Page 79 of The Devil and His Goddess

Being stripped naked.

Lips kissing on my back, shoulders, and neck.

Himforcing his way inside.

Agony tore through my chest, escaping as a cry. I buried my face in the leotard I clutched, sobbing into the material.

“Harper,” Perseus whispered my name in a voice that sounded just as broken as I felt. “Harper, I swear to you, he’ll pay. He’llfuckingpay. I’ve already found him. He can’t escape this time. He’s going to suffer,thisI can guarantee you.”

“Don’t,” I pleaded, covering my head with quivering hands. I shook my head weakly. “Don’t talk about him. He doesn’t exist. It didn’t happen. None of it’s real.”

Perseus fell silent as I chanted that mantra to myself over and over again. Even as I told myself the lie, flashes of the night resurfaced. I screamed into the pillow and shook my head until they vanished. The pinpricks of anguish began to engulf me, but I squeezed the leotard tighter and shook my head more.

“No,” I groaned.

Perseus’s frown deepened.

“No,” I shouted louder this time. I shook my head and closed my eyes. “It’s a lie. It’s all a nightmare.”

None of it was real.

Drake didn’t exist.

What he did to me didn’t exist.

The pain didn’t exist.

I was fine.

“Harper—”

I sat up, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness. I grabbed at my head and braced myself on my other hand while Perseus reached toward me to keep me from falling sideways out of the bed. When the feeling subsided, I grabbed Perseus’s forearm and looked around his room. “What time is it?”

Clearly not understanding why I cared about the time, he furrowed his brow.

“What time is it?” I repeated.

Perseus reluctantly released me to pull his phone out of his pocket. “It’s a little past eight in the morning. Why—”

I leapt to my feet, forcing down that second wave of dizziness and nausea. “I’m late! I have to get to work.”

I stumbled into the bathroom, not caring that it wasn’t mine. Rehearsals started at 7:45, and I wasn’t even close to being ready. I had no clothes or essential items here, but that wouldn’t stop me. I found a hair tie in a drawer and pulled my hair back before turning on the sink to wash my face and teeth.

“Harper, baby,” Perseus called helplessly behind me. “You don’t have to go into work. You—”

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

Because none of it was real. Not a single thing.

I let the water clear my face of the tightness that had been there. I splashed more water across my skin, soaking in the feel of it. I grabbed a tube of toothpaste I found in a drawer and put a dollop on my finger to brush my teeth. The mint soothed my dry mouth, and I quickly rinsed it.

“Please,” Perseus croaked.

I couldn’t meet his gaze in the mirror, nor could I turn to face him. Every fiber of my being was focused on this rush to get ready and get to work. I had to hurry. I was already late. I couldn’t waste time over a silly nightmare.

I practically tuned Perseus out as I shed out of the unfamiliar sweatpants and shirt. Moving on a crazed autopilot, I pulled on the pink leotard that I’d clung to this whole time. It wrapped around my body like a familiar hug, and on top of that, I slipped the sweatpants back on.

“Can you drive me to work?” I asked as I rushed past Perseus, running my hands through my ponytail, only to pull it out of the band to redo it. “What am I saying? Of course you can. You have to go to work, too. We’re both so late.”

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