"Thanatos looked like the cat that caught the canary. Well, I'll be damned if I was anyone's canary..."
The Cherry-Sway
It was the end of summer, and my last night at home before everything changed.
Conrad's tour had been about two weeks ago, and the last time I'd seen Thanatos was when he'd tried to rip open my throat in what I now know was the meditation room of the academy. My bags were packed and my goodbyes were said- well, most of them in any case.
Tomorrow morning, I would put on a big fake smile and bid my parents farewell and hope for their sake that Thanatos would leave them be. They weren't acting strange anymore, but they never remembered any black cat by the name of 'Mortem', nor any odd screaming matches coming from my room late at night. I suppose he made them forget everything. Just as well; I don't want them to worry for my sanity- or theirs...
Another goodbye I had to make was to Trita and Sonya, who hopefully after about three weeks of estranged conversations, would actually stop being angry with me (mainly Trita). I'd called Sonya earlier in the day to arrange for us to meet up before leaving to university tomorrow. Of course, they still had no idea that I wasn't going to attend the same university as them.
I picked up my phone and wallet, fixed a stray hair in front of the mirror and made my way down stairs. It was getting dark outside and the air was cool and crisp. Sonya said we could have a movie night at her house at around 7; and around 6 I was already making my way down to the living room. I knew I was early, but the anticipation of seeing my friends again was too much; not to mention my nerves were shot.
I could really use a strong drink right about now.
My parents sat in front of the television; dad watching the news and mom making a list of all the groceries she had to go buy tomorrow after work. I stood at the back of the couch, just staring at them. I was going to miss this- just being home, being around them and the people I love.
"Hey..." I said softly; they turned around to look up to me. My mother smiled; "Hey yourself... You look nice, where you off to?"
"Sonya's. We're having a movie night."
My dad spoke up, his eyes still glued to the sports report- "Ah, the teens having one last 'hoorah' before adulthood hits them in the face."
I rolled my eyes and laughed; "Nicely put, dad."
"Well, don't stay up too late, it looks like it might rain later and you don't want to drive all the way back here in a downpour."
"Relax, Denise." My father smirked at my mother from the side; "I'm sure Aurora will be fine. She's all grown up and off to university now."
"Hmm, yes, yes, but you're still my little baby."
I made a weird noise and flicked my tongue as my mother's soft hand patted the back of mine. My father just laughed and shook his head, while my mother winked at me from the couch.
"Are you talking to Aurora or me?"
My mother gave him a playful slap on the shoulder and giggled. I rolled my eyes- I was definitely going to miss this.
Suddenly, I felt a pang of heartache. I wasn't ready for this. None of this. But I quickly sucked it up and ordered my body to stand up straighter. I'd make it out of this eventually, but for now, I had some business to take care of. "Don't wait up."
I turned to leave, but what my father said next made me come to a complete halt. "Remember to take a spare key; your mother and I won't hear you if you ring the bell. We'll be upstairs making love."
I paused.
My eyes were the size of plates.
Did he just...?
"E-excuse me?"
"It's been too long." My mom chipped in; "You understand right, honey?"
I didn't dare move a muscle. This was quite literally the most awkward moment of my entire life. Please kill me now.
"I know you're a virgin and all, but you'll get it some day...Ah! 'Get it some day'!" My father laughed along with my mother at her very, very inappropriate joke.
I slowly turned around, but instead of giving my parents the most incredulous look I could muster, all the confusion and embarrassment lifted from my body like a ball of smoke and was replaced with pure, raw anger.
There he stood.
He had his back against the fireplace and his black hood over his head. In his right hand he held a smaller version of his scary scythe, whilst toying with the sharp blade with his middle finger. Thanatos looked like the cat that caught the canary. Well, I'll be damned if I was anyone's canary.
I breathed in slowly, resisting the urge to yell. Thanatos just continued to eye me with a mischievous sparkle in his eye that peeked out from under his hood, and a smirk on his arrogant face.
Bastard.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to remain calm; I had a plan remember. Stay calm, stay cool. Although, that was before he tried to skewer me with his fangs.
A small chuckled left his perfect mouth.
"Just a bit of fun, really..." His smooth accent filled the room.
Please let his cape catch fire, please let his cape catch fire, please let his cape catch fire...
"I believe you were on your way out, angel."
I glanced at my parents. My father and mother were staring blankly at the television. Apparently, a small thunderstorm expected on Friday evening was far more interesting than the Greek god of death and decay standing by our fireplace. I rolled my eyes and swiftly turned on my heel. I knew he would follow me; I'd rather have him annoy me than let him play with my parents.
I will admit, I was pretty relieved to see him standing there- at least my parents weren't about to discuss their sex-life with me anytime soon.
"Playing hard-to-get? Oh, I love it..." I heard him say as I grabbed the spare keys from the counter-top and casually made my way to the garage. The sound of boots tapping against the hard floor followed me to my car.
I unlocked my Audi and grabbed the door handle, pulling it open with more force than necessary. My anger was bubbling at the surface.
Three weeks of freedom from this maniac wasn't enough; not even slightly. Not that it even helped- I was so paranoid these past few weeks that I couldn't even take a proper shower. I think I might've broken a world record for the fastest dresser, or the fastest shower for that matter.
And the poor neighbour's cat, Rascal- I nearly gave him a heart attack after chasing him with a garden sheer when I mistook him for 'Mortem'.
I climbed into the car and quickly locked the doors.
Thanatos pulled at the passenger's door handle and sighed loud enough for me to hear. I rolled my eyes and started the engine- vacantly looking ahead.
"I called shotgun, angel. This is a crime against the sacred 'shotgun' gods..."
I tried to breathe in slowly to suppress my annoyance. "You have the mental capacity of a four year-old."
I didn't bother to wait for his retort as I reversed the car out of the driveway and out of the wide, double gates of our property. I had a feeling he was going to go mess up my room or something while I was away, but at this point, I really couldn't care less. The man was like a toddler- he needed constant attention and praise. I wasn't going to spend my last night in Caneyville entertaining the 'god of childish-antics'. I had a friendship to save.
I turned my flicker on to turn onto the highway. Sonya's house was a few minutes away and the highway was the fastest route. I looked right to see if it was clear, but as I turned my head to look left to do the same- a small yelp escaped my mouth.
"Hi." Thanatos' voice was a husky drawl of sarcasm.
I hit the brakes and clamped a hand over my mouth to stop me from giving another surprised shriek. My eyebrows furrowed up in confusion as I stared at him, my eyes the size of tennis balls.
How the hell did he do that?
"Magic..." The god of death said as he flicked on the radio with one swipe of his long, tanned finger. His hood was off and I had a clear view of his vibrantly, blood-coloured eyes and deeply dark hair.
The song Poison, by Alice cooper, blared through my car's speakers and I slowly removed my hand from my mouth, but my eyes stayed fixed on the mythical being beside me, who was now nodding his head in appreciation at the song.
A car horn woke me from my stupor.
"How rude, Aurora. People are trying to commute."
For a short moment I shot him a disbelieving look of 'why are you in my car', but decided to just get out of the way first before asking any questions.
I quickly raised my hand to show I was sorry and pulled away into the highway, making sure the path was clear.
Once we were on the long highway, I steadied our speed and turned into the least busy lane so I could give Thanatos another very incredulous look. He was already looking at me- or looking wasn't the right word. It felt almost like he was examining me? I froze in my seat.
"Why are you in my car?"
"How else am I going to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble?"
"You are trouble!"
He chuckled proudly as my hands flew up from the wheel, making the car swerve a little. "Careful now; we don't want you kicking the bucket before your big day."
"Ugh! You're unbelievable!"
"Thank you." Thanatos flicked through the radio channels, searching for something to listen to- or annoy me with, but I quickly slapped his hand away and turned the radio off.
"This is my car and you do not fiddle with my car! I'm dropping you off on the next corner."
Thanatos sighed dramatically and proceeded to play with my hair like a cat with string. "Fine. Guess I'll just head back to your house; maybe watch a movie with your parents, maybe go through your underwear drawer... Hmm... Or I could always burn down your house? That sounds like fun. Make a bonfire; roast some marshmallows."
"Okay, okay! Stay!" I yelled as I tried to focus on the road. I'm telling you- with a sociopathic, dangerously sexy god next to you- it wasn't the easiest of things to do. The fact that he was poking my cheek with his index finger made it all the more difficult.
"Stop it!" I slapped his hand away from my face and kept my eyes on the road. It was dark and the last rays of the sun were slowly setting over the horizon.
"What's the matter, angel?" Thanatos asked; his voice full of mock concern, "Did someone miss me while I was gone? Did you struggle to fall asleep at night without your big, bad, strong man protecting you?"
"Pu-lease..." I scoffed and slapped away his hand again as it tugged at my hair. "Like you're the one protecting me? More like I need protection from you..."
He made a searing sound and groaned painfully; "Ouch... That's no way to treat your guardian."
I rolled my eyes and contemplated driving off the cliff.
Suddenly, Thanatos' hand was on my leg. I froze in my seat at the electricity that surged through my body. He squeezed slightly. The car's speedometer sped up.
"I'm going to need something to make me feel better..."
If ever there was a time that a man's mere voice could make me melt into a small, powerless ball of goo, it was right then and there.
I stifled the urge to whimper.
He was clearly enjoying my reaction as his grin grew bigger and his eyebrow lifted up into an arched shape. His hand slowly moved higher, but before he could reach a very dangerous level, I hit the brakes.
Thanatos lurched forward. Luckily for him he had lightning fast reflexes and quickly rammed his hands onto the dashboard before his head could hit the window. I giggled as I watched his eyes grow with disbelief and then narrow into irritated slits. I monetarily lost my train of thought as I stared at him- he was actually pretty adorable when he was caught off guard; his mouth slightly agape and his forehead crinkled with confusion.
He shot me a very annoyed glare and I lifted an eyebrow at him, a small smile playing on my lips. "You should know better than to not wear your seatbelt, Thanatos."
I snapped mine up to show him what stopped me from slamming into the steering wheel. I grinned and continued to drive. I'd actually stopped at a stop sign, but Thanatos was too busy trying to seduce me to notice that we'd exited the highway.
We were only about three minutes away from Sonya's house.
Thanatos scoffed, but remained silent. I felt a great sense of achievement at his silence as the car grew quiet. We drove in silence as Thanatos' annoyance hung like a thick cloud over heads. With my renewed confidence, I looked over to the brooding figure next to me and said casually; "You should really put on your seatbelt. You never know when a stop sign could suddenly appear out of thin air."
Thanatos turned his head slowly to face me; his eyes almost black in the darkness of the car. He just stared- his mouth formed into a thin line. I smirked at him and turned my head back to the road. But then, from the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes start to slant down and his mouth turn up slightly at the corners.
Oh, no.
"Tell me, Aurora..."
Good Lord, the way he says my name.
"Will stop signs suddenly appear from thin air every time you need a distraction?"
I was about to ask him what he meant, but the sudden warm hand on my thigh gave me all the information I was looking for (and wasn't looking for). I tensed up immediately and realised that we were on a long straight road that had absolutely no visible stop signs for at least the next two minutes.
Two minutes.... Fuck. I don't even want to know what he could do in two minutes.
I tried to compose myself, but then with his index and middle finger, he made them slowly scissor-walk up to my hip and let his hand rest on the bone. I felt a swarm of butterflies shoot up from my navel and buzz around frantically. His voice was suddenly right by my ear. The car sped up.
"Relax, Aurora..." His hot breath clung to my cheek.
I could tell he was enjoying tormenting me- I was a nervous wreck when he was in the same room as me; not too even mention how unstable I felt with him just a few inches from my face. I tried to think of a reply, but my brain switched off.
Not a good thing when you're driving.
And then he spoke again; "I don't bite..."
Just as I thought my resolve would hold- Thanatos opened his mouth slightly and bit down onto his teeth; making a clattering sound.
"Much."
Yup, I'm done...
Someone take the wheel.
I so badly tried to keep my head straight, but the urge to turn it to face him was too great.
Slowly, I turned my head- our eyes met in the dark car. His were like deep crimson pools and I let my blue eyes drop down to admire his smirking lips. What am I doing?
I kept repeating the same question over and over in my head.
What am I doing?
Thanatos' smirk vanished as he realised I was going to try and kiss him. His eyes grew bigger for a split second before slanting down into a smouldering look. Carefully, he inched closer until my nose touched his. I moved to close the distance-
HONK!
I ripped away from his face and immediately looked up to the rear-view mirror. There was a car honking at me from the back; its lights flashing in anger.
Shit! I'd completely forgot that I was driving a damn car!
I'd subconsciously slowed my speed down and now the couple jogging beside us on the pavement were now going at a quicker pace than the car. The white Range Rover behind me honked once more for good measure and sped up to pass me. Luckily, the road was straight; otherwise I might've hit a tree a few seconds ago.
I can't believe I let this happen again!
Why do you keep betraying me, body?
"Damn!" I cussed loudly; angrier at myself for falling for another one of his tactics than at him for trying to seduce me, again...
I quickly sped up the car, trying to keep my flustered face looking straight ahead as the couple jogging past giggled and smiled admiringly at us from the side. Ah, young love- was probably what they were thinking. Thanatos just smirked at me from the darkness of the passenger seat. My shaky hand itched to smack it from his face.
The rest of the car ride was relatively quiet, except for the god of death's moderately loud humming. I hate to admit it, but he had an amazing voice, but the fact that he was humming the theme to 'Mission Impossible' was frankly getting on my last nerve.
I pulled into Sonya's long, brick driveway and parked the car under the old maple tree. The car's light shone onto the trunk, illuminating the carvings we'd made when we were young. It was mainly stick figures and smiley faces, but on the more upper part of the trunk was a few hearts with initials carved into them. We were teenagers by then- and could reach higher up. The initials AV and WP were carved into the middle heart. I smiled softly at the memories- when times were simpler.
Thanatos had changed his humming from the 'Mission Impossible' theme to the 'Sound of music'. It was pretty comical to hear such a dainty melody being sung by such a manly voice. I was relatively impressed that an old god actually knew these well-known songs, but my annoyance at the fact that he was clearly trying to get under my skin was far greater. I quickly unlocked the car and got ready to jump out the door before my frustration had a chance to shout at him.
Stay cool, stay calm...
But Thanatos was quicker.
Like a bolt of lightning, he slammed the door shut in my face just as I shoved it open. His hand was on the lock and his face was right in front of mine. From his throat came the familiar theme of 'Jaws' and I rolled my eyes as he kept coming closer to my face. This was childish- even for him.
"Could you please act your age!"
Stay cool, stay calm...
Hot breath blew into my face as he chuckled sinisterly. My insides grumbled in angst. His arm was still stretched over me, which sent electric shocks up and down my body and made the hair on my arms stand up. Just when I thought things couldn't get anymore nerve-wrecking, the lock on the door clicked.
He'd locked the car.
Fabulous.
"Now..." Thanatos said huskily and his eyes traveled down to my lips; "Where were we?"
Stay cool, stay calm!
"Get away from me." I said each word with deliberate slowness.
Thanatos grinned, not bothering to lift his eyes from my mouth and leaned in even further until all I could see were his closed eyes. Simultaneously, just as his soft lips caressed mine, a loud clap rang through the car. The god of death whipped his head up from my mouth and I made a small, painful groan as my hand throbbed from hitting something as extraordinarily hard as stone. I felt like I'd cut my hand on his cheekbone. What is he made of? Steel?
I shook my hand in the air to rid it of the sharp pang of pain. Thanatos- seemingly unaffected by my hard slap to his face- just sighed and licked his lips.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yes, you creep! How dare you try and kiss me without my consent!"
"Oh, please..." He grumbled as he moved back to sit in his seat. I sighed softly at the sudden relief of not having him so close and shot him a dirty look.
"Now, I'm going into my friend's house and you-" I pointed my finger at his face; he made an attempt to bite it, but I quickly pulled back. His fangs clamped down onto his bottom teeth. "-are going to stay here. Got it?"
"The only reason I'm here in the first place is to help you with your small problem."
"What on earth are you talking about?" I asked; my brows scrunched up in confusion. I thought he was here to just make my life a living hell. Apparently that was only part of it.
"You're obviously here to break the news to them- so I figured I might as well offer my services."
"I don't need your service."
I cringed at his choice of words and turned my body to the door. I swiftly tried to unlock the door and rip it open before he could stop me, but again my escape was foiled. His hand pulled the door shut and locked the car with force. I sighed loudly- making sure he knew how difficult it was getting for me to not to punch him in the groin.
Thanatos smiled innocently at me from the side. "Oh, I think you'll need me..." He said suggestively as he lifted his eyebrow at me; "That is, if you want to save your friendship?"
"We've been friends for more than a decade- they will understand."
"Exactly, you've been friends for so long and you're only telling them that you're going to abandon them the night before they'll need you the most? How selfish."
I locked my jaw and bit down onto my tongue to keep myself from cussing. Although, in my head the unlady-like words kept popping up. I really hope he was reading my mind now. He definitely was; I could tell. He nodded his head; probably impressed that I knew some of these unholy words.
I hate to admit it, but he had a point. My friendship was maybe never going to survive this, but how awful would it be if tomorrow they showed up at Ash-Bridge University and I wasn't there. I shook my head, trying to keep the horrible image from my mind.
"They'll understand." I whispered, trying to convince myself. Thanatos lifted his eyebrows and just smirked as if to say 'sure they will'.
I put my hand on the door handle, but paused.
The silence in the car grew heavy.
"If I were to- say, ask you to help..."
Thanatos waited. I tried to push down my pride; "What would you want in return?"
The car was quiet. For a moment I thought that he hadn't heard me. I turned around to look at him and my heart sank further down into the pit of my stomach.
Thanatos' grin was pure evil.
This song's lyrics are literally perfect for their complicated relationship!
*you're poison- running through my veins* (*.^)