The House in the Woods

Chapter 8

I sighed loudly and leaned away from the table after I finished my story. The three of them sat opposite of me; Apollo lounged on the floor, his long legs stretching out beneath the coffee table, and Jannosh and Myrnah sat on the couch beside him. None of their reactions were what I expected.

Apollo simply looked like I had told him a rather interesting story. The fingers of his right hand played absent mindedly with the rug beneath the table, and his green eyes took me in interestedly. Besides that, his countenance showed nothing that implied he was affected by what I told him.

Myrnah looked like she was about to cry. This bewildered me, since the older woman was always so strong around me; however, her red irises were extremely shiny, and her lips quivered like an upset little girl. Her hands were fidgeting again, and she couldn’t meet my gaze.

Jannosh, though, was the clear winner. The usually calm, placid man looked livid. His hands were shaking, and his lips were curled into an alarmingly furious line. His lovely eyes looked extremely cold, like the violet had iced over. When he met my eyes, he muttered something incoherent and looked away.

“So… that’s what happened.” I said lamely. I was still watching Jannosh.

“Well, that clears things up.” Apollo stated matter of factly. “I knew he was lying once he said ‘very good friend’. Roscoe doesn’t have friends; he has accomplices. Your story makes much more sense.”

“You must have been so afraid.” Myrnah offered tearily.

Jannosh leaned over, his hands splayed on his lap. “That man has the devil in him.”

The other two turned to look in surprise at his growl. Myrnah put a hand over his, but Apollo merely stared. Apparently, they weren’t used to seeing him like this either.

“Jannosh?” Apollo said.

“What?” He practically spit the word out, and Myrnah jumped.

“Are you alright?”

Jannosh whipped around to look at me once before standing up. “I have some work to finish.” He said gruffly, pulling away from Myrnah’s touch and storming out of the room.

I gawked after him.

“What’s up with him?” I turned to look at the other two.

In response, Myrnah got up, her eyes still watering, and hurried after her husband. I looked over at Apollo, who was still unaffected.

“Was my story that controversial?” I joked weakly.

Apollo smiled, but shook his head. “He was never fully aware of Ted Roscoe’s… activities. You can say there’s no love lost between Jannosh and men like him.”

“Why was he so angry though? He didn’t do anything to Jannosh.”

His gaze was gentle as he looked at me across the table. “You have so little faith in how much you mean to Jannosh, Lilah. I’ve suspected for a while that he’s grown quite partial to you, and this just confirmed my theory.”

I digested this information. It made sense. The fatherly hugs, his never ending patience with me and his booming laughter at everything I said… I felt my heart warm at the thought of it.

“Plus, after my father was done with the two of them, he’s never had a penchant for how the strong take advantage of the weak.” Apollo’s eyes were distant again; his fingers had stopped playing with the rug.

“Your father? What does he have to do with this?”

“Why, he’s the very reason I know Jannosh and Myrnah.” Apollo’s smile was rueful. “It’s actually quite a dramatic story. You should ask Myrnah to tell it, she’s got the theatrics that I lack.”