Surviving Hell

C H A P T E R 3 - Dilara.

I know that you’re not sleeping.

How did he know that I wasn’t sleeping? Had I done something that had given it away? But how was that possible when I had been so careful of my reactions? It couldn’t be that. I refused to be that. But the problem remained that I had been caught out, whether I liked it or not. I was going to need to make sure that I ‘woke up’ because I couldn’t imagine Hades being very happy with me ignoring him and continuing to lay down.

But perhaps that was exactly what I needed to do. I was exhausted from being here, and maybe it I followed through with my acting, then he would think that it wasn’t an act. But even as my mind started to think these things, even as I started to come up with them, I couldn’t deny the fact that there was now no point in me doing any of that.

I knew that it wasn’t actually an ideal scenario to speak to Hades, but what was I going to do? Lay here until he decided to fall for my tricks and leave? How long was that going to take, if a mere conversation had already taken that long? Who knew what was to come next?

“Dilara. Do I need to repeat myself?”

There was something about the tone of his voice that set me off, that felt like a lot more than a warning, and I knew that I needed to be careful and make sure that I looked after myself first because there was no telling what he would do once he was upset, although I imagined that he was already upset.

Doing what I could to keep myself from doing something that would get me into deeper trouble than I was already in. Hades seemed to be on the warpath, and I would hate to be caught in the crossfire. Look what had happened before. I found myself dragged away from my home, brought to a place that I hadn’t even believed to exist.

“I do not believe that that is necessary.”

Despite the fact that I truly hadn’t been asleep, there was a raspy tone to my voice that could have fooled me too. I hoped that perhaps Hades would begin to think that it had been caused by the fact that I had been asleep, and that perhaps it had been his conversation that had woken me up. And if he found another reason for it, then so be it.

Despite the fact that I had announced that I was awake, and that I was forcing myself to sit upright and look at him, Hades didn’t seem like he had any intention of saying anything else. I didn’t like the way that he was staring at me either. It was almost like he was upset about something, and now, he was preparing to take it out on me, and that was something that I didn’t agree with.

I was going to stand up to him it he dared to do such a thing, because after all, what was he going to do about it? I was already locked in a cage. There was only so much more that could be done, and if he knew that that was the way that I was thinking, he would be bound to try and do something that would only end up proving me wrong.

There was a long moment that passed, time in which the only thing that we did, was stare at one another. There were honestly no words for me to explain the discomfort that I was feeling, which was ironic, considering the fact that I had fooled myself into thinking that I was falling in love with this man. Where’d all the time go since that had happened?

It felt like it was an eternity ago.

Like I had been robbed of a lifetime of experiences.

“How long have you been awake?”

“Not for long. You should really lower your voice when speaking to people—I don’t sleep lightly.”

My heart felt like it waas clogging up my throat, like it was about to flop out of my mouth at any moment now. I didn’t think that Hades was aware of the way that he was making me feel, but perhaps it was better that way. He had no reason to know that this was the effect that he was having on me. No reason at all.

“How much of that conversation did you overhear?”

“Enough.”

“Enough for what?”

“Enough to know that I need protection down here. Something that I didn’t need while I had been home.”