In the Beginning

Memories

I wanted to tell Danielle that I thought she was my mom. but they just had to ruin it. Zach, Damon, Emilio, and Valentina will not take away my mother away. I will not be ripped from her arms again. I don't care what she has done in her past. She is my mother and I will keep her safe. No matter what.

Hayes turned around to face them barging into Danielle's house and he stood in front of Danielle and me as a body guard. Emilio was the first who broke down the door and the right side of his face was cut and starting to bruise from Hayes earlier. Zach entered next as Emilio went to face Hayes eye to eye like earlier. Then Valentina and Damon followed them. Once they were all inside, Zach put this hand on Emilio's shoulders signaling him to back down. He stepped aside to Valentina's side. Zach walked up to Hayes who was protecting Danielle and me. "Well, well, what do we have here. Hayes with Danielle, and of course how could I have forgotten Stephanie." Hayes was angry, angrier than I have ever seen him be before. "Zach, you do not want to do this." "Do what? Rightfully arrest the woman who tried to kill me and then instead of facing the consequences, she ran away and hid herself away for years." Zach continued, "Hayes you better not get into my way, boy, or I will have you arrested for housing a fugitive. And I know you were the one who has helped her all these years." Hayes raised his voice, "You son of A Bit-" but Danielle laid her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. She stepped in front of Hayes and I followed but stepped beside Hayes. Danielle began talking to Zach, "Zach it is me who you want, leave Hayes out of this." Zach grinned. Danielle continued, "If you arrest me then you have to promise me you'll leave Stephanie and Hayes alone for good." I gasped. I couldn't let her give up her life for me. "Danielle, don't!" Hayes pushed me back beside him and was grabbing my arms while I was resisting. Zach and Damon were smiling. Zach responded to Danielle, "Deal." Danielle turned around to face me while Emilio was hand cuffing her. Tears were streaming down her face. I tried to get out of Hayes's hold on me, "Danielle wait! No! Hayes let go of me!" I did the one thing I could think of, "Danielle! Please you're my mom!" And with those words something out of a Disney story happened.

Everything went black. There were memories surfacing. Memories that I didn't recognize. I was with Danielle and Hayes, but in another life and I was call him Hades and I was calling Danielle, Demeter. In the Beginning was true. I'm a greek goddess. I'm Persephone. I'm queen of the underworld. After a few seconds I opened my eyes and Danielle was still being taken away by Emilio and Damon. I started crying because I finally got my mom back. Hayes wrapped his arms around me from the back as I was screaming at them to not take them back. Valentina followed Emilio, Damon, and Danielle out the door. Zach was leaving too, but he stopped and turned around and came up to me. Hayes tried to get in front of me, but I told him to stay back. Zach walked directly up to me and whispered, "You are lucky Danielle is laying her life down for you, Persephone because I am Zeus. I could kill you anytime I want and nobody, not even your little boyfriend here would bat an eye. I control them." I stood back and Zach walked out the door. I wanted to run out to their car, but Hayes was right, I had to wait for my moment. Because now I knew who I was and what I had to do.

Hayes wiped my tears away and asked me what Zach told me. "He basically said that he was Zeus and he would kill me and that he controls everyone." Hayes got mad again, "I knew that book was true! I knew he was behind all of this!" "Hayes calm down, we can stop him, but we have to help Danielle first." "I agree, and I think in order to do that you need to get close to Danielle again. Wait did he have memories too? "Wait, you felt that too earlier? The memories?" He nodded. I couldn't believe this. But then I started to think, did Zach know about this all along? Maybe he was behind all of this. Now there are even more questions to ask. Who wrote In the Beginning? Why did Zach have In the Beginning, which is the key to breaking the curse, in his office for anyone to find? How do I actually break this curse?

"Do you think anyone else felt those memories too?" I asked Hayes. "I don't know, but you know what this means?" I shook my head. He got closer to me and smiled. "Stephanie, it means that you have always been a part of us. I know everyone hurt you, but these people are your friends and family from another life. You got your wish of drama and a big family. See I was right." I couldn't believe it. He was right. With all the drama going on this detail had gone over my head. I felt good. Although I was scared, I finally had a big family and friends. Maybe they hated me, but soon enough they would know the truth and I would have everything I've always wanted. I looked at Hayes, "You were right. You are right, but you forgot about something." "What?" "You forgot that I have you. Even if everyone never forgives me, I have you." He wrapped his arms around me and I felt into his chest. I never felt so loved. All my anxieties were vanishing. He was everything I ever wanted. Everything I could have ever hoped for.

I fell asleep in Hayes's warm embrace. It had been a few hours and I woke up from a terror in which Danielle was in jail, but it was probably the truth. I looked up at Hayes and he looked down at me, "Stephanie, you should sleep some more, go back to sleep." I shook my head. "I actually want to leave Danielle's house. I don't feel comfortable being here when she isn't." "I understand, my apartment then?" I nodded. I went to finish packing my things from Danielle's bedroom and then we put everything into Hayes's car and headed towards his apartment. On the drive there I couldn't help, but think about what happened to Danielle and my dream. "Where do you think they took Danielle?" Hayes laid his hand on my thigh. "Emilio is working as a cop in training, so probably to the sheriff's station." "This town has a sheriff?" "It's nepotism, Damon is the 'Sheriff', although there has never been an arrest made before this. I'm sure the whole town knows about it by now." I was getting upset again. "Stephanie, don't worry about it. Danielle can talk care of herself and we will get her back. Trust me." I knew we could, but I couldn't help, but worry.

We reached his apartment and it was already dark outside. "Where should I put my things?" "You can leave them in the guess room if you'd like. But do you want me to make you dinner?" I nodded and walked to the guess room to leave my luggage. But I wanted to surprise Hayes, I quickly went through my things to find my black satin slip dress. I switched into my matching lingerie set and then I slipped into my slip dress. I went to the bathroom to brush my hair and I put on red lipstick. I'm sure Hayes would love it. But there was one last detail missing. I went through my purse and found my perfume. I sprayed it on me and I walked back to kitchen, "Hayes did I ever apologize for going through your things and accusing of you sleeping with Danielle?" He was still turned towards the stove, busy with his food making. "You don't have to, I know what it looked like and how you could have construed me sleeping with her to be true. And it didn't help that Valentina told you about my one night stands or the box of condoms in my drawer." I laughed, "That's true, but I want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone through your things." "Thank you, Stephanie." I walked up to his back and grazed my fingers on his shoulders. And then I wrapped my arms around his back and his head leaned to one side as I gently began to kiss his neck. He let out a soft moan and it turned me on. He looked forward again and turned off the oven and stove top. He turned around to face me, "We can eat after."