𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 | 𝘓𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯

Chapter Eleven

Was I falling in love with Luke? I was! I wasn't quite sure if he felt the same way. There is only one way to find out. But I'll find out tomorrow. After dinner I hang out with Luke. We walk around camp and we talk.
" So, why did you try to take over camp?" I ask.
He looks at me. "I guess I thought our parents don't care about us, since they are Gods. The Gods took down their parents. It was just our turn."
We stop and face each other. He crosses his arms. His biceps show through his black long sleeve shirt.
"And you hate your dad because you think he doesn't care about you?"I ask.
He nods.
"But he brought you back to life." I protest. He sighs.
"I guess that's true." Luke says.
There is an awkward silence. I look at my boots, my hands in my pockets.
"The sun is setting. We better get to our cabins." He breaks the silence. I nod. We start to walk to the cabins.
"I remember you saying that you have a protective older brother. Who else is in your family?" He asks
"Well, I live with my brother Joseph and my Aunt May. My mom died when I was 8. Then when I was 15 my brother thought it would be a better idea to live with our Aunt May. So we moved to NYC."
"Oh." Luke looks at me. "I'm sorry."
"It's ok"
"Did you have a lot of friends or a...boyfriend back where you lived?"
"I had a few close friends, in Wisconsin,that I miss so much. I can't talk to them cause I don't have a phone." I say remembering them. "I had one boyfriend."
"What was his name?"
"Tyler. He was amazing. We would spend so much time together. Then when I moved we... broke up because the long distance thing would never work."
We got to the Hermes cabin. "Night Luke."
"Night Josie."
He enters his cabin. I walk to mine. Why did he care if I had a boyfriend? Was he just being nice or...I don't know. I walked into my cabin. I felt like I needed a shower. I go to the bathroom and hop in the shower. I wash my hair and a song pops in my head. I start singing.
Can't say how the days will unfold,
Can't change what the future may hold
But, I want you in it
Every hour, every minute
This world can race by far too fast
Hard to see while it's all flying past
But, it's clear now,
When you're standing here now
I am meant to be wherever you are next to me
All I want to do
Is come running home to you
Come running home to you
And all my life I promise to
Keep running home to you
Keep running home
To you
Once I'm done washing my hair,body and shaving, I hop out of the shower and dry off. I change into a my pajamas. I lay in bed. The song still going through my mind. Percy's voice breaks my thoughts.
"Your a really good singer."
"Thanks." I say smiling.
"I'm gonna go to bed now. Good night."
"Night" I say. I shut my eyes and I slowly drift off to sleep.
~~~~~
The world was falling apart around me. I was watching the cabins burn. Each one of them were in flames and I couldn't do anything about it. Luke chuckled next to me.
"Wonderful sight. Isn't it?" He asks with a smile on his face. I don't answer. My eyes were stuck on cabin 3.
"I get it. You taking it all in." He places a hand on my shoulder. "It's all because of you".
It was. It really was. If I didn't agree to change his heart after he came back to life, none of it would have happened.Luke and his army wouldn't have taken down the Gods. Incident campers would still be alive. I see out of the corner of my eye, Luke's blade raised in the sky. Like it was ready to stab. My heart skips a beat.
"Josie!" A voice yells.
I turn to see my brother running toward me. Luke steps in front of me.
"Someone I forgot about." He said.
"No!" I yell. He runs up to me, but as he is about to hug me, Luke stabs him in the side. Tears well up in my eyes. Joseph falls to the ground. I collapse to my knees next to him. Luke chuckles.
"How could you think that I would care about you? Your pathetic. I never loved you. I used you so I could get my chance to finish what I couldn't end because I was dead. But then a certain daughter of Poseidon walks down to the underworld and brings me back. Thanks to you the Gods are gone, and the camp is almost in ashes." Both of his hands are on his sword and the blade is in the air. I shut my eyes as the blade comes down on my neck.
~~~~
I wake up screaming and in a cold sweat. Tears are falling down my face. I look over at Percy and he is still asleep. I get up from my bed and sprint out of the cabin. I run as fast as my legs will carry me. I collapse on the soft sand by the lake. I start to cry as quietly as I can. I calm myself down a bit, I keep telling myself that it was just a dream. I hear footsteps but I don't move.
"Josie? What's wrong?"
It's Luke.
I don't answer. He sits down next to me.
"I couldn't sleep and I herd someone run past my cabin. I came out here to investigate." Luke said sweetly.
"It was just a bad dream. That's all."
"Do you want to tell me."
I pause, then nod. I look up at him and begin to explain.
"You took down the Gods. Then you....killed my brother. And you told me that everything was my fault and you told....me...that you...didn't care about me and that you used me just so you could finally finish what you started before you died." Tears run down my face. Luke looks at me in the eyes. He reaches up and with his thumb, he wipes away the tears. I smile a little.
"I would never do anything like that to you." He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his lap. "Do you know why?" He asks.
I burry my face into his chest and shake my head.
"Because...I love you Josie."
He loved me. He really did. I look up at him and he is smiling down at me. He leans down and kisses me on the head. I smile even more. He leans back with me still tight in his arms. I'm on top of him and our arms are wrapped around each other. He starts to rub my back.
"Get some rest. I'll be right here. I love you Josie."
"I love you too Luke. Good night."
"Good night."
I fall asleep in Luke's arms and him rubbing my back.