My Life From Hell by Tellulah Darling

being in love with me?”
    I flinched at that last bit. At one time, I’d wanted to do the same thing. In my defense, I hadn’t known Kai had loved me then, and it had been a major survival plan for keeping my heart in one still-beating piece.
    Still, I didn’t want to answer him either. I knew what she had felt. It wasn’t pretty. “She loved you.” I left it at that.
    Problem was, Kai was no idiot. He laughed mirthlessly. “And she was going to kill me anyway,” he said.
    I flung up my hands in exasperation, and sat up, my feet slapping onto the floor. “What do you want me to say? Persephone was the universe’s biggest bitch. And I’ve got Bethany—who tormented me for my entire life, tried to steal my boyfriend, stabbed me, and left me for dead—as a contender for second place. I’m sorry about what Persephone was planning, but I can’t change it. So right now I’m telling you to put on your big boy pants because everything is falling apart and we can’t let Zeus and Hades win.”
    Persephone and I had made entirely different choices. For better or for worse, I led with my heart. As opposed to letting my messed up goddess-essence-with-a-superiority-complex rule my life with knee jerk reactions. Could he say the same?
    Kai didn’t actually say anything for a bit. I hoped laying it on the line had gotten through to him, and was making him rethink his attitude. Then again, gods were notoriously stubborn. And touchy.
    I decided to employ the “catch more flies with honey” approach, so I softened my tone and said, “For what it’s worth, I doubt Persephone could have really done it in the end.”
    He shot me a sideways glance. “Could you ?”
    “Screw you, Kai.” I pulled my pendent out from under my dress, bolted to my feet, and headed for the cypress’ trunk. I could be back in Festos’ apartment in a second.
    Kai jumped up and grabbed my arm, knocking my pendent out of my fist. “Protest all you want, but you are her. And if she could do it, then the potential is in you.”
    I broke his grip. “You’re as crazy as our fathers.” I shoved at his chest. “Your kid self is in you, if you weren’t hatched out of Hades’ ass fully grown, or however you were spawned. So the potential for every stupid thing you’ve ever done is still in you, too. Does that mean you’re going to go out and do endless stupid things? Because if you wanna start making lists, I’m betting I’m the one that needs to be worried here.”
    Silence. My chest heaved and Kai would have to be blind to miss my furious glare.
    His nostrils flared. His jaw was so tight I worried he might shatter it. His eyes narrowed slightly and then he disappeared.
    Days away from the love ritual we had to perform and this was the state of our relationship.
    Humanity was screwed.

Seven

    “Great,” I said to the empty room. There was nothing to do except wait for him to come back because no way was I leaving without some kind of resolution.
    I folded my hands in my lap and sat down on the sofa. My eyes snagged on Kai’s bed.
    I looked away.
    Looked back.
    It was a really big bed. Extremely comfy looking. I eyed it, gauging precisely how comfy. Thought about testing it out, since I was stuck here anyway.
    I headed over to the kitchen first, grabbed a paper towel and doused it in hot water. I’d been barefoot all this time and my feet were filthy. I cleaned them off and threw the wad of paper in the trash.
    Biting my lip, I snuck toward the bed. I paused a moment at its foot, then launched myself onto it, arms outstretched. Yowza, was it relaxing. Not too hot, not too cold. Not too hard, not too soft. It was baby bear’s ultimate bed. I rolled over onto my back, enjoying the way I sank into it the perfect amount. It must have been one of those memory foam mattresses because it molded itself around me, swaying gently thanks to the massive hammock.
    My, a girl could get used to this.
    Shaking dangerous thoughts from my head, I sat up