Hey everyone! This is kind of short compared to my last chapter, and this is just a filler because I may be gone for a few days! I hope you enjoy this and I will update again ASAP.
My hand curled into a fist, ready to knock on the door. But as I stared at the apartment door separating me from my mother, I froze. I knew I set things right after the fight, but part of me hesitated. That was the biggest fight I had ever had with my mother, but I knew I would not be at peace until we were reconciled.
Taking in a deep breath, I brought down my fist and rapped on the door. No one answered. I folded my arms in anticipation as the minutes crept by. Seconds turned into days and minutes turned into hours. Lowering my hand, I reached for the cold knob and turned it. It gave away and the door creaked open.
Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I stepped into the living room. I closed the door softly, so my mother would not hear. Staring around the spacious den, my fingers groped the wall, fumbling for the light switch. When I could see, my eyes surveyed the room. I stared at the simple furnishings.
After spending so long with Hades, I felt out of place in my own home. Everything felt unfamiliar, and eighteen years' worth of memories seemed hazy and surreal. Circling the room, my gaze focused on the coffee table. My mother always kept a vase of flowers on the table, but it was bare. That was when I knew something was not right.
"Mother?" I yelled, the word reverberating hauntingly in the house. "I'm home. Where are you?" I cringed at how harsh my voice sounded to my ears.
My heart thrashed against my ribcage when I received no answer. Blood pounded in my ears, and heat flooded my face. The room swung dizzyingly and I thrust my arms to grip the edge of the table to steady myself. Chest heaving, I inhaled deep breaths, reminding myself to remain calm.
"She's probably in the kitchen," I told myself.
Practically running to the kitchen, I pushed the door open, but to my suspicion, it was empty. Dirty dishes filled the sink and clean ones lay on the countertop, untouched. The trashcan overflowed with garbage, some of the debris littering the floor. The tiles that usually gleamed were dull and speckled with dirt, as if the floor hadn't been mopped or swept in days.
Shaking my head in dismay, I left the kitchen. The only other place my mother could be was her room. Padding through the living room, I ascended the stairs straight to her bedroom. To my disbelief, the door was wide open, a hostile invitation. My heart beat erratically, and my spine prickled with a sense of foreboding.
Unable to take the suspense anymore, I stepped into the room. The first place my eyes landed on was the empty bed. The sheets lay wrinkled and in a tangle. As my eyes roamed the room, they stopped in the farthest, darkest corner of the room. What I saw made me want to tear my gaze away, but I didn't.
The body of my mother hung from the ceiling with the curtain drapes tied around her neck. Her head lolled and her neck bent at an odd angle, like it was broken. Her skin was tinted with the gray sickly pallor of death.
Bile burned my stomach and rushed up my throat, filling my mouth. I choked it down. My ragged breathing filled the eerie silence of the room. I wanted to close my eyes and run out the room, but my legs felt like solid metal. My feet refused to move, as if they had been nailed into the floor.
Suddenly, my mother's eyes snapped open. Her head pivoted around her neck unnaturally before she turned to face me. I cringed when I heard the sickening click of her bones as her neck rotated in an inhuman way. Her eye sockets seemed to be empty, but I could feel the waves of hatred and fury rolling off of her.
"Persy," she whispered in a hiss. "Look what you have done to me. This is your fault. You caused my death when you ran away."
Tears stung my eyes, and I felt their salty dampness spilling onto my cheeks. I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but when I tried to speak, I felt like my lips had been sewn closed. Suddenly. I watched as the flesh melt away from her corpse, until she was nothing but a petrified skeleton. Bobbing its head the transparent clumps of skin around the skeleton's lips curled into a twisted grin.
"My death will be avenged. You will pay for this!" it jeered, its raspy voice sounding like stones grating together.
I felt the room fall away, and the floor seemed to disintegrated. The feeling of weightlessness took over my body as I was freefalling through a blanket of darkness. The black shadows around me seemed to engulf me, and a faint laughter echoed around me. It was soft, but gradually crescendoed into an evil cold laughter slithered over me. It crept through my mind, playing and replaying hauntingly until I thought I was going insane. When I couldn't take it anymore it retreated.
The darkness pressing on me dissolved, and I found myself lying on my back in bed. For a minute I thought I was at home in my queen sized bed until I stared up at the canopy of my bed in the Underworld. The midnight blue fabric shimmered like the night sky. Usually it comforted me but it reminded me of darkness and of my dream. Images of my mother's corpse hanging from the ceiling floated through my mind, and a wave of nausea made my stomach curl.
Even under the multiple layers of covers, I felt cold, like I had been drenched in ice water and could never be warmed again. Glancing around the icy room, I decided I couldn't be alone. I wanted to go to Hades, just to feel the security of his arms around me, but I knew he was sleeping. Tears of frustration streaked my cheeks. I wished I could see my mother more than ever, but for all I knew she could be dead. The thought ripped at my heart until it felt like it was bleeding.
Pushing the blankets away, I sat up and stood-or tried to, My legs turned to rubber and I collapsed onto the hard floor. I landed with a thud that resounded through the room. Bracing my arms against the floor, I leaned forward, chest heaving as my stomach lurched. Bile burned its way up my throat. Gulping, I tried to choke it down, but my body had other ideas. I watched weakly as my stomach protested and the contents of last night's dinner spilled onto the floor. When my belly was empty, I leaned back against my bedside, closing my eyes.
The pounding of frantic footsteps made me open my eyes and turn my head to see Hades rushing to my side. "Persephone!" he yelled worriedly.
He knelt next to me, his gray eyes studying me.
"Hades," I whispered in surprise, my voice raw from retching. "I'm sorry if I woke you."
He hushed me and a laid a hand on my clammy forehead, feeling for fever. "What's wrong, Persephone?" he asked quietly. "A servant heard you screaming, and alerted me. Are you ill? Do you feel unwell?"
I tried to shake my head, but found myself lacking the energy. "No, I'm fine," I replied hoarsely before facing the wall.
Withdrawing his hand from my brow, he instead brought it to my cheek, tracing a soothing pattern before turning my head to face him. I could see the doubt etched into his face and the concern and fear reflected in his eyes.
"Please tell me what ails you, Persephone, my love. I want to help, but I can't do that if you refuse to tell me." His earnest tone warmed my cold insides.
I sighed before blurting out, "I had a nightmare that I found my mother dead."
The tension in his shoulders faded as his face softened with understand. He grabbed my hands, enveloping them in his strong, sturdy ones. He quickly pressed a kiss to my knuckles, making the skin around my hand tingle.
"I am sorry to hear that," Hades said sincerely, "but that will happen for a little while until you are accustomed to living in the Underworld. It is only because of the spirits in Tartarus."
When he saw my face transform into a mask of horror, he hastily added, "But they can't harm you. And I will be here to protect you. Here you are safer than any place on Earth."
I nodded, reassured by his promise of protection, but not completely satisfied. It wasn't my safety I was concerned about. "What about my mother?" I inquired withdrawing my hand from Hades'. He flinched, but let me pull my hand away. When I glanced at his face, his expression was blank, devoid of any emotion.
"Your mother is alive," Hades responded patiently. "If she died, I would know the moment her soul entered my realm."
That thought comforted me a little. I wished he said she was alive and well, but for now that would have to be enough.
"Promise?" I asked looking at for confirmation, just to be sure he wasn't sugarcoating reality.
Hades nodded and replied, "I promise. I wouldn't tell you the truth if I knew you wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Thank you," I whispered.
Taking my hand again, he gave it a soft squeeze before bending over me. Placing one on my lower back and the other under my knees, Hades easily lifted me and cradled me against his chest. Resting my head against his chest, I listened to the steady, even throbbing of his heartbeat. Striding to the bed, he gently set me on the mattress as he pulled the covers around me.
"Sleep well," he said, tenderly kissing my cheek as his fingers deftly brushed aside the curls plastered to my forehead. Smiling softly at me, he turned to leave.
"Hades?" I asked, my voice barely more audible than a whisper.
Leaning against the doorframe, he turned to look at me, his eyebrows raised. His silver-gray eyes swirled turbulently, betraying all of his conflicting emotions that his face refused to show. "Yes, Persephone?"
"Please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone."
His face softened, and his eyes glowed brightly with love. "Never," he promised.
The bed shifted under his weight as he crawled under the covers and wrapped his arms around me so that my back was resting against his chest. Leaning back into him, I closed my eyes. A small smile of peace broke across my lips. Now I would not have to confront the darkness alone.
As my mind surrendered to sleep, the last thing I heard the three sweetest words of my life. "I love you."
