Huge thank you to everyone still reading. I do hope you continue to enjoy. If you have any theories you're welcome to share them with me. You'd be surprised the kind of things people have guessed right. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Nina wondered sometimes why she forced herself to balance schoolwork with Chosen One work. Of course she knew why- she needed the semblance of normality- but it was still difficult. She had a paper due for her hieroglyphic class, one that she obviously had to write in hieroglyphics for full credit, but it was hard to focus on writing a memoir in Ancient Egyptian when she needed to track down an Ancient Egyptian god.
She finished it around two AM, but instead of just heading into bed she started looking up images of texts about Banebdjedet. She knew from experience that any really important details she'd find carved in some tomb and not on Wikipedia, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.
Especially when she came across a text she could not read for the life of her. She could make out the symbols and what the word was no problem, but she didn't know the definitions. It was like a completely different language written out in hieroglyphics. I wonder if my hieroglyphic professor knows… or I could ask Professor Geffen. He'd probably know.
Nina hadn't been surprised when Professor Geffen said he knew she was the Chosen One, but she had been surprised by how kind he was about it. He hadn't been looking for any secrets of the gods or hidden knowledge; he had actually offered to help her if she ever needed anything. (And he'd seemed sincere which, in Nina's line of work, was a rare find).
Yes, he'd be a good person to ask about it.
Decided Nina went to sleep. She did have an 8 AM class after all.
It took until Fabian lay down to go to sleep for the day's events to really come back to him. He'd broken up with Eva. Nina had admitted to being friends with freaking Anubis. They had to track down some satanic worshipers to help Eddie.
He'd broken up with Eva.
He knew that, technically, she'd broken up with him. She provided the ultimatum. She freaked out and stalked Nina. She lost it.
But he was the one to walk away.
The worst bit was it didn't hurt. He remembered how he'd felt after Nina had left; it had been like the world ended. He'd been miserable for weeks and there was a tangible ache in his chest whenever he thought of her. (And he always thought of her.) When Nina left Fabian had been heartbroken.
He never loved Mara the way he'd loved Nina, but at least he felt sad then. Fabian had known that it probably wouldn't work out between them, not with them going to different schools, but he'd still been sad when it was over. He still had regrets.
Now he felt light, lighter than he had in years. It was like a 120 pound weight had been lifted off his chest. Fabian no longer had to worry about everything he said. He no longer had to worry about coming across as too geeky. He didn't have to worry about his body betraying what his mind really did not want. She'd been trying to get him to sleep with her for months, and Fabian wondered if she'd only stayed so long because he was hard to get. Had it been a challenge for her? Had she only been obsessed with what she couldn't have?
Because their relationship had always been about her. Fabian had clearly seen that even before her freak out earlier in the day. He didn't really have any friends of his own; they hung out with her friends. He never picked where they went on dates; he always paid for the dates. He always had to find the right present for her because it wasn't the thought that counted. All that mattered to Eva was Eva.
And it had been easy for Fabian to tell himself that he didn't mind that because he loved Eva and so of course he wanted everything to be about Eva. It had been a lie though. No one is truly selfless enough to belong in a relationship entirely about one of them. It's impossible to love selflessly when the other gives nothing at all. Sometimes Fabian wanted his thoughts, his feelings, to matter as well. They never had, and that wasn't love. He might have thought he was being selfless and loving, but he was being used.
And he'd known it, and now it was over, and Fabian didn't even care. Perhaps he was slightly disturbed by how little he cared about their breakup, but he really truly did not even care.
No he was far more concerned by Nina and Anubis. Something about that just seemed… off. Nina seemed perfectly comfortable with it, but Fabian wasn't. You should not just be comfortable with talking to the god of the Afterlife! That was not a normal way to feel! Anubis was creepy. He had the head of a dog and the body of a man! It was unnatural. He was the kind of thing they'd hid from, the kind of thing they'd fought, back at Anubis House. Nina should not be BFFS with him!
And Fabian didn't even believe they were just BFFS. He'd seen the blush in Nina's cheeks when they had asked her about it. He didn't believe her one bit. She and Anubis were a thing, and Fabian didn't like it. It wasn't that he was jealous. (Why would be possibly be jealous?) Fabian just didn't like the risk. They were betting Eddie's sanity on the word of Nina's godly boyfriend; Fabian didn't like that.
But what other choice did they have? Fabian sure as Hell didn't know how to help Eddie. If there was even a sliver of truth in Anubis's words then they had to do something. Eddie clearly needed to be the Osirian again and they didn't have any better leads.
But Fabian wasn't about to trust Anubis. He was going to do his own research and come to his own conclusions. Maybe he'd even prove to Nina that Anubis was not to be trusted and when they went their separate ways she'd be a little bit safer.
Because it wasn't like Fabian worried about her anymore, but he wasn't callous enough to want her dead. He wasn't callous enough to want anyone dead.
Fabian swung his legs out of bed and moved across the room to grab his laptop. He peered out the door a little to see Eddie sleeping on the couch. He was thrashing about some, clearly unable to get comfortable, or perhaps bothered by some dream. Fabian smiled to himself; Eddie had always slept like that. It had been years since they were roommates, and yet Fabian remembered that vividly.
Watching for more than a moment would be really creepy, so Fabian grabbed his laptop and started searching. Perhaps he'd find something about this Banebdjedet to either discredit Anubis or locate his worshipers. One way or another it would be over soon.
And then Fabian could go back to pretending like none of it ever happened at all.
