In the Beginning

Goodbye. For Now.

I yanked my hand away from him and I stepped back. I was furious. Why did he give me hope of a new life with my friends and him together? I couldn't control my magic. Hayes tried moving closer to me, but vines with thick thorns sprouted from the ground and it held him in place. He screamed out in pain as the thorns penetrated his ankles. I could see his dark gray, smokey magic attacking my vines, desperately trying to dissolve them. "Stephanie! Please stop this!" There was a rich, black blood oozing from his ankles. His blood was so reflective I could see the moon's reflection shining bright. I was wrathful and all I could focus on was making him suffer. I wasn't snapping out of it.

"STEPHANIE!" Hayes shouted as the vines around him broken and I finally realized what was going on. "Hayes, I'm sorry!" His skin healed and walked over to me. "What was that?" I shook my head, "I don't know- I don't know" He tried hugging me but I refused. "You know what, I'm not sorry. You want to leave me, even after we discussed staying here." "I want to talk about this, Stephanie." I turned around to walk away, "Well I don't want to talk about because you've already decided." He managed to quickly run in front of me. "Stephanie, is that what you think of me? That I would make a rash decision like this and not consider you?" "Honestly, I don't know what to think," I replied. "What has gotten into to you? This isn't you!" "Maybe this is the new me! Like being fucking angry all the time is the new you!" His eyes widened and I could tell that what I said hurt him deeply, but I couldn't control it. My emotions were heightened. I took a deep breath, "Look I didn't come here to bash you, I actually came here excited, to tell you that we're all going to Mount Olympus- Surprisingly because of Zach." "And you trust him?" "No, of course not, but I do trust Aphrodite and Hermes." "Good luck with that." He responded. "I know you don't trust anyone, but I-" He grabbed my shoulders, "I trust you! Don't you get that?!" He let go of me. He kept talking, "Thanatos, from the underworld, paid me a visit earlier today while you were gone. They need me there, but I told him that I wouldn't even consider leaving without consulting with you first." I instantly felt bad for saying those awful things that I didn't even mean. "I need time to think about this, Hayes." "I understand that, but if you can't see how much I care about you and love you, this won't ever work. I can't keep fighting over these things. I will fight for you, but I can't fight you." He left me at the balcony and went back inside to his apartment.

Hours past and I stayed looking at the moon. I needed to think long and hard about my decision. In these past few weeks, my life had changed drastically. I left Boston. I quit college. I met my the love of my lives, my soul mate. I broke a curse. I am a goddess. What should I do? It's times like these I really needed my mom so that I could ask her questions. I knew that I could travel between worlds, but I don't think I would be completely satisfied if I lived two separate lives. I could either live on Mount Olympus with my friends and my biological mom, or live in the Underworld with Hades. I love Hades so much. I love him for every star in the universe. I love him for every speck of sand in the ocean. The love that I have for Hades runs deeper than I could have ever imagined loving someone. But was I ready to live with him in hell forever? Although I was an Ancient Greek goddess, I still felt as if I was twenty-one with the knowledge of the centuries. I knew exactly what I had to do.

Hades was laying on top of his black silky sheets in his bed. I took off my dress and it pooled around my feet on the floor of the balcony. I walked towards his bed. His eyes were closed but I knew he was awake. I hopped into his bed and laid on my side in between his sheets facing him. I started grazing his arm with my fingers, gently. He opened his eyes and I whispered in his ear, "Can I kiss you?" He nodded, "Yes, but this doesn't mean I'm happy with you." I smiled and then our lips collided forcefully. It was intense and powerful. It was everything i needed. He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer so that I would straddle him. And well, you know the rest.

In the aftermath, we were just facing each other. I wanted to capture everything about him so that I would never forget. The way the amber in his eyes sparkled. The way his hair frames his perfect face. I spoke first, "You should go." He softly tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "What?" "I mean you should go back to the underworld, I understand. And I'm sorry for being so stupid. I said hurtful things that I didn't even mean." And now he looked even more upset, "I won't go without you. Stephanie, I need you. I love you" A tear fell from my eye, "I love you too, so much. More than you'll ever know. And this was a great way of saying good bye for now." "Am I supposed to wait for you? I don't ever want to say goodbye to you." I grabbed his hand, "No. I don't expect you to wait for me. And this isn't good bye forever. I need to figure things out for myself. With my mom and my powers. I can't stand that I keep hurting you." "I don't want to hurt you either, Stephanie. I love you." "I love you, too" We held each other in his bed as we both cried into each other's arms. I didn't want to let him go, but it was time. We both knew it was. To let go of each other, at least for now.

Once our tears had dried. He kissed my forehead and got up. He stood beside my bed and I knew what was about to happen. He was about to teleport to the underworld. His eyes were watery and I could see the amber forming again. This wasn't the last time I was going to see him, but it still felt horrible. "I'll see you soon, Stephanie. I love you." "I love you too, Hayes." Another tear fell from my eye and the dark smokey cloud formed around him as he vanished. I turned over and I started sobbing into my pillow as I fell asleep. This was my choice. Why did it have to hurt so much?