"Where are we going?"
I took a left and continued down the busy streets. "We'll be there in a minute. I want to show you something."
I still couldn't believe she was sticking by me. I still wasn't used to the fact that there would be someone there for me now. It was comforting, yet unsettling. What would happen when I died? How would she feel?
I couldn't think of that just yet. She slipped her fingers around my hand and leaned her head on my shoulder, which is a classic in displaying a warm and gentle relationship. Either that or it looked super creepy. I was so distracted by her move that I barely noticed our destination.
A graveyard stood before us, with many graves dotting the area. I cautiously stepped inside and began to search. She was here, according to my sources, but I still had to look adamantly while dragging Ashley around the plot of land.
Finally, near the edge of the site, I found her. Died when she was twenty eight. Immigrant to the United States. Left a single parent to a strange child. All leading to her death and the child's disappearance. The local police suspected a serial killer. Never the right answer.
I took out a petunia, her favorite, and laid it onto the grave before stepping back. Ashley joined me.
"So, this is-"
"Yes. That's her."
Ash looked into my eyes. "She would have been proud of who you've become."
"Maybe. Maybe not. I guess we'll never know."
It was quiet for a while. She resumed the previous romantic pose that she had held walking here. Maybe it was to make me feel better, I don't know. All I could feel at that point was sadness and regret.
I didn't know how she would feel living alone with me at camp. I didn't know how she would feel every time I came back to visit her. I didn't know how she would feel just learning about the training I went through after she had gone. I could remember her as a child: a loving, caring, loose parent. But would it be the same as a teenager? Perhaps not.
"She loved you-"
"-and I killed her."
"It wasn't your fault."
"That's not an excuse. I still did it."
"Hey." She pushed me so that we were face to face, her hands on my shoulders. "You need to stop blaming yourself for things out of your control. You couldn't do anything, you didn't know what to do. There was nothing that could be done. It's ok."
"It feels-"
"I know how it must feel. But you shouldn't have to feel that way. The past is the past. We need to look at the future." She tried for a smile. "It's impossible to see what happens next, but if we stay together, nothing bad can possibly happen again."
All the bottled up emotion from all of the years of staying strong and never letting up spilled out. I could feel tears running down my cheeks as I fell to my knees sobbing. She knelt with me, trying to comfort me, telling me that she understood. She couldn't possibly understand.
I wasn't crying because she was trying to make me feel better; I was crying because she didn't get it.
You are going to die, and it is going to be soon. I would say in at most three years. She will be there, and she will not wish to continue on without you. There is no avoiding what is to come. You and I will fall with the forces of Kronos. You will be a hero, but you will not live to see what you have done.
I didn't want to tell her that though. It was too hard to break her heart now. She would have to deal with it when the time comes. In the meantime, it would be best to make the most of these last few months with her.
"Thanks."
"No problem." We stood up and I managed to compose myself. I managed a smile, despite it all. "Race you to Harry's."
"Hey, no fair!"
"I'll give you a ten second head start."
"You might as well change that to minutes."
"Deal."
She still lost the race. But, we were laughing and running around and it was truly a great experience. It just so happened that at that moment, two of our friends were eating at the same spot.
"So, tell us about the quest."
"Psh. It wasn't that interesting."
"You show up to camp with Ash over there basically carrying you while blood drips out of your freaking stomach and you call that no big deal?'
"Yeah. Still not as bad as some of the other things that happened."
"What could possibly be worse than that?"
"Well, if you can believe it, I happened to dissect a human being-"
"You're kidding."
"-partly with my mouth."
"Oh gods, I am going to be sick."
"Start from the top. Let's roll it from the beginning."
"Right. But first, we have to get our food."
________________________________________________________________________________
The stars were beautiful that night as we lay on the ceiling. All of the constellations were out and it was nice to have him there with me to just relax.
"I suppose now that the quest is over, things will be more normal."
"Hopefully." He chuckled. "I really don't want to herd more of those giant cows."
I giggled. "Or rip out another person's guts?"
"Or leave you again."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "That is the cheesiest thing you could have said out of any of that."
"Oh come on! I'm trying!"
So this was what being in a relationship was like. It wasn't much different than how it had been back then. It just felt more comfortable to be with him. I found myself staring into his eyes again, knowing that he wouldn't need them to change color again, that they would stay the same.
He caught me staring into his eyes and stuck out his tongue, closing his eyes. I laughed and pushed him. "That's so stupid!"
It was a long night of laughing before we went back to our cabins.
