Forgotten

~Ten~

The week ended far too early for my liking as reality sucker punched me hard. Ever since I woke up, I haven't been able to stay still for a second. Whether I was moving by repeatedly tapping my fingers on something or fussing with my hair, I just couldn't stay still. Even my siblings in the Hermes cabin had left m alone, feeling just as depressed as I was at what was to come this evening.

Honestly, I wanted to be holding my older brother in my arms in a bone crushing embrace, knowing that no one was going to be taking him away from me again. If Luke had asked me to, I would go to Tartarus and back if it meant he would get to live out the rest of his life, but being the overly noble bastard he is, he silently accepted his fate, acknowledging that he should've died on Percy's birthday.

And that brought me to where I was now, glaring as Apollo's chariot raced to meet the horizon. The sky was alight with gold and orange and pink hues - a beautiful sunset for what was about to be one of my darkest days. Despite all the cheery Christmas lights shining from their places on the cabins and the upcoming new year, it wasn't enough to raise my spirits. The entire Hermes cabin was so depressed that when a young son of Aphrodite tried to start a snowball fight with the remaining snow on the ground, many of my siblings shot him a withering glare, sending him scampering back to his cabin.

The mood was somber as our cabin sat around the dying fire, each log slowly starting to burn out. I kept focusing on some of the wood, thinking of it to be Luke's lifeline, but inevitably, it caught fire and burned into ashes - just like Luke's body would soon be burned.

I clenched my fist, trying to forget the day we had built the shroud. I had only added a small detail to it, one that no one would understand but Luke and me. I had found a patch figure of Hera's Apples of Immortality and sewed it onto the blue and black fabric. I remember Luke smiling at the apple bitterly, tracing the scar on his face absentmindedly.

I had heard that he had failed the quest, but I explained it to him as the time Dad acknowledged Luke as his son in front of his fellow campers. My response earned me a full blown smile from Luke as I tried not to cry at the thought of him no longer being around.

It was crazy how the person you hated the most in your life could become someone you couldn't imagine living without.

When the sun had finally disappeared over the horizon, Hades appeared in a whirlwind of shadows. My younger siblings hugged Luke fiercely before running back to the cabin, not wanting to see the "Bad Man" as they had dubbed Hades, take him away.

For the first time in the few months I had been here, I saw Travis and Connor completely break down, saying how much they were going to miss their big bro, and that they forgave him for what he had done. Chris was more composed than the Stolls, but tears were still shed as he thanked Luke for giving him a family even when Hermes didn't acknowledge him as his son, forgiving him for everything as well.

By the time everyone left, I was the only one that hadn't said goodbye.

"Make it quick, girl," Hades spat bitterly. "I've wasted enough of my time here as it is."

I glared at the god of the Underworld for a few seconds before trying to pull Luke as close to me as possible. I didn't even notice how hard I was crying, my anguish increasing even more when I felt Luke's own tears dampen my hair. He was shaking as badly as I was, running his hands through my hair like I had gotten used to him doing.

"I love you," I choked out, still clinging to his chest like a lifeline. "Remember that, okay? I love you, and I forgive you." I have him a watery smile that only lasted half a second before my vision clouded over with tears again. "I-I'm going to miss you so much."