Runaway Goddess

Chapter 2- Aphrodite

     We walked for a while, passing the buildings and turning into a small neighborhood. All of the houses were small and only one story, and pretty much looked the same. The houses had black roofs and oak wood walls.

     The girl's house was the fourth house on the left. I followed the girl onto the porch when she stopped.

     "I just realized something." She faced me. "I never introduced myself. My name is Amelia." She gave me a little curtsy. "Now, what is your name?"

     I hesitated. I had been so busy trying to escape my family that I hadn't thought about my false identity. "Uh...um..." I looked over at her front lawn, where a small garden of iris stood against the side of the wall diagonal to me. "Iris," I told her. "My name is Iris." I curtsied. "It's very nice to meet you."

     "Likewise" She smiled.

     We walked inside her house. The room was about medium-sized, with cream-white walls and dark wood floors. The kitchen was to the left of me, with coffee-brown cabinets and rusty appliances. The living room was to the right of me and had two couches, one a dull blue and the other a deep maroon. Both of the couches had patches of different fabrics.

     "This house is beautiful." I beamed.

     Amelia gave me a nervous smile. "You don't have to lie," She said. "We don't have a lot of money, so most of what we earn goes to clothes and food. And of course the house. Which doesn't leave us much money to spend on furniture or simple pleasures like toys or ice cream and such. But we make do with what we have and we're fine."

     Amelia gestured for me to follow, leading me to a room with plain white walls. The only thing in the room was a bed with black covers. "This is my brother's room." She told me. "He won't mind if you take it."

     "Are you sure?" I asked. "Where will he sleep?"

     "Of course. Plus, he doesn't have a choice. He'll sleep on the couch for now until further notice. My room is right next to yours so never feel shy if you have a question for me. I have to go pick up dinner now, but feel free to make yourself comfortable." Amelia turned and walked out of the room, the door shutting behind her.

     I placed my backpack down and sat on the bed, running my fingers through the soft blankets. Right next to me was the bedside table, and on it was a simple wooden clock. 12:18 it read.

     Dang. I thought. It's already been an hour and 30 minutes since I left Olumpus...

     I walked around the house, not knowing what to do. Just then, the door opened.

     "Mia!" The person yelled. "I'm hoooome! They let me come home early because it's the weekend! Well...mostly because the newspaper today absolutely sucked and no one wanted to buy it. So I only got 5 cents today. Hopefully, they release something better tomorrow..." The person stopped. He faced me, confused. "You're not Mia..."

     I shook my head. I was so confused and shocked, I didn't know what to say.

     The boy standing before me was the same boy I had met earlier.

     "Why are you here?" He asked. "Who are you?"

     I faced him. "My name is Iris. Amelia-"

     "No last name?"

     I shook my head.

     " 'You an orphan?"

     I hesitated. "Something like that."