The Return
Page 30
And Erin’s.
He sauntered past her on his way to the bathroom. “I would ask if you were hungry,” he said to her. “But I assume you ate your fill of babies last night.”
My eyes widened. “You…eat babies?”
Her eyes rolled. “No, I don’t.” She shot him a nasty look as he chuckled. “Asshole.”
Seth disappeared into the bathroom. I didn’t know what to say to Erin in the silence that followed, and he returned in a few seconds, the hair around his face damp. He tugged the ends back, securing them at the nape of his neck as he toed on a pair of sneakers I hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll be back,” he said as he walked to the door. “With bacon. Pancakes. Eggs. Sausage. Maybe some fruit,” he continued, opening the door. “And waffles. Oh. Omelets sound good, too. With lots of cheese and peppers…” The door shut behind him as I wondered how he’d get all that food back here.
Silence.
Smoothing a hand over my hair, I looked over at Erin. She was staring at the closed door. “I’ve heard a lot of stuff about him,” she said, her voice soft. “Rumors. Some of it probably true. Some of it not. He did kill one of my sisters.” She turned to me. “Granted, they were trying to kill him.”
I wasn’t sure if that made it any better.
Uncrossing her legs, she dropped both feet to the floor and leaned forward. “He’s just not… He’s not what I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Erin shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I brought you all the clothes I could grab, and some of your other stuff, too.”
On the floor under the desk were several gym bags and backpacks that looked full to bursting. My tongue felt woolly as I spoke. “Thank you.”
Her features pinched. “We need to talk before he gets back and pisses me off. I know you’re probably confused.”
“Confused?” My laugh was as dry as dust. “Twenty-four hours ago, I thought Greek gods were nothing but myths, and now…”
“And now you know you’re one of the myths,” she finished. “A demigod—a very important one. Besides the fact that there hasn’t been a demigod since, well, a very long time, you’re Apollo’s daughter. The freaking sun god is your father.”
My father. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that, but I did know I wasn’t comfortable with the way it sounded. “Please stop saying he’s my father. He might’ve donated some sperm, but that’s all he did. He’s not my dad. My grandpa is the closest to a dad I have, because he raised me. He loves me.”
She cocked her head to the side as her brows knit together. “Apollo loves you, too. I know that may be hard to believe, but he does. He made sure you were always safe. Protected.”
The thing was, I hadn’t needed that when I was growing up. Or if I had, I’d been completely oblivious. What I had needed was a dad. Grandpa was great and did everything he could, but it wasn’t the same.
I swept those thoughts aside. “He sent you to watch over me.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. As she nodded, a twisty motion enveloped my stomach. “He did.”
“So you’re not really from DC, are you? And you didn’t run track in high school.” When she shook her head, my chest squeezed like it had been dropped in a juice grinder.
“I grew up on Olympus, but I’ve visited DC many times. I like the museums,” she said sheepishly. “I know that’s not what I told you.”
Did they even have high schools in Olympus? “You’re right. Everything about you—about us—has been a lie.”
She stood, flipping her curly ponytail over her shoulder. “I couldn’t tell you the truth. You wouldn’t have believed me.”
She was also right about that, but she didn’t get it. “You know that I didn’t have friends growing up, right?”
Casting her gaze to the window, she nodded. “I know.”
“Other kids weren’t nice to me, because their parents weren’t nice to my family,” I said, swallowing against the sudden tightening in my throat. “When I came here, I was expecting the same. I didn’t really know any better, but I met you and you were so nice and so open, and…” Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “You had to be friends with me.”
Her eyes widened as her head snapped back to me. “I had to be close to you, yes, but that doesn’t change that I sincerely like you.” She took a step toward me. “I wasn’t faking that.”
Part of me got that, but I couldn’t help wonder how our relationship would’ve been if she was…normal.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, and my gaze drifted to her. Sincerity was etched into her beautiful face and soulful eyes. Seeing her like this made it hard to believe that she could turn into a giant bat-like creature with snakes for hair. “I know you, so I know this has hurt you. And I wish I could’ve sat you down and talked to you about what I am and why I was here, but we were ordered to keep the truth hidden. And for your sake, I’d hoped you would never find out. No. Don’t take that the wrong way,” she said when I opened my mouth. “Not because I wanted to continue to lie to you, but if you lived the rest of your life not knowing about any of this, that meant you were safe. None of us knew this would happen with the Titans. We were preparing for…”
He sauntered past her on his way to the bathroom. “I would ask if you were hungry,” he said to her. “But I assume you ate your fill of babies last night.”
My eyes widened. “You…eat babies?”
Her eyes rolled. “No, I don’t.” She shot him a nasty look as he chuckled. “Asshole.”
Seth disappeared into the bathroom. I didn’t know what to say to Erin in the silence that followed, and he returned in a few seconds, the hair around his face damp. He tugged the ends back, securing them at the nape of his neck as he toed on a pair of sneakers I hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll be back,” he said as he walked to the door. “With bacon. Pancakes. Eggs. Sausage. Maybe some fruit,” he continued, opening the door. “And waffles. Oh. Omelets sound good, too. With lots of cheese and peppers…” The door shut behind him as I wondered how he’d get all that food back here.
Silence.
Smoothing a hand over my hair, I looked over at Erin. She was staring at the closed door. “I’ve heard a lot of stuff about him,” she said, her voice soft. “Rumors. Some of it probably true. Some of it not. He did kill one of my sisters.” She turned to me. “Granted, they were trying to kill him.”
I wasn’t sure if that made it any better.
Uncrossing her legs, she dropped both feet to the floor and leaned forward. “He’s just not… He’s not what I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Erin shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I brought you all the clothes I could grab, and some of your other stuff, too.”
On the floor under the desk were several gym bags and backpacks that looked full to bursting. My tongue felt woolly as I spoke. “Thank you.”
Her features pinched. “We need to talk before he gets back and pisses me off. I know you’re probably confused.”
“Confused?” My laugh was as dry as dust. “Twenty-four hours ago, I thought Greek gods were nothing but myths, and now…”
“And now you know you’re one of the myths,” she finished. “A demigod—a very important one. Besides the fact that there hasn’t been a demigod since, well, a very long time, you’re Apollo’s daughter. The freaking sun god is your father.”
My father. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that, but I did know I wasn’t comfortable with the way it sounded. “Please stop saying he’s my father. He might’ve donated some sperm, but that’s all he did. He’s not my dad. My grandpa is the closest to a dad I have, because he raised me. He loves me.”
She cocked her head to the side as her brows knit together. “Apollo loves you, too. I know that may be hard to believe, but he does. He made sure you were always safe. Protected.”
The thing was, I hadn’t needed that when I was growing up. Or if I had, I’d been completely oblivious. What I had needed was a dad. Grandpa was great and did everything he could, but it wasn’t the same.
I swept those thoughts aside. “He sent you to watch over me.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. As she nodded, a twisty motion enveloped my stomach. “He did.”
“So you’re not really from DC, are you? And you didn’t run track in high school.” When she shook her head, my chest squeezed like it had been dropped in a juice grinder.
“I grew up on Olympus, but I’ve visited DC many times. I like the museums,” she said sheepishly. “I know that’s not what I told you.”
Did they even have high schools in Olympus? “You’re right. Everything about you—about us—has been a lie.”
She stood, flipping her curly ponytail over her shoulder. “I couldn’t tell you the truth. You wouldn’t have believed me.”
She was also right about that, but she didn’t get it. “You know that I didn’t have friends growing up, right?”
Casting her gaze to the window, she nodded. “I know.”
“Other kids weren’t nice to me, because their parents weren’t nice to my family,” I said, swallowing against the sudden tightening in my throat. “When I came here, I was expecting the same. I didn’t really know any better, but I met you and you were so nice and so open, and…” Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “You had to be friends with me.”
Her eyes widened as her head snapped back to me. “I had to be close to you, yes, but that doesn’t change that I sincerely like you.” She took a step toward me. “I wasn’t faking that.”
Part of me got that, but I couldn’t help wonder how our relationship would’ve been if she was…normal.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, and my gaze drifted to her. Sincerity was etched into her beautiful face and soulful eyes. Seeing her like this made it hard to believe that she could turn into a giant bat-like creature with snakes for hair. “I know you, so I know this has hurt you. And I wish I could’ve sat you down and talked to you about what I am and why I was here, but we were ordered to keep the truth hidden. And for your sake, I’d hoped you would never find out. No. Don’t take that the wrong way,” she said when I opened my mouth. “Not because I wanted to continue to lie to you, but if you lived the rest of your life not knowing about any of this, that meant you were safe. None of us knew this would happen with the Titans. We were preparing for…”
