Olympus Drive Book 5: Situation Normal

Chapter 63

Hector

"Mummy!"

"We can't find Zag!" Thyra and Edis go to embrace their mother who has only just returned. She's dressed as she was last night in a soft black jumpsuit, though she's put up her sword by now. I make myself look away from the sweaty hair stuck to her face.

"I told Zag he could go visit his cousins, I'm sure he stayed over," I say, calmly, fussing with the dog's breakfast.

"You did?" Jasmine asks, frowning at me.

"Last night. You weren't in," I say it as nicely as possible, which turns out to be not at all nicely.  I thought I was better than this. Clearly not. The knot of anger in my chest burns through my throat and arms. She's mine. I did not realize I was this misogynistic inherently. Clearly I am. If I were capable of talking about any of this, I should ask my idiot brother's how they have fifteen open relationships all at the same time. Except, I think about that, then I remember I don't want to hear what they think. About anything.

"Well, where are the boys?" Jasmine asks, frowning and trying to push her hair from her face.

"Hyp isn't in any of the approved nap spots I checked," Thyra says, as she goes to sit down to eat her bagel.

"Have you seen him?" Jasmine asks me, critically. The thing is, we both know I know what happened last night because I know whatever I want down here. And that she took him to the surface where I don't know things. We both know that.

"Last night he left with your brother---your mischief twin---, some sort of male-bonding thing I understand. They went to find Than. You weren't in," I say, wow I did not realize I was this horrible of a person. Wow I thought I was better than the people I pretend I'm above, mostly my brothers. Clearly not. That is so not the case. This is so pathetic right now. Am I this much of a misogynist that I think I own her body? I mean, clearly, given the situation, the way I'm standing, talking and moving my hands, and the tone of my voice. The only way that this could get more pathetic right now is if I called my mother to whine about my emasculation. Oh wait. I already fucking did that. So now I'm the world's most pathetic cuckold. All right. Good to know.

"Thyme? What's he doing down here?" Jasmine asks.

"He came and showed us his dog," Thyra says, as she gets out yogurt for herself, she doesn't always feel like it.

"He came to chat with the twins, you weren't in," wow I did not keep planning on saying that. I'm shocking even myself. Usually I think before I speak but typically I don't have to with her. That's not working out well for me right now.

"Is he still here?" she asks, clearly annoyed with me now.

"Yes," well I got through one fucking sentence without saying the words 'you weren't in'. Really fucking great for me here.  I'm doing fantastic. Could I make more of a scene in front of my eleven and ten year olds? Really? Their mother and I tend to keep odd hours, but I'm really set on destroying their childhood by clearly feuding with their mother in front of them.

"Are you going to tell me where he is? Or are you just going to stand there without a tie staring at the floor and moving your hand like that?" Jasmine asks, flicking her braid over her shoulder, probably thinking, if possible, worse things than I'm thinking about me. I don't know how that could be, but I'm sure she's managing.

"He's with the twins---I did say that," I know damn well I did not say that, "They should be at Than's flat now—they are---if you would get him out of here I'd appreciate it. You know how I hate living things down here."

"Yes. You do," she says, icily, because we both know she spent last night with a living thing I kept locked up down here.

"It's only Uncle Thyme, Daddy, can't he play knives with us?" Edys asks, tugging on my sleeve.