chapter TWENTY
Kallos thinks about home and everything in it. It doesn’t take her long to be back in her bed. It's morning, which is great. She loves when she is gone; it takes her whole night away. She glances over at Sean, and he is sound asleep. He looks so peaceful. The blanket isn’t covering his chest, so she has a great view of his beautiful chest and abdomen. Kallos peeks over at the clock and notices that it is an hour before she needs to be awake. Slowly she gets out of bed and walks as quietly over to her dresser. She wants to start getting ready. Her door is already open, that is the major rule. They have to leave the door open when they sleep. Kallos walks out and down to the bathroom; she notices the house is noiseless. She looks over to her parent’s room and their door is wide open. She walks over to it and sees that her mom already made the bed. She walks back to the bathroom; she wants to take a shower first.
After her shower, she goes straight down stairs. Kallos walks into the kitchen and doesn’t see her mom or dad. But she does see a note attached to the fridge. She walks over to it:
We went out for breakfast. We won’t be back until this afternoon. So, Kallos and Sean have a good time on your date.
She knows that her mom wrote the note. She isn’t very hungry, so she grabs an apple. It's weird that her parents aren’t here; they never leave her alone. Well, she isn't alone; she has Sean and Ian here. She starts to think about what Aphrodite and she talked about. Aphrodite told her that she could choose between Sean and Ian at her graduation. That gives her three years to decide. Kallos knows that it won’t be easy to choose, but she has to. She looks up as Ian walks in. He smiles, and her fingers go to the amazing bracelet. She still hasn’t taken it off, and she never plans too.
“Good morning, Angel” Ian says and looks around; when he looks at her, he raises a questioning eyebrow.
“They went out to eat. I need to get ready for today.” Kallos still has no clue what she is doing today, but wants to be prepared. She starts to walk toward the doorway, and Ian steps in her way. She is starting to like this new Ian; he is more aggressive and demanding.
“Aren’t you going to tell me good morning? Or if you talked to Aphrodite?”
“Good morning, Ian,” Kallos whispers. The effect that Ian and Sean have on her sometimes makes her forget her own name. “Aphrodite said that I could spirit travel and my change will be coming soon. She doesn’t know when though.” She can see the corners of his lips rising in a smile, and his baby blues are starting to change. “Are you okay?” As soon as she asks him, he closes his eyes, and when he reopens them, they are back to normal.
“I’m fine. And that is a good thing about your spirit traveling. Sean and I didn’t get anything until we changed. So, maybe this is a sign that you will be the one with most of the powers.” There is something not right about him today. Maybe he is still worried about her, and that is why he is acting so different. As Kallos sees the dark blue sneaking out, she wonders if he even knows its happening.
“Yeah, maybe,” she says and moves away from him. She sits at the table. Sean walks in, and is still in his pajamas pants, and he put on a shirt. He smiles at Kallos and nods at Ian; Ian rolls his eyes and sits across from her. Sean and Kallos share a look, and she knows that he is thinking the same thing. “My parents went out for breakfast, so it’s just us.” Sean nods and sits next to her.
“Are you still up for our date?” Sean asks and she smiles.
“Yes, I still want to go on our date. What are we doing?” Kallos asks he smiles and shakes his head.
“I’m not going to tell you what we are doing. It’s a surprise.” Sean winks at her. At least one of her boys is acting normal. “But you should get ready now. I would like to leave in twenty minutes.” These boys sure like her to get ready fast.
“Okay, I’ll be ready then.” She gives one last glace to Ian, and he is just staring at her. She stands up and walks towards the doorway. Kallos feels their eyes on her. This time there is no one standing in her way. She quickly walks into her bedroom and shuts the door. She grabs a sweater with one of her favorite movie logos on it and a pair of jeans. She walks to her door, and when she opens it, Sean is waiting.
“Ian just went to our parents for breakfast. Did you notice his eyes?” She nods and walks to the stairs.
“I did, I thought that he was better.” Kallos hears him following her down the stairs. “Sean, did you go through this?”
“I did have more of a temper, but that is about it.” They walk outside and the car is gone.
“Crap, he took my car. I’m sorry, Kallos. Do you want to stay here and just watch a movie?” She turns to face him.
“That sounds great. Let’s get inside.” Sean smiles and holds open the door for her. She walks into the living room and looks at the DVDs they just rented. She pulls one out, and Sean just laughs. She grabs another one she has seen, but is still her favorite.
“Sure, why not. What time do you think your parents will be back?”
“I’m not sure.” Kallos walks over to the TV and puts in the movie. Sean is already sitting on the couch with his arm on the back of the cushions. She sits next to him, and his arm comes down and pulls her closer to him. As the movie starts she comes to a rest in the nook of his strong arm. “So what did you have planned today?”
“I was going to take you fishing. And then lunch at my grandma’s restaurant.”
“I have never gone fishing, and I love your grandma’s restaurant.” Fishing doesn’t sound like a date to her. He moves away from her so he can reach into his pocket. He pulls out a long red box. His beautiful grey eyes meet hers, and he smiles.
“Kallos, I know that Ian gave you that.” He looks down at her bracelet. “I wanted to get you something that no one could get. I will tell you it wasn’t easy. I looked at so many different necklaces and nothing was what I was looking for. So I asked Ares to help me, and he told me that I could get you something that no one else could get.” He opens the box and a beautiful necklace with a charm sparkles inside. But it isn’t shining because of the light; it's glowing on its own. She looks up at Sean, and he is smiling at her. “It has part of the sun in it. Since I am the sun god, I thought it would mean more.” Kallos looks back down, and it’s absolutely stunning. She holds her hair to one side so that he can put it on her. Ian takes it out of the box and puts it around her neck his light touches when he clasps it take her breath away.
“Thank you, Sean I really love it.” When she puts her hand on the charm, she can feel the warmth of the sun. She smiles and looks back up at him. “This is so beautiful.” Kallos leans in and kisses him.
“I take it you like it then.” Ian chuckles against her lips and kisses her back. After a long kiss, Kallos snuggles against his chest and starts to watch the movie. She hears the front door open, and since they locked it, she knows it's her parents. Kallos moves a little away from Sean because she doesn’t want to see her dad freak out. Her mom is the first one to walk in, and she smiles at them. Her dad is behind her and just nods.
“I thought you two had a date today?” her mom asks.
“Ian needed to use the car, so I thought we would stay in and watch a movie.” Kallos smiles. “Sean, do you mind if I talk to my mom? I won’t be long.”
“Yeah, no problem. I should call my parents to see how everything is going.” He kisses her cheek and gets up.
“Dad, can Mom and I have some time?” He narrows his eyes at her and then nods.
“What is it, Sweetie?” Kallos holds out her wrist to show her the bracelet, and her mom gasps. She grabs Kallos’ wrist and brings it closer to her face. Slowly Kallos covers the charm on her new necklace. “Are those real?” Mom looks up and meets Kallos's eyes she nods. “Oh Kallos, that is beautiful.”
“Then, I just got this today from Sean.” She uncovers the charm’ and it's glowing. Her mom's eyes go to the shining charm, and her eyes widen. “Sean says its part of the sun.”
“Oh my!” She reaches for it and smiles. “It’s warm. These boys must love you.” Sean walks back into the room and grins. “Sean, this necklace is lovely.”
“Thank you. I wanted Kallos to have something that’s different.” Kallos can hear the front door opening, and she knows that it’s Ian. He walks into the living room and smiles at them. Sean just glares at him and Ian nods. Three years of this brotherly competition might make Kallos want to kill someone.
“Oh, Ian, the bracelet you gave Kallos is beautiful.”
“Thank you. It has been in the family forever. My grandma gave it to me to give to the woman I fell in love with.” He walks over to Kallos and kisses her on the lips. Her dad must have seen him because she hears Dad clearing his throat.
“What is going on in here? I thought you wanted to talk to your mother, Kallos.” She looks past Ian’s glossy black hair to see her dad. His face is inflamed, and she can tell that he is just about to burst.
“Honey, why don’t we make some tea? I need you to grab the sugar.” He doesn’t take his eyes off Ian and Kallos, but he nods.
“That was dumb; do you remember the rules?” Sean barks and moves to sit next to Kallos. Ian sits on the other side of her. She can feel her body heat rising like it did when she burned them. She quickly stands up and moves away from them.
“That feels strange; it’s like you are burning from the inside out,” Sean says, and Ian just stares at her.
Her breathing starts to get heavy, and her chest gets really tight. Sean and Ian jump up; she puts her hand out to stop them. If they touch her right now, she will burn them. She sucks in some air and chokes on it; as she is coughing, her parents rush in.
“Why aren’t you two doing anything?” Kallos’ dad yells and reaches for her, but Sean stops him.
“Mr. Dean, if you touch her right now, you’ll get burned badly. I think it’s time for her change.” Sean looks at her. She can see the worry and concern in his eyes. Kallos collapses to the ground, and her breathing just got harder. Ian is standing above her and bends down. She shakes her head.
“I don’t care if I get burned, I have to try something.” Her dad puts his hands on her face and pulls away hissing. She wanted to move her face away from him but can’t. Sean is kneeling besides her and puts his hands under her sweater. He closes his eyes to hide the pain. She can feel the hot tears running down her cheeks.
She doesn’t want the people she loves in this much pain. “Can you run a cool bath?” Ian asks her mom, and she nods. “Do you want to carry her, or do you want me to?”
“I’ll do it.” Sean said and his arms go around her. He picks her up and smiles. “Kallos, it will get better; just remember to breathe.” She closes her eyes and more hot tears fall. Sean starts to walk and the pain gets worst. She can feel him walking up the stairs, and as they get closer to the bathroom she can hear the water.
“The water is perfect,” Ian says. “Kallos, do you have a tank top on under your sweater? Blink twice for yes.” She opens her eyes and blinks twice. He walks over to her and takes off her sweater. She is happy that she put on a red tank top today and not a white one. Sean walks over to the bath and sets her down gently. The last times were never this bad. Now, it feels like Kallos’ body is being torn in two. Ian comes over and uses a washcloth to dampen her face. It feels good, but it does nothing for the pain. Her body also feels like it’s on fire even in the cool water.
“Kallos, this is it.” She can hear Aphrodite’s voice in her head. She knows with the change they will be able to communicate in her head. “You need to try to stay calm.”
I feel like I’m dying.
“You aren’t, you’re just in pain.” Kallos lets out a scream and then everything goes dark. “There you go, my dear. Now sleep and you will awake as a goddess.”
That is the last thing Aphrodite said.
Kallos opens her eyes; she can see Sean and Ian’s heads. They are sitting up with their heads on her bed. She moves her hands and places one on each of their heads. Slowly they raise their heads, and when they look at her, they start to cry. Sean is the first one to lay his head on her shoulder, and Ian follows. “Kallos, you scared the hell out us. You stopped breathing, but your body stayed warm.” Sean sobs against her shoulder. Her parents must have been on the couch because suddenly, they are standing at the foot of her bed. Ian moves away from her and looks at her one last time before walking out of the door.
“Oh, Sweetie!” … “KD!” Her parents say together.
“I’m fine; just a little sore.” They both come over to her and kiss Kallos’ cheek.
“Well, we will let you two be alone. I love you,” her mom sighs.
“Yeah, have some alone time. I love you, KD!”
“And I love you.” They smile at Kallos and walk out as Ian walks in. He shuts the door and walks back over to her. He is glaring at her. She almost died, and he is mad at her. “What is the matter with you?” She asks, and she knows that she doesn’t sound too happy. He glares at her, and she notices his stormy eyes.
“I just saved your life and that is what you have to say to me?” As Ian steps closer the temperature jumps up. “Your parents didn’t do anything, and they get ‘I love you’ from you.”
“Ian, what is wrong with you. We almost lost her, and this is how you’re going to act?” Ian looks over at Sean and grins.
“Maybe I am tired of sharing her with you, big brother. So, tell me Kallos when are you going to choose?”
“Ian, why are you doing this now? Can’t you wait until she isn’t in pain?” Ian shakes his head and looks back at her.
“I’m going to choose when I graduate high school.” Kallos sits up and Sean helps her.
“That isn’t going to work for me. I don’t like to share, and I really don’t like you to be with him.”
“I want to have time to get to know you both and pick the right one.” Ian starts to laugh.
“Are you kidding me? Sean here will date anything with boobs.”
“At least I haven’t been with anyone since I’ve been with Kallos.” Sean yells, and she knows he is talking about what happened with Nikki. So, now she knows what happened. Kallos already guessed it, but it doesn’t hurt any less.
“Yeah, so what? You can’t tell me that you aren’t willing to give it up to both of us.” Her mouth drops open, and Sean runs to at Ian. The next thing she knows, Sean is on top of Ian hitting him.
“Stop! Sean, please Stop!” He isn’t listening to her, and then Sean is flying across the room and lands on top of the couch. The scariest part is that Kallos was thinking that before it happened. Sean looks over at her and shakes his head.
“You are powerful!” Sean says and smiles. Ian slowly gets off the floor, and his face is all bloody. Kallos closes her eyes, thinks of his beautiful face, and pictures it in her mind. When she opens her eyes, his face is healing.
“Kallos, I need time away from you. Maybe for good.” Ian turns away and starts walking to the door.
“Wait! Ian, please don’t go.” He stops just for a second and then continues walking. As soon as the door shuts, Kallos starts to cry. Sean comes to her and wraps his arms around her.
“It’s going to be okay,” Sean whispers in Kallos’ ear, and she buries her face into his shoulder and cries harder.