Page 10 of Hades

“I’m sorry.” She gasped the words out before slapping her thigh.

Hades ran an impatient hand down his face before asking, “What the hell is so funny?”

After a few more giggles, she said, “For one, I think you mean Tinkerbellif you’re referencing me as a fairy.” She held in more giggles as she watched his face frown up even more. “Second, fairies are like… magical and poop rainbows and unicorns and stuff. I’m none of those things.”

Finally releasing her arm, he took a half step closer to her, causing her neck to bend all the way back so she could look up at him. Her natural instinct was to take a step back and cower from him, but she bit back that reaction and stayed planted in place.

“You’re small and girly. Sounds like a fairy to me.”

She blushed for some reason, not understanding why it felt good for him to refer to her as small and girly. She was definitely both things, but hearing him address her feminine components did something to her.

Shaking her head, she turned once again to unlock her door. Once she pushed it open, she said, “I was thinking about how rude you are, to answer your earlier question,” without looking back at him. She heard him grunt behind her as they stepped into her house. The small space that greeted them was her living room. Though small, it was cozy and felt like home—to her, at least. There was an electric fireplace built into the wall, and above that was her mounted flat-screen TV. She had a small sectional with pink and purple throw blankets, and there was a small puppy bed for her dog, Pixie, in the corner. The current book she was reading,Mega Manby Mel Dau, lay on the coffee table, and she made a mental note to grab that before she left. After taking her shoes off, she turned to Hades and said, “Have a seat. I’m going to shower and pack a bag quick, then we can go get Pixie.”

His face mugged up. “Pixie?”

Harley’s face lit up. “My puppy’s name is Pixie.”

Her puppy was her best friend. She technically wasn’t a puppy anymore. She was two years old, but she was tiny.Shereminded Harley of a fairy. She was small and magical and impactful. She had a bit of fairy dust in her, too, Harley was convinced, because on her worst days, the sight of Pixie made everything better. For two beautiful years, Pixie had become the center of her world.

Hades snorted. “Fucking fairies. Tink is the perfect name for you.”

“Tinkerbell,” she corrected, already making her way toward her bedroom.

“Tink,” his commanding voice demanded, causing her to roll her eyes. She didn’t know why she was arguing with that man about a name that wasn’t even hers.

When she got into her room, her mind automatically went into overdrive as she thought about everything she had to pack. In her head, she planned to only take care of Dante for one more day, but by now, she understood that Hades was unpredictable, so she knew she needed to pack for more than that.

Not only did she have to pack for herself, but she also had to pack for Pixie too. She sighed before she got to work. She opted to pull a suitcase out of her walk-in closet and filled it with clothes before she grabbed Pixie’s other pink, fluffy bed from the corner of her room and tossed it on top. Next, she made her way out of her room and into her bathroom, grabbing toiletries and everything she would need, careful to leave everything she would need for her shower. After tossing those into the suitcase, she moved into the kitchen to grab some of Pixie’s wet food and her treats, bowls, and dry foods.

In the living room, Hades sat on the couch, making it look more like a damn love seat with his size. She felt his eyes on her as she grabbed a few toys for Pixie and the purple blanket on the couch before grabbing her book. When she felt confidentthat she had everything she would need, she went back into the bathroom and stripped out of her scrubs she wore to work the previous day before turning the water on and pulling her hair into the bun.

Inside the shower, she allowed the warm droplets to soothe her before washing up. Just when she turned the shower off, she heard elevated voices coming from the living room. At first, she ignored it, thinking Hades was on the phone or something, but when she heard a few loudthuds, she quickly wrapped her towel around herself and rushed to the living room.

Her heart stilled when she saw Hades had her ex-boyfriend, Drew, hemmed up against the wall.

“Drew! What the hell are you doing here? Hades, let him go. Y’all are not about to fuck up my house!”

She knew she was mad if she was cursing.

Drew looked in her direction. Hades kept his eyes on Drew.

“You questioning me, but why is his nigga in yo’ house, Harley?” Drew spat.

“Aye. Eyes on me,” Hades barked, causing Drew to look back over at him. “Ain’t nothing over there for you to see.”

Drew’s face frowned up, and he looked Hades directly in the eye. “Let me find out you fuckin’ my bitch.”

“Drew!” Harley screeched. “We haven’t been together in over a year. Why can’t you get the hint that I don’t want you? Why are you even here?”

It was common for Drew to pop up at her house, but each time it confused her because he knew good and damn well they were not together. His obsession with her was unsettling, but there was nothing she could do about it when the police were in his back pocket.

Without looking at her and keeping his eyes on Hades, Drew said, “You always going to be mine.”

Before she could even open her mouth to respond, Hades asked, “Has he been bothering you, Tink?”

“I—”

“A simple yes or no.” Hades grumbled the words out.

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