Powerful (The Driven World) - Kathleen Kelly Page 0,29
comes back to me.
“What do you want, Todd?”
“Athena…” he pauses. “Do you care for her? Or is she just a plaything you want back?”
I unclasp my hands, look at the floor, and take a deep breath. The air here is so much cleaner, I can taste the salt, and I’d forgotten how good it is just to breathe.
“She still cares for you.”
My head snaps up, and I narrow my gaze on him. “I’m not so sure about that. You and she seemed mighty cozy tonight.”
Todd shakes his head slightly and smiles. “No. But that’s a story for another time. I noticed that you and Sophia weren’t exactly getting along.”
He lets the sentence hang there, waiting for me to respond. Drawing in another breath, I sit up straight and rub the back of my neck.
“We aren’t together. I mean, we were, but we’re not now. I’m letting her end it publicly, so she saves face.”
His eyebrows raise, and he makes a strange noise as he sucks in air. “Oh, right.” Todd nods. “Is that normal? I mean, is that how you do things in LA?”
I shake my head. “No, but Sophia is a carefully constructed animal, I mean actor. I’m letting her break it to the world.”
“But you were the one who broke things off?” I nod. Todd leans back, eyes fixed on me, purses his lips, and asks, “Do you still care for Athena?”
My lips turn down, and I shrug. “I never stopped caring, Todd. But I’ve fucked things up pretty badly.”
Todd nods, I guess he probably knows her better than me now.
“Do you know what happened to her?”
Slowly I shake my head. “I asked and—”
“She avoided the conversation.”
“More or less,” I admit.
Todd stands and begins to pace. “If I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. Athena is a very private person. Are you friends with her on Facebook?” I shake my head. “It’s a completely different persona. From what I can gather from her Mom and Dad, it’s what Athena used to be like… fearless.”
I smile as I remember a different time. “She was. Hell, she’d do things on a dare that I wouldn’t even attempt. When we were younger, she got me into so much trouble. I was always covering for her.”
Todd laughs. “You know her parents knew that, right?”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Did they now?”
“Yeah, her dad talks about you three a lot. Told me that you and TB were always keeping her out of trouble.” Todd sits down. “I think it’s part of the reason she never got over you. I think Athena was always waiting for you to come back and make it better.”
I wince at the thought of Athena being hurt and for me being the cause. Staring down at the blue carpet, I suck in a breath.
“Tell me what happened to her.”
Todd nods once. “You know she got a job with a network to cover a story in New York?”
With a heavy heart, I look up at him and shake my head. “No. I don’t know anything. I did my best to distance myself from her. Todd, I know I sound like a selfish prick, and I am, but if I’d kept tabs on Athena, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away. She was all-consuming, and I wanted out of this town so badly, I needed to prove myself.”
Todd looks at me and leans back. “Didn’t TB keep you updated?”
“No. He told me if I wanted to be with Athena, then I needed to do just that. I’d ask about her, and all he’d say is she’s fine.”
Todd frowns and cocks his head to the side. “I’m a shitty best friend, Athena is going to kick my ass.”
“Best friend?”
“Yeah.”
“So, you’re her boyfriend and her best friend?”
Todd narrows his gaze. “Something like that.”
“Right.” There’s something he’s not telling me, but I have a feeling he will in time.
Todd continues to stare at me, and just when I think he’s decided not to tell me Athena’s story, he folds his arms across his chest and stares at the carpet.
“She got a job working for a network, I forget which one. You have to understand that she worked hard just to get that job. There were a lot of people vying for the position, but they picked Athena. I mean, who wouldn’t? She’s smart, beautiful, and took risks. Do you remember that expose a while back on the elite who were using underage girls as sex slaves? Athena was the key to