Lady of Sparta

I was sitting in a car, waiting for someone to get in the driver’s seat. The college wasn’t far from where the car was parked. People passed by, ignoring the cars parked along the street. I heard the door open, causing me to turn to look at the person. Aristides slid into the car with a smile on his face. It appeared that this happened on a daily basis to him, but I was shocked to see him in the car.

He leaned over and planted his lips on me quickly. He started the car, and I felt it shake to life. It wouldn’t stop shaking though, and it wasn't exactly gentle. It was almost frightening.

I woke up to see Aristides, shaking my shoulder. He was looking at me for a second when he saw that I was awake. He pulled my arm up. There was worry written all over his face. His grip on me wasn't going away anytime soon.

“You have to get up. Hesperos is outside,” he whispered frantically.

That was enough get me up and sprint to his room. I shut the door as quietly as I could. Something told me Hesperos wouldn’t be a wonderful acquaintance. I heard the movement of the guest’s feet through the door. I slid down to the floor, still half-asleep.

The dream floated into my thoughts. I was dreaming about Aristides. I knew that I was just going to drive myself crazy. I couldn’t let myself get attached to him in any way. He was a nice guy, but I was going to have to go back to my time. I sighed a little too loudly.

“What was that?” Hesperos asked, hearing me. I stilled afraid of what’s going to happen. The images of what was going to happen flashed through my mind like a movie.

“It was probably just the wind,” Aristides suggested. I could hear movement in the other room. I couldn’t tell which one it was. It would seem like it was Aristides blocking the way to the room as much as he could.

“Don’t give me those lies. There is something in that room,” Hesperos argued.

I wondered if I could get out the window. When I looked at it though, I realized that the only way I could fit through it was if I was three years old. I wasn’t fat, but I wasn’t thin enough to go through the space of it.

The door moved behind me, causing me to move with it. I scooted to where I wouldn’t fall on my back. I started to stand up, readying myself for this, because there was no getting around it now.

“Who are you?” the tall man asked. He had dark brown hair that had a little bit of a wave into it. His face was filled with anger mixed with curiosity. There was something that made him wonder what I was. I didn't exactly blend into this time era with my American clothes.

I quickly told him my name, fearing what he is going to do to me. Hesperos wasn’t like Aristides. He had a certain way about him that made you want to fear him. He carried himself like a warrior. I had always seen Aristides be more like a normal person even though I knew he was a warrior. He just didn’t carry around like it was the only thing about him.

“What is she doing here?” Hesperos asked Aristides. Hesperos held onto my arm tightly. He wasn’t going to let get at any time.

“She doesn’t have anywhere else to stay at the moment. She will leave when she can,” Aristides explained quickly. He wasn’t going to tell anyone about where I was from. I wanted to hug him at that moment, but I knew it would be weird to both him and Hesperos. I wouldn’t be able to explain why I did that.

Hesperos started to say something, and I could only pick out a couple of the words. He was basically calling me a leech, and there was the mention of me being some kind of prostitute. Aristides was getting pissed about what he was saying, and it was clear in his face as he denied everything that Hesperos said.

“She isn’t like that. She sleeps in that bed,” Aristides barked, pointing at the place I slept on. “You don’t have any right to tell me who I should let in my house.”

Hesperos groaned and released his grip on my arm. I knew I was going to have a bruise from it. He marched out of the house. He was pissed. We could only hope he wouldn’t say anything to anyone.

Aristides shook his head when I tried to say something. I wanted to know what he thought about this, but I figured that now wouldn’t be the time. Aristides seemed like he had to think things through before he explained it. I just didn’t know what to do. This was more of a mess than I once thought.

“I’ll talk to him, but he needs to calm down,” he said, looking at me. His face was filled with something that I couldn’t explain. It was almost like pity, but it had something else mixed with it. It was something that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

He walked past me into his room. I didn’t know what to do for a second. I stood in the middle of the room like an idiot. Eventually, I made my way back to the bed on the other side of the room. I didn’t sleep. I was turned towards the wall, trying not to think about what I have gotten myself into.

If I hadn’t come to Sparta, I wouldn’t be in this mess. If I listened to my parents, I wouldn’t have to stop myself from caring about the man who was hiding in his room. There are plenty of things that I needed to avoid, but the more I thought about Aristides, the more I tried to stop myself. I had to worry about getting back to my time zone, not how I should stop caring about some guy.