Dangerous Light

“What do you mean?” Sidney asks, not attempting to hide the skepticism in his voice.

Athena looks over at Sidney, “I really have to explain it?”

“That’d be nice.” Sidney states as he crosses his arms.

Shaking her head, Athena grips the wheel and stares up at the house. “You just can’t tell him, okay? Promise me that you won’t.”

“Why don’t you want him to know, though? You know he’s going to ask us where we’ve been all afternoon. What am I supposed to say?”

“Tell him that I was showing you around Vegas, or something.”

Silence falls over the couple, like a thick blanket weighed down with sand. They both spend that time staring at the house before them, just breathing.

Not looking away from the house’s crème colored shutters, Sidney cuts the tension in the air with his voice, “I just don’t understand why you’re so adamant about Jordan not finding out that you came to visit your own mother.”

“I don’t… I don’t expect you to understand, Sid. You weren’t there years ago and I’m not going to make excuses for Jordan or his behavior. It’s not my place to explain his opinion on this.”

“So, you want me to ask him?”

Athena shrugs, “I’m not gonna stop you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“How am I supposed to do that without having to explain… all of this?”

Lazily, Athena shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m assuming that means you’re keeping my secret, though?”

Sidney looks over at her, reluctance lacing his voice. “I’m not too fond about the idea of lying to Jordan.”

“It’s not lying; it’s just leaving details out. Two different things.” Athena says as she puts the car in reverse.



The movie playing on the television screen is going completely unattended to by Athena. Her mind is too busy racing, Jesus, I feel like I’m ten years old again. Spending time with my mom and actually somewhat getting along with her because my dad isn’t around.

Already weighing down her chest, the guilt Athena feels expands tenfold as she looks at the name that illuminates her cell phone’s screen with a text message.

Where are you? the simple text message reads.

If I told you, Jennifer thinks to herself as she stares at the screen, you’d blow a gasket and probably kick my ass. Her fingers, however, reply at home. Where are you?

Hotel is his reply.

“Who are you texting?”

Athena looks up from her phone, eyebrows raised. “Hm?”

“You’re texting,” her mother sounds slightly amused. “Do you have a boyfriend, or something?”

“People don’t just text their boyfriends and girlfriends, Mom,” Athena smirks, shaking her head. “Everybody texts.”

Amelia Oliver looks at her daughter, furrowing her eyebrows. “Since when?”

“Since forever,” Athena laughs to herself, looking back down at her illuminated phone. “You know that, Mom.”

The older woman shrugs, “even if I don’t, I’m still a cool mom.”

Athena pouts and nods, almost facetiously, causing her mom to giggle. Looking back down at her phone, she replies, Sounds fun.

“But who are you texting, a boyfriend?”

“Jordan.” Athena answers simply, looking up from her phone.

The older woman’s forehead wrinkles slightly, as she concentrates. “Jordan. Where do I know that name from?”

“Staal.”

“Oh, wow. You two still talk?”

Athena nods, smirking. “Yep. We never really stopped talking.”

“That’s pretty cool,” her tone is rather unreadable. “You guys are still friends.”

Nodding, Athena looks back at her cell phone. The new message reads, You should come over here. We’re staying another night or two & probably staying in tonight

Her fingers move as quickly as they can over the keypad, I don’t know if I can…

Why not? is the response that Athena stares at, for more than a few minutes.

“Everything alright?”

Looking over at her mother, Athena nods. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to stay the night tonight, though.”

“Why not?”

“Jordan wants to hang out.”

Staring at the television, Amelia speaks with a straight face. “So, that’s what they call it now-a-days?”

“Mother!” Athena gasps, mouth ajar as her face quickly heats up. “No. Just, no.”

“What, you don’t like him like that?”

Athena shakes her head, ever so slightly. “He has a girlfriend.”

Her mother’s voice is quiet, “that didn’t answer my question.”

“I can’t like him.” Athena answers simply. “He’s taken.”

Shaking her head, the older woman smiles sadly, “that doesn’t mean you can’t have feelings for him.”

Yes, it does. Athena thinks as she looks down at her phone.



Why does this feel so wrong? Athena looks up at the elegant numbering on the hotel room’s door, biting her lip. This shouldn’t feel wrong, but it does. So, so wrong.

Her freshly manicured nails tap the plastic card as she stares at it, and then looks back up at the door. Quickly, her body contradicts her mind’s thoughts and inserts the card into the slot to unlock the hotel room’s large blockade. The small light on the lock turns green and the lock clicks. Athena quickly takes the card back and silently pulls the door handle down. The door opens slower, but easier, than she expects it to.

Silence – it appears to be the only thing in the hotel room to greet Athena’s presence. The petite blonde silently closes the door once she is inside, being careful to lock it.

Her footfalls are also silent to her own ears in the large main room, which makes Athena strangely uncomfortable. She crosses her arms under her chest, stopping in the middle of the living room and straining to hear any sign of life that could radiate from the surrounding bedrooms.

Nothing, Athena thinks to herself as she exhales slowly. That must be why—

She freezes when she hears a noise, looking toward the foyer. Nothing is there, though. It must have been someone out in the hallway, Athena sighs in relief as she turns back to the windows.



Jordan watches Athena, standing stagnant in the middle of the living room, for almost five minutes before moving from his position of his broad shoulder digging into the threshold of his room. He takes each step forward cautiously.

Before Jordan knows it, he is less than an arm’s length behind Athena. She is still completely oblivious to his presence in the dark room, staring toward the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room at Las Vegas’ skyline.

Slowly, and skillfully, Jordan positions himself perfectly behind Athena, with his arms slightly outstretched. Biting his lip, to try and stop himself from giggling, Jordan springs forward and tightly wraps his bulky, long arms around Athena’s small midsection.