The Lover's Vow

Chapter 13: Aidan

I thought about letting go of Callie's hand when she fell asleep, but I decided it wasn't a big deal. She hadn't pulled away and I liked the feeling of her hand in mine. I watched her for a bit, noticing a small piece of hair blow across her cheek with every breath in and out. I reached over and pushed it to the side so that it wouldn't eventually wake her up. My hand moving across her skin was slower than necessary, but I told myself it was only because I didn't want to startle her. Not because she was even softer than she looked, or because she unconsciously tilted her face into my touch.

I looked back at my phone, checking a few other emails. I was about to mark one as spam when the weird username the sender had used, LoveMeLoveMe, caught my eye. Hoping it was just spam, and not who I was afraid it was, I clicked on the email with the subject line 'Congratulations On Your Progress'. I read the short but to the point email in disbelief, checking to make sure Callie was still asleep.

"Aidan- I'll know whether you just delete this email or actually read it. I've been keeping an eye on you and you've done well so far. This is will be easier than I thought! Remember, if you want to know who your parents are, don't mess this up. Love, Aphrodite P.S. Did I mention you've got two weeks to make her say she loves you? XOXO"

I carefully slipped my hand out of Callie's then, shock reverberating through me. Only two weeks to make someone fall in love with me? A someone who vowed to never fall in love? I growled under my breath and muttered, "This is going to be fucking impossible."

A notification popped up on my phone. I found another email from LoveMeLoveMe, no subject line this time. I reluctantly opened it to read "Nothing is impossible idiot. And I can hear you."

I scoffed, but didn't say anything this time. I was restless suddenly, frustrated all over again with the situation. I glared over at Callie. If she hadn't made the stupid promise then I wouldn't be in this predicament. I would've never had to lie to and trick her, and I could've worked on getting with Lucy who I loved. I hated lying, and I didn't like that I was being forced into all of this.

I couldn't sit in my seat any longer. I got up and went into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror, then washed my hands and ran them over my face and through my hair. I took some calming breaths, and focused on the reason I agreed to this. I needed to find my biological parents- not just for me, but because Serena and Caleb had wanted me to. I'd do almost anything for those two. Feeling a little calmer, I made my way back to Callie.

She was still sleeping and I deleted the emails Aphrodite sent, just in case. I looked around the rest of the cabin, noticing that everyone else was sleeping as well. I never could fall asleep on a plane and I envied all these people for getting that respite. I looked over at Callie again and jumped a bit when I noticed her eyes were open. She smiled softly.

"Sorry, you seemed deep in thought so I didn't want to disturb you." She'd talked in a low voice, so as not to disturb anyone around us. Her voice had that just-waking-up quality, and it affected my instantly. I adjusted slightly to relieve some pressure and hide my reaction as much as possible. Callie's voice was a lethal weapon and she had no idea. I suddenly remembered something I'd read about the muse Calliope. Not only was she known for poetry, but her name literally meant "beautiful-voiced". Her name fit her more than her parents probably thought it might when they picked it out.

Callie was looking at me with a question in her eyes, and I realized I hadn't responded to her. "No worries, I didn't expect you to be awake when I checked on you so it just surprised me."

We were quiet for a time after that, just looking at each other. I was comfortable in silence, and was grateful that it seemed like she was as well. Then I remembered she'd asked me what I did for work and I hadn't gotten a chance to tell her yet.