Chapter 14 Zara
Zara
“Honey, are you awake?”
Zara jolted awake at the sound of her mother’s voice and the sharp rapping at her door.
Omg, I’m late for class! I have my Physics midterms to—
Then reality hit her.
She was at her parents’ home in Santa Fe, but she wasn’t in junior year.
A fresh wave of pain washed over her as soon as she was fully aware of the circumstances that led her here.
I should have known.
Some empath she was.
After their conversation, there was no way she could stay there. And so, she took Hektor’s car and drove all night until she reached Alindale.
Unfortunately, there was no hiding from Elian and Liora what happened.
Not that she tried.
They were triplets and they’d shared everything since birth. Once she finished telling them what happened, they reacted pretty much how she thought they would—Elian with pensive, but supportive silence and Liora with threats of bodily harm.
Both, however, agreed on one thing: she couldn’t stay in Alindale. At least not for the time being.
And so, she decided to go home.
Back to the Upperworld.
She needed to be somewhere that gave her comfort.
Some place where she didn’t have to think about magic or creatures or gods.
A place where nothing reminded her of Hektor.
Home—to Santa Fe, surrounded by the juniper hills, mountains, sunshine, and the comforting presence of something familiar. Thankfully, Lord Eros happened to be there to meet with Perseus and Medusa and didn’t mind giving her a lift back to the Upperworld.
The urge to bury herself under the covers was strong. She was about to succumb when her mother called again.
“Zara? Honey? Are you awake? How about some breakfast?”
Zara glanced around her, heaving out a breath.
I can’t stay here forever.
“Sure, Mom. I’ll come down in a bit.”
“Your dad and I will be waiting out on the patio. It’s such a beautiful morning.”
“Ok, Mom.”
Throwing the covers off, Zara swung her legs off the side of the bed. Her entire body was as heavy as lead, but she managed to put one foot in front of the other to get herself ready for the day.
Refreshed by a quick shower and change of clothes, she bounded downstairs and out on the expansive patio that overlooked the foothills. As her mother mentioned, it was a beautiful morning, crisp and refreshing, and the skies looked even bluer than usual today.
For Zara, however, it might as well be a gloomy rainy day.
“Good morning,” she greeted, putting on her best smile. “Breakfast looks amazing.”
Her parents, Pam and Roberto Chura stopped their conversation to turn to her at the same time. She walked over to them and gave them each a kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning, honey,” Mom—blue-eyed, blonde, and still gorgeous despite the smile lines around her mouth and wrinkles on her forehead—greeted back.
“Come, sit and eat.”
“Hello, mija, how are you?” Papá ruffled her hair affectionately like he did when she was a child, the corners of his dark brown eyes crinkling as he flashed her a warm smile.
“I’m good, Papá.” Plopping down on the empty seat next to him, she unfolded a napkin with flourish and laid it on her lap. “I’m famished.”
Well, not really.
But she couldn’t let them know she was upset and heartbroken.
They probably already had an inkling though, seeing as she just suddenly turned up at their doorstep.
They had welcomed her with open arms, of course, and when they had asked what she was doing here and where her siblings were, she simply told them she was burned out and needed to get away for a bit to sort things out.
That was the truth, in a way.
She just didn’t tell them why.
“Well, no wonder you’re starving, you didn’t have dinner last night.”
“Er, yeah, sorry for sleeping through it,” she said through a mouthful of freshly-squeezed orange juice. “Um, jet lag, you know.”
A dark eyebrow arched upward. “I didn’t know there was such a big time difference between here and Vale Crossing.”
“Er, yeah, who knew?”
Zara hated to lie to them, but since she’d arrived here, all she wanted to do was be alone and wallow in her heartbreak.
Dramatic, yes, but she didn’t know what else to do. This was her first experience of having her heart crushed into a million pieces. It felt like she would never be able to pull herself from the grief. Her brain kept repeating that last conversation with him.
Do you love me?
I care about you.
Not the same.
Yet it wasn’t those words that broke her heart.
“Robby,” her mother began. “Will those paintings be ready for pickup this afternoon?”
“Of course, carino.”
“Thank goodness.” She let out a sigh of relief. “Margo and the rest of the committee are driving me nuts over this charity auction. They might have all the time in the world since they spend their days at the club, having brunch and organizing social events, but I have a full-time job.”
“What charity event?” Zara asked.
“Oh, that’s right.” Mom tsked. “I forgot to tell you, Franklin Park Elementary is having a charity auction to raise funds so they don’t have to shut down the arts department.
Zara immediately sat at attention. “What do you mean shut it down?”
Franklin Park was a local public elementary school in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Santa Fe.
During her senior year in high school, she volunteered there as an after-school painting teacher.
The program had been underfunded badly then, and the school desperately needed a lot of extra hands and supplies so she had been happy to help.
“There just isn’t enough funding, mija,” Roberto said glumly. “Especially these days.”
“Yeah, but I bet the football team is getting new uniforms,” she grumbled.
“They can’t shut down the arts department.
There are lots of talented kids out there who could really benefit from those classes.
” That would also include all the arts, like music and drama.
“Not to mention, the parents especially need those after school programs because they can’t afford to leave work early to pick up their kids. ”
“That’s why we’re having this charity auction, honey,” her mother said. “Hopefully, your Papá’s paintings will fetch enough at the auction to keep the program running for at least until the end of the year. Thank you for agreeing to paint something, darling.”
Reaching out, he placed a hand over hers. “Anything for you, carino. You should have asked me in the first place. What’s the use of having a famous painter for a husband if he can’t do things like this for you.”
The worry lines on her forehead disappeared, and the glow on her face made her appear years younger. “I know you’re very busy. I appreciate it very much, darling.”
A knot of envy grew in Zara’s stomach.
I wish…
Her parents certainly weren’t perfect, and neither was their marriage. However, they made it work, despite their differences.
The love between them was genuine.
The real thing.
Why shouldn’t she have something like that?
Why shouldn’t she be someone’s first choice, rather than be second best?
“Honey, are you okay?”
“Huh?” She looked up from her plate of pancakes.
“I was asking you if you wanted to come to the nail salon with me later today.” Mom shot her a concerned look. “Are you sure it’s just jet lag?” Reaching over, she touched her palm to Zara’s forehead. “You don’t have a temperature or anything.”
“I’m fine, Mom, I’m just—”
A bright, blinding flash of red light cut her off mid-sentence. For a moment, she thought it was some kind of catastrophe—a plane crash, a bomb, or gods forbid, something evil had followed her back from Vale Crossing or whatever dimension she passed through between worlds.
When her vision cleared, however, she wished it were any of those things.
“You.” Zara mustered every ounce of fury in her body into that one word. “What are you doing here?”
Hektor stood there, a few feet away from the table, his gaze boring right through her with its intensity. “Zara, I’ve finally found you.”
Her mother cleared her throat. “Oh, my. Zara, who is this handsome man?”
Her head snapped toward her mother. “Handsome?”
Papá, too, looked confused. “Are we seeing the same thing, carino? Do you not see the gigantic lizard man on our patio?”
“Dragon, actually,” Zara corrected. “A very unwelcome one.”
“I can explain, sir, madam.” Hektor took a tentative step forward. “I’ve been glamored so that to ordinary humans, I look like any other human. But to anyone with magic in their blood, I appear as I am.”
Papá looked back and forth between Mom and Hektor. “I see. And how did you get this glamor?”
“I prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to bring me here. She came to me and I told her why I wanted to come here. She agreed, but she cast a spell so as not to frighten the humans.”
“Why did you come here?” Zara asked.
Hektor turned his gaze to her. “For you. To ask for your forgiveness. And to ask you to be my mate.”
Her lungs squeezed every ounce of air from her body. He really was here. Hektor was here and—
No.
Memories from the last time they were together flooded into her brain.
What he said.
Do you love me?
I care about you.
Not the same.
But it wasn’t about the words or his reluctance to say them.
So, she hardened her torn-up heart.
“Well, you’ve wasted your time and Aphrodite’s magic. Leave. Now.”
“Honey, don’t be rude,” Mom said. “You must be Hektor.”
Zara’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “Mom? How do you know his name? “
Papá answered. “When you showed up, we could tell something was wrong so we asked your brother and sister what happened.”
Damn Liora and Elian!
“And what did they tell you?”
“Everything. But basically, that you were running away from your problems,” her mother said quietly.
“Zara please,” Hektor said in a low, raspy voice. “Could we please talk?”
“No, you’ve said all I needed to hear.” Irritation prickled at her. “And if you don’t leave, then I will.” Shooting to her feet, she threw her napkin on the table, then stomped off. Every muscle in her body tensed as she made her way inside, to the living area.
Letting out a small scream, she stopped right by the console table behind the sectional, itching to reach for the heavy marble bookend.
She wanted to throw it—preferably at Hektor’s head. And then go back to Alindale and do the same thing or worse to her siblings.
How dare he come here?
This was my safe space.
How could she start getting over him if he was here?
“Honey?”
Zara spun around. “Did they really tell you everything?”
“Enough,” Mom said. She stood at the doorway, her face drawn into a mask of worry. “We wanted to respect your privacy, so we hoped you would say something first. Your brother and sister warned us that your, uh—dragon, was it?—might be coming here.”
“You knew he was coming?” she exclaimed. “And you didn’t say anything?”
“Because you would have run away,” Mom pointed out.
She threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t believe this. My own flesh and blood betrayed me.”
“Sounds to me like he really wants to make amends. And the goddess Aphrodite helped him, meaning she knows what’s in his heart.”
“What about what I want?
“If anything, you should get some closure,” Mom added. “Just give him a chance to say his piece and he can go.”
“He really hurt me, Mom.” Zara hated how her voice trembled. “I thought I loved him and…”
“I may not have magic like you and your siblings, but I can feel that he’s really sorry. Love isn’t always easy, Zara. But it’s worth it.”
“You and Dad make it easy,” she sniffed.
“We do.” A small laugh bubbled from her lips. “But there’s more to a relationship than good times. You know in the beginning, your Papá and I had a lot of problems and miscommunications. We had so many differences, including language and culture.”
“But you made it work.”
“That’s the operative word, honey. Work. It takes work.”
“Mija, are you okay?” Papá asked as he padded into the living room.
“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry I lost my temper back there.” She took a deep breath. “I’m just not ready right now. I’m still confused.”
“Take your time, Zara,” Mom urged. “I’m sure Hektor will wait for you, whenever you’re ready.”
Papá tugged at his collar and laughed nervously. “Er, yeah about that…I sort of, invited him to stay.”
“You what?” Zara burst out. “With us? Here?”
“Yes, in one of the guest rooms.”
“Argh!” Zara stomped a foot on the ground. “How am I supposed to be around him?”
“Honey, it’s a thirteen thousand square foot house,” Mom reminded her.
“Besides, what was I supposed to do?” Papá said.
“When I asked him if Aphrodite was going to give him a ride back to Alindale, he had this ‘oh shit’ look on his face. I don’t think he planned on going back without you.
Then I asked if he had a place to stay and he said he didn’t really know where to go. ”
“He could have offered to check into a hotel.”
“Hotel? Does he even have money or a credit card?” Mom asked.
Her mother had always had a soft heart for the less fortunate. “He has a room with a literal pile of gold. I’m sure he can afford a night or two at the Hyatt.”
“But he’s never been to the Upperworld, has no idea how things work here,” Papá said. “It’s like when I first arrived here and your mother had to hold my hand and explain everything to me.”
Figures.
Papá was worse than Mom sometimes. “It’s your house, you can invite anyone you want to stay.” She crossed her arms over the chest. “But I’m not speaking to him.”
With that, she spun around and marched back to her room. Slamming the door shut once she got there, she inhaled a deep breath and buried her face in her hands.
Did she dare hope Hektor meant what he said this time? That he wasn’t going to fall apart again the minute he saw Eleanora?
Do you love me?
I care about you.
It wasn’t about what he said or what he didn’t say.
It was what she didn’t feel.
“I can’t feel it.” Zara had to whisper. If her voice got any louder, she would surely break down. “I don’t feel that you do. And I can’t accept it like this.”
He could have hurled insults at her, or even denied he loved her, told her he used her.
She would have taken those words better.
But that emptiness she felt, that cold silence in his heart, nothing had hurt her more.
Yet here he was.
She didn’t dare even try to reach out to him, afraid to encounter than emptiness once more.
She couldn’t get hurt again.