by M. W. Muse
It wasn’t a specific response, but it was detailed enough for her to understand exactly what he meant.
She looked at Adin’s eyes, and they were sad. Why did she feel her stomach just drop? Hadn’t she been dealt enough crap over the last twenty-four hours? Try as she might, she knew. She just knew. Her thoughts drifted to their fight the night before the banquet when Adin confessed he’d been keeping secrets from her and that he’d continue to do that if he felt such information may be harmful to her. She had to ask, but she already knew the answer. “Did you already know about her?”
Adin shut his eyes. “Yes.”
Gods, she hated being right. “How much did you know before last night?”
“Umm…I heard Aphrodite created a goddess with the intent of offering her to me.” He kept his eyes closed.
“How long have you known this?”
Adin opened his eyes and stroked her hair. “My dad told me over the summer after you and I started dating. It’s one of the things we fought about on my first trip. I told you that we’d fought about Aphrodite.”
“And this is why you told me the other night that you couldn’t tell me things that would hurt me. You knew if I found out about this, it would upset me.”
“Yes.”
“What does your dad think?”
“He thinks I’m not going to be able to deny my attraction to her. He wanted me to go to school in Texas because he feared Aphrodite would send her likeness here since this is where I’ve always lived. He thought if I went to school out there, I could buy some time for my relationship with you to grow, which might help me with the temptation that she would present.”
“So your dad didn’t want you away from me because he believed in the prophecy?”
“That’s not what I meant. He believes in the prophecy, too. Since he believed in the prophecy, he tried to save me the heartache of your bond forming with River. When he realized I wasn’t budging, he told me about Aphrodite. It was just another angle he argued to get me to go to school out there.”
“Why didn’t you?” she asked, looking down.
“I already told you that too,” Adin murmured. “I couldn’t stand the idea of being away from you. I already put my life on hold for stories about my change that never came to fruition. Since those stories never came true, why would I believe Venus actually existed? I didn’t know what to believe, so I didn’t know what to tell you. And I wasn’t going to move away from you for any reason.”
There was that. She stifled a sigh. “When did you meet her?” He knew who she was asking about by the way his back stiffened.
“Last week at one of the orientation seminars.”
“Was it a quick introduction with lots of people around?” Legacy didn’t know why the thought of this made her feel better, but it did.
“Yes. But then the next day, she came over to my table and ate lunch with me.”
She nodded, staring at Adin. That feeling of relief just went bye-bye.
“Umm, there were other people there too.” He shrugged, trying to make light of their encounter.
“When did you figure out she’s Aphrodite’s likeness?”
“Well, we don’t know that for sure…” Legacy’s eyes narrowed, and Adin modified his response. “Last night. When you did.”
She took a deep breath, preparing herself for this next question. She had been doing so well this morning. She hadn’t cried once, but she wasn’t sure if that trend would continue once she found the strength to ask him what she needed to. She exhaled slowly. “How do you feel about her?”
He looked at her with gentle eyes. “I don’t feel anything for her. Nothing at all.” He shook his head.
“Are you just saying that because you don’t want to say something that’ll hurt me?” She felt her eyes moisten, but she tried to keep the tears away. She wanted Adin to be honest, not tell her what she wanted to hear.
“No. Absolutely not. I may not want to tell you things that would ever hurt you, but I would never lie to you.”
“Was this the only thing you’ve kept from me for my protection?”
“No,” Adin whispered as he shook his head and shut his eyes again.
She was already in too much pain to hear anything else that might only cause her a fraction of the pain she was currently in. “Don’t tell me.”
“I’m not going to. Not right now.” Adin opened his eyes. “I may have to later, but I’d rather wait until it becomes necessary—if it ever does.”
“This is so unfair. First River and now Venus. It feels like external forces are trying to pull us apart.”
As she thought about the words she just spoke, she gasped. She already knew that River was a factor that had to be dealt with, but Lissa told her she hadn’t decided about her future because not all circumstances had come into play. She told her that once they did, her destiny would become clear. She realized now Venus was one of those circumstances. Her subconscious self knew this already because she had been so upset since leaving the banquet. But she had been so focused on her sadness that she hadn’t really considered the gravity of her appearance in her life.
“What are you thinking?”
She told him her thoughts, unable not be snarky when she said, “One of those factors presented herself last night.”
“I will not let her come between us!”
“Are you trying to convince me…or yourself?” she whispered, looking down.
Adin took his hand off hers and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Legacy, I love you. I want to love you. You are all that will ever matter to me.”
“But River is proof that we can’t control our bonds. What we want now may not matter later.”
“But what we want now matters to us now. And what I want is you. What I need is you.” He leaned over and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, and when they finished kissing, they held each other. “We will get through this, Legacy. I promise you, we will.”
“I hope you’re right because I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“You won’t have to imagine that, sweetheart. That’ll never happen. I will always be a part of your life. We are meant to be together. I know it. I can feel it.”
She had always felt that way about Adin too. But now, she didn’t trust that feeling. Not because she didn’t want to believe in that, but because she was scared to hope.
She loved him, but she still knew the reality of the situation. She was going through changes, and she truly hoped those changes did not include her losing the man she loved.
Chapter Two
“Why don’t you see if Calli and Zach want to go out with us tonight?” Adin asked, stroking her hair.
They’d spent the rest of Sunday and Monday together watching funny movies and playing games. Lissa had returned from her trip on schedule, but Legacy had stayed focused on Adin, trying to stay positive because she knew what his motive was for keeping her busy doing fun things. She was depressed, not stupid. She did enjoy his undivided attention, but in the back of her mind, she still thought about Venus. She did catch looks in his eyes a few times that she knew he didn’t want her to see. He was worried, too, but he was doing his best not to show it.
And damn it, she was tired of being a crybaby.
“That sounds awesome. I’ll go call her now.”
Calli was her best friend and the one she’d turned to when she needed to talk about River in the beginning because she hadn’t felt comfortable talking to Adin about him. Honestly, she didn’t feel completely comfortable talking to Calli about River either because Legacy knew her BFF had had a crush on him. But now Calli had Zach. They’d met over the summer, and they all hung out from time to time. Adin and Zach got along great. Legacy remembered wishing Adin and River got along just as well, but now she felt guilty for even thinking that. She knew she’d never be friends with Venus. Just thinking about being forced to be around her made her want to rip that stringy, dark hair of hers out from the roots!
&n
bsp; Legacy called Calli, and she was up for it. Zach was already with her, so they were able to make the impromptu plans with ease.
The four of them met up at the neighborhood pizza place. They sat in a corner booth, and all laughed and talked. The atmosphere helped Legacy’s mood, but Calli’s questioning gaze flashed to her several times. It was obvious Calli knew something was up with her. They hadn’t talked since the banquet, but BFFs had that chick connection going on. She needed to clue her in on the latest development. She started to suggest a bathroom run, but her bitch radar went off and she looked up. Freakin’ Ellen.
With it being the night before school started, several people from Oak Grove were out enjoying their last night of freedom. Legacy shouldn’t be shocked Ellen had come out too. Along with Kate and their boyfriends, Thad and Eli.
Shocked? No. Irritated? Totally.
“Hi, Calli!” Ellen shouted from the door as she waved to her. Legacy didn’t bother hiding her cringe.
Calli waved back and smiled, but it wasn’t enough attention for Ellen. The biotch walked over to their table with Kate and their boyfriends following behind.
“How’re you doing, Ellen?” Calli asked as she approached.
“Couldn’t be better.” Ellen’s eyes flashed over to Adin. “Ready for college life?” she asked him as she stepped to his side of the table.
Gods, it was like she’d found Legacy’s fresh wound and doused it with salt. The mentioning of Adin’s college was a sore subject right now. She and Adin hadn’t even talked about the specifics of his school. Legacy looked away from Ellen while Adin rubbed her knee and answered the noisy skank.
“Yes.”
“Met any of your new classmates yet?” she continued.
Salt? Wrong. Ellen was stabbing that wound with a rusty knife. Legacy sighed, and Adin squeezed her knee.
Luckily, Zach chimed in. “Yeah, we both met a lot of people during orientation.”
“You’re going to Adin’s school?” Legacy asked Zach incredulously. This news caught her by surprise. Zach looked at her, but Calli didn’t give him a chance to respond.
“Adin didn’t tell you?” she asked. “Zach told me after he got back Friday night. We didn’t go to the banquet because he had family in town for the holiday weekend. But I figured Adin would’ve mentioned this.”
Legacy tried not to hyperventilate. She didn’t want to talk about Adin’s college or meeting new classmates, but she seriously didn’t want to talk about the banquet itself. She looked at Adin, and he stroked her face and watched her eyes while he answered Calli for her.
“We haven’t had time to talk about that yet.”
“Ellen, have you decided what you’re going to wear tomorrow?” Calli suddenly asked, and Legacy immediately knew what she was doing—diverting the unwanted attention away from Legacy. Gods, she loved her BFF. Attention from Calli was always Ellen’s primary objective in life, so it worked. Ellen talked about fashion, and Calli acted eager to be listening. When they finally left their table, Calli’s eyes flashed to Adin and then to her.
“It’s bathroom time,” Calli said, not giving her a chance to respond as she grabbed Legacy’s hand and pulled her from the booth. Once they were inside, Calli looked in the bathroom stalls to make sure they were alone.
“What’s going on?”
Legacy sighed, shaking her head. “There’s a woman who wants Adin.”
“Er, wants him how?”
She pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows. Surely, Calli didn’t need her to explain that.
“Um, there’re a lot of chicks that think Adin’s hot. Girl, you shouldn’t be surprised by this.”
“Remember talking at the salon on Saturday, and I told you what Lissa told me?”
“Yeah, but she told you a lot of things.”
“She said that my destiny wasn’t clear because I haven’t decided which route I want to take in my life.”
Calli nodded.
“She said that I think I might know now, but that I can’t decide until other factors come into play. Well, one of those factors started playing.”
“I’m not following, Legacy.”
So she guided her. Through all the sordid details. “I just feel sick about this. What am I going to do?”
“Maybe you don’t have anything to worry about,” Calli said while rubbing her arm, trying to comfort her.
“I don’t want to be bonded to River, but I am, and I know that I am. It will be the same for Adin and Venus. I know it. I can sense it.”
“Venus? What the hell kind of name is that anyway? Unless she’s a helluva tennis star, she can’t pull that name off.”
“It’s the Roman form of Aphrodite, which you know is the Greek goddess of love. How can I compete with that, Calli?” She shook her head. She couldn’t.
“You don’t have to compete because you’ve already won.”
“But Adin is going to be bonded to her like I am to River.”
“Well, you don’t want to be with River like that. You like him being just a friend. Maybe that’s all Adin will have. Besides, if this chick is all into love, she could be eaten up with herpes. Adin’s smart enough not to get linked to that disease of a woman named Venereal.”
She snorted at Calli’s disease reference. “Her name is Venus Dionne.” Then Legacy busted out laughing.
“No way! She really is a V.D.”
They both got lost in the hysterics of the situation until Legacy’s stomach was aching and tears were leaking…for a much better reason than that of late.
“How is Adin taking this?” Calli asked as the laughing became chuckles and she started primping in the mirror.
“It’s been hard for him because it’s been hard for me. He said he doesn’t feel anything for her at all.”
“Then I think you shouldn’t worry about it.”
“It’s going to happen. I didn’t feel anything for River in the beginning either.”
“Well, wait until it starts to happen before you freak out. You don’t want to be miserable while you sit around waiting for some woman to fall in love with your boyfriend. That’s your man, sista-girl.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. I just hate the thought of some woman moving in on my boyfriend!”
“Well, maybe we need to find out a cure for V.D., so she can be eradicated.”
She smiled at Calli. “I think that’s a good idea.”
As she thought about this, she felt her mood shifting. She still hated the idea of Venus, but instead of feeling sorry for herself, dwelling in a pit of despair, she felt determined. If she found out what she could about Venus, then she could also be the one to take action rather than just reacting to what happened to her. Adin was hers, and as far as she was concerned, he was going to stay that way.
They walked out of the restroom, and Legacy felt as if she were a new woman. She was smiling and laughing. When her gaze met Adin’s, his eyes shined.
She scooted onto the booth beside him and briefly kissed his lips before nestling up against him. He stroked her face and looked at her, and she just smiled at him. He sighed and hugged her.
“Thank you,” he whispered, but he wasn’t talking to her.
“I just reminded her what was hers,” Calli said.
Adin pulled away and looked into Legacy’s eyes. “Forever.”
* * * * *
That night Legacy dreamed the same dream from the night before—the one about lightning glittering down from the sky—but also dreamed about the beach again. She and Adin were in Florida, and the red warning flags were out while a storm brewed in the Gulf. Adin wanted them to evacuate before the hurricane hit, but as they started to run, Medusa appeared—but she didn’t have a red herring this time; Legacy had already discovered the meaning in that. Medusa had been distracting her from her weather abilities before, but now she knew that she was linked to the weather.
Medusa stared at them before speaking. “Everything isn’t always as it seems.�
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Then her wavy hair turned into snakes, falling all around her. The snakes started to come for them just as the hurricane made landfall. As the hurricane hit, it turned into River. River threw himself in front of the snakes.
“No, Mom!” he yelled, and the woman screamed so loudly that the ground trembled.
River turned to Adin and yelled, “I will tear you apart!” Then River turned back into a hurricane and started charging for Adin.
Legacy woke up on the first day of school thinking about her dreams. She couldn’t understand why she would have these dreams again, but she knew it must mean something.
Since she woke up early and Lissa wasn’t up, she got ready for school. She put on a new skirt outfit that she and Calli had picked up at the mall last week while Adin was at orientation.
Orientation. Just the thought of that altered her mood. She’d rather think about the dreams she’d just had than think about that misery. At least the dreams would give her something familiar to focus on.
She headed downstairs to think on it. She must have sat in silence for awhile because the sun arose and illuminated the living room without her conscious knowledge until it was already sunny. But she came up empty on any revelation.
“Good morning, Legacy,” Lissa said as she walked into the living room. “Do you want me to cook you breakfast before school?”
“Sure, if you have time. If not, I can just eat a bowl of cereal.”
“How about some egg whites and turkey bacon?”
“Sounds good.”
After Lissa cooked breakfast, they both ate in silence. When they were finished, Lissa watched Legacy as she cleared the table. She then pulled out some dried leaves and began crushing them. Legacy frowned at her, but didn’t ask her what the heck she was doing making a mess on the table.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lissa obviously knew there was something wrong with her.
“There’s not much to say. You were right before when you said other circumstances were not present.”
