The Rise of Hel {Loki Laufeyson} Book Two

Chapter Fourteen

Waking up in Addison's bed feels so right. Don't get me wrong, I love the tower, but nothing can beat her bed, in her room, in her house, with her family... God I hate envy her so much it's not even funny.

It also helps that today is Christmas Eve - the day in which Jonah jumps around the halls, ringing bells and fixing the decorations for the annual Connors Christmas Party. It's a party that her family throws every year on Christmas Eve where they invite the whole street to come and celebrate with food, fun and friends. It sounds lame, I know - but it makes for great memories when all of the adults stumble around drunk.

I throw the blankets off of me and bounce down the stairs. It's easy to pretend to be her when all I really ever wanted was to be her. Addison had my dream life. I am living my dream life. The only thing that would make this perfect was if I was actually her and didn't have to deal with The Anti-Avengers and Fury breathing down my damn back about people the perfect soldier and lead this new team into victory. I know Hel - if this idea actually works and we march into battle with what we think is the 'element of surprise,' we'll be picked off in the first five minutes. I can feel her watching even when she's nowhere to be seen. I can feel her eyes skimming my thoughts at the cause of her curse. Surprise or not, I'll have my hands wrapped around her pale neck, drinking in her screams of agony as I kill her in cold blood-

I shake my head, shivering. The damn curse. It's made my violent thought even more so...

Padding down the carpeted hallway, I glance at Victoria's room, flashing back to last night.

After Skyson went to bed, I had confronted Victoria. She was, of course, hysterical - yelling and screaming as Skyson had. Eventually, she calmed down and bought my story of me staying at Jem's family's cottage and not being able to get ahold of her because I had lost my cell. She then proceeded to demand why I couldn't use Tessa's phone and I explained to her that the cottage, being in the middle of nowhere, didn't have any cell service. She accepted that with surprising ease and shooed me off to bed, to which I happily obliged.

Now, I enter my kitchen to a happy yet, on edge family. Skyson cooks pancakes while Victoria hides all of the sugar cereals and bottles of Nutella away so that The Connors' neighbour on the right side, Harold, doesn't eat it all for the fourth year in a row. Last Christmas, he locked himself in the basement, dunked the Lucky Charms in the bottle and stirred until the Nutella was lumpy with cereal. He then dug in with a spoon that he had brought. The disgust in Addison's stomach was felt by both parties, nearly barfing after finding him. Chocolate dribbled down his chin, a four-leaf-clover marshmallow hanging off of the tip. Drunk and hungry, he had passed out with his hand still submerged in the bottle.

I feel the bile bubble in my stomach, as it had in Addison's that night, looking away from Victoria and the various boxes and bottles on the counter.

As I grab the edge of the island in the kitchen, I feel something cold and solid slide down my arm and jump, looking down and finding my charm bracelet, the charms glittering in the sunlight. Skyson notices it too and gives me a skeptical look. "Where'd you get that to?"

"Um, Peter." I smile, hopefully convincingly. "Early Christmas present." He nods and resumes flipping his pancake. They're still angry with me for leaving them with no notice - I can tell by the way none of them try to make eye contact with me. Suddenly, I wish I had taken Tony's offer on a memory serum so that they forgive me quicker.

I change the subject. "What time is it?"

"One." Skyson replies.

"So, why are you cooking pancakes at one in the afternoon?"

He shrugs. "Because I can?"

Okay - another subject change. "When is everyone-"

"Five, and knowing you, you should start getting ready now. Phone Peter and Tess, remind them to be there."