“Go to sleep.”
“Are you planning on killing me?”
“No.”
“Then keeping me in a cage as your pet forever instead?”
“Would you rather I kill you?” He takes a calming breath. “Did my discipline earlier not teach you anything? You should be afraid of me, not poking the bear. Go back to sleep. The sun’s not up yet.” He says the words, but his eyes linger on me hungrily. I see how he looks at my bare pussy and my exposed nipples. I can sense the intensity in his stare, almost feel the heat of his body even from afar.
“But your family still wants me dead, right?” I ask. “I seriously doubt any of them have changed their mind. You’ve never stood up to them before.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” he says.
“I know that when it comes to Troy Godwin, no one, not even you or your siblings, go against his wishes.” I pause and then add, “And I know I made an awful mistake. One that your father, your sister, your brother, and maybe even you, will never forgive.”
He sighs deeply and repositions his body where I see the last bits of moon light highlighting every curve of every muscle. “Did you really want to see me in jail forever?”
I shake my head. “I gave little thought before I acted. I was just so hurt. I wanted to make you hurt. And I felt so trapped and weak. And I didn’t want to be weak any longer. So I asked myself what Athena would do, and well…that’s how I decided to betray you and Medusa.” I grab hold of the bars and press my face closer. “And when your brother took the fall for it, I really wanted to step in and confess, but the tidal wave had already hit. I didn’t see a way to fix it. I froze. I became immobile to do or say anything. I took the cowardly way out and just remained quiet. I thought if anyone could get out of this mess, it was Ares Godwin, and I needed to step back and allow him and the Godwins to do what they did best, which is fix anything. I feared I’d only mess it up further. Your brother was a powerful man. I respected him. Feared him. But more than anything, I had grown to love him as a family member. He was always kind to me. To be honest, he was the only Godwin who even tried to make an effort. I’m sorry he’s gone. I’d love to apologize to him and beg for his forgiveness, as I’m doing to you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Apollo asks. He seems to soften right before my eyes. “Begging for my forgiveness?”
“Yes, and not just because I’m in a cage.”
He chuckles. “But I’m sure you hope to not be in there any longer.”
“Do you blame me?”
He remains silent for a bit. He finally lets out a deep breath and asks, “You said you were hurt. Why?”
“You know why.”
“I don’t. Tell me.”
I try to not let the familiar bite of anger take hold every time he acts like my request isn’t, and never has been, important. “My sister. I asked you over and over. I begged you. And yet, you always shut it down.”
“Shut what down?”
Tilting my head, I study his face. Did the accident make him black out this part of our life? The doctor said his memory would have holes because of his head injury, but he’s been doing so well remembering most everything else. I occasionally can see an emptiness in his eyes when I mention something about our past, like there is no recollection of what I’m saying, but then he seems to remember quickly. But not this time. This time, he really appears to have no clue what I’m talking about.
“You don’t remember?”
He runs his fingers through his hair and glances out the window before saying, “I don’t remember. I wish I did.”
His words are like a punch to the gut. He doesn’t remember the reason our marriage shattered to a million pieces. He doesn’t remember why I wanted out of our marriage so badly that I’d go to the authorities with information that would destroy him. He doesn’t rememberwhywe are the way we are.
“I can see that me not remembering this is hurting you. Why?”
“Because it’s the catalyst for our destruction. If only you—”
“If only I did what?” he interrupts.
For some reason, I don’t want to say it again. I don’t want to ask again. I begged constantly. I offered everything, anything, if only he’d do as I ask, and yet right now, I don’t want to repeat what had become a broken record. “Do you remember the kind of relationship my sister and her husband are in?”
He slowly nods, but I’m not sure if he really does or if he’s just nodding for my sake.
“He’s an abusive asshole,” I say, just to clarify for him if by chance he doesn’t remember that fact. “He beats my sister over and over. Punches, makes her bloody. He’s even broken her arm.” My voice cracks. I swallow the bile forming in the back of my throat. “I fear he’s going to kill her someday.”
I see his jaw lock, and his eyes narrow.