Kallos (Kallos Series) (15 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Kallos gets to sleep, she thinks she might go back to Mount Olympics, but she has normal dreams. Not all of her dreams were good ones, though; most had to do with Ian and whatever is hiding inside of him just clawing to get out. Kallos doesn’t know if it’s the demon in him that is trying to get out, or the god. Whatever it is, she doesn’t like it. When she was trying to keep him away from Sean, he acted like he didn't see her. At one point, she thought Ian was going to go right through her to get Sean. He seemed to change when Sean was touching her. It wasn’t like he is doing it for pleasure; he is doing it to help her. She understood that Sean had never healed someone that way before and she was more or less his test dummy.

Kallos still doesn’t know how she feels about that, but it’s already done. Ian acted as if Sean was trying to kill her, and she knows Sean wouldn’t hurt her. She can feel herself falling in love with both of them, and it scares the crap out of her. She used to think Ian was the good boy, the one she could count on when she needed someone, but now, she is having second thoughts. Yes, he is a sweetheart, but last night she saw a different side of him. Sean is the same bad boy she thought he was, but she does see his sweet side coming out a lot more. She knows that he would stand up for her no matter what, and he proved that last night.

Aphrodite told Kallos that she was in love with Ares and Apollo, and for Kallos not to decide between the two boys yet. She said that their souls would always be connected, and that they would always feel her no matter what. Kallos's chest hurt to think of her life without either one of them.

Suddenly, Kallos notices that she only has a few minutes before she needs to get up. Crap, Sean is lying about ten feet from her. She never looks good in the morning, and she wonders if she can move without Sean noticing? She can already smell her morning breath and it smells like death. Okay, not really death, but last night’s dinner, which was meat loaf with lots of onions. She doesn't know if he’s wake; she needs to come up with a plan. Yesterday morning, Ian kissed her right away, which was fine because she didn’t eat onions the night before. Maybe she can sneak out of the room and right into the bathroom. The only problem is that she needs to go right past Sean.

“I know you are awake,” he says, and she knows that he is smiling. “Don’t worry; I’m not going to attack you.” He’s chuckling. Now she feels dumb. She has been lying there for five minutes, and he knew what she was thinking the whole time.

“Sorry, this is a little awkward.” Kallos sits up in bed. Sean is already sitting up, and his chest is bare. “Good morning.” Bad breath forgotten; she gives him a flirty grin.

“Good morning, but if you look at me like that much more, I might have to attack you.” His grin is even sexier lying in bed. He looks amazing first thing in the morning. His hair looks like he styled it to look messy. Kallos smiles and looks down because she doesn’t want something to happen when anyone can walk in at any minute. He clears his throat. “Since you are a girl, I’ll let you take your shower first. It takes you longer to get ready,” he winks at her.

“Hey, I don’t take that long to get ready.” Kallos says and throws a pillow at him. He catches it and laughs.

“True, but you have more things to do.” She shakes her head and gets out of bed. She goes to her desk chair and grabs her robe.

“Hey, when you’re done can you get Ian? He can take a shower after you.” That makes her pause. She doesn’t think she is ready to see Ian yet. Kallos knows that she will see him soon, but in like five minutes seems too soon.

“I’m not sure what happened last night but don’t hold it against him. We are all becoming very close to each other in a very short time. I do know that he didn’t mean to hurt you. Your hand was a freak accident; I plan to ask my mom about it today. We thought I was the one with all the demon genes, but it doesn’t look like that now.” She still isn’t sure about seeing him. Kallos knows it was an accident. She knows that neither of them would hurt her.

“Okay, I’ll get him when I’m done,” she is just about to walk past him when he grabs her arm and pulls her closer to him.

“Do you really think I’m going to miss out on another morning kiss?” He asks her. Yesterday, Kallos’ dad came in before they could really kiss; now it's just them. She looks up at him and his eyes stare into hers. She bites her bottom lip, and his eyes fall to her lips. He slowly brings his lips to hers. When their lips meet, Kallos feels her whole body melt against him, and she lets her arms go around his waist. Sean hands imprison her face. It seems that every time she kisses him, it gets better somehow. As he pulls away from her, he kisses her nose, her cheek, and her forehead. He stays there for a minute with his lips pressed against her forehead.

They are both breathless. “You should go and shower before someone comes looking for you,” he whispers against her forehead, and he sounds a little horse. Kallos doesn’t trust her own voice yet, so she just nods. He slowly backs away from her; she thinks he is making sure she has her balance. She walks to the door and closes it quietly behind her.

Kallos takes a short, five-minute shower. She looks at herself in mirror. Her hair is showing more red. It once was a dark brown; now it is lighter with a lot more red highlights. She ties her robe tight and opens the door. Kallos takes a deep breath and walks to the spare room. She knocks, and she can hear footsteps coming toward the door. She looks down because she wants to take some extra time to work up her courage.

The door opens, and she can feel Ian’s baby blues on her. She gradually looks up to meet his gaze. What she is seeing is breaking her heart. Kallos can see sorrow and the shadows under his eyes show her that he didn't sleep last night. She can also see regret written all over his face. At that moment, she wants to wrap her arms around him and tell him it's all going to be okay. She badly wants to kiss away the pain and make him feel better. Ian looks away from her, and she knows he is trying to hide the hurt in his eyes. It's too late; she’s already seen it. She knows what she has to do.

Kallos moves up to him, putting only inches between their bodies. He is taller than she is, so she just wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his chest. She feels him take a deep breath before he encircles her in his warm arms. Ian’s chin comes to rest on top on her head. Kallos feels his body shudder, like he’s crying. She doesn’t dare let go of him. He needs her, and she is going to be there for him.

Ian’s falls to his knees in front of her and rests his head on her stomach. She can see his shoulders shaking; she now knows he is crying. Kallos holds his head tightly to her body. She doesn’t know what to say to him; she doesn’t say anything. It is breaking her heart to see Ian like this; she doesn’t like to see people she loves in pain. Well, that answers her question; she is in love with this boy on his knees in front of her. She feels him loosen his hold on her. She runs her fingers through his hair, and his arms tighten around her again.

“Ian.” Kallos quietly says.

“Shhh…” Ian whispers against her. She knows that he just needs the contact and so did she. They stayed like that for a few minutes; then, he stands up and takes her face into his hands. His beautiful sky blue eyes are staring at her. “I am so sorry about last night.” Kallos shakes her head to make him stop talking.

Looking into his eyes, she can only say one thing, “I’m in love with you.” His eyes widen with her words, and his smile spreads into his eyes. “Last night is in the past. I understand why you were jealous. I would have been too if I saw some other girl’s hands on you. But you and Sean have to work this out. I won't have you two fighting every time the other one touches me.”

He kisses her so passionately that she thinks that she is going to fall over. Thankfully, he keeps them balanced. This time, she is the one to pull away in fear that her parents would find them in more than just a friendly, good morning kiss.

“I love you, too, Kallos. I just can't believe that you love me. After how I have treated you, you should hate me. But I am so happy.” He kisses her forehead. “I should jump in the shower. Go and get dressed.” He walks past her, and she turns around to watch him leave. He stops at the doorway and looks over his shoulder. He grins; then he walks out. Kallos is left in the room alone and breathless. She can’t believe she just told him that she loves him.

When she walks back to her room, Sean isn’t there, but he did fold up his blankets from last night and laid them in the middle of the futon. Kallos goes to her bed and sits down. She told Ian that she loves him, and he said it back. She wonders what Sean is going to say when he finds out. They both have part of her heart, but she isn’t sure how she really felt until she saw Ian. She’ll never forget the hurt she saw on his face and the regret.

Kallos gets up and goes to find what she is going to wear. She pulls out her hoodie, and she decides that today she is going to have a lazy day. Her hoodie is her favorite sweatshirt. It is black and has some maroon college school colors. Kallos’ best friend Breanna gave it to her. Then she puts on a black pair of pants that flare at the bottom. She pulls her long, straight hair back into a ponytail. With her back to the door, she hears her bedroom door open and close. She is looking in her mirror and sees Sean enter. His hair is still wet from the shower and he is already dressed. He doesn’t look upset, so maybe he doesn't know. Maybe the necklace can't tell love?

“Hey,” Sean says, and the tone of his voice tells her that he knows. Kallos opens her mouth to say something, and he just shakes his head and puts his dirty clothes in her basket. “No, Kallos, you don’t have to say anything. I felt your love for him.” Sean looks away from her and this time she isn’t going to let him interrupt her.

“You said you felt my feelings. Then, what am I feeling right now?” Kallos turns to face Sean, and she is eye level with his chest. She walks to him and wraps her arms around him. Kallos puts her head on his chest; then she thinks about how she feels when he is near her. She thinks about his kisses and about how he helped her last night. Kallos thinks how much she is falling in love with Sean, too. Now she is just waiting for him to answer.

“Kallos,” she hears him murmur. “I need to hear it.” And people say that girls are the emotional ones. Kallos smiles against Sean chest.

“I am in love with you. I know that it’s crazy, and we haven’t known each other long. But I can’t think of my life without either of you. The way I feel when I am with you is crazy but I need you. Not just to help me but to love me.” She looks up into his bluish- gray eyes, and she can feel her love for him. It is crazy that she is in love with him and Ian. Most people love only one person at a time. He smiles down at her.

“Oh, Kallos, I love you too. I have been in love with you since my mom showed me that first picture of you. Babe, we are destined to love each other. I'm not going to lie; I don't like that you love my brother, too, but we are both your soul mates. That means that you’re meant to be with both of us.” His joy can’t be contained by just a mere smile. His eyes are showing every bit of happiness he is feeling. “You’re going to have to work with us. We have never been good at sharing with each other. I can promise you one thing, and that is you will be cherished, and we won’t take you for granted. You will have love from both of us.” Kallos can feel the tears well up in her eyes, and they are just about to fall.

She never thought that her bad boy would be the one confessing his love for her. She never thought he would ever tell her exactly how he felt about her. Kallos fell in love fast, and the truth is she isn't scared any more. He smiles, and she sees the shimmer from his unshed tears. She stands on her tippy toes and kisses his lips; it's a short but sweet kiss. When they open their eyes, she sees a tear escape from his right eye. She reaches for it and catches it on her finger. She leaves her hand on his cheek. Sean whispers tenderly, “How did we get so lucky to have you in our lives?”

“Enough! We need to get down stairs.” Kallos is chuckling, and he winks at her. Then, he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it sweetly. She shakes her head at him and leaves him in the room. When she gets down stairs, her dad and Ian are already eating. Ian looks up at her and gives her a small smile; her dad smiles at her, too.

“Good morning, Sweetie. How was your night?” Kallos’ dad asks as she is sitting down next to Ian.

“It was fine.” What is she supposed to say, that she just realized she’s in love. Oh and she happens to be in love with two boys. Ian finds her hand under the table, and their fingers intertwine. Her mom comes over to Kallos and places pancakes in front of her. There is a pile of golden butter on top dripping down on the side of the plate; she loves buttery pancakes. “Thanks, Mom,” She smiles up at her mom who nods and smiles back. Kallos looks up to see Sean enter, and he is grinning from ear to ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she glances at Ian, and he is trying not to glare at Sean. Sean sits in the only open seat next to her dad.

“You’re in a good mood this morning,” her dad says as he sets his coffee down on the table a little too hard.

“I am! It’s a beautiful day; the birds are singing; and the sun is shining. Oh, and I got to wake up to your daughter's beautiful face.” Kallos' mouth falls open, and she wants to kick Sean under the table, but she doesn’t think that her legs are long enough.

She glances at her dad, and he looks like he is going to rip off Sean's head. Of course, it doesn't help that Sean is grinning like a mad man. She hears her mom coughing to hide her laugh. Kallos quickly eats her food.

“We should get going,” Kallos stands up. She wants out of this house and away from her dad's evil looks at Sean and her mom’s knowing grin. The boys stand up and nod. At least they are smart enough to agree with her. They grab their backpacks.

Yesterday, they figured out if they went a certain way it was shorter, plus no one could see them. She is sure the rumors about them are getting out of hand, but she is starting not to care. It still scares her that she’s in love with two boys, but on the other hand, it’s also flattering. She has these two amazing boys who are in love with her, and she knows that they would do anything for her. Kallos knows that she can't be with both of them forever. She wants to be married and have a family, but she doesn't even know if she can have a family after the change. That is something she needs to ask Aphrodite.