chapter TWO
The shrill bell rings as Kallos walks out of the powder blue restroom. She walks to her next class and could see Ian and Kellee sitting in the back. They wave at her and she waves back. She just can’t sit with Ian. There is so much that she needs to know.
She sits in the front of the room thinking: Sean scares me, but there was something different with Ian, the way he was always watching her. How he could drown out all the noise when he’s around, and with one look into his sapphire eyes she feels safe. She has never felt this way about anyone. She hasn’t been close to anyone. She feels her mind and body being pulled to him. Even now, she can feel him staring at her. The class goes by in a blur.
After the last bell, Kallos hurries to her dad’s office. She has never been happier to see him. He looks up at her and smiles. Kallos and her dad have always been close. That is why she doesn't know if she should believe Sean. She just met him today. Looking at her dad now, she is convinced that he can’t keep anything from her. “Hey peanut, how was your day?”
“It was interesting.” His smile fades and he crosses his arms across his chest.
“Interesting how? Were they mean to you because I’m your dad?” he asks and narrows his eyes.
“No dad, everyone has been really nice to me. Can we go home now? I have something I need to talk to you and Mom about.” He gets up and walks toward her. She can see worry and terror flash on his face.
“Everything is okay?” He asks and she just nods. “Fine sweetie let’s go.” Her father says and she knows that he didn't believe her. They have a connection where he could always tell when she was lying.
Most of the kids had already left, but there were a few stragglers just standing around talking. As they walk out to her dad's car, she notices Ian, Sean, and Kellee talking by the car. Ian looks up and meets her eyes, and she quickly looks away. She looks at her dad and sees that he was watching them. There is a deep hurt behind his kind eyes, and she knows he’s not telling her something.
“Hello Mr. Dean.” Sean says and nods at her dad. “I just wanted to say ‘Bye’ to you, Kallos.” He says and winks at her. Ian moves past Sean. When she went to open her door, Ian is there. They reach for the same door but instead of him just opening it he slides a piece of paper in the palm of her hand. She looks up into Ian's eyes as he smiles at her.
“Here, let me get the door for you.” Kallos takes a step back so that he can open the door.
“Thank you,” she says, looking at him and then glances at Sean. He is only about ten feet from her and Ian.
“You’re welcome. See you later Kallos.” He starts to lean down like he was going to kiss her cheek, but he moves to her ear to whisper, “Read the note before you speak to your parents.” He puts his hand on her cheek and smiles. Kallos watches him as he walks back to Kellee and Sean; they are standing there staring at Ian as if he lost his mind. Sean narrows his gray eyes on Ian as he walked towards him. She shakes her head and gets into the car.
****
Ian watches as Kallos and her father drive away; then smirks and winks at his brother.
“What did you give her?” He smiles. He knows that Sean won’t be happy that he gave Kallos a note.
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Ian smirks and it really sets Sean off.
“We need to talk alone, brother!” Sean uses “brother” as a dirty word. Then he looks at Kellee as if she is nothing of importance.
“Sorry Kellee. I'll talk to you later.” Ian tries to make up for his brother’s rudeness.
“Yeah, no problem,” she says and walks away.
“You know, you could be a little nicer to people.” Ian says.
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen. What did you give to Kallos?” Sean demands. Ian shakes his head and rolls his eyes. Just because Sean is older, he thinks he is the boss over Ian.
“I gave her a note to talk to me before she talks to her parents. You shouldn't have said anything to her. We’re supposed to stay out of it until she starts to show signs of the change.” They walk over to Sean's car.
“Ian, I feel something when I am with her. It's like her mark is trying to tell me something. I didn't feel that with Acidalia.” Sean says and Ian flinches. He still doesn't like talking about Acidalia. It has been a little over sixteen years, and there is still a part of his heart that is irreparable. But, he agrees with Sean; there is something new with Kallos.
“Well, hopefully we will find out who is supposed to be with her.” Ian says and looks at Sean. “I have something I have to take care of. I'll be home later.” He doesn’t wait to hear what Sean has to stay; he just doesn't care.
****
“I don’t like how friendly he is with you. You’re sixteen.” Kallos' dad says as they are driving home.
“Dad, we are just friends.” But she isn’t looking at him; she was staring out the window. Kallos watches as the houses and trees pass by in a blur as they drive by. Fall had always been her favorite season because of the beautiful color the leaves changed. She could feel the note in her hand, and she wants to read it now. Kallos reaches forward to turn on the radio, and sighs when she finds one station that works, but it is better than the strained silence between her and her dad. She looks back out the window and is happy to see that they were pulling into the driveway. Kallos notices her mom is smiling and waiting for them from the doorway. This is something that she has done for as long as Kallos could remember. They both wave at her as they get out of the car.
“Hey Sweetie; how was your day?” Mom looks at both of them, as she asks. She reaches for Kallos and wraps her in a tight embrace then reaches for her husband.
“Fine,” Kallos says under her breath and sneaks under her mother’s embrace as she walks in the direction of the stairs. She just wanted to get to her room and read the note. She can tell that her parents want to talk, and she doesn't want to hear it. There is so much she needs to think about before she talks to them, but Ian told her to read the note first. She rushes into her bedroom and slams the door with a loud thud. And leans against it as her anxiety increases for reasons she still isn’t sure of. She takes in her familiar surroundings; her queen sized bed sits in the middle of her room and her black and pink bedding was made; her mother makes her make her bed before leaving, which annoys her because it just gets messed up again when she has to sleep in it every night. Her black walls aren’t what you would normally see, but she added silver moons and stars all over the walls. Her room was like it was at her old house, and she loved it. She isn’t in the mood to hear anything they have to say to her. She reaches into her pocket and fishes out the note. She smiles, as she feels her heart skip a few beats. Slowly Kallos opens the note:
Kallos
Please don’t scream. There are some things I need to tell you. Look up.
Ian
She is confused, until she looks up and sees Ian Hunter standing in her room. She jumps back and runs into something, wait… not something … someone. She can feel the scream rising in her throat, but she holds it in and stands still.
“Please don’t scream; we need to talk.” Ian says from behind her. “Kallos, I don’t want your parents up here.” He whispers against her ear and she shivers.
Kallos whips her head to the side, so she can see him. “Why are y—”? He puts his hand against her mouth. She shudders and gasps because she feels a coldness go through her whole body. Kallos feels the blood drain from her face, and her heart rapidly pounds in her chest.
“Please just listen. If I move my hand from your mouth, you won’t scream, right?” She nods and he releases her. He moves in front of her. “Good. Your parents only know a little about you because you’re adopted.” Her mouth drops open, and she just stares at him. She couldn’t be adopted, could she? “I know you probably don’t believe me but, it’s true. Think about it.” She just shakes her head, and he reaches out to grab her hands. “This is the part where I'm going to sound crazy, but you are a goddess.” She burst out laughing and his hand quickly covers her mouth to drown out the sound. He has to be lying, a freaking goddess; she wishes.
He just smiles at her and takes his hand away from her mouth. “Well, a soon to be reincarnated one, anyway. You were Aphrodite. That birthmark is a symbol, and I bet you get weird feelings about people and things.” Her birthmark is itching, and burning right now. “You are going through the change, and I would like to help you. You will have powers, and I have a feeling that you will be very powerful.” How can someone so handsome be so crazy? Just her luck. She looks at him; and his brows furrow as if in a certain desperation.
“You need to go.” She puts her hand on his chest to push him away. She can tell that she hurt him by the look on his face. She crosses her arms across her chest and narrows her eyes.
“I know that this is a lot for you to process, and you’ll need time to take it all in. So, I’ll give you the time and space you need. When you’re ready let me know.” He turns toward her window and fiddles with the latch to open it.
“What are you doing? I will sneak you out the back door.” He stops and looks over his shoulder. He gives her one last smile and shakes his head. Kallos gasps when he jumps out of the window. She runs to where he was just standing, and hangs out of the window, but he is nowhere in sight.
Her mom calls her down for dinner and with one last glance glances out the open window she walks downstairs. Kallos walks into the kitchen to find her mother setting the table and her father pouring their milk into glasses. She looks at her parents and notices that she doesn’t look anything like them. Her mother has olive skin, green eyes, and straight blond hair. She is just shy of six feet tall and curvy in the hips. Her father has dark brown wavy hair and chocolate eyes. He is a little over six feet tall. Kallos has long reddish brown hair and blue eyes. She is barely over five feet tall. She really doesn't know why she has never noticed it before. Then, she looks around at all the pictures. There are some where her parents are much younger, and there are some of Kallos as a baby. Looking back she has never seen a picture of her mother pregnant. Her best friend’s mom has a lot of them, but not her mom. She looks back at her parents and tears form in her eyes. She closes her eyes for a second, “Mom, Dad?” They were already looking at her with worry on their faces. She smiles to try to hide the pain behind her eyes, but could tell that she’s not fooling them. “I have some home work to do and I am really tired. Do you mind if I eat in my room?” Her mom looks at her dad and he just nods.
“Okay thanks. Good night.”
“I love you,” she hears her mom say as Kallos runs up the stairs. She goes to her computer and types in Aphrodite. She wants to know everything about the goddess.