ll have some answers soon, I promise.”
“Hey guys, sorry to interrupt,” Daemon says coming in from Aleks’ bedroom. “but I just got off the phone with the others and they’ll be here in like 5 minutes.”
“I told you that you’d have some answers soon.”, Brit says with a grin that can only be described as conspiratorial. “Do you want a jacket or something while I’m up?”
“No,” I answer, “I think I’m good.” I start to think again of who may be walking through my door. Aleks, obviously, but who else? Who picked him up? How many people were there? Has he been in any danger? Does he know about the birds? Okay, I must admit he probably doesn’t know about that. He may know I was attacked but ancient cultures and mythologies have never been up his alley. Just then there is a knock at the door and Aleks enters with three other people following close behind.
“Aleks!” I yell as I stand up and rush to him. “Are you okay?” I wrap my arms around his neck and stand there for a moment waiting for him to hug me back. Instead he reaches up and gently pulls me off him.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He says as he goes to sit on the couch. For a second, I wonder if I’ve done something wrong, but it’ll have to wait until later. I take in the people who brought Aleks home as Brit hands them cups of coffee.
First is a man with honey blonde hair and fair skin that is slightly darker than Daemon’s. He wears a taupe polo, that brings out his jade green eyes, and dark blue jeans. He seems to be in his mid to late twenties.
Next is a familiar looking woman who appears to be about the same age. She has dark skin and onyx black hair. Her eyes are a dark grey; so dark they are almost black. She wears a black beanie, a red blouse and black pants that both accentuate her figure.
The last is an older woman. She looks to be between thirty and forty years old and her skin is a tan olive shade. Her hair is a dark red, like my own. Her eyes are a striking blue, almost like the color of blue topaz. She wears a mocha colored button-down shirt and dark blue jeans.
“I know you, don’t I?” I say to the woman with dark eyes. “You and I work together at the museum.”
“Yes. My name is Eirene. This is Ros,” she says pointing to the man standing to her left. “And this is Clio.”
“Hi Jessie.” Says Clio. “You might want to sit down before I go into explanations.”
“No one calls me Jessie. My parents wouldn’t even call me Jessie.” I say as I take a seat in the chair next to Aleks. “It was a preference thing, I think. Just call me Jess.”
“Jess,” Brit says taking the seat on the couch closest to me and grabbing my hands gently. “did your parents ever explain where you came from?”
“They told me I was adopted when I was eighteen. No one ever knew what happened to my birth parents, so I was put in the system. I was adopted before I was old enough to remember. They said for my twenty-first birthday we could ask for more information if I wanted to. They wanted to give me time to come to grips with everything before we asked.” I explain. “Why?”
“I hoped they would tell you more. I’m sorry to tell you like this sweetie.” Clio responded looking at me with a strange tenderness in her eyes.
“Tell me what?” I ask.
“I’m your mother.” Clio says, tenderness and sadness mingling in her eyes. “I’m sorry your father and I didn’t get to raise you. We regret it every day. That isn’t all the bad news. You see the attack tonight has forced us to speed this process up a bit. It is going to be a lot to take in. For both of you.”
“Look lady,” Aleks says with a tone of anger “I don’t know what attack you’re talking about but none of this has anything to do with me.”
“Actually Aleks, it does have something to do with you.” Says Ros, who up until this point has been leaning up against the wall near the door. “So, I’m going to need you to sit there and shut up.”
“Ros!” Eirene whispers angrily “Now is not the time for this.”
“Can we speed this up a little? I don’t feel very good and would like to get some sleep.” I ask starting to feel the slightest bit queasy due to sleep deprivation.
“You studied Ancient History in college, and I know you have been doing research on greek mythology in your spare time. So, I’ll jump right in and tell you. I’m Clio, the muse of history. Your father is Plutus, god of wealth. Ros is Anteros, the god representing love, punishing those who don’t return others love and are uninterested in love. Brit is Britomartis, goddess of mountains, hunting, fishing, and fowling-nets. Daemon is Agathodaemon, spirit of the vineyards and fields, providing luck, health, and wisdom. Eirene is the personification of peace and the spring season. Do we need to specify further?”
“No, I know who you all are in mythology. But that’s all it is. Mythology. It’s not real. It can’t be. People would know.”
“Jess. We worked together regularly for three years and you had no clue. We take steps to insure people don’t know.” Brit explains.
“We would have waited longer to tell you but then we got word that there would be an attack. That’s why Brit and I came to the museum last night. We were too late to prevent the attack, so we had to speed the plan along.” Daemon chimes in. He briefly lets a look of what I think is worry cross his face, but it vanishes almost as soon as it appears.
“Why not have told me from the very beginning?” I ask looking at Clio. “Why wait to tell me? I asked to see you. I looked everywhere after my parents died because I wanted to know about my birth family. Why not tell me then?”
“Your father and I wanted to keep you safe from the world we live in. It’s dangerous being a deity. There’s a constant power struggle. It was said that one day a child would be born that would either tip the scales or help us maintain equilibrium. We made sure to keep you a secret for as long as possible. When the other gods found out it caused a split. Everyone knew that you were the child of prophecy. Half the gods wanted you to be raised in seclusion, to keep you protected, the other half wanted you dead. We decided that it would be better for you to be raised here on earth until the appropriate time came. Then we would find you and tell you everything so that you could decide for yourself what your path would be. So, one night we snuck out and brought you to earth. We had already arranged for you to be adopted by a good family. They promised that when you turned eighteen that they would tell you that you were adopted and that they would answer your questions about us when you turned twenty-one, but unfortunately, they died shortly before your twenty-first birthday. When you started looking for us, word got around to the other gods. They thought you had died in the night, you see, and all of them were furious that we had lied about your fate. After that it was decided our punishment would be that we couldn’t ever see you again. When the gods who were in favor of raising you in seclusion got wind of the threat on your life, they decided they had made a mistake telling us we could never see you, so they pardoned us. That way we could gather a team and come here before any harm came to you. Our plan had to be adjusted because of everything that has happened. It’s not ideal, and you deserved the truth earlier. I’m so sorry.”
I have no idea what to say. Brit’s hands were still gently holding mine, and I was still shaking. Aleks is sitting on the couch next to my chair with anger in his eyes and his hands clenched into fists. Everyone is looking at me.
“I- I don’t know how to respond. I’ve always imagined this being a very different conversation. I believe you, of course. No one can make up a story like that out of pure imagination but it’s a lot to take in.”
“It’s okay. I would tell you to take your time, but the problem is neither of you have very much.” Clio says in a failed attempt to reassure. Suddenly there’s a noise from beside me as Aleks stands up.
“Aleks, are you okay? Is something wrong?” I ask concerned at the glint in his eyes.
“This is just too much! I need some time to think. Alone.” He says before storming towards his room.
“Perhaps it would be better if we came back later.” Clio suggests setting down her coffee cup. The others follow suit.
“Yeah it probably would be. Brit, Daemon, if y’all want to stay I can give you places to sleep. I don’t have enough room for everyone though.” I say as I start to grab coffee cups.
“We’ll stay, if that’s what you want.” Daemon responds.
“Yeah. I don’t think I want to be alone tonight.”
“Then we’ll be off. A lot is happening tomorrow so get some sleep.” Clio says as she ushers Ros and Eirene out the door.
“Here,” Brit says taking some coffee cups from me “let me help with those.”
“Daemon could you take the cushions off the couch and put them in that empty corner over there? We’ll pull the coffee table out of the way when we finish with the coffee cups.” I say as I turn the water on to get warm so I can do the dishes. I don’t know if I give off a vibe or if they decide to do as I say but Brit helps me do the dishes. Meanwhile Daemon pulls the cushions off the couch. Then the three of us move the coffee table out of the way so we can unfold the couch into a bed. Occasionally, Daemon looks over at me and I can almost see that expression of what I think is worry again. But I don’t know him well enough to decipher his looks. I make a mental note to talk to Brit about it later. I go to my bedroom closet and get out the extra sets of sheets. I leave the eggshell blue set in my room for Brit to use on the extra bed. Then I take the black to the living room for Daemon to use on the pull out.
“Here, Daemon. You can use these on the pull out. Brit there’s another set waiting on my bed for you to use on the spare bed. I’m going to go check on Aleks.”
I turn around and walk towards his room, but not before seeing a look of unease on Brit’s face. As I approach his closed door, I knock and wait for a response.
“Who is it?” Aleks asks.
“It’s me.” I reply, “Can I come in?”
“Go ahead.”
As I open the door, I look around to see where Aleks is. It’s dark but I see his silhouette near the head of his bed. I take the corner nearest the door so that I don’t get too close.
“I would ask you if you are alright, but that’s a stupid question.” I say as I turn to look at him.
“Yep.” Is all he says, his back still turned to me.
“Brit and Daemon are going to stay over tonight. I asked them to stay. I thought it better to have a few people that have some idea what we’re up against stay. In case, you know, something else happens. Tomorrow I was going to talk about staying longer if they want to.” I say to fill the silence.
“Whatever.”
“If it’s not I can go tell them they’ll have to find somewhere else tomorrow.”
He doesn’t respond but I can feel anger radiating off him.
“I’m sorry about this.”
“Are you though?” He asks, standing and turning to look at me. He has a glint in his eye that I’ve never seen before. It scares me.
“Of course, I am. What; do you think I wanted this to happen?”
“Didn’t you though?! You seem to be coping well if you didn’t.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! I didn’t want this! I half expect to wake up in the morning and find that this has all been some big stupid dream.”
“Oh, please you’re having the time of your life, and you know it. All that stupid greek stuff you love so much and that you put so much time into is all true. You have to be on cloud nine.”
“I am not on cloud nine! I was attacked, Aleks! Someone set killer birds the size of Great Danes loose in the museum hoping they would kill me! I found out my research is basically useless because it’s true and not myth. My parents gave me up so I wouldn’t be murdered as an infant! None of that is joy inducing information! As for stupid I know you were never interested in my research, but I thought you supported me?!”
“Supported you? Oh, please! I thought it was a phase! If I knew when this all started that you were so into it, I would’ve put an end to it then!”
“Put a stop to it? Do you think you can control me like that?! I enjoy my research. And besides, I wouldn’t have put half as much time into it as I have these last six months if you ever came home! I’m not going to choose between it and you!”
“Well you have to! I can’t keep pretending. I don’t care about your stupid research. And you try to act like you care about my interests, but you don’t. Choose. Me or your research? Will you finally forget this and find interests like mine? Or are you going to keep wasting time on something no one will ever care about?”
“You’re asking me to abandon my interests, everything that makes me who I am, and be someone that I’m not? I’m not going to change my core personality for anyone, not even you. If you don’t know that then I guess you never knew me at all.”
“Then that’s that. I’ll be out of here as soon as I can be.” He says as he sits back down with his back to me again.
“Fine.” I manage to reply as I turn and walk out the door.
Did that happen? After all this time it’s over. As I close the door, I lean my head against it and my eyes start to water. Before I can turn away and head towards my room I’ve started to cry. How could it end like this? I thought he cared. I thought he supported me. I supported him, and I cared about him. I know we disagreed, but no one agrees on everything all the time. At the end of the day our relationship was always a top priority for me. As I cross the living room a hand grabs mine and pulls me into a tight hug. It’s Brit. Daemon stands a few feet behind her looking worried again but also mad.
“We heard everything.” Brit explains as she lets me go. “You made the right decision.”
“I am biased, but I always thought you were too good for him anyway.” Daemon chimes in.
“I’ll probably agree with you later but right now it sucks.”
“I know sweetie.” Brit says while patting me reassuringly on the arm. “And until you feel better Daemon and I are on standby.”
“Standby? For what?”
“To beat him up.” Daemon says “For being a jerk to you. Say the word and we’ll be there.”
“I appreciate that but hurting him would solve nothing.”
“Fine,” Brit sighs “take the high road but the offer stands.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. How about we get some sleep?”
“Yeah that sounds like a good plan.” Daemon says crawling into bed on the pull out. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” Brit and I say in unison.
As we crawl into our beds Brit says, “Jess, I know you hurt right now but it will get better.”
“I know. In my head I know. But the rest of me hurts. I can’t help but remember the plans we made together. All the things we said we would do. Now it’s over. After so much time it’s all over, just like that. I never thought that would happen.”
“I know sweetie. It’ll get better. I promise. Just give it time. You have people that care about you to help you through it. Remember that.”
“Thanks.” I say, pausing for a moment I think about the look I keep seeing on Daemon’s face. “Hey Brit. I could be imagining things, but I keep catching Daemon with a look on his face. It looks like worry, but I don’t know him well enough to know for sure. Why would Daemon be worried about me?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll talk to him about it.” Brit says. “It might be the fact you seemed to shake like a nervous chihuahua that needed to go to the bathroom the entire night. I’ll sort it out tomorrow.”
“Thanks Brit. I’ll let you sleep now.”
“Goodnight Jess.”
“Goodnight.”381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyulccrat1W
