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“I’m sort of starting to see why you’re not interested in Oliver.” Her words lulled me out of my thoughts, but her comment came out of the blue. The poor guy found me when I’d killed myself to avoid X. Heracles took care of him, scrubbed his memories or something. And we were friends again, although our friendship was a little weird now. It was as if he still knew something was up but couldn’t remember.
Not consciously.
I hadn’t talked to him in a few weeks. Even though he lived next door and we often passed each other coming or going.
“He’s a great guy,” I said. “He’s just not the guy for me.”
Catina nodded and stared into the distance momentarily as if caught in her own fantasy. “I think whoever he dates, he’ll treat like a queen. She’d have no questions about his intentions toward her.”
I nodded. She was right, it would be way simpler to be with Oliver. But I couldn’t be with him when there was so much in my life I couldn’t talk to him about. And I couldn’t fall in love with a man when I wasn’t drawn to him. I’d never been attracted to Oliver, not even in the normal sense of the word.
And definitely not in the way I was pulled to the gods. There was something about them, about their magic, that drew me. Maybe the answer lay in the power within me that responded to theirs. Or maybe I hadn’t ever been like the rest of the human girls. Because the blood that pumped through my veins was infused with godlike power—the small blessing Zeus had bestowed on the Lowe bloodline.
“Why are you so serious about Oliver?” I asked.
When I’d allowed Oliver to take me on a date, Heracles had come to get me to fight X, and I’d ditched Oliver to save the world. What a bitch I was.
“He’s a nice guy, Elyse,” she replied. “Just saying.”
I straightened my posture, not loving her pushiness. “Then why don’t you date him?”
It came out a little snappy, and she lowered her gaze, subdued. Normally, she’d have fought back. She really was trying.
“Maybe I will,” she murmured so softly I barely heard her. But I was pretty sure she’d said the words. “Would that be okay with you?”
“Yes, of course. You have my blessing.” I’d never heard her speak of Oliver in any way that indicated she might have been interested in him. Or had I missed the clues, too preoccupied with my own world?
She glanced up at me, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was she being sarcastic or honest? But her cheeks glowed.
“I have to get going,” she said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Will I see you in the office anytime soon?”
“Yeah, I think Tina wants me in again soon. I’ll look you up.”
Catina nodded and started telling me about a project she was working on. The conversation had returned to girly and uncomplicated. I grinned and nodded and let her guide the conversation wherever she was comfortable.
It was the least I could do, though I kept wondering about her and Oliver. Had I missed something all this time and she’d had a thing for him? Why wouldn’t she tell me before? Or was she testing the waters before she made a move on him? They had my blessing if that was the case.
When it was time to go, Catina hugged me, holding me longer than usual, as if she’d wanted more time together as well.
“Thanks for this,” she said with a kindness in her smile, a gentleness because she was the kind of person who lived how she believed people should. With her heart on her sleeve. “I needed our catch up.”
I nodded. “Always. I’ll see you soon.” To those around us, we probably seemed like two close friends, chatting about casual things, but we both knew why there was a strain in our relationship.
She walked away first, and I watched her climb into her car before I strolled over to mine. Regular coffee time with her was a must. I’d come to the conclusion that my life would always be hectic and chaotic, so I’d make time to mend the rifts.
The conversation had been a little tense, but not because of a pending fight. Rather, it was because, in some ways, we were strangers. So much had happened lately, and we needed to find our place together again.
But in other ways, Catina was still my best friend from school, the only one willing to be my friend and pull me into her circle. And I loved her dearly for always being by my side as I’d grown up.
I was relieved our friendship hadn’t dissolved. We’d do what we’d always done; focus on the little things, because she was the only one who allowed me to feel normal. She meant so much more to me than she’d ever understand.
The branches of the oak tree I’d parked near stopped swaying and fell to a deadly silence. Coldness lingered around me. The smell of the city in the air shifted from the aroma of car pollution, brewed coffee, and the fresh smell of cut grass to something else. An electric scent. It tingled over my arms, lifting the hairs. The world around me fell quiet, no cars driving past, the people at the café seemed too quiet, and the sky was clear with the exception of a plane flying overhead. Everything seemed normal, but it didn’t feel right. The earlier darkness surged through me, burrowing in my chest.
My pulse raced, and I scanned the location. There was no sign of X, and like the alleyway, that heaviness in the air returned, pressing against me. I climbed into my car and drove away, checking my mirrors, unable to shake off that sensation of being watched.
