We Bent Fate

Chapter 32

I ran up into Martha's bedroom and came at a halt when I saw her crying.

"Baby?" I rushed towards her and noted absentmindedly that my voice had turned soft as if I was talking to a new born infant. I held her small sweaty hands in mine and gave it a little squeeze. "What happened?"

"Oh, Austin!" She sobbed as I rose up and sat next to her on the bed, holding my hands in front of her to invite her for an affirmative cuddle. She hugged me tightly and shook as I rubbed her back.

"It is okay. It will be okay." I told her and myself.

"I don't know." She shook her head and I kissed her hair. "I must have done something terrible! She-she...told me that she will come for me and make me pay for it."

"Who?" I asked and she shook her head side to side.

"Aphrodite."  she sobbed.

She finally stopped crying when I kept kissing her hair and whispering to her that it is going to be okay. I smiled absentmindedly at how pure hearted she really is and kissed her wet cheeks. Taking a guess that she might have fallen asleep in my arms, I slowly bent forward and put her on the bed.

"I want to give up." She murmured against my chest.

"Give up?" I exclaimed. I did not expect her to say that at all. She is one of the most willing and daring people I had ever met in my entire life, and now she wants to give up?

"Hope." She whispered. "I want to give up hope."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I want to but I can't. I truly believed in it and now I feel..I feel-"

I smiled at her. "Hoping may be pleasurable, but hope defeated can be quite painful." I told her and she stared blankly at me. "There are many situations in which a realistic acceptance of a possibly negative outcome is more beneficial than clinging to a hope counter to what is quite probably not going to happen."

"Isn't that a bit defeatist?" She mewled.

I shook my head and kissed her forehead. "Hope is good. But it can be as good as a prayer. Just wishing for something rather than more forcefully working towards it."

Martha sat up with a small frown on her face. "But then what should I do? Are you trying to tell me to give up? I have pledged on the river Styx that I will bring peace so I must but....I don't know. This is so infuriating!" She tugged her nails into her curly dark hair and groaned.

"I am telling you that the only way left is by embracing the defeat and jump over to victory."

"What are you talking about?" She whined in frustration and I laughed. She looks so cute even when she is grumpy.

"Just have patience." I said, hugging her and she looked timidly at her lap with a small pout on her pink lips.

"Okay." She said after a few minutes of silence and I kissed her nose. She held me possessively with her arms around my chest and back. Quick enough, she was softly murmuring something unintelligible and all the more interesting for me as I observed her being dragged into the oblivion of her sleep.

Her sunken cheeks glowed a little with a pinch of pink and a faint smile played on her lips. She must be very tired. I slowly bent forward and pecked her lips before sliding out from her arms and heading downstairs.

As promised, Chloe and Lila were already seated on their chairs. I cleared my throat in order to let them know that I had arrived. Their eyes flung open on me and gave me a bored expression. "What did you want?" Chloe asked.

"You guys are hiding something. I can sense it." I narrow my eyes at them.

"Well, aren't you the best detective ever?" Chloe rolled her eyes. "Why the hell would you say that?"

"Ugh!" I groan out in frustration.

I did not want to show myself exerted in front of Martha because she is already going through a lot but something really needs to be done.

"I think Martha is right. She should go and meet Aphrodite."

"We can't. We know what happened between them, Martha and Aphrodite. But we wouldn't let her. It is too dangerous. Everyone is against us already right now. Let us not make a fuss out of nothing." Chloe said.

"This isn't nothing. Tell me what you know." I demanded, gritting my teeth furiously.

"It will be better if you stay out of it."

"Oh, how I wish..." I let out a low laugh. "But that is not what is going to happen."

"Do you think we don't care about Martha?" Chloe spat and I wanted to shout 'yes' but didn't.

"Then tell me what is your plan. Because I cannot stand another day watching my girlfriend getting torn between what is right and what should be done. I can't watch her break into pieces and lose faith in everything and herself. I don't-"

"Okay then what do you want?" Lila snapped.

"I want Martha to be happy. I say we go to Aphrodite's place fully prepared, talk to her about the weird dreams Martha keeps getting about her and leave the fuck out."

They look at me blankly, their expressions wordless and tired and then at each other, weighing their options. I shrugged.

"What can a love Goddess do to hurt us?" I joked.