I took Atalanta to one of my favorite places, a piece of land owned by my parents. In a small valley, between the sprawling hills and mountains of Argos, was an orchard full of apple trees. They were in hibernation for the winter, their leaves having already fallen, leaving the branches bare with the faint scent of apples still lingering in the air.
Not wanting to drive the bike through the soft snow-covered earth, I stopped along a pathway that lead through the orchard.
Hopping off the bike, I held out my hand for her. I was glad to see that while her eyes were still wide, they were beginning to fill with a little wonder, chasing away the panic and fear.
“Where are we?” she asked, taking my hand and casually sliding off my bike.
“One of the orchards my parents own.”
She pulled the jacket closer to herself, almost hugging her middle. “Yes, you did tell me you lived on an apple farm. Not this one?”
“No, not this one. I think it’s a bit too soon to be bringing you home just yet. I mean, this is our first date and all.”
She chuckled, almost cracking a smile. “Aren’t you supposed to give me flowers on the first date? You know, show up to my door with flowers, looking all nervous while my father glares at you with his shotgun. Please tell me you have some chocolate at least to make up for it.”
I laughed and quickly scanned the ground in front of me. “Unfortunately, I didn't bring you any chocolate, buuut—" I snatched a flower off the ground and held it out to her. "I actually did bring some flowers for you.”
The little white flower drooped ever so slightly, but the dew on it sparkled in the light.
“Oh, a snowdrop, I love snowdrops!” She exclaimed, her face finally lighting up.
She took the little flower and held it to her chest lovingly.
“So that’s what they're called?” I asked.
She nodded. “These little guys just pop right out of the snow just before it starts to melt for spring. One of the few kinds of flowers that can bloom in these conditions. This little fellow popped out early.”
“In the spring? I see these grow all over this valley in the winter,” I said, gesturing to several other flowers that were beginning to break through the snow-covered earth.
“That’s quite odd, they aren’t really winter flowers,” she replied, her brows furrowing.
I inhaled deeply and looked around. It was a beautiful sight. One of those rare days where you could see the blue in the sky as the gray and white clouds broke apart as they drifted across the sky. The breeze smelled like apples with a bite of winter air. Despite the branches of the trees being bare, the snow that lay on top of them twinkled in the small rays of sunlight, making them look just as breathtaking as when they were full of leaves and fruit.
“This land is full of magic,” I whispered.
I gently placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her through the trees.
“So, do you want to tell me what happened?”
She inhaled and blew out a raspberry. “These girls in our class happened. They cornered me when I was changing, and it got violent.”
“They are the ones that did that?” I asked, gesturing to the deep scratches along her cheek. They had swollen a bit in the last twenty minutes.
“Yeah,” she gingerly touched her cheek. "Though you should have seen what I did to them.”
I chuckled. "So, like a ‘you think this is bad you should see the other guy’?”
A small smile graced her lips. “I guess.”
Despite my lightheartedness, the anger continued to roil in my stomach. Oh, I would make these girls pay. Perhaps I would call in a favor and have them compelled to butcher their hair and post it all over their social media. Or perhaps read out their deepest secrets live for everyone to see.
Atalanta looked down at her shoes, biting her lip. “I’m going to be in so much trouble for what I did to those girls.”
“But it was self-defense.”
She shrugged. “Maybe, but no one was really there to prove it. All the other girls just sat outside the showers. The girls who did it could spin it to say I started all of it. And even if no one believed them...with how badly I hurt them, it might not matter.”
She looked haunted, that little bit of happiness I had been able to coax from her fading back into the darkness.
She had that same look all the time. This tormented shadow following her around wherever she went. The smiles she gave rarely reached her eyes, and even though she was clearly a strong-willed girl, she would often hide behind the shy exterior she built. It was interesting, if not a bit concerning.
I watched her when people got too close, especially females. She would nearly jump out of her skin. There were a rare few times I’d seen her allow closeness, though. Her sister, for one. I’d seen her pick up Atalanta from the community center with real smiles and warm embraces, but she was family. Another being Theseus, who touched her quite easily and often. Can’t say I wasn’t a little jealous. Of course, there I was, often lurking in the shadows as I went to the community center for swim practice. I doubt she noticed I was there. Well, no more hiding.
I stopped walking and stood in front of her. I looked into those shadowy orbs of brown and green which reminded me of a lush forest. I couldn’t help the impulse to lean down and kiss her on the cheek, so very close to her lips.
I lingered there for a moment before pulling away. “Don’t worry speedy. I’ll take care of it, you don’t need to worry about getting in trouble.”
“But how?”
“I’ve got friends on the other side,” I grinned, humming the tune to the song.
She tilted her head, looking at me with a confused smile. “Did you just make a Disney reference?”
“Perhaps.”
Chapter Eleven
Atalanta
Hip had been right, the next day when I came to school, despite a few whispers of what happened, I never got called into the principal's office or cornered by a teacher. When I saw the coach in the hall, she acted like nothing was amiss! Thankfully, my bag had been untouched in my locker.
The three girls who had cornered me weren’t at school and I was beginning to fear Hip was part of the Mob or something.
Cal had a conniption when I came home that night. She was ready to march down the school herself and go round two on those girls. But I advised her against it, pointing out that it would draw too much attention.
I tried to hide the bruising and scratches on my face with makeup, but I don’t think I did a very good job as the only color I could find at the store was the wrong shade. On top of that, the scratches were raised, so they only stood out more with my botched coverup job.
One of the many times I wished I had long, flowing hair that I could just hide behind.
When lunch rolled around, I was a little nervous to sit at the table with Jason like I had yesterday. I didn’t want him to see me like this, and if I was being really honest with myself, I didn’t know if I could face him after what had happened with Hip yesterday. So, once the bell rang for the high schoolers to go to lunch, I beelined for the cafeteria instead of the courtyard where I had sat the day before.
“Atalanta,” a very familiar, very concerned voice called to me.
I groaned and spun around. “Jason.”
“I’ve heard some rumors. Are you okay?” His eyes zoomed in on my cheek, his beautiful blue eyes darkening the same way Hip’s had.
“I’m alright, just a little banged up,” I insisted.