The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books) (24 page)

We eat our bacon and gulp down some orange juice before Ollie leads us back to his car. We swing by my house so I can quickly shower and change before school. Dad must be already at work since I scurry in and out unnoticed.
 

After jumping back in his car, we head to the school. The ride is quiet. I cling to Ollie's hand in desperation, not wanting him to leave me. My eyes start to water as I think about how he's leaving as we pull up to the school but I force myself to blink them away.
 

"I'll miss you, my love." Ollie says, turning to me in his seat, clutching me tight.
 

"I'll miss you too, Ollie." I state sadly, barely able to hold back tears. He leans in to kiss me and I meet him halfway. Shutting my eyes, our lips touch gently, making me think this is a goodbye. A single stream of tears trickle down my cheeks to our connected lips.
 

"Salty." Ollie says, pulling back and licking his lips. I giggle thankful that he can cheer me up. "Please, will you make the promise to me. Do not go looking for trouble and stay away from him. Please." Ollie pleads, bringing up the same argument from yesterday. I swear last night he tried to get me to agree over eight times.
 

"He is in my classes, Ollie. I won't make that promise. But I will promise to be safe. At least until you return, okay?"
 

"It will have to do, now won't it?" He sighs, stepping out of his truck. He helps me out and I stay in his arms, wanting his comfort for just a moment more.
 

I crane my head up to give him a kiss but mid way, I change my mind biting his lower lip that pouts out a little. I suck it between my teeth and get a playful growl out of Ollie. He grabs onto my ponytail, tilting my head back so he can suck on my neck like a vampire. I squirm to get out of his arms.
 

"Soon. I'll be back." He assures me, breaking our contact. He gives me a final kiss on the cheek, hands me my backpack and pushes me in the direction of school. "Have a good day, darling." He says, grinning a toothy smile. I feel like a five year old being dropped off on the first day at school.
 

When I get to the doors, I turn and wave to him as a final goodbye but he's already driven off. I feel a pang of sadness in my heart but try not to let it get to me. I get to first period nice and early so I take my cellphone out of my pocket, turning it on. A bunch of buzzes go off and I check my numerous messages.

have fun sweetie, be home for dinner.-dad

it cant wait until 2morow -a

where ru -a

eury, u r testing me. -a

What the hell is Ari's problem? I know he wants to talk about whatever he found out but still, what did he want me to do—leave Ollie? Seriously, thank God that I didn't. I miss Ollie, already.

The door to the classroom swings open and I glance up to see what the noise is. Ari storms into the room, looking pissed beyond belief. He doesn't even go to his seat. Instead, he stomps over, grabs my arm and drags me into the hallway. I yelp but since I am so damn early nobody is in the classroom to hear me. He lifts me up like I weigh a pound and carries me out the front doors.

"Come with me. Now." He demands, the look in his eyes warning me to shut the hell up. Once we get outside of the school, his grip loosens as he deems me able to walk.
 

We walk in silence until we get to his bike. He hands me my helmet, our hands brushing for only a second yet my feelings for Ari rush to the forefront of my mind in a tidal wave. My stomach flutters anticipating being pressed against him on the bike. The electric current bounces off him and into me leaving me energized and on high alert.

Wordlessly, he gets on his bike faces forward, waiting for me to get on. I'm not going to budge—I want some answers first. "Where are we going?" I ask, tapping my foot on the ground. I cross my arms and wait. He turns to face me and I glare at him, refusing to get on the bike until he starts to be nice to me.
 

He jumps off of the bike, looking quite frustrated and walks right up to me. His gaze softens for a moment but then he picks me up—literally lifts me up by my elbows and places me onto the bike. I squeal under his touch, hating the way he affects me.

As he walks by me, I catch his gaze, his eyes filled with humor. Reluctantly, once the bike starts again, I place my hands around him and settle in for the drive. As we start going I realize where he's taking me—our spot on the beach.
 

Once we are at the beach, we walk in silence towards the water. I take in the scenery, breathing in the fresh air, wishing it wasn't so awkward and tension filled.
 

"I know what you are." He says to me, dead serious, staring at the sand in a daze.
 

"Me too. Nephilim." I answer, smiling at the shocked look that appears on Ari's face.
 

"How'd you…" The wheels turn in his mind until it finally clicks. "Ollie?"

"Yeah, he talked to someone who said I might be. He left to get some answers today." I explain to him, kicking around the warming sand.
 

"He left you?" Ari asks, perplexed at the idea.

"Yeah. Under two conditions. One, I stay out of trouble and two, away from you." I laugh a little to hide the guilt that I feel, since I've already broken one. Although he can't be mad at me, Ari basically kidnapped me!

"Do you want to know the best thing about you being a Nephil?" He asks me.
 

"What?" I ask him back.
 

"You can live to be up to five hundred years old. The oldest Nephil recorded is about five hundred and thirty but on average you guys are about five hundred then start to age again naturally." He says, dropping the third or maybe fourth bomb on me.
 

"Are you kidding me?" I ask him, hoping that I'm hearing him properly.
 

"Nope." Silence comes after, until he speaks again. "Want to know what else?" My eyes widen, trying to figure out what else he could have to say.
 

"Tell me." I beg, craving more information. I want to know who I am, what powers I have and how long I'll live. I need to know everything about the new me.
 

"When you turn eighteen you will stop aging and gain all your powers." He says, bombing me again. It's like a freaking battlefield around here. I'm not sure if I'll have any brain cells left after this week.
 

"What powers?!" I practically shriek, grabbing his shoulders around me. I am going to faint if I get anymore news like this.
 

"I'm not sure. I talked to a Nephil, she said you have to go to a special school soon." He explains, making me focus on him.

"I do?" I ask, not wanting to go to a new school. I don't have much time left here. I am so close to being done.

"You have to learn all about your gifts. She said if you don't you could hurt someone. Once your powers start coming in, they'll be hard to control unless you have some help." I try to grasp what he is telling me. I can't just pick up and leave my town. How would I be able to explain it to normal people? How will I explain it to my dad?
 

"I can't go." I say, realizing that I can't leave my family.
 

"Why not?" He asks, his face pinching.
 

"I can't leave my dad, or Junior. They're all I've got. My dad needs me." A new thought pops in my head. My mother and him were in love. What if my dad knows? He had to have known she was a God, unless she hid it well from him.
 

"It'll be okay. I promise you." Ari affirms, meeting my gaze. He steps towards me but pauses, waiting for me to okay it. I nod and he envelops me in a tight hug. Even though I'm crazy attracted to Ari, I like the friendship blooming between us.
 

"Do you know who my mother is?" I ask into his chest, almost as a whisper.
 

"I don't but I know someone who might." He admits reluctantly.
 

"Who?" I ask, guessing that it isn't an easy answer.

"Hades." He states after a couple of seconds pass. My heart sinks knowing that I have to find him to find out who my mom is.
 

"How would he know?" I ask, praying there's another option.

"I have a friend who is in the inner circle of the Gods. There have been recent rumblings of how pissed Hades is that he didn't pay close attention to you. Apparently your mother is hiding so that Hades can't find her. My bet is that he'll know who she is, at least." Ari explains.
 

I already know that I need to talk to Hades just to end the curse. Now I want to go for a different reason—to find my mom. It is weird because I have never wanted to meet her before. I actually hate her for leaving my dad, but I need to know the real reason she left.
 

"I'm coming with you." I tell Ari, leaning back on my elbows to meet his gaze.

"Where, to Hell? No, you aren't." He states, crushing my hopes.
 

"Please. I need to know who she is. This is really important to me." I beg him, taking his hands in mine, pleading with the best green puppy dog eyes ever.
 

"I don't even know if I can get into the Underworld. My friend only told me where the portal is. It's too dangerous. I might not even make it down." He further explains, coming up with every excuse in the book.
 

"Sounds like you need some help then. I'm strong. I can help you." I try sway him.
 

"You will only be a distraction." He says to me. We have to journey down there, talk to Hades, find out who my mom is and why she left me, and then get back before Ollie comes home. He will be so mad at me but once we're safe, he'll understand.
 

"Please." I plead with desperation, on the verge of tears. So many emotions run through my mind—the main one being hope.

"I can't say no to you, damn-it." Ari says exasperated. "We leave tomorrow. I have to make preparations and so do you." He gives in.
 

I jump up with elation and hug him around the neck, pressing myself against him. I can't believe he said yes.
 

"We don't know how long it will take, you need to get ready."
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

preparations

"Please, help me out here." I beg Junior, on the way up my stairs. I crash into my bedroom, flinging my limp body onto the bed, thinking of how liberated I feel. Tomorrow I will finally figure out who my mother is. Of course my dad said her name was Brenda but the likelihood of that is slim to none.
 

"I'm not enabling you by telling your dad we're going on some ski trip." Junior says, hopping on the bed next to me after throwing his bag onto the floor.

"I have to go!" I complain to him, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

"You're not going to Italy." Junior says. God, just hearing Italy makes me nervous. Apparently the way to get to the Underworld changes constantly. This portal is located in Italy, for now. By the time we get there, the portal may have already changed so we're taking a huge gamble.

Ari paid for the entire trip—tickets, hotel, transportation, everything. Ari knows what to expect. He said that there are a couple obstacles along the way but because we know how to get there we aren't supposed to hit any snags. I'm knocking on wood he's right.
 

"You know how much I hate my mother. I have to find her." I tell Junior hoping that he understands my intentions.

"They way you're doing it is all wrong. Don't you see that?" He asks me. I try to think about what's so wrong yet nothing comes up. How is finding my mother wrong? I know he's obsessed with Ollie and all but he should care about me more.

"What's so wrong? I'm not cheating on Ollie nor do I plan on it. Ari is my friend and he knows that." I explain to Junior.

"Prove it." Junior dares me.

"How would you like me to prove it, Junior? I'm freaking leaving tomorrow." I say throwing my hands up in the air.
 

"Call him up, put it on speaker and make him promise not to take advantage of you. Then, I will cover for your ass." Junior says sitting back on his butt, his arms holding him up.

"Fine." I say grabbing my cell phone out of my backpack and dialing Ari's number. It rings only one time before he answers.
 

"
Hello?"
 

"I need you to do me a favor so I can come with you tomorrow." I say into the mic.

"
What?"
 

"Promise that you won't take advantage of me and that you know we're just friends."
 

"
I won't take advantage of you and we're just friends. Why are you making me say that?"

"Junior needed to hear it for himself since he doesn't trust his best friend anymore. Thanks, Ari. See you tomorrow." I say before hanging up the phone. "Happy?" I ask Junior who has a very satisfied grin on his face.

"Definitely. Let's go downstairs to talk with your daddy-o." Junior says. He reaches over and help me up off the bed and then walks me downstairs as we hold onto each other.