Zeus (The God Chronicles) (6 page)

I turned the car on and backed out of my spot, adjusting the air down to low
despite the fact the sun hadn’t set yet. Traffic was bad, a combination of students and workers heading home. I was grateful for the radio keeping me entertained and boosting my mood with a few good tunes. By the time I pulled into my spot at the apartment I was feeling less worn out and more like I could go out and party again.

I got out of the car, humming a song from the radio, thinking that I should probably call my mom before she had a panic attack again. I looked up as I approached the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks.

Zeus.

He was sitting on the second step from the bottom, wearing tennis shoes, faded jeans, a white V-neck t-shirt, a goofy smile, and holding at least a dozen of the largest red roses I’d ever seen. When I didn’t move towards him, he stood, still grinning like an idiot and held the flowers out to me.

“I came to beg your forgiveness,” he said in a noncommittal, mocking tone.

I felt sick to my stomach and my lips pinched together, turning down. I remained silent, having no desire to speak to him.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like them?” He walked toward me as he spoke. “Every girl likes roses.”

I felt rooted to the spot, but my disgust at what he’d said to me the night before was boiling up inside me. I still wanted to punch him in the nose, but I was pretty sure I’d break my hand before I could break his face.

“Here, take them,” he said forcibly, closing the last bit of distance between us and shoving them into my arms.

Their sweet aroma filled my nose as the petals blocked my view entirely. I pulled them away from my face so I could see better. Zeus was still standing right in front of me, his eyes boring into mine.

“Well?” he demanded.

The irritation finally took over, and I threw the flowers on the ground. Tearing my eyes away from his, I did a quick sidestep and ran up the stairs into my apartment. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I closed my eyes.

He had such nerve, showing up where I live! I wondered for a brief second how he had discovered that piece of information and then brushed it aside. Sure, I’d had a little time to think about what he’d done, but it wasn’t enough for me to forgive him yet. I wasn’t raised to be a one-night-stand kind of girl, and I refused to be treated like one by a total stranger.

A muffled yelling started from outside, causing my eyes to snap open. I moved to the window and opened the blinds enough to see what was going on.

Zeus was pacing back and forth over the scattered roses, waving his arms and gesturing from them to my apartment. I couldn’t understand what he was yelling, but his rage gave me some satisfaction. He began kicking the already battered flowers, still yelling at the top of his lungs. Once he’d thoroughly ruined them, he turned back towards the apartment and continued shouting, pointing his finger and stomping his foot. His face was a remarkable color of red, a stark contrast to the cool I was now feeling.

I left the window, Zeus still screaming in the background, and headed into the kitchen. I scavenged for some dinner, settling on Ravioli, and made a note to go grocery shopping. I needed to stop eating my roommates’ food and get some I could share with them in return.

The screaming continued outside as I sat down to eat. It was impressive how long he’d been going at it, but I was starting to ignore him. It wasn’t until I’d finished washing my dishes that I realized it had stopped.

I went back to the window, carefully
peeking out to see if he was still there. The roses were mashed into a pulp and scattered all over the ground, but Zeus was no longer next to them. I quickly scanned what I could see of the parking lot and discovered him sitting on the back of what must have been his car. It was a silver convertible, obviously meant to show his wealth, but I was unimpressed. He had his arms crossed and appeared to be mumbling to himself.

I considered calling the cops, amazed that a neighbor hadn’t done so already. In the end, I decided to keep snubbing him. He had to leave eventually.

I went to my room and pulled out my paint supplies, eager to work on—what I hoped would be—my entry in the art show. Back in the front of the house, I glanced out the window again to check on the situation there. He was still sitting on his car.

I moved my painting into the kitchen and got to work. Soon, a dry, cracked desert ground covered the bottom half of the canvas. I was very pleased with how it was turning out, but knew it still had a ways to go.

I looked at the clock. It was almost eight.

Leaving my work in the kitchen, I got up and returned to the window. Zeus was still there, on the back of his car. His arms were folded tightly across his chest and he stared up towards me with tight lips. I laughed at his continued fury,
astonished at how upset he was over a couple of flowers. It was impressive how long he’d been out there. Hopefully, he wasn’t waiting for me to come out for another confrontation. 

A car pulled into the parking lot and stopped a couple spaces away from him. Jessie crawled out, coming home from work. I’d never seen her without her sisters, both of whom were still away. I felt a slight panic when Zeus jumped off his car and strode over to her.

He followed her as she walked to the stairs, talking to her and angrily, gesturing from the roses to the apartment. She finally stopped and turned to him, clearly arguing, until he threw his hands in the air and went back to his car. I could see him muttering as he got in, then slammed the door, and pealed out of the complex.

“What happened, what did he say?” I asked as I opened the door for Jessie once she was upstairs.

“Huh?” She looked at me, confused. “Oh, him.” She rolled her eyes and put her bag on the counter. “Apparently, he recognized me from the club and knew we were friends. He was going on about how much the roses cost. He wanted me to tell you he is quite put out that you ruined them.

“Actually, I only threw them on the ground. He’s the one that smashed them to pieces,” I giggled.

Jessie let out a long sigh as she sat on the couch and covered her face with her hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, all humor gone. “I’m sorry he took it out on you. You didn’t have anything to do with it—he shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

“It’s fine,” she said, putting her hands in her lap and sitting up. “I had a rough day at work. No big deal.” A tired smile graced her face.

“Oh,” I said softly. “Do you need anything? Want me to make you some food?” I sat on the couch next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“No, it’s fine,” she said. “I think I’ll just go wait for my sisters in their room.”

She got up and walked down the hall, shutting their bedroom door behind her. I worried I had upset her somehow, but my gut said it had to do with something else.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called my mom, remembering she’d wanted to hear about my first day at school. About twenty minutes into my call, Jenny and Julie came through the door, laughing over something their teacher had said.

“Jessie’s in your room,” I whispered as I covered the mouthpiece of my phone. “She had a bad day and is really upset about something.”

The two girls gave me their thanks and hurried to her.

“Huh? Oh, yeah Mom. I’m listening.”

I talked with my mom about school for another ten minutes then decided to go check on Jessie. I put my phone on the counter and headed down the hall, hearing soft voices through the bedroom door.

“He knows,” Jessie said.

“What are we supposed to do now? Do we refuse to acknowledge him?” Julie asked.

“The time is up,” Jenny added.

Unconsciously, I leaned against the door trying to hear better, and it suddenly jerked open, shocking me.

“Sorry,” I stammered. “I was coming to check on Jessie.” I rubbed my arms nervously and smiled, trying to ease the discomfort of having almost been caught eavesdropping.

“I’m fine, thanks. Just tired.” Jessie smiled at me and I relaxed some.

“Good, good. Is it ok if I take a bath tonight then? Or did you guys need the bathroom for anything?” I said, trying to find another reason for my presence.

“Nope, we’re all good,” Julie said.

“Okay, thanks.” I smiled awkwardly and turned to the bathroom. If I was going to be forced to do something, at least it was a bath.

The tub wasn’t terribly small, but it wasn’t as big as I would have liked either. I turned the water on, letting it warm up before I plugged the drain. Feeling like some extra relaxation was in order, I pulled out some old bubble bath I’d had forever and brought along on the move and poured it in.

While the bubbles grew in size and number, I went into the bedroom and grabbed the two candles on my dresser. They smelled wonderful and would add a new level to my soak. Once everything was situated and the warm water was calling my name, I stripped down and slid into happiness.

The silence gave me room to think over everything that had happened since I’d arrived in Las Vegas. I was surprised to find I was more than happy with the way my life was turning out. I also mused over what little of the girls’ conversation I’d heard. What could they have been talking about? Was “he” Zeus, or someone I’d never even met? Why did they need to talk about it privately if it didn’t have anything to do with me?

Chapter Six

“No, no, no, no, no!” I groaned. “I can’t afford this!” I looked around, as if I was expecting to catch the perpetrator. 

“You,” I growled, spotting Zeus sitting in his convertible a couple spots away.

I stomped over to him; my fists clenched and smoke practically billowing from my nose.

“Did you really pop all my tires over those stupid roses?!” I spat, raising my hands to fight. “You are such an a—“

“Whoa, hold on there!” He held his hands up in defense, innocence plastered on his face. “I didn’t pop anything.”

“Really
? Then why are all of my tires flat?” I wanted to literally rip his ear off and readied every swear word I knew, preparing an arsenal to loose on him.

“I thought something was wrong with the valves, so I fiddled with them a little. I guess I accidently let the air out.” H
e was still the picture of innocence, but I caught a slight twitching of his mouth.

“I cannot believe you!” I screamed. “Do you know what this means?! I’m going to be late to class because I have to fix them! It’s only the second day of school.
What will my professor think?” I grabbed the top of his door and leaned over, right into his face. “If I lose my scholarship, so help me, I’ll—“

“Hang on baby,” he crooned.

“Ugh. Do not call me baby.” If I had a knife I would have been slicing things off, Bible style.

“Chill out, will you? That’s why I stuck around; I’ll drive you to school. Look,” he grabbed a cup and held it out to me. “I even brought coffee.”

I stared at the cup dumbfounded.

“You flattened my tires so I would have to hitch a ride?” I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms.

“Get in the car,” he sighed. “You said yourself you’ll be late if you don’t come with me.”

“I did not say that.”

“You implied it.” He smiled at me, lowering his designer sunglasses so I could see his eyes.

“I did not! I—whatever. But I’m not drinking the coffee.” I walked around to the other side of the car, hating that he was right. I needed the ride.

“Touchy,” he joked.

“I don’t drink coffee before art class,” I shot back. “It makes my work jittery.”

“Art huh?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

I fumed through all of my classes, struggling to maintain focus. Zeus agreed to have my tires aired back up and my car dropped off, so I wouldn’t have to find a ride home. I could only hope he’d hold up his end of the deal.

I couldn’t believe he’d come to my house. Twice. Especially after the way he treated me at the club. He’d still been as handsome as sin, his maroon shirt and jeans practically painted on . . . .I needed to focus. This guy was going to make my life miserable! Maybe I should have forgiven him when he brought the flowers. Then I never would have had to see him again and life would have been great.

I tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. It was my last class for the day, and I was supposed to be taking notes for a quiz next week. I gripped my pen and started writing furiously—leaving ink blots on the page.

What if my parents were right and this was the start of a stalking? I could end up dead in a dumpster—or worse! Several worse case scenarios started to run through my mind, many depicting my bones being used as decoration in his resort. So much for concentrating.

I hated him! He thought he could have whatever he wanted—whoever he wanted. Well he was in for a trip if he thought he was getting anything from me. I drummed my fingers on my desk, scowling. Maybe he’d get the picture if I burned his resort down. Running my hands through my hair, I sighed. I was really worked up and couldn’t shake it. Something about Zeus just drove me up the wall.