Tartarus Thief | ONC 2021 [ROUND 2 WINNER]

Chapter 2

2019

Vita plopped down on a cafeteria chair, fishing her diary out of her bag. The university cafeteria was bustling, but she'd managed to find an empty table in the corner.

Today had been no less than awful. First thing in the morning, she'd dropped her tea mug onto her toes, missed her bus, got to class late and had to find a seat with the professor staring her down. And then she'd gotten the grade of her last essay – D minus. Apparently, she'd completely misunderstood the topic material. Why was she even studying arts anymore?

Lips pinched in frustration, she set to work on a recurring drawing in her diary: a man with short curls, dimples in his cheeks, smiling to show his slightly crooked front teeth. Barnabas Fletcher, the captions always said.

This diary was all about him. She had others, many others, detailing her lives all the way back to the 12th century. She remembered nothing of that, of course. Her memory only went back a handful of lives. That was the cost of resurrection; losing a piece of yourself. A piece of your past. But these diaries were her way of keeping in touch with her old self.

A bump against the table sent her pencil flying across the paper. The culprit, a girl with about a million bracelets covering her arms, shot her a bored look before continuing on her way. Vita stared at her drawing, which now had a thick, ugly line right across the man's chin. Disappointment settled in her stomach. She dropped her pencil, letting it clatter onto the table, and put her head in her hands.

I am done, she thought. I am so done with today.

Making a quick decision, she snapped her diary shut and stuffed it back into her bag. She pulled out her phone as she left the cafeteria with a spring in her step.

"Leave a message after the beep."

"Hey, Leo!" she said, hopping down the stairs in front of the university building. "Are we still up for tonight? I'm just leaving school. Thinking of spending the rest of the day over at my boyfriend. He said he's working from home today, so he should be there. He lives here in the city, so you won't have to pick me up. I'll go straight from his place to the restaurant. See you tonight!"

Vita put her phone away just as the bus arrived. The drive to Jase's was a short one. Within half an hour Vita found herself standing in front of his apartment, a vague smile on her face. Jase would cheer her up. He always knew how to do that.

She checked her phone as she searched her bag for the keys. One o'clock. Her last class would've been until four, if she hadn't ditched it. Jase didn't expect her for another three hours at least. But that was okay; if he was still working, she'd just read a book until he was finished.

Without ringing the doorbell, Vita opened the door to Jase's apartment and stepped inside. She'd already opened her mouth to call out for him, when a feminine giggle interrupted her.

Her eyebrows knotted together as she tried to make out the voice. Perhaps his sister was visiting. Or a coworker? She hesitated for a second, wondering if she should leave so as not to interrupt the conversation. But considering the visitor had just laughed, it probably wasn't anything important.

Vita dropped her bag in the hallway and hung up her coat. She opened the living room door –

And froze on the spot. Two startled gasps reverberated through the room.

No.

Her heart sunk to her shoes as Jase scrambled off the half-naked girl on the sofa. Vita didn't recognise her.

"Vita! What are you doing here so early?"

You have got to be kidding me.

He pulled a hand through his tousled hair. The girl below him shot Vita an annoyed glare, pulling the strap of her dress back over her shoulder.

"Unbelievable," Vita muttered.

Jase put his hands out in a defensive gesture and walked towards her. "Vee, sweetheart..."

"Oh, fuck off!"

Rage overwhelming her, Vita dropped the apartment key onto the floor, before turning and storming out of the room.

"Vee, wait!"

She slammed the door shut behind her and stomped across the street. From the corner of her eye, she saw the door open again and Jase came out, still pulling his shirt over his head.

"Vita! Let's talk about this, come on!"

"Fuck off, Jase!" she screamed, uncaring which of his neighbours would hear the commotion. "You cheating prick!"

As she rounded a corner, she pulled her phone out once more. She rang twice, thrice, four times, until her best friend finally picked up.

"Vee, I'm working, what's up?"

"Jase cheated on me!" Her voice cracked, as her rage finally made way for the inevitable pain.

"What?!"

A sob escaped her. Somehow, Leo's outraged exclamation only intensified her hurt.

"I went to see him early and found him lying on the sofa half-naked with this random girl. What the hell is wrong with him, Leo? Why are men such pigs?" She held her arm in front of her face to stifle the sobs.

"That bastard! Oh, Vee, I'm so sorry." There were some muffled voices on the other end of the line. "Where are you?"

Her feet kept moving, trying to get as far away from Jase as possible. "Still in the city. I was going to stay here to meet you tonight." Her voice sounded weak, pathetic, which was exactly how she felt.

More muffled voices. "Okay. I'm coming to pick you up."

"Aren't you working?"

"I've talked to my supervisor, told her there's a family emergency. Meet me in front of the indoor shopping centre, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks, Leo."

"Would you stop calling me that? I'm not a man!"

An involuntary chuckle escaped Vita. Leo had been trying to get her to stop using that nickname for centuries.

"I'll be half an hour. Are you going to be okay until I get there?"

Vita wiped away the overflowing tears with the back of her hand, sniffing loudly. "Yeah, I think so." She turned her head to make sure Jase wasn't still following her. "I just... I hate this life so much, Leo. It's not just Jase. My friends make a big drama out of everything, my adoptive parents are still mad at me for choosing to study arts, and honestly, I don't know why I'm studying arts anymore!"

"Oh, Vee..."

"I thought he was a good man, you know? He was the only one who made my life a little better. But even he turns out to be a jerk."

"It'll be alright, Vee. This kind of drama is simply part of being twenty."

Vita scoffed. Older people always blamed everything on age. Apparently, that was a trend even immortal demigods weren't immune to.

"You'll see. It just takes some time. In a few years this'll be nothing more than an unpleasant memory."

"No, see, that's just it. I don't want to wait for things to get better in the future. Things are only getting worse. I wish I could go back to the past. I... I miss my life in the seventies." A mix between a sob and a hiccup escaped her. "I miss Barny."