Sins and Reborns

Chapter eleven

GRACE

Ironically enough, Connor was my grace. I'd been name for him, to sit in his very truck with him, the night wind blowing through the window. In all my youth, I could've never imagined I'd someday sit in a confined space with him.

We'd been driving for twenty minutes. I kept myself tucked low in the car, in case someone I knew were to drive past. He stared forward, an easy, confident driver. My dress kept trying to hike up my legs. He noticed. Of course, he noticed.

"I thought I was meant to come to you," I whispered.

He smiled. "I couldn't wait. How long do you have?"

"Until five in the morning."

"That's an early start to a day. Are you a morning person?"

I don't have a choice. If I had, I'd sleep through sunlight, wake in moonlight, and wish upon the stars. I'd walk the lonely, dark streets, smile up at the sky, search for new constellations.

"I like stars."

"Stars?"

"And constellations."

"You know, I've never quite understood the difference between them. Mind telling me?"

His grin was boyish, inviting. No one had asked me to pique in my knowledge before.

"The sun is a star. But stars are individual celestial bodies while constellations are a pattern of stars that's been named my different cultures in history. For example, there is Pegasus. It's named after a mythical winged horse that was tamed by Bellerophon."

"Say that again."

With a furious blush, I glimpsed at my lap. "It's also a Greek story."

"What about the Ursa Major? I've seen that before."

My heart did the wild thump thump. He wouldn't ask that if he didn't have that arrogant smile. But he wanted me to speak, to talk about my aspirations. "It's the story of Callisto, She was called the nymph for catching the attention for catching the eye of Zeus –"

"What's a nymph?"

"She was a nature spirit. They were beautiful, inhabited rivers, woods, naturistic ideals."

"I thought it meant a woman with insatiable desire for sex."

The car cranked to a halt, a sandhill outside surrounded by thick trees. The secure, isolated area closed in on us.

I met his eye. That knowing smile again.

"Anyway, continue."

It took me a moment to regain my composure.

"Z-Zeus was married to Hera, so to hide his affair, he transformed Callisto into a bear. Her son, Arcas, didn't know about the transformation, and he hunted her down. She died, and to prevent any further tragedy, Zeus placed them both in the sky. They're the Ursa Major and the Ursa Minor. The Greater and the Little Bear."

"That wasn't very nice of Zeus. He fucked a nymph and she got punished." My breaths came out in gasps at the crude word. "You're a pretty smart girl, Gracie."

With his steady hands, he unclipped my seat belt. The touch of his fingers made me tremble. As we walked towards the sandy beach with crashing, untameable waves, I felt the experience of real, raw low that reeked of purity. Although our minds may not have been entirely pure, our hearts were. It was the same beach Anna and Tim walked on, even if that was fifteen miles away. The beach stretched a wide patch of land.