Starcrossed

but there was nothing in the house for them to eat that night. She made a list, took the housekeeping cash out of the cookie-less cookie jar, and drove Kate’s car to the market. In the parking lot she saw a gigantic luxury SUV and shook her head disapprovingly at it. There were a lot of disgustingly rich people on the island who drove vehicles that were too big for the old cobblestone streets, but this SUV was especially annoying for some reason. It was a hybrid, so she couldn’t really get too wound up about the environment, but she felt herself getting irritated, anyway.
    Helen pulled a shopping cart out of the stand and wheeled it into the store. As she waved at a few kids from school who worked at the registers, she started to hear the Furies whispering. She debated running out . . . but everyone at school already thought she was crazy. If she ran out of the grocery store now like she had seen a ghost, there would be even more gossip.
    She made herself push the cart on, keeping her head down to avoid seeing the Furies—but there was nothing she could do to block out their voices. She would just have to move fast and get it over with as quickly as possible. She allowed herself a moment of self-pity for the injustice of her situation. She didn’t deserve to be haunted like this. It wasn’t fair. Helen walked briskly through the store, picking only the few things she would need to get through a day or two of cooking. Her frantic thoughts were interrupted by voices, real voices, coming from the next aisle over.
    “She shouldn’t be here,” said a young but strangely seri-ous voice. Helen guessed it was Cassandra’s.
    “I know,” said a male voice, possibly Jason’s? “We have to find a way to get to her soon. I don’t think Luke can take it much longer.”
    Helen froze. What did they mean, “get to her”? She stood there thinking in slow motion until she realized they were coming around the end of the aisle. Trying to back up, she plowed into someone standing right behind her. The wailing of the Furies grew so loud it was painful.
    She spun around and had to tilt her head almost all the way back to find the face above the enormous male chest that confronted her. Under golden curls, bright blue eyes drilled down into Helen’s. It crossed her mind that he looked like a blond version of Michelangelo’s Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, newly released from plaster and walking around in three gigantic dimensions. Helen had never been so afraid of anyone in her entire life.
    She took an automatic step back and ran into her shopping cart. Her breath hitched painfully in the back of her throat as she stumbled to the side, her hands and feet clumsy with fear. There was a bright, momentary glimmer, and he twitched away from her, his body convulsing spasmodically.
    Helen smelled the nauseating combination of singed hair and ozone that always made her think that she had done something wrong. A brief thought of the Nantucket ferry flashed through her mind as she studied the blond monster in front of her, trying to figure out what had happened. After a stunned second, he collected himself and leaned closer to Helen with an evil grin on his angelic face. He was near enough that Helen could feel the heat coming off his body.
    “Hector!” commanded a familiar voice. Helen had only a moment to register that it was Lucas before she felt him grab her arm and pull her away from the Goliath that was his cousin. Instantly furious instead of frightened, Helen rounded on Lucas and threw off his arm.
    “Don’t touch me,” she hissed. She felt light-headed. “Why can’t you just stay away from me?”
    “Why can’t you just stay at home?” he shot back at her. “Didn’t you have enough fun last night in the alley?”
    “I have errands to run! It’s not like I can hide in my bedroom for the rest of my life just because some woman . . .” Helen realized she was starting to yell. She stopped herself and lowered her voice. A thought occurred to her. “Are you still following me?”
    “You’re lucky that’s all I’m doing. Now go home ,” he growled, and grabbed her arm again.
    “Careful, Luke,” Hector warned, but Lucas just smiled.
    “She can’t control it yet,” he replied.
    “Can’t control what?” Helen choked out furiously, her patience pushed past the limit.
    “Not here. Not now,” said Jason in a low, clipped voice. Lucas nodded in agreement and started pulling Helen toward the