SEVEN

The human world did not change much. Being in the underworld for days felt like an eternity and yet the world where she used to belong did not change much. The sun continued to rise. The people continued to live their lives. Nobody wondered where that girl from around the block went and why she suddenly disappeared. Nobody paid attention.

That's what she thought. 

The moment she arrived at her house, there were police cordons surrounding it. For a moment, she wondered why but then she remembered that her aunt's boyfriend died that night she was taken. She stood frozen as she watched the house where she grew up seem so far away. 

Did her friends look for her? Maddie? what about Reid? That night they were supposed to go on a date, did he get to her house and found her aunt's boyfriend's body instead? Was that what happened? She doesn't know and she doesn't want to guess. Everything that happened that night was a blur except when she was in the underworld, as Hades calls it. Being there felt like an eternity. Perhaps it was the reason why she expected her world would change so much. It doesn't. It remained oblivious. 

She looked at herself and realized she was wearing the same clothes she had that night she was taken. A dress she was supposed to wear on her date with Reid. She was standing several meters away from her house debating inside her head if she should enter or not. The streets were quiet and she knew if someone sees her, nothing good would come out.

Her steps were slow as she walked towards the hour. Her house. It was then that she heard some people walking in her direction so she did not have a choice but to run straight to the house. She stopped caring if it was right or wrong to go in but at the moment, she didn't have much choice but to hide. 

The soil was cool underneath her feet and that's when she realized she was barefoot. She waited for the passersby to pass in front of her house before she risked moving out of the bushes where she hid. She eyed the neighbor's houses and found that it was probably too late in the evening or perhaps it was already dawn. It made her sigh and slowly, she made her way to the front steps of her house and went inside. 

During her time in the underworld, she spent her time inside the chambers. She doesn't have any idea how many days exactly was she there and if time zones are the same but being out here, in front of her house, touching the knob of her door, smelling the fresh air--it felt like a dream. 

"This is real, Gwen. You're here. You're free." She doesn't know how many times she will have to convince herself about it. 

Then all of a sudden, Hades' face flashed in her head. Smiling like a cat, showing her something he claimed she desires. She desired no such thing. And yet as she remembered his face, he seemed so certain. As though he knows her very well better than she knows herself. 

She gritted her teeth and turned the knob on her door before he eased herself carefully inside.

The living room was dark but she couldn't risk turning on the lights. Her eyes darted towards the sofa where she remembered she stood and her aunt's boyfriend tried to take advantage of her. The memory seemed like it happened a lifetime ago. The fear she felt that night was nothing compared to the fear she felt in the underworld. 

Unconsciously, she slides onto her feet and felt the cold floor on her bare legs. She sat on the floor, as though all those feelings she chose to repress had caught up with her and now she feels the exhaustion, the drain. And then she remembered what Hades had told her about her past, about her parents, about the reason why she ended up in the underworld.  She wanted it all not to be true but what reason would Hades have to take her? The longer she sits dwelling on the thought, the more her chest tightens. She wished Hades took her memory away. She wished he had not let her go to her world with every memory of where she was taken and what knowledge she was told.

However, she also knew that Hades wouldn't be too generous. He had let her go but she has to remember everything.  She supposed he knew too much of what would torment her. Then she stopped. 

No, he doesn't know how she feels. He doesn't know what she desires. 

She wiped her hand through her eyes and was already on her feet. She can't be crying right now. She's free. Hades is not there anymore to breathe on her neck. She's free. 

Despite the coldness of the floor, she did not mind it. She walked towards the stair that leads up to her room. The moment she was in her room, her knees buckled and she was so close to crying. She cant' cry. Not now. 

She wanted to find her phone but if the police have been in the house, they must have taken it with them. That would mean they must have taken her other belongings as well, including her wallet. She is left with no money and no phone. How is she going to contact Maddie? 

He sat on her bed and let the darkness wrap around her. She's free but she's not. The police are looking for her because she will become the main suspect in that man's death. If her aunt is dead too, the blame will be on her as she was the only one in the house with them. If her aunt is alive, she will try to save herself as best as she could. She's cornered either way and she has to think of a way fast. To do that, she has to talk to Maddie. She needs help. 

She quickly sprang to her feet and went to her closet. There were a few clothes there that the police did not touch but there was only an old hoodie. She slipped into it and found some slippers. There is no other way to contact Maddie but to go to her apartment herself. 

But just as she was about to turn towards the door, she heard something from under the bed. She knows the sound too well. It was her phone, signaling a low battery. Hope bloomed in her chest and she quickly went to pick it up. The phone must have slipped underneath the bed while she was struggling against her aunt's boyfriend. 

The first message that greeted him was Reid's. Her hearts swell but she couldn't afford to be emotional at this moment. 

Right now, she needs to survive. So she dialed Maddie's number, waiting for the other line to answer.