LUNACY; percy jackson

chapter 5

[act one; chapter five     -    making the bed] 

    She felt like it had begun to unfold. Like the white noise in the back of her brain had become the ringing in her ears. The scabs had begun to peel from her raw skin, and there was nothing she could do to stop the bleeding.

    Andromeda was going on a quest. Finally. But even though there was triumph in her heart, dread sank into her stomach, dragging her down like a weight tied to her ankle. It was like her heart was so full with a childish joy, the kind that made her feel like she was on top of the world, but her stomach was so twisted into knots, it pulled her away from any happiness.

    She felt like Icarus, but before he could get too close, someone pulled him away. She felt as though reality had grabbed hold of her wings and tugged, and now she was bolted to the ground, unable to get up.

    Her father had patted her on the back and her brothers had given her hugs, and her friends and people throughout Camp had given her their congratulations, but with every word, she felt herself...drifting. Under the surface. That weight was pulling her further under the tide, and no one could pull her back up.

    As it was announced that evening that the quest would be underway, Andromeda sat silently. She forced the smallest smile she could when everyone went up in cheers. She nodded her head, but let her eyes fall to her lap, where her hands picked and picked at the reddened skin around her nails. Her hair, too red for her liking, draped in front of her, and for a moment, a single, brief moment, she thought she was back in New Orleans. In the house that burnt to the ground, the one where the life she and her mother shared a life now mourned. She could feel the tears in her eyes, then, as they burned like the flames had against her skin.

    Without a second thought, she pushed herself away from the table, ignoring the looks from her brothers, from Annabeth, from everyone. She exited the pavilion as quickly as she could, her hand clasped around the base of her neck, almost as if trying to stop herself from choking. On what, exactly? She didn't know.

     She wandered towards the beach, her hands clawing at her hair. Pulling and tugging and tearing until her scalp screamed and cried, just like she wished to.

    As her knees crashed into the sand, as her hands wound into her hair and yanked, all she could think about was how she felt so stuck in her thoughts. And for once, she wished she would go crazy. Lose her mind. Lose her sanity and the reality she was stuck in. But she realized, just then, that in her mind her hair was flames and the light that flowed within her hands were someone else's.