Ultraviolet

Chapter Eleven: Mystery Street

There were coffee shops every five feet in this city. Chain cafes with flashy logos hanging out from the dark brick walls and hipster cafes with plants curling around chalkboard menus and mismatched seating. Hadeon and I had chosen someplace called Aphrodite's Cafe, and sat at a small table beside a large plant with flat, round, purple leaves. I ordered a caramel latte with three sugars, and Hadeon ordered a boring, plain cold brew. Once they came, I took a sip immediately, ignoring the burning on my tongue to appreciate the sweet burnt flavour. I tried one for the first time only a few days ago, but had been craving the taste ever since.

"Hadeon," I started, drawing his attention. Based on the look on his face he knew I was about to say something that he wouldn't like. I continued nevertheless. "You need to stop telling me what I can and can't do. I spent years of my life being ordered around and biting my tongue. I've had enough."

"You don't understand how dangerous the situations you're putting yourself in really are." He argued. At least his voice was down and he was being civil. I took another sip of my drink.

"Tell me." I countered.

"What?"

"Tell me why working at the club is dangerous."

Hadeon groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. He looked up at my through his fingers, debating with himself whether or not to explain.

"Its not just the club." He continued. "Its being here, being around Jessica and especially being around me."

"Why?"

"You know..." He trailed off, then turned to check who was around us. We were fairly isolated in the corner of the cafe, and everyone else were much more involved in their own personal conversations. "Do you remember what you asked Jessica, your first night with us."

I tried to recall. "Oh!" I nodded. "When I asked if you were in the Ma-"

Hadeon's hand clasped over my mouth. "Don't say that!" He hissed. I almost laughed at the concern written in his brows. He moved his hand so I could reword.

"So you're saying that you're in... that."

"No, no. We just- We have a lot of enemies. People who want to hurt us. You being established as 'one of us' puts a target on your head."

"And you originally thought I was one of those enemies." I noted. "Thats why you beat the crap out of me that night."

Hadeon stared down at his hands, biting down on his bottom lip. Shame glistened in his eyes, for just a moment, then it was gone.

"You annoy me sometimes," He laughed half-heartedly, still refusing to meet my eye. "But I am... so sorry for what happened that night."

I reached out and placed my hand on his, smiling as brightly and forgiving as I could. "You were trying to protect Jessica. And you couldn't have known that I was her sister."

"I don't like..." He stumbled to get out his sentence. "I've gotten used to never underestimating women. Jessica made sure of that. But I still feel guilty. You didn't even fight back, I should have known that something was up."

"I could take the hits." I joked, trying to act tough.

Hadeon looked up at me, something new in his eyes that I wasn't used to.

"I don't think I ever want to find out why that is."