Page 40 of Pandora's Pain
I thought he would have been reasonable. I thought he was kind and sweet. The tone in his voice was one I’d never heard before.
The person on the other end of the line must have spoken, as Zavier lapsed into silence.
“I’m not bringing Hope.”
My heart sank. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to take me everywhere with him. Okay. That was a little extreme. I just wanted to be a part of his life. And Ashton’s. Maybe Brock’s too—he seemed fun in an exhibitionist kind of way.
“It’s not happening, Ashton. I’ll explain when I see you.”
Zavier turned away from me, his head lifting slightly as if he was looking at his desk and…oh no.
My heart rate tripled. My box was sat there.
“I’ll call you back.” Zavier shut off his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.
He took a couple of steps toward the desk and my heart sank. He was going to see my box. He was going to end up with a lot of questions. Ones he wouldn’t believe the answers for. It was only going to make things worse. Make him angrier than he already was.
“Don’t touch it,” I shouted, lunging forward and somehow reaching the desk before he did. I scooped up my box and clutched it to my chest as sparkles of gold spread out from it.
Zavier’s eyes fixated on my hands. Could he see the specks? Was it real magic after all and not just a side effect from the gods’ magic.
“What the fuck is that?” he hissed.
“My box,” I replied.
“You actually believe it don’t you?”
“I don’t believe it. I live it. This is my life.”
His eyes met mine and we stared at each other. I could see the doubt in his eyes, his calmness making me think he was cracking and starting to believe me.
“It seems unlikely,” he said after a few more moments of silence.
“Unlikely, but not impossible,” I countered.
“Prove it.”
“How?” I couldn’t think of anything I could do which would prove who I was.
“Open the box.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Hop…Pandora, if you want me to believe, you need to open the box.”
It shouldn’t be my first thought, but I loved the way he said my real name. It was…just so much better than when any of them said Hope. Or when Alex insisted on calling me Dora.
I sighed. His expression told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t going to believe me unless I actually did it.
“Fine. But you need to stand back,” I warned him.
He frowned but backed away anyway, going to stand by where we’d sat before. He might have thought I was crazy but at least he was cautious of the crazy. I nodded and placed the box back on the desk.
Moment of truth. Was it still unlocked? With bated breath, I clicked the button on the front of the box and watched as the lid sprung open.
Shit.
Golden sparks spewed from my box. Which was odd. I didn’t remember them from when I’d let things out in the first place. They swirled through the air, making their way towards Zavier.
