Athena

Chapter 33

"Anywhere you go, you don't need a reason 'cause they never showed you love"
-Harry Styles

ARES, WATCH OUT!" He exclaims.

Gray grabs ahold of the steering wheel and swerves the car causing me to hit my head on the window.

Ares is quick to turn around and gain control of the car, slowing it down and then finally bringing it to a stop.

I clutch my head with my hand, applying pressure in hopes of reducing the pain. That's definitely gonna leave a bruise.

"What the hell happened?" I ask with furrowed brows.

"We almost hit someone, that's what happened!" Grayson exclaims.

Ares glares at him but eventually turns around to check on me, "Athena are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I say while glancing back.

"There... There is someone on the road. Did we hit them?" I ask, getting out of the car.

The two boys follow me. "No," Grayson assures me, "I think he's just shocked."

We walk towards him and I can tell that he is moving. He is conscious, that's good.

"Excuse me" I call out as the male figure tries to get up. He fails terribly though, seeming unable to stand on his two feet.

Grayson quickly goes to his side, catching him before he falls and hits himself. He looks disoriented and lost, keeping his head down and tiredly rubbing his forehead.

"I-I'm so sorry." I try again. "Are you okay? Is there someone we can call?"

He slowly shakes his head and pulls away from Grayson, sitting back down on the road.

I take a few steps forward and crouch in front of him, "We can give you a ride to your house or even the hospital if you don't feel well. You just have to talk to us."

"He clearly needs a hospital, Athena." Ares pipes in, hanging up the phone on Apollo. He called him to inform him that we wouldn't be able to pick up Noah after all and that he should  get his ass there fast because we were already late.

"No..." The boy mumbles, "No hospitals, please. I-I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. All I need is a moment to catch my breath and I'll be fine." He says, finally looking up.

I freeze. Grayson and Ares freeze. The boy-Ivan Volkov freezes. I gulp, standing up and taking a step back.

He looks different than the last time I saw him. Huge dark circles adorn the underside of his eyes and his facial bones are more prominent. One thing hasn't changed, though. That scared look in his eyes. The furrowed eyebrows and the trembling of his hands.

And why wouldn't he be scared? He's sitting there, defenseless, in front of his enemies. I would be terrified if I was in his place. I was terrified when I was in his place.

He tries to stand up again. But the exhaustion from all these days away from home combined with the shock of the almost-crush don't allow him to.

He looks up, desperation in his eyes. "Please. I'm not-I dont..."

"Yeah... We know that you ran away." I say gently, stepping forward and helping him on his feet.

"Athena, step away from him." Ares exclaims but I ignore him.

Grayson steps in and takes most of Ivan's weight off of me, carrying him towards a tree that he can lean on.

"Athena I'm not going to say it again, step away from him. Don't you remember what he's done to you goddammit!"

"I do, actually!"I shout back, turning around to face him. "He held me at gun point, his dad commanding him to shoot me... Yet he didn't. You shot him instead. Do you remember that?"

"He was threatening your life! What was I supposed to do? Let him kill you?"

"I wouldn't have killed her." Ivan mutters lowly.

Ares scoffs. "Yeah, right. Nobody asked you, blondie. Go back to dying silently."

"At least let him speak, Ares." Grayson states calmly.

"Why are you defending him?" Ares asks incredulously, "He fucking tortured you!"

"He didn't, actually. His father did." Gray replies.

"He's not my father. Don't call him that. The only thing I share with that man is a last name. I want him dead just as much as you do."

Ares stares at him intensely, "Why should we trust you? He thinks we've kidnapped you and he's threatening us so tell me why I shouldn't just hand you over to him and keep my family safe?"

"Ares, we're better than this-"

"No, Athena." He cuts me off, "That's where you're mistaken. You might be better than this but I'm not. He's the enemy, I kill him. That's how things work in my mind. Simple as that."

"Not everything is black and white, Ares. We have to give him the benefit of the doubt. We owe him that much." Grayson tries to reason.

"I don't owe him shit! He hurt my family!" Ares shouts, his eyes getting glossy.

I approach him slowly, taking his hand in mine and speaking calmly, "Ares, that's what we're trying to tell you. He never touched us. He was a prisoner there, just like us. He resents his father and he could help us take him down. Right?" I direct my question at Ivan.

He nods. "I can tell you everything you want to learn, at least as much as I know. I want to kill that man more than you do."

"Doubtful" Gray mutters.

A moment of silence passes before Ares finally sighs. "So what are we supposed to do? Bring him home with us?"

"Yeah, where else would we take him? It's safer if we have him close by." I respond and walk back to Ivan.

"Are you able to walk?" I ask.

He gulps, "I'll manage."

After that Ares and Grayson both leave to call Alex and Aaron and inform them about the situation.
I'm sure they'll be reasonable and agree with our decision since they're the oldest and therefor the mature ones.

I help Ivan inside the car and get in after him, waiting patiently for the others to come back.

"Thank you." He whispers.

I turn my head and look at him, "Huh?"

"Thank you, for defending me and I'm sorry for everything that" He pauses, thinking about his next words, "that he did to you. I really am sorry."

He doesn't look at me while he's talking, instead he's staring right ahead. I turn my head and do the same.

"It wasn't your fault." I mumble. "You shouldn't apologize for him, whatever he did is not on you. Don't take the blame." I pause, glancing at him for just a second. "I've been there before and it's not worth it. Let's just hope that he gets what he deserves."

"Yeah..." He replies. "I'll help you take him down. Any information you need, I'll provide it to you. We'll create the perfect plan."

I nod, hoping that everything will go in our favor. The empty feeling of dread in my stomach disagrees, though.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I can't help but love overprotective Ares. Vote and comment! Love ya <3

-A