Only a Game (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 40: Does your mamma know what you're up to?

Maya

Well, now we know that Dean can drink all day and still be mostly sober. We also know that Mrs. Minos has a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol. We don't know much else.

"You're so sad, you shouldn't be sad," Dean's just pouring them shots now. It's ridiculous.

"This is how the world is," she says, shrugging, "You're too young. You wouldn't know. All of life is watching, waiting, watching the clouds go by. Eventually it gets worse. And worse. Until you're just waiting to die."

"I can't imagine someone like you has done anything worthy of that," Dean says, very sympathetically, doing a shot. I, for one, feel a bit light headed. But not bad. I've been drinking the ambrosia on and off. It helps me resist Dean's involuntary intoxication and gives me strength for while he pulls at me. He's got plenty of victims though. The entire island is tainted. I sneaked down to the kitchen earlier. Parties are going on. Everyone is wasted. Dean has that effect on people. It's chaos.

"I didn't mean to do something this bad," Mrs. Minos says, sipping her shot. She knows how to pace herself, but, you know, Dean is Dean.

"Then why can't it be made right?" Dean asks.

"It's impossible. Everything is too broken now. That's what happens when people die. That's a wrong that---it can't be made right," she says, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Dean asks, "I've been to hell after my mom died. I went and got her. It wasn't a huge deal."

"You're so strange," she's too drunk to care about that comment.

"Who is it that died? And why? Where is Ariadne?" Dean asks. 

Now, I know him. Unfortunately, I really know him. Since sophomore year of high school, we've had nobody-else-wants-to-fuck-me-and-I'm-horny-and-sexually-repressed-and-we-are-chill relationship. So I know him. Very well. And I know for a fact that despite A) never meeting her and B) knowing nothing about her, he is simping for this Ariadne right now based only off the fact that she might be in danger. I wanted to confirm my theory, so last time he asked about her I mouthed 'simp' and he flipped me off so I'm right.

"She's off---playing that stupid game. Because she thinks she won't die. Everyone thinks that. That they'll be the ones who won't die. We have an uncomfortable faith in our own immortality, do we not?" Mrs. Minos says, staring out the window.

"I mean, we all gotta go sometime. My uncle likes me I'm sure I'll get a nice enough place. Anyway, why would she die?" Dean asks, very nicely.

"Because she can't listen to reason. She doesn't know what battles aren't worth fighting."

"That is not helpful or descriptive okay---who died? You said someone died, whom?" Dean asks, doing another shot and wiping his brow.

"My son," she says, then she does the shot.

"What was his name?" Dean asks, nicely.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"I think it does, it matters, even if he's gone."

"That's the problem."

The door behind me slams. We all three jump.

"What is going on here?" a man stands in the doorway. He's wearing a stiff white suit and he has dark hair and clear eyes. He wears a yellow tie and uses a monocle which is different.

"These are friends of Ariadne---I forget their names," she waves at us lightly.

"Why are you drinking? Why is everyone drinking?" he asks, clearly annoyed.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about where your daughter is?"

"Get out of here," the man growls at us both. We don't argue, though Dean does pick up a now full bottle of wine on his way out.

"You feeling okay?" Dean asks, as soon as we clear the doors.

"Yeah---I think the ambrosia helps me stay awake—what now?" I ask, following him.

"Well, I doubt her son dying was on the national news."

"They don't have any kids---Ariadne is from his first marriage---there's no record of them having a son," I say, holding up my phone, "I've been googling the Minos's all day."

"So we know not only that something isn't right, but also that they covered up a murder---and she has reason to fear for Ariadne," Dean says.

"Right, and she sounds like she thinks someone is coming after her," I sigh, "Okay, we have to get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah we do. You know what that means."

"You are NOT having a drinking contest with him tomorrow."

"Can you think of a better idea?"

"Okay, no."