Forbidden To Love (The Erosians) (20 page)

Dance till you’re Dead

~16~

It’s the morning of the ball, the first morning of my new life with Josh. Tonight when I go to sleep, it will be with him. Heat rises to my cheeks, staining them a deep crimson when I picture what little sleep we’ll hopefully be getting. I’ve never felt this giddy and excited! I'm going to have to curb it somehow, or Allana and Amora are going to suspect something and I’ll never be able to sneak out.                                           I’ve got ten hours ahead of me until I get to be with him, these are going to be the longest ten hours ever! I have nothing to get up for; I lie back down and bury myself in my quilt. It’s silent finally giving me the quiet I need. Closing my eyes, pictures of me in my gown with Josh in his tuxedo dancing, swim happily in my head.                                           “Acacia.” My bubble pops. It’s Allana. She’s turned into an over-protective big sister / super mum / prison guard since she told me that she thought it would best if I stayed home for a while. “Acacia.” I suppose I better go down and answer her before she sends a search party to check I haven’t escaped.                                                                                    “Acacia, there you are. Didn’t you hear me shouting?” Allana is standing at the bottom of the stairs. She looks gorgeous today; she must be going somewhere special. Her figure is fully defined with a purple body-hugging maxi dress, and her hair is a mixture of waves and straights.              “Where are you going?” I ask her, puzzled at this new look.                                                                                                   “Coffee Park I’m playing struggling writer today. It’s Friday. Everyone’s in a good mood for the weekend, and coffee shops are always busier on a Friday because people don’t go there over the weekends.” She pretty much spits her answer in one mouthful she’s talking so fast.                             I don’t believe for a second that’s where she’s going because she regularly goes to the Coffee Park to make matches and she never dresses like this and she never feels the need to explain to me where she’s going or why. Allana knows I don’t believe her, but she doesn’t try to offer any further reason.                                           “Anyway, I’ve got to get going. You going to be ok here by yourself while I’m gone?” She’s already reaching for her coat, so whether I say yes or no she’s still going.
“Of course I will be. The demons of the hell could come drag me away whether you’re here or not, right?”                                           I meant it jokingly but the dark expression which covers Allana’s face tells me that it’s not something to be kidding about.                                                                                                   “Yes I’ll be fine” I quickly backtrack.                                           I walk off towards the kitchen as Allana’s phone rings. I’m in the kitchen out of sight, and Allana presumably thinks out of earshot. She must not know I can now hear older Gods from any distance because she answers it.                             “Yes … I know …. I’m on my way … no she’s safe …. for now.” I hear the door slam, and she’s gone. So she is going to meet someone. Maybe she’s trying to sort out some protection for me, for us.                                                         Amora’s not in. She’s not been in for a while it seems, but her car is still in the drive. Maybe Allana has had her removed for her total bitchiness. That would be awesome.                                                                                                  I should make some breakfast, anything to kill time. How am I going to get through ten hours? Most girls would love this, all day free to prepare themselves for their first big date, but I don’t really know where to start.                                           I make and finish my pancakes and the last of my orange juice in record time. I look around the kitchen slowly. Despite being Gods we don’t live in a very impressive house. The kitchen is painted a rather ugly green colour with a white marble worktop and light ash cupboards. The windows are framed with a darker shade of putrid green and there are a few plants resting on the windowsill from Allana’s dismal attempts at gardening.                                                                                     It’s not the nicest of houses, but it is mine, and after tonight I might never see it again. A lump comes to my throat and tears prick my eyes. Maybe I shouldn’t sneak out. I'm risking everything doing it. Maybe Josh isn’t worth all this. Is he really worth never seeing Allana again and breaking her heart when I get sent to Tartarus?                                                         I still haven’t figured out what to tell Josh when I turn up to go to a dance with him, and tell him some paranormal guards and a raging love God are on their way to torture him and kidnap me. Not quite the pillow talk I had in mind.                             I clear my dishes away and head back upstairs, mentally planning the order in which I’m going to get myself ready, deliberately leaving ‘Figure out a way to tell Josh’ to the very end.                                                                                                   First I think it should definitely be a bath. I head straight to the bathroom and turn both taps to full. Finding my vanilla-scented candles from the cupboard, I light a few of them around the room and pour in some oils and salts. As I climb in, the water soothes every part of me, slowly softening each of my muscles so I can’t even force myself to feel as worked up as I did twenty minutes ago when I was feeling torn from the decisions I needed to make. The water weaves it's way around every one of my curves. It’s been so long since I’ve felt the comforting feel that only being submerged can provide. The merfolk made sure of that.                             The water creeps around my neck and pushes its way through my hair. I dip down into the bath, allowing the water to close in over me, so my entire body is drenched in its warmth. The bath is close to overflowing. I quickly twist my leg, so my toes are in between the grooves on the tap and turn both of them off. A peaceful calm falls over the house as I'm alone with my thoughts, and all I can picture in my mind is Josh, our embrace last night, our kiss last night and the promise of tonight.
“Acacia.”
What was that? I’m sure I just heard someone whisper my name, but there’s no one here, is there? My imagination must be running a little wild with the anticipation of tonight, or maybe it’s reliving the last time I allowed myself to relax in the water.
“Acacia.”
There, it is again, and I can hear someone laughing. I sit bolt upright in the bath, throwing some of the water over the edges. I wait for it again. All over me my hairs begin to stand on end something, which only happens through fear, have they already come for me? Is this Eros? Are they the demons taunting me with their whispers and giggles?
It’s still quiet. I think I’m working myself up. Maybe I'm more scared than I thought at what Eros could do to me, but there’s no one here. I’m safe, I’m sure of it.
I lay back down in the bath and welcome the water once again, but it doesn’t work the same magic as it did before. I close my eyes, willing my body to relax and look forward to my future with Josh.
The door to the bathroom flies open. “It's time,” a voice booms. I grip the sides of the bath and scream.
“What the hell are you yelling about?” Amora’s voice comes up the stairs. I stop screaming. The bathroom door is still wide open, but there’s no one there. I climb out of the bath shaking as I hear Amora’s footsteps pounding the stairs. I know she could have brought someone with her to take me away. Maybe she was staking the house out with them, waiting for Allana to leave and then she would let them in. I wait in the doorway of the bathroom for whatever is about to begin.
“What’s going on?” Amora emerges at the top of the stairs dressed in the skinniest jeans I think I’ve ever seen. They look practically sprayed on, and her platform heels make her tower over me. She looks even more intimidating than ever.
“Nothing” I mutter at her as I tie my dressing gown around me and see she is by herself and hasn’t led the hunting party to the fox.
Amora doesn’t even bother to reply. She just shakes her head, tuts and walks off to her room, probably to get some sleep. She might be a God, but she still looks like she hasn’t slept in days.
I practically run back to my room and slam my door shut. My heart is pounding in my chest. I'm starting to freak out. The voices, the laughing, the fact that Amora hasn’t been here in days but comes back today, the day I’m planning to sneak out. Perhaps that’s just a coincidence but who is Allana going to meet? A strange feeling that something big is coming starts to bubble inside of me. I’m sure Allana and Amora are preparing for it, but neither is telling me to do the same. I'm also pretty sure they’re both hoping for different outcomes.
I take a deep breath in to steady my nerves. I need to do this; I need to live my life the way I want to. In the end, it’s only going to be me and Josh, and I need to think of that and not of the questions that don’t need answering. I just need to escape.
I throw myself into getting ready. I paint my nails and moisturize my body. I even take a good hour to do my make-up, something I usually get done in less than ten minutes.
I catch myself in the mirror on my dressing table. It has three mirrors all together so I can see every side of me. Out of the corner of my left eye I see the part of me desperate to run away with Josh, to feel loved and to be happy but on the right I see what other people will see, the selfish girl who has been given a second chance and given everything to make it work, but is willing to turn her back on it, all for a boy. In the centre mirror, I see both sides together. My mask of make-up can’t hide the conflict. It shines through clear in my eyes.
A single tear escapes my eye and splashes onto the dressing table. I stare at it as others fall landing beside it. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. I shouldn’t cry. I was put here to give people the gift of love, and if I wasn’t meant to experience that myself, I wouldn’t have met Josh.
My head laughs at me. It may as well scream, ‘Tell yourself that all you want. It’s not going to make any difference.’ I sigh, defeated. There’s no hope of soothing the war inside of me, but I'm not going down without a fight.
I rush to the bathroom and scrub my face clean. My make-up is ruined from the tears. I'd better start again.
With each stroke of my foundation, I feel the strength build inside me. I am creating my armour ready for whatever battle I might be walking into! My armour just happens to be some blusher, a bit of hair spray and a jewel-encrusted gown. It’s not like there’s anything I could actually arm myself with that would save me from Eros, or whoever he is sending to get me.
I don’t know where the time went. How is it only thirty minutes until my time to escape! My hair is done, and my make-up is perfected, now to get dressed. I open my walk-in wardrobe doors and see my gown hung in the centre. The light hits the crystals and bounces playfully back at me.
Excitement rushes through me as the thought of slipping into it gets ever more real. And hopefully later I’ll be slipping back out of it with a little help. I need to make sure what I’m wearing under the dress is as attractive as the dress. I'm not sure I own anything that nice though.
I rummage through my drawers and finally settle on a light amber-colored satin camisole set and slip them on. I carefully take my dress from the hanger and step in it to it, pulling the bodice up over my chest. The cool fabric of the dress tingles my skin, which has been more sensitive to everything since I've known Josh, I never realized just how untouched I’ve felt until his fingertips first grazed my skin, and now I want him more than ever. His touch is the only thing I desire.
The pale gold lace on the dresses bodice does well to highlight the small jewels that find their way in and out of the pattern, and the sweetheart neckline gives me a chest I forgot I had.
I carefully examine my make-up. I’ve overdone it on the gold shimmer eye shadow, and I'm no longer sure about the mountain of curls pinned to the top of my head. I quickly pull out the pins in my hair and the loose curls tumble down my back. I take a few from the top and twist them into the intricate slide Allana gave me months ago as a gift. It may be a simple look, but I prefer it to the overdone poodle one I had before. I wish Allana knew about this and was happy for me, but hell there’s a lot of things I wish were different.
Once I’ve done examining myself, I head back into my room and open my bedroom door, listening for Amora. I hear her in her room making arrangements to go out later with someone. The door downstairs slams, Allana’s home perfect timing! I close my door. I need to go now. She’ll be up here any minute to check on me and try and reassure me everything will be alright.
I close the door quietly and lean against it for a few seconds working hard to control my shaking body. I rush to the French doors, throwing them open I launch myself over the balcony knowing that if I don’t just jump I’ll never talk myself into climbing down. The wind whips through my hair as I fly through the air, the wind rushes through my curls taking with it any worries about what I'm doing. I land with a thud, but I'm not hurt - one good thing about having impenetrable skin!
Getting up quickly I hurry to the side of the house and wait silently to see if my breakout has been noticed. I look up to the top windows and see Amora’s shadow holding up different outfits. She hasn’t noticed, or if she has, she isn’t doing anything about it. I listen hard for Allana. The kitchen light flicks on and I crouch down to the floor. “It’s me,” I hear Allana say.
She’s on the phone. “I'm afraid it’s worse than I thought. I think I'm going to need you after all and it looks as if it’s going to be tonight.”
Tonight? What’s going to be tonight and whose help does she need?
“Thank you, Hercules. I know this can’t be easy for you.” The conversation ends. Hercules that’s who she’s been meeting with, and that’s whose help she needs. That can only mean one thing; it’s going to come to a fight. Hercules only has one talent, his brute strength. I don’t understand why he’d help though. Why get involved in something that has nothing to do with you?