Apollo's 11

by Anna Collins

  With his face sunk in the core of the white pillow, my sleeping beauty was resting and softly snoring. His face was an image of perfection, the square jaws, and stubble. Uff! The thought made me wince in excitement. I couldn't help myself, so I reached up to brush my sweaty fingers over his jawline. My baby looked so cute while sleeping; I began admiring him with my eyes. My headache and discomfort were lost somewhere.

  I pinched myself, again and again, to ensure I wasn't crazy and that the alcohol was not making me see fantastic things. With my sweaty palms I reached for my phone, thankfully it was on the side table, and clicked 4/5 pictures of Robert and 2/3 selfies of us. That was it! These pictures were the living proof that Robert Hudson was real.

  While he was still sleeping, I thought about answering my morning needs, showering and breakfast. Holding the white bedsheet across my chest, I went to the washroom. I knew he was sleeping, but then it just felt awkward to walk around naked even if no one was watching.

  I stepped into the shower, toes flinching as they touched the chilled ceramic floor. My mind was in shreds, still trying to absorb last night’s events. He was there with me; he told me everything about his past. But then why did I have this feeling Robert was trying to hide something? I could see a sadness buried in his ocean blue eyes. Why was I feeling like that? My guy had been completely open and honest with me. He even promised me he would never leave me alone. Why on earth was I suffocating myself with this confusion?

  I turned the dial, old and metallic, releasing thousands of lukewarm drops, darkening my hair and trickling down my back. My eyes fell closed over and over, each time showing me the images of Robert kissing and making love to me.

  Truly speaking, I hated mornings, they were all about tasks and fulfilling responsibilities. I had a housemaid to take care of Eric and do some of the daily chores like making breakfast and all, but mostly I would just prefer sleeping in.

  However, this morning was different, I thought as I chopped onions on the beige counter of the kitchen. It had been ages since I had put on my navy blue apron which had the "I am a good cook" printed on it in bold yellow letters. Today I felt good, relaxed and more importantly happy. I couldn't stop myself from smiling while preparing breakfast for my love. I had a dream like this; one day when Robert and I would be married, I would be the one to get up in the morning and prepare breakfast for him. I wasn't the best cook in the world, but he said he would deal with it. I smiled affectionately as his cute teasing expression roamed over my eyes. Life was finally smiling down at me. "Thank you, God," I murmured softly.

  "There is my sunshine," his sleepy voice startled me, and I turned around to be surprised at the sight. My man was standing in just his black jeans. I blushed as his perfect abs, and toned chest came into my view. This was the height of love; he was making it impossible for me to concentrate on other things, all I wanted to do was to grab and bite his chest.

  I bit my lip instead. "Cool down Freya, let go of these erotic thoughts," I whispered to myself. He smiled. Ahh, how good he looked when he smiled fully showing all of his white sparkling teeth. With each step, he took towards me, only added to my yearning. My heart found its peace when he kissed my forehead. I wasted no time surrendering myself into the embrace of his strong arms. His scent was driving me crazy; the man of my dreams was holding me in his arms. God! I'm so sorry for all the complaints. You are just awesome.

  The rest of the morning went on perfectly, we ate breakfast together, and then he put on ointment on my swollen foot. I just kept staring at him as if I saw him for the first time. My baby was so sweet. What did I do to get him? I actually felt like we were living in a bubble and nothing could touch us.

  "Freya, I'm sorry I have to leave, but I promise I will be back by night," he said in a way as if he made a mistake uttering those words. My hand was already in his grip, and we were lying together on the ottoman. I frowned and wanted to yell, ‘No! You can't leave me’. He smiled affectionately at me, straightening my brows, "Baby, it's really important. You remember uncle Joe's son right? " He asked.

  I nodded, "Yes, what about him?"

  "He's living in a dorm, close to his university so I need to go and check him. I'm afraid Rebecca might try to harm him," his voice sounded tensed.

  "So you are flying to New York?" I asked.

  "Not flying, driving," he answered.

  I raised an eyebrow, "That will take ages."

  "Not for me," he winked playfully.

  Ahh, how could I forget he wasn't a normal human anymore.

  "Okay, I will not stop you, but come back soon, please," I made a puppy face.

  He hummed and grabbed me for a sweet passionate kiss.

  "Girl! Tell me the truth, are you really attending your aunt's marriage or getting married yourself?" I asked in doubt while talking to Kate over the telephone. That girl sounded super bored and complained there weren't too many good looking guys there. I turned off the volume of the TV, and got comfortable on my bed; our talks never ended too soon.

  "I can't wait to come back. How's your foot?" She asked.

  "It's okay, it got the right treatment from a specialist," of course I was referring to Robert, but I was certain she wouldn’t get it.

  "You sound different, no not different, you sound happy. What's cooking?" She teased.

  "Just come back, I have a lot to tell, bye for now," with that I disconnected the call.

  The feeling of being in love is so beautiful, I thought while smelling my pillow, which still had his scent.

  Then the lights went out. I cursed the electricity board and got up to check on Eric, the little one was scared of darkness too.

  As I emerged near the open window, I saw all the lights of the neighborhood houses were perfectly working. Jeez! Did the fuse go off? I bit my nails.

  Stop being a kid, and light some candles, instructed the voices in my head. Turning on the flashlight of my phone I went near the cabinet door to take some candles. I brought out two of the vanilla scented candles and lit them up with the lighter stuck with the candle case. Finally, I could breathe again; even a little flame of light could do wonders scaring away the darkness.

  As my eye fell over the white curtains of the window, I began wiping my eyes to ensure if I saw right. Wisps of black smoke curled through the thin fabric and billowed in a dense cloud. A ghostly figure emerged from it; the figure was a lady and was made out of black smoke.

  "Jeez! Not again," I cringed my face.

  My reaction was awarded a laughter echoing around the room.

  "Today you are gonna like me because I am here to disclose a secret," she said in her own creepy way.

  "What secret?" Argh, I hated these curious worms of my brain.

  "The secret about your parents’ death. Wanna know who is responsible for it?" She whispered in her harsh voice.

  I would have guessed Rebecca, but why would she? My parents had no connection to her...maybe to hurt me...I was just overthinking.

  "I don't want to hear any of your lies," I stated.

  "He is the villain of this particular scene, not me. How can anyone spread goodness with the powers bestowed by the devil himself? Just think about it," with this statement the puff of smoke disappeared.

  Her words had shaken me. No, Robert wasn't the villain, he was my hero, but what if, the devil.... the image of that tattoo flashed before my eyes, and I thought I would go crazy.

  I need to see it all. With this thought, I wiped the crystal ring and concentrated on thinking about the night when my parents died.

  This time the ring showed me the characters clearly. There was an empty road, and my family was sitting inside a taxi. Then a black Mercedes came, it was clear that the driver in the Mercedes was a drunken one because he was driving the car in a zig zag pattern. The taxi driver tried to overtake the Mercedes, and the Mercedes recklessly bumped on the cab.

  The taxi driver lost control and ran his taxi over a pillar containing electric wires. Sparks were flying everywh
ere, and my parents died due to electric shock. Luckily, when the taxi driver was taking a risk turn, Eric fell off from the car; maybe his side of the door was left ajar. Eric was lying on the road when he saw this scene.

  After everything had ended, the Mercedes driver got out of his car, and I saw his face. It was Robert Hudson.

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  Robert

  It was 11 am when I reached Freya's. I was late; I hope she isn’t too angry. I thought while climbing up the stairs.

  Her room was dark, which was weird because Freya hated darkness. I quickly turned on the lights and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. Her eyes were red, and her whole face was filled with tears.

  "Freya! What's wrong?" I asked desperately.

  It seemed my voice wasn't reaching her because she was just staring at the floor with a stern expression on her face.

  I could no longer bear this sight and stepped ahead to talk to her.

  "Don't, don't even come near me. I don't want your blood stained hands to touch any part of my body," she stated.

  "Freya! Are you even in your right senses?" I asked in a confused tone.

  She stood up, as our eyes met, I could only see hatred in them. "Rebecca was right. Nothing good can come out from a person who has the devil's light within him. You are a bloody monster! A real one! A monster who made me an orphan. What had my parents ever done to you?" She shouted and held the collars of my shirt. "I must admit, you are an excellent actor, the perfect gamer. Your sick games destroyed my life! I am just a corpse who has the advantage of breathing. Are you happy now?" She cried out.

  "Rebecca told you something, and you believed that?" I looked at her in disbelief while she kept staring at me with those swollen hatred filled eyes.

  "Stay with the story in your head, because I am done explaining you," I growled and jerked away from her hand on my collars.

  With that statement, I turned away and walked out of her house without even looking back at her. The most painful thing was she didn't even try to stop me.

  I knew I was impulsive; I acted ridiculously when things didn't go as per my plans. I also knew walking away from her and wondering hopelessly in the streets was not a good idea. I didn't want to go back to a person who thought I could stoop down to such a level. It seemed like she never saw the real me. I sighed as my boots got stuck in the snow-covered pathway. Soft snow flurries began falling down over my navy blue jacket, it didn't matter. No amount of cold could freeze the fire burning profoundly at the core of my heart.

  I should have never returned to her, she wasn't the girl I loved, she had changed a lot. She actually thought I was the one who killed her parents? I sighed, feeling a part of my heart completely ripped off from my chest.

  "Are you Robert? As in Robert Hudson, please tell me you are! I will go crazy if you aren't," the helpless pleading forced me to look back, and I saw a handsome looking blonde-haired guy in a long gray overcoat. His handsomeness was somehow lessened due to the helplessness practically dripping from his pale white skin.

  "I'm sorry, do I know you?" My forehead crooked.

  "No, but I know you, and only you can save all our lives, my brother," he said breathlessly.

  "After your father died, Rebecca Hudson married my dad. I loved her because she was too sweet and caring. When my father fell ill, my stepmom started showing her real colors. Then eventually I came to know she is a witch. That woman is too dangerous," said Edward as we halted near an old oak tree.

  "So what do you want from me? Let me tell you, I have no connection with that woman," I twisted my lips in disgust.

  "I know brother, she can't harm you, but she is planning to kill Freya and me!" He swallowed.

  "Why will she kill you? According to what you have told me, you follow all her orders," I asked.

  "Today when I went to meet her to say I can no longer be her pet, I overheard something. She was talking to one of her men, and they...they," he was trembling while saying this.

  I held his hand, "Say it."

  "They are going to cut my throat and feed my blood to the devil. I became so scared I ran to Freya, in the hope she might be able to help me, that's when I saw you coming out of her house, and somehow I felt you are Robert," he gasped.

  The scene of a ritual where all the demons were about to sacrifice a child flickered before my eyes and I shivered at the memory of that terrible plan, "Don't worry, I will not let her harm you or Freya or anyone," I promised.

  "But how will you stop her?" Edward asked.

  "I guess Aunt Caroline can help us. She only knows the game plan of her sister." I said.

  Freya

  The moment he turned his back and left, it felt as if someone had wrapped my head in a plastic bag. I could only see him in pieces of haze, and my breath stuck in my throat. Even taking those heavy breaths wasn’t helping; suffocation covered my senses. But why did I feel like this? What was there in his eyes that made me feel as if I had committed a dreadful sin? Jeez! Why did I let him walk away? Why didn't I stop him?

  An unsettling feeling began welling up inside me as the voices in my head kept shouting, Freya you made a big mistake! But why? I hadn't done anything wrong! I charged him for what I had seen. His walking away in complete arrogance and not feeling the need to explain anything proved nothing! Nothing at all!

  I felt the blood in my veins thickening and the nerves in my head tugging. Jeez! What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I overreacting like this?

  My restless steps took me near the dressing table, and I saw my full body, bathed in sweat. Feeling the urgent need to wipe the heat off my head, I quickly discarded my clothes and stepped into the shower.

  The cold water ran over me, and it brought a momentary relief to the aching pain in my head, but the chained emotions inside my heart remained intact. No matter what I did, I couldn't forget the look Robert gave me before leaving; there wasn't any shame or guilt in his piercing blue eyes. Instead, there was a storm of pain and betrayal.

  I couldn't take it anymore, so without thinking anything else, I took a sleeping pill to put my mind to rest. The high dose of the medicine almost acted instantly and pushed me into a world of deep sleep.

  "Freya! Why are you sleeping on the floor? What's wrong with you?" Kate's tender touch on my forehead shook me awake. When I opened my eyes, for few moments I could see nothing except for darkness. Then, light began to slowly fade in.

  "Freya! You are now scaring me, what have you done to yourself?" She spoke, with tension and care clearly dripping from her eyes. I wanted to tell her everything; I opened my mouth, but before my words could form a sentence and reach her ear, the loud buzz of my phone shook me.

  "Let's get that first, it might be important," said Kate as she left my side and went near the bed to get my phone.

  "It's Edward, come on take it!" She uttered in haste as she dropped the phone in my hands.

  My brain was in autopilot mode when I swiped on the phone and held it to my ear.

  "Hello," I managed to utter. Why did I even receive his call when I clearly knew I didn't have the answer to his question?

  "Thank God you received the call! I have been trying to reach you for hours. Listen, I have something to tell you. We are about to leave for the airport, so I'll keep it short. Robert didn't kill your parents. It's Rebecca's ploy. She destroyed the power of the ring you are wearing. Her primary motive is to hurt you and Robert. She knows she won't be able to harm Robert physically, so she played a mental game on both of you," his voice was barely audible, and he told me everything in a rush, but I managed to understand some of it.

  Suddenly a burning question caught my attention, "Wait... how do you know all this? What’s your connection with Robert and Rebecca?" I asked curiously.

  Kate looked at me with a clueless expression when I raised my hand and mouthed I would explain everything later.

  I listened intently as Edward described how Rebecca had tricked his rich father into marrying her and
how he lured Edward into accompanying her in her selfish acts. I felt sorry for Edward; the poor guy had been blackmailed into doing something he completely hated.

  He continued, "Freya, my only motive was to cure my father. I had no idea things would turn out like this," he said sadly.

  "I understand. You helped her and thought she would maybe help you since she is your stepmother. Trust me, a woman ready to kill her own son can do no good to anyone," I sighed. Tears formed in my eyes as I imagined how she had almost killed Robert.

  "Now she is planning to feed my blood to the devil. Freya I'm shaking as I am saying this to you. Robert is taking me to New York to find a solution, but I am very scared. She is a witch, Freya. What if she kills me before Robert has the chance to do anything about it?" Edward said in a voice filled with panic.

  "Edward, calm down. Robert is stronger than Rebecca," I tried to reassure him.

  "Freya, we are leaving for New York in two hours or so. Robert somehow managed to grab the last tickets. Please come over there. It would be a tremendous moral support for me if you could," he urged.

  "Okay, I will meet you guys in New York. I'll try to arrange for the private jet of the company to take me there. I need to see Robert. I just hope he forgives me, I have made a huge mistake not trusting him." I shut my eyes tightly.

  "Only God can resolve everything. Bye for now. I am calling you from the men's room. Robert will get mad if he finds out I called you. Take care," and he cut the call.

  Kate was staring at me with her big olive green eyes, when I said: "Get ready, we are going to New York."