Project Apollo: Book Two ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jason Archer

One Week Later...

Apollo kissed my knuckles before keeping my hand hostage as we walked down the sidewalk toward the coffee shop. "Everyone is going out tonight for New Year's Eve. Do you want to go along or stay home?"

"Stay home, I think. I found a makeup look I wanted to try." I smiled at the thought. "Plus, I'm exhausted. Emery, Aurora, and I stayed up way too late talking to Lyric last night."

He hummed. "How was your sleepover last night?"

I snorted. "Full of talking to each other. She's in Europe again."

Last night, I went over to Aurora's with Emery, and we all sat with Lyric on FaceTime while I did Emery and Aurora's makeup. Lyric was still living freely among the world, but now she sent us updates far more frequently. We could see the sadness in her eyes–knowing she was lonely out there on her own, yet she wasn't ready to stop yet. It sucked when your heart was being pulled in two different directions.

For whatever reason, traveling fulfilled her, and I refused to make her feel bad about it. She was my best friend. My everything. My Honeydew. She would return when it was time for her to return, and only she could answer that for herself.

She asked how things were going with Triple-A, and well, I'd say things were going more than amazing. I was able to share with her about my relationship with Apollo and even tell her about the present he'd given me. She squealed so loud that the microphone couldn't pick it up. She was happy for all three of us. We'd found the ones we were meant to be with, and I could see that happiness shine brighter than anything I'd seen in her expression before.

Apollo's growl pulled me from my thoughts. I blinked as I turned my head. "What was that for?"

My boyfriend was staring straight ahead–not acknowledging my words in the least. When I faced the problem, my eyes widened. Not because I was scared, but because I was afraid Apollo was about to rip our hands away from each other and chase him down the street. I could feel him trying to pull his hand away, and I did everything in my power to keep him chained to me.

"Don't even look this way!" Apollo barked at Marcus. "I will tear your heart out, and shove it down your throat!"

I wrapped myself around his arm to keep him in place. "Apollo, he doesn't matter anymore. Let's go get our coffee."

When he didn't answer, I glanced at Marcus staring at us with...not malice, but defeat. He knew he lost Apollo–he'd waved his white flag. But that didn't matter. Nothing he could say would get back into Apollo's good graces, and he knew that. I hoped he knew that. I was choosing to believe he knew that.

Marcus swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Except that apology wasn't directed at Apollo–it was to me. I could only stand there with a shocked look. Not that I cared. He was abusive. Manipulative. A serial cheater. Truthfully, you couldn't fix those qualities with any amount of work. And if he did, I hoped whoever found themselves with him in the future understood the prick who preyed on people he thought to be weaker than him.

Physically, maybe–but not mentally.

"Yeah, it's...fine." I shook my head. "I'd probably run away now."

Marcus dipped his head in a goodbye before he completely disappeared in a matter of seconds. Apollo still refused to move. So, this time, I waited him out. I wasn't sure what he was battling inside of his head, but if he needed a minute–I'd give it to him. He'd given me several minutes of his time.