"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." ~Aristotle
Athena Peril is a survivor, but she's lost inside herself and the only person who can help get her back is lost in her as well.
"We've had many faces, but only one soul, and it's...
*This chapter contains abusive tendencies and some scenes that may be hard if you have struggled with them. Please be mindful and know that there are ways out.*
My head was pounding before I even opened my eyes. I had vague memories of another weird dream about a concrete room and being hooked up to machines. I was becoming aware of my surroundings. It was warm, too warm, and a heavy arm was wrapped around my waist.
I opened my eyes and my head pounded harder as my blurred vision began to focus on the bedroom of my former friend. I had stayed at Mia's, and apparently so had Stetson because he was wrapped around me softly snoring.
I felt a sudden guilt sink into my stomach. Dorian. He probably assumed that I came to the party. Where is my phone? I roved my eyes over the room searching for it without moving. I didn't want to wake Stetson, but I had to get up.
I slowly moved his arm over my waist to rest behind me and began sliding off the bed, trying not to jostle him too much with the shift in weight. He softly grunted and resettled. I found my phone on the table next to the bed and my shoes neatly placed at the bottom of the bed.
I snatched up my shoes and sat on the floor to put them on. "Athena?" Stetson normally had a low and grumbly voice, but now it was gravelly and thick with sleep.
"Hey," I breathed still tying my shoes.
"Come back," he whined.
"Stet, I can't. I have to go find Dorian." I finished tying my shoes and stood up straight.
I looked over at him and he had his arm slung over his eyes, but he peeked from underneath.
"Ah yes, the boyfriend," he smiled.
"Yeah... well, something like that." I slowly sat on the edge of the bed and touched his arm that was slung over his head. "Thank you."
He dropped his arm and sat up. He was still wearing the same clothes from last night including his shoes. His hair was disheveled and damn he looked so good right now.
No. Dorian. I have to find Dorian.
I gave him a sad smile. "I really needed a friend."
"Yeah, sure." He started moving off the bed. "What are friends for? I have to get back anyway. I didn't mean to fall asleep."
His back was to me now, so I stood from the bed. "Could we... could we hang out soon?"
He huffed a laugh without looking at me and rubbed his eyes as I watched the muscles in his back contract. "Yeah. I'd like that." He yawned. "Do you need a ride?"
I shook my head softly. "No, I drove."
"Okay, well... be careful."
I walked slowly from the room and closed the door behind me. I couldn't understand why it was so hard to leave that room with him–to leave his side, but I'm sure I had a mess to clean up.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
