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A dog circles his feet, bounding through the grass, stopping to sniff at flowers and brush up against him, its tail wagging and wagging and wagging.
It’s a big dog, but it’s not Conor. Conor’s all black, his coat shiny, his frame sleek despite how fucking enormous he is.Thisdog is mostly German Shepherd, and part some other breed. It’s tan and black with hints of red and it’s beside itself. I’ve never owned a dog, but you’d have to be a fool to miss the unadulterated joy radiating off that thing.
I give Ollie the universalgive-me-a-minutegesture. He mouthsseriously?but he’s still smiling. His run slows to a jog, and I take a step toward him. Can’t stop myself. My mom puts her hand on my back like she’s going to stop me.
“I’m fine,” I tell her. “I’m okay.”
“Youare,” she agrees. “Everything will be okay. Don’t run.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
I wasn’t. I just know that running in the presence ofthatguy would be widely considered a great decision.
There’s that feeling again.Hurry the fuck up.
But why? I thought I had forever.
I was at peace with it. Now I don’t know what I am. Whatheis, or why he’s here. Every step Hades takes injects more confusion into my blood.
Do I even have a bloodstream anymore?
It feels like it, a little bit.
My mom saidnotto run, but…should I?
No. This is a field. It’d be pointless.
Hades stops a couple of steps away, the breeze ruffling his hair, and leans down to scratch the dog behind its ears. He strokes her head. “Stay,” he murmurs. “Here.”
The dog’s tail wags even harder. She’s too overjoyed to sit, but she pads around in the grass next to Hades’s feet while he straightens up and slips his hands into his pockets.
There’s something super fucking weird about his face. Maybe it’s the relaxed expression, like he’s visiting one of his vacation homes. The man is always a little tense, no matter what, but not right now.
He smiles at my mom like they’ve met before. “Alcmene.”
She smiles back at him. “Hades.”
“Youknowhim?” What the fuck? How much has she been hiding from me? “Are you serious?”
“I knowofhim.” My mom gives me a scolding look. She’d have given me a lot more of these growing up if she’d lived. “He’s known here.”
“You’vebeenhere?” I’m starting to sound like an indignant prick, and maybe I am. I keep my arm around my mom’s shoulders and narrow my eyes at Hades. “Don’t you think it would’ve been helpful to mention that? Atall? Even once?”
He looks out over the field, down at the daisies, and drops his hand to pet the dog. “I didn’t remember.”
“How could youforgetthis?”
Hades is unhurried, like we really do have all the time in the world.
“If I had to guess…” The dog pushes its nose into his palm, and he strokes her head again. “I might’ve come when I had particularly bad seizures. Of course, I have no memory of what happens while they’re in progress.”
“What the fuck,” I whisper.
My mom pats my arm. “You have a beautiful dog,” she tells him.
He looks down at the dog, his eyes shining. “For a little while.”
“What’s her name?” Mom asks.
