“It’s the truth, and I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you…”
“This is impossible,” I shoot to my feet. “You’re not some kind of Greek god,” I start to tremble, “y-you just felt bad for making me leave.”
“Elise…”
“No,” my palms go up as I back away from him. “Now it’s my turn to throw you out.”
“Don’t do this,” he whispers, stepping toward me. “I know it’s difficult to believe but…”
“Difficult to believe?” I raise my voice. “You text me out of the blue, at eleven o’clock at night to race down here and bullshit me about being the son of Apollo,” my face starts to get hot, “and somehow, because of your uncle’s stupid water power, I’m suddenly immortal?” I take a breath, “Yeah, excuse me for having a hard time swallowing that cluster fuck of pills.”
His mouth snaps shut and he winces slightly from the anger in my voice, eyes filled with remorse. We stand facing one another, staring in awkward silence. He looks away, stroking the nape of his neck. “I don’t know what to say,” he whispers. “When you put it like that, it really does sound insane.”
“Welcome to my world,” I sigh, stepping over to the sofa and plopping down.
“I didn’t know how to tell you earlier, Elise,” he whispers. “I panicked, I needed to think, that’s why…”
“You didn’t know already?” I interrupt. “You kept asking me about it.”
He shakes his head. “I think I was hoping it wasn’t true, but then…” he trails off, taking a seat next to me. “I didn’t know for sure until I saw your foot for myself.”
Wait a second…
I glance up and cock a brow. “If what you’re telling me is true and I really am immortal, there’s no way you can prove it.”
His face clears and he reaches in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around something I can’t make out. “Give me your hand.”
“Huh?” my eyes go wide and I swallow. “What are you goin…”
“Just give me your hand, Elise.”
I reach out to him and he takes my palm, immediately tightening his grip. Without warning, I feel something sharp slice through the fleshy part of my thumb.
“Ouch!” I scream, jerking away but Ascot holds me firmly in place. I suck in a breath, nauseated, when I realize how deeply he cut. “Jesus, are you trying to amputate my thumb?”
“It will only hurt for a moment,” he whispers, watching my expression. “See?” his lips twist, glancing back down.
My eyes follow his and I shake my head, confused. He’s right, it doesn’t hurt and there’s no blood pouring out of the wound, not even a single drop. This is impossible, there should be blood, lots of blood and it should be hurting like hell. I stare in disbelief, and let out a gasp when I witness the incision miraculously begin to heal.
“Now, do you believe me?” he asks but I barely hear his words. “Elise?”
“I, I don’t understand, it’s gone,” I look up at him, stunned. “This…it can’t be real, it has to be some kind of trick…”
“It’s not a trick, Elise,” he cuts me off, his voice low and serious.
I feel dizzy, I think I’m going to faint.
“Elise!” his arms go out, keeping me from falling sideways, but somehow, I stay conscious, aware of everything.
This is a dream, it can’t be true.
“Elise?” Ascot whispers my name again and I blink. “You’re okay,” he cradles me, “everything is going to be okay.”
“You just cut me,” I whisper, “I didn’t bleed…”
His eyes close. “I know,” he gently sets me upright, leaning my back against the sofa. “I had to make you believe.”
“Holy shit, it really is true.” I barely get the words out. “You really are who you say you are.”
He pulls in a breath and nods. “Yes, I needed you to understand. I had to do something drastic.”
“It worked,” I swallow the dryness in my throat, still in a daze. “I believe you.”
We stay silent for a while and I stare ahead, working out this insane, unbelievable information in my head. This is crazy. How can it be? This kind of stuff only happens in the movies. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to feel. But…
There is one thing I know.
I glance over at him, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall. “I never thought my life would be normal,” I softly say. “But now that I think about it, nothing has actually changed,” I smirk at the sound of my insane words. “I mean, immortality. Why not add one more thing to my fucked up life?”
“Elise…”
“No, I mean it,” I perk up, swiping a few brown strands from my eyes. “You don’t know me. I was different from the moment I was born. I’ve always been an outsider,” I clear my throat, deciding to just come out with everything. “I’ve never been in a relationship longer than a month…”
“You don’t have to do this,” he whispers.
“Hang on, let me finish,” I straighten up. “My parents have never understood me or my abilities,” I roll my eyes. “Hell, I only have one real friend, and that’s only because I work with her. So honestly, this couldn’t have happened to a more perfect candidate.”
“Don’t justify it, Elise, it’s my fault. I’m the one who did this to you.”
“No Ascot,” I sigh. “This was clearly a series of unfortunate events.”
He closes his eyes and rubs his temples. “You don’t hate me?” he looks to his left, giving me a ghost of a smile.
I blink surprised he would ask such a silly question. “No, of course not.”
“Good,” he scoots closer. “Because I’ve been around for almost two millennia and all my real friends are dead.”
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m tired or because of the impossibility of my new situation, but I burst out laughing—the guttural, incontrollable, contagious kind of laughing.
Ascot gives me a tentative grin and cocks his head, having no choice but to join me. He then reaches out and pulls me close, as if suddenly relieved.
We can hardly catch our breaths, panting through the hilarity when fatigue or maybe the fact that we’re holding one another eventually sinks in.
I pull back first, smiling from the remnants of our amusement, Ascot’s arms still securely around my waist. He looks down at my mouth, pausing for a second before slowly leaning in and gently pressing his lips to mine. He doesn’t force anything beyond a simple, warm touch but I can feel his sincerity, his tender yearning.
It’s the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, and I want more. Without thinking, I palm the back of his head, kissing him deeply as I begin to softly tease him with my tongue. He lets out a moan as if giving in, unbuttoning my shirt, one button at a time, pausing to reach inside to the swelling tips of my breasts. His warm hand gently cups a rising mound and I suck in a breath, responding with another press against him, tighter, harder.