Kallos

Chapter Three

Kallos’ alarm went off, taking her by surprise. She wanted to kick herself. She’d only gotten three hours of sleep because she’d stayed up late reading everything that had to do with Aphrodite. Groaning, she lay back against her bed and sighed.

The sound of her mother yelling for her to get up caused her to jump unexpectedly. Moaning, she got up and grabbed her robe. After a quick shower, she put on a little make-up and got dressed. Kallos stared at herself in the mirror. She noticed that her hair was starting to lighten up, and her skin was unusually clear.

She sighed once more and turned around to hunt for her favorite long-sleeved red shirt. Her parents didn’t care for it since they always said it showed a little too much. Today, however, she didn’t care. It was something she wanted to wear. She slipped into her white skirt, loving the way it showed off her tan legs.

Kallos knew her dad would flip out, but she didn’t care. She strolled into the kitchen to find her dad looking at his new Blackberry. Her mom was nowhere in sight, something she found quite odd. Her mom always made breakfast for her in the morning.

“Hey Dad, where’s Mom?”

He glanced at her before looking down once more. A flush of color spread across Kallos’ face as she realized he wasn’t pleased with what he saw. His head quickly shot back up, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

“What are you wearing?” he asked in a voice she knew meant he was angry.

“Clothes. What does it look like I’m wearing? A paper bag?” she snapped.

“Don’t talk to me like that, young lady. I’d prefer you wear a paper bag compared to that get-up. I think you should change.”

Kallos bristled with annoyance. She hated it when he went all “Dad” on her. She glanced at the clock and grinned.

“Oh, look! I don’t have time. You don’t want to be late on our second day, do you?”

Her father loathed being late. They were always the first ones to anything and the last ones to leave. She heard him grunt, and that made her smile widen. Kallos knew she’d won, and wouldn’t have to change.

“Just get in the car!” he said with irritation.

Her dad was always the easy one to win over. Her mom would have fought tooth and nail to get what she wanted. Kallos was lucky she wasn’t here.

****

Kallos stared at the man she’d always thought was her dad. Was she really adopted?

Most of her friends back home had brothers and sisters. When she asked if she could have one, her parents said she was all they needed. Now she wondered if that was actually true.

She needed to know the truth, whether they wanted to tell her or not. Kallos opened her mouth and then closed it again as she thought about asking her father about what she wanted to know. How could she ask him if he was her real father? He’d been there for her, no matter what. Surely, that counted for something?

Deep inside, Kallos knew it wasn’t the right time to ask him anything. Tears formed in her eyes, and she quickly glanced out the window. She didn’t want her father to know how she was feeling.

She scrunched her eyes closed, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Several tears escaped, and she swiftly brushed them away with the back of her hand. Her heart constricted as she realized just how much things had changed in so short a time.

She tried to think of something other than what she wanted to do. The only thing that came to her mind was Ian. How he smiled at her and made her feel like the only girl in the room. Sean’s face flashed in her mind, and heat instantly coursed through her body. The two boys were so different, but they made her feel the same way.