Bows and Eros

Chapter 9: Aphrodite's wishes

I was sitting in purgatory, trying to find something to do to get my mind off of things. My lfie had gone from being the dead girl with drama to being the dead girl with serious issues. I made of list of all the things that had gone wrong in my head. Love interest who kept secrets, check. Creepy all powerful boss who I now owe a favor, check. Crazy spiteful reaper chick with a vengeance plot and new reason to hate me, check. Grief over the fact that I am still dead and in purgatory, check. To top it off, any minute now my phone could buzz and I'd be asked to do god knows who for whomever Aphrodite decided needed a hookup. I let out a deep breath, wishing I could leave the creepy garden. It was never light or dark, just stuck in perpetual twilight. Just like my freaking life, or afterlife. Whatever. On the bright side, I didn't have cancer anymore.

"Hey," I heard Gabe say. I looked up, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

"Hey," I replied. "Where were you?"

"Well, I looked for you," Gabe replied. "And then I spoke to Hera."

"Hera the goddess, the one married to Zeus himself?"

"Yes, we are sort of friends. Well, I serve her and occasionally she allows me to speak. That is as close to friendship with a goddess as you can get."

I thought about my drinking session with Eros, and shrugged. We had a weird relationship.

"So what did Hera and you talk about?"

"I asked her what I should do about you, and Helena," Gabe said. "She told me just to let things happens, that destiny was at work."

"That sounds helpful," I snorted.

"Where did you go..."

"You know where I went Gabe," I said. "I went to see Eros, because I needed to talk to someone. And since I have no other friends in purgatory, I went to see him."

"So, did you and he "talk" or whatever," Gabe asked.

"We talked, no quotations," I said. "He actually defended you. Sure, he's a creep, but he is good too. He listened. And when I ran into Helena, he saved my ass."

"You ran into Helena," Gabe said. "This is why I wanted to be with you, to protect you. It is my sole purpose to be your guardian, Macy."

"Well I survived," I said. "Eros showed up, and he got rid of Helena, for now."

"Eros has been helping you a lot, huh? That's sure convenient for him."

"I was scared, so I called for him," I said. "And I may be mad at you, but I still don't want Eros. And I'd never betray, even though I don't even know what this is. I mean, I want to call it a relationship, but we're dead. I mean, that makes things weird, right? I don't care though, I really like you."

"So nothing happened with Eros," Gabe said.

"I just poured my heart out and all you heard was that I didn't cheat on you?"

"Sorry. I like you too, a lot. And I'm sorry I lied to you. I've never been in a relationship, and I haven't been around girls in decades, other than Helena, who is crazy. I'm kind of glad I died in battle before I had to marry her. "

"Gabe," I said. "I have enough to worry about with my cupid duties and worrying my parents will be depressed over my death. I don't need to be concerned my boyfriend, guardian, whatever you are to me, to keep secrets. Promise me we can be honest, ok?"

"I will I swear," Gabe said. "I just am so overwhelmed. I've never felt co attached to the people I've protected before. And then as sad as I was to see you die, then you were here. I could reach out and touch you, and somehow, you started to like me."