I slip them on and glide toward the floor-length mirror. The red color against my skin brings out a pink hue in my cheeks and my green eyes look even greener.
“You look breathtakingly beautiful,” Hades calls from the door.
I glimpse over my shoulder at a dashing version of death. Dressed from head to in black of course, but he’s added a sliver or red to his ensemble with a crimson tie. His shaggy hair is styled messy, slicked and spiked out in various ways and he smells rustic a mixture of wood, aftershave, and mint. He grins, circling me, and stops inches in front of me, extending an arm. “Shall we?”
I beam exuberantly filled with excitement. “Are we going somewhere?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.” Then I take his arm as he guides me out into the hall.
For the first half the walk neither one of us speaks. The only audible sound is my crimson heels clacking against the marble floor. But right before Hades guides me into the dining hall, he takes both of my hands in his and we face each other.
“Even on off years when I wasn’t able to come to you, I’ve been watching you,” he says. “I remember one time in particular where you’d been sitting on your porch staring longingly at a group of teens across the street from you as they prepared for a dance mortal teenagers attend.”
“Mom never let me go to any mortal functions,” I say softly.
“I’ve never been to one either,” he tells me. “So I thought you’d enjoy it if we could go to one together.” He steps away from me and yanks open the doors to the dining hall and I gasp out in awe as my mouth gapes open.
Slowly, I slide forward, eyes stifling a look around the gigantic room. The massive dining hall has been transformed into a high school gymnasium with a glittering disco ball spinning from the ceiling. A cleared spot that serves as a dance floor. A full band on a platform performing a slow ballad. Tiny lights dangle from spots in the ceiling, twinkling. There are several circular tables placed in various sections of the room and each table has a red tablecloth. In the center of the table are matching centerpieces complete with red roses, black roses, and silver tinsel.
Emotion surges through me like a spark of electricity. I’m a loose wire snapping into the air, shooting white volts. Turning, I lock eyes with my captor. “You did all of this for me?”
A small sincere smile crosses his lips. “Of course I did. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy here. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy with me. I don’t think you understand that I never had any intentions of keeping you here against your will. What I want more than anything is for you stay because you want to.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off. “Let me finish.” He walks closer and takes my hands, gently massaging my skin with his thumbs. Warmth drifts up my arms and sears through my insides before it takes up residence in my cheeks. “I will never hurt you and as long as you’re with me you can have anything your heart desires. You don’t even have to say what is. Just think it and it will be yours.”
“You shouldn’t have done this.” I stutter, “It’s…It’s…”
He scrunches his bold, black eyebrows. “You don’t like it?” He pulls out of my grasp. “It’s fine if you don’t like it, I’ll have everything taken down. We can do something else.”
Hades raises his hand and I rush over to him lacing my fingers through his. “No. That’s not what I meant.” I swallow hard and stare at our interlocked hands. “I meant that you shouldn’t have gone out of your way. I do like this. I love this. The decorations, the band, everything. I’ve always wanted to go to the mortals’ prom.”
“Oh.” Hades flashes me a brilliant smile and I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him fully smile since I’ve been here. And his perfect, white smile takes my breath away. “Would you like to sit then?” I nod and he raises the opposite hand and two chairs magically slide back from the table. He helps me into my seat and then sits down next to me. “Are you hungry?” He claps his hands and a magnificent feast materializes before my eyes. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. And all the trimmings. A lot like what the humans eat on Thanksgiving.
A painful howl ripples through my abdomen. I’m starving and I can’t even recall the last full meal I ate. But mom’s voice bounces off the walls of my brain like a pinball in a machine. “You cannot eat in the realm of the dead.”
My eyes center on sweet rolls in the middle of the table dripping with hot butter. I fight off the urge to stuff one into my mouth. “No,” I say weakly. “I’m not hungry.”
Hades fills his plate and stares at the empty one in front of me. “If you eat this, you won’t be bound here. You have my word.”
Even though he says I won’t be bound to this realm, I still feel uneasy about eating. I still feel uneasy about him in general. Sometimes he makes me feel the way Adonis used to. Like a school girl with a crush. I smile when I think of Adonis. This is the first time I’d thought about him since I was pulled under. I wonder what he’s doing now. I wonder if he showed up the next morning after my party to walk me to school.
But there are other times where I feel like Hades is putting on the best play of his long life. I can’t decide whether he’s being sincere all of the time or only some of the time and that keeps me questioning on whether I’ll stay or not. So for now, I think its best that I don’t jump into a situation with him that I don’t trust. “I’m really not hungry,” I tell him. “Go ahead and enjoy your food.”
Another reason I don’t eat is because despite what he says, I can’t help but feel like a tiny morsel of this meal will separate me from my mom forever. And I miss her so much as it is.
I watch Hades intensely as he eats and he doesn’t eat how I expect a person of his age to eat. I guess I had this vision of him inhaling the food, cramming as much food into his mouth as possible with his hands, eager to ease the hunger inside of him. But doesn’t eat like a savage. He eats mannerly and he chews all of the muscles in his jaw tighten and flex.
For a second I forget that I’m gawking at him until he catches me. And suddenly, I’m embarrassed and upset because I feel like I could stare at him for hours and never want to look away. Lowering his fork, he picks up a black napkin and wipes the corners of his mouth. “Is something wrong?” he asks a worried look on his face.
“No.”
“Do I frighten you?” He seems like he wants me to be afraid of him. Maybe that’s because he’s used to it. Most people fear the reaper. Unfortunately for him, I’m not most people.
“No,” I answer quickly. “But you could smile more often. You’re beautiful when you smile.” I catch myself after the last comment and clamp my jaw shut. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want to give false hope in case I do decide to leave, but I can’t help but feel more attached to him with every second we spend together.
Inside I’m a Picasso painting. Scattered, deformed, and messy. Bright colors splashed here and there. More than anything I’m flustered and I know that I’m blushing. An unsettling silence swirls around us. He smirks, studying my face. I stare back at him, trying to think of words to break the quiet, but I can’t think of anything. His radiant, wandering eyes rip my tongue out. I’m mute. I wish I knew sign language.
Hades starts to crack. He’s a tremor, rippling across the ground, a miniscule fracture spreading vastly, tearing up the soil. Then his mouth opens and the fracture widens. His mouth is a crater and he smiles wide and laughs. A deep booming laugh. A harmonious laugh that rings out and makes me laugh in return. He extends his hand. “Come on.”