Page 46 of Betraying Family Vows
If I stay, what then? Back to Athens with him? To what end?
If I go, where? With what money? To whom?
They betrayed me. Used me. There's no going back to that life.
Ironically, I may be safer with him.
Maybe if I rest for a bit, I'll be able to think more clearly.
"I, um... I can't just leave you like this. You know, after saving me. And I'm pretty tired anyhow, so maybe I'll rest a little too. And then go."
Dimitri looks at me, a small smile on his lips. Those damn lips.
"Okay, Athena. Rest, and I'll keep watch."
"No." I shake my head. "You're the injured one. You rest, and then I can."
Dimitri looks at me for a moment, his eyes seeing what I'm hiding.
He nods, takes his gun in his hands, rests it across his lap, and closes his eyes.
A few hours later, the calmness of the breeze, the quietness, and my lack of sleep since the day before Theo's wedding does me in. As I struggle to stay awake, I tell myself... as soon as I'm up, I'm leaving. I'm gone.
Yes, that's exactly what I'll do, I think.
And before I know it, I'm asleep.
16
ATHENA
Ijolt awake, disoriented.
It's dark.
For a moment, I can't remember where I am. The stone walls around me come into focus as my eyes adjust, stars peeking through cracks.
Then it comes back. The ruins. Dimitri. Everything.
I blink, forcing my eyes to adjust.
Shit.
I slept longer than I meant to.
But how long?
Hours. It must have been hours.
My muscles ache as I shift, the hard stone beneath me having left its imprint on my skin. I must have really needed the rest to have slept on this.
The area is bathed in moonlight now. Long shadows spread across the crumbling walls.
Across from me, Dimitri sits slouched against a stone column. His gun still rests on his lap, fingers loosely curled around it.
He's got a shirt on now. I don't remember him having one on when I fell asleep.
His head is tipped back, his eyes closed. His eyelids flicker, and I wonder if he's asleep. Maybe it's a ploy. Maybe he's been watching the whole time.
