Chapter 2 – Medusa
MEDUSA
Music blares. I scream, fall off my bed with a thump, and lay there staring at the ceiling. Did I really forget to turn off my damn alarm? Groaning, I grab my pounding head and barely make it to my feet. Yanking my alarm, I turn and smash it against the wall.
At last, the damn music has stopped.
I fall back into bed, and my eyes instantly close. Sleep tugs at me once more, even though I can now feel the bright sunlight prying at the back of my eyelids.
And then my phone starts ringing.
My eyes flash open. Grabbing it off my nightstand, I flip open my phone. “Someone better be dead—”
“Actually, that’s exactly why I’m calling.”
I freeze at the familiar voice. “What do you want?”
“What do you think I want, Melissa?”
I stiffen, trying to ignore my hammering heart. “Not a clue.”
“So,” he stretches out the word. “You have no idea why there are two dead men and a man who appears to have been turned into stone in an alley two blocks from your house?”
“Not a clue.”
He swears. “This can’t keep happening. Do you understand me? The Special Unit can only sweep so much of this crap under the carpet before humans start asking questions. Before you attract the attention of the wrong people.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
“No, don’t give me that. This is serious.”
I put my hand over my face, my entire head throbbing. “Look, Peter, you dumped me, so don’t start pretending you care about me now.”
He’s quiet for a long minute. “You’re Medusa. I do care about you, just not enough to die for you.”
I hate how much his words hurt. “Got it.”
“Listen—“
“I've heard it all before. I’ll watch myself, okay? Now, let me sleep off this hangover.”
“Have you really been drinking again? I’m starting to worry about you.”
“Again,” I say, my voice crisp. “I’m not your problem anymore. Thanks for the heads up.”
“Melissa…”
“Be safe out there, officer.” I click my phone, ending the call.
I hold my phone for too long, rolling onto my side.
I don't know how much longer I can take this feeling of nothingness.
I don't know what's worse, the aching loneliness that doesn't seem to go away, or the feeling that nothing is ever going to get better.
Peter worked so damn hard to make me fall in love with him, but the second he learned the truth, he was gone, just like everyone else.
The thing was… I wasn’t just tired of hurting, of getting my heart broken. I was tired of everything.
Living forever sounds so fun in vampire romances, but that’s when you have a bunch of hot guys fighting over you. Living forever as Medusa, a woman who turns people to stone with a glance, well, it’s not all that fun.
I close my eyes, wanting to fall back to sleep. I love to sleep, because most of the time, my dreams are a hell of a lot better than real life. But unfortunately, now that I'm up, I can’t.
Cursing my stupid life, I sit up and head for the shower.
I throw my clothes onto the floor and turn on the water.
Stepping beneath the spray, I hiss, remembering that I still don’t have hot water…
yet another freaking bill I haven’t paid.
Teeth chattering, I scrub my hair and body as fast as possible, then shut off the water and get the hell out of there.
With a towel wrapped around my chest, I brush my hair and step out of the bathroom.
Suddenly, someone knocks at my door.
I ignore them, searching through my piles of clothes for ones that smell the least. But the damn knocking continues.
Cursing, I pull my glasses off the dresser, put them on, and head for the damn knocking. Throwing back the locks, I yank open the door.
A massive man is waiting on the other side.
And when I say massive, I mean linebacker massive.
He fills my entire doorway. Now, I’m barely five-foot tall, so I’m used to everyone looking tall, but this guy, he’s tall for tall people.
My gaze moves up from his narrow waist up to his broad shoulders and muscular arms, and then up to his face.
I suddenly find it hard to breathe. He's handsome, with blue eyes so light they’re almost grey, and short blond hair. He has the face of an angel. Because he doesn’t just look strangely beautiful, he also looks… kind.
His gaze runs over my towel-clad form until at last, he stops at my face. A blush darkens his cheeks.
“Melissa Gorgon?”
I lean against the doorframe. “That’s me.”
“You’re not what I expected,” he says, staring at me as if I’m the first woman he’s ever seen in his life.
Even though my damn head still hurts, I smile. There’s nothing wrong with flirting with a handsome man. Blond gods don’t drop from the sky every damn day, after all.
“Oh really? Well, want me to drop the towel and see if that’s what you expected too?”
His blush deepens.
Maybe my life just got a little less crappy.
He leans closer. “Sorry.”
I frown. “Sorry?”
Something hits me from behind, and my world goes black.