“You’re not…afraid of me, are you?” I asked, that ache in my chest growing by the second.
Her gaze flew to mine.
“If you’d rather sleep on the couch,” I said quickly, “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket. It’s okay. It won’t upset me. But I’d consider it a kindness if you’d sleep back here with me.
“Before I went to Hell, I was alone in this house for a month. I struggled to sleep at night. Some of the creatures here would tap at the windows to try to get me to come out. And once I was in Hell, sleep wasn’t any easier. I was afraid all the time.”
“Even when Father slept with you?” she asked.
“I was still a little afraid at first until I realized how much safer I was with him next to me than alone. And that’s all I want now, Zotera. The ground keeps shaking. I’m back in my cage where creatures can tap on my windows and try to lure me out. And I’m away from the one person who ever made me feel completely safe.”
The tremors slowly faded to nothing.
“Thank you for explaining, Mother. Ashlyn.” She lay down on her side of the bed, and I hurried to get in on my side.
The bed didn’t feel as comfortable as I’d remembered. Or maybe it was just how I defined comfort that had changed.
“If I roll toward you or anything, just push me away,” I said, remembering how I always woke curled up against Hades.
* * *
I woke curled on my side at the edge of the bed, knowing exactly where I was and who I was with. And who I wasn’t with. The despair threatened to pull me under. Pushing it down, I opened my eyes.
Morning light was filtering into the room around the curtains, and I glanced at the bedside alarm. It was almost eight already. I looked at Zotera and grinned. She was sprawled out, half covered by blankets, and her mouth slightly open. Her hair tangled around her head in a crazy blonde nest, and she snored softly.
Slipping from the bed so I wouldn’t wake her, I crept to the bathroom. The shower wasn’t nearly as nice as the one Hades had made me in Hell, but having conditioner again was really nice.
The door to the bathroom opened before the water stopped.
“Mother?” Zotera called, sounding worried. “Are you all right?”
“Ashlyn,” I said as a gentle reminder. “And I’m fine. If you wait in the bedroom, I’ll show you how to use everything in here as soon as I’m done.”
She let me finish in peace, which gave me time to consider how to make peace between Zotera and Megan. In the end, I decided their relationship was up to them. I’d already told Megan what she needed to know regarding Zotera’s actions, and I knew Megan wasn’t unfair. I could only hope that Zotera wouldn’t make any other rash mistakes.
After I finished dressing, I found Zotera waiting on the neatly made bed.
She was quick to join me in the bathroom and marveled at each new thing I showed her. She loved flushing the toilet, and I warned her not to flush down anything other than what came out of her and toilet paper. The shower didn’t seem to impress her much, and I acknowledged that the ones we had in Hell had been better. She smelled every single bottle in the bathroom and grinned when I explained the purpose of the conditioner.
Once she finished her shower and was wearing her yoga pants and sweatshirt again, we went to the kitchen.
As soon as I opened the refrigerator, I knew we were in trouble. It was completely empty.
Of course it was. Why leave food in an abandoned house?
“I guess I’ll need to request a food delivery once I get my phone,” I said.
My stomach growled, and Zotera gave me a worried look.
“You shouldn’t go hungry,” she said.
“I don’t want to, but I didn’t think of food last night when we were talking to Megan and Oanen.”
“I can—”
Someone knocked on the front door, interrupting her.
“Hold that thought,” I said before going to look through the peephole.
