Olympus Drive Book 1: Everything is Fine

Chapter 40

Helen

One day, a really long time ago, so long I don't properly remember how long ago it was, I was happy. We were playing out in the woods behind the house. And I had everyone around me that I had ever cared about. It was just me and Della and Basil that day. 

And we played hide and seek for hours.

 And Della bent the roots of this tree so we would have a cave to hide in. and then she bent the branches so we had a prefect fort to sit in, high up above the world, and perfect tree branch steps up to it. and it was our perfect place on a perfect day. 

And it was hot, so Basil brought clouds, and made it snow. And we laughed and tried to catch snowflakes on our tongue until we were dizzy. And then we all lay in the fort, and looked at the stars.

I want that day to be forever. I want feel happy like I did then. And I'm not now and never will be again.

I sit in the fort, knees pulled up to my chest, crying. I don't know why I came back here when it's only sad. Maybe I thought it would make me happy again like I felt that day we built it. But it doesn't. It's gone it doesn't mean anything anymore.

An arm wraps around my shoulders, and I look up, tears still in my eyes, as Della sits next to me, hugging me tightly. Raven crawls up to my other side and hugs me too.

"It's okay sis," Della says, brushing mud and blood off my face, "You're safe now."

"I don't feel like I'll be safe again," I whisper.

"Yeah, you will," Raven says, hugging me too, "We're together now."

"Promises don't mean anything," I whisper.

"They do from us. That's what we're here for," Della says.

"He promised he'd save me," I say, my voice shaking.

"He tried. He didn't know where you were," Raven says.

"He was kissing somebody else," I say, quietly, "He kissed some woman. He's supposed to love me."

"He's really dumb," Raven says.

"Yeah—you don't need him. You can find someone else. Someone who doesn't want to sleep with everyone he meets," Della says.

"But I want him," I say, wiping my face,

"He doesn't not care about us; we've been gone a long time," Raven says.

"WE are here. We love you," Della says, "Basil doesn't matter. You can be mad at him all you want. But talk to us. Talk to him. And come home. Thyme has been worried about you."

"Has he?" he loves his dad from what I saw. And they are acting like all this doesn't matter. Like they won't think me killing those girls is justified.

"Of course. We all have. We really want you to come home with us," Raven says, "We're safe now. We're really safe."

"What if we aren't?" my hands are shaking and there's blood on them. I don't remember whose.

"We are. We're going to do whatever it takes for you to be okay here," Della says, her arm still firm around me.

"The Titans are gonna come again," there are always too many of them.

"Maybe not for a while. The boys were making decisions without Dad and they are annihilating a lot of them in the name of looking for you," Raven says.

"Something bad always comes," I mutter. I know that from the Underworld. Too many nights, hiding in the dark, no way out, praying they wouldn't find me. Praying I'd wake up and Basil would be there waiting to take me home. Smiling at me and telling me it was all right now.

"That's why we are gonna stick together," Raven says.

"Do you remember the day you built this place?" I ask Della, softly.

"Yeah, I do. Dad got worried because we'd missed dinner. I was crying because it was so hot but you didn't want to go back in, so Basil made it snow for us. And we made snow demons up here until Chiron found us," Della says, smiling.

"Yeah," I wish I was as happy as I was that day, right now. I want to feel that happy again.

"Why don't we go back to the house, huh? Get you cleaned up," Della asks, rubbing my back.

"I want to just stay here." I really don't want to move now. I just want to sit here in the tree where everything was once okay. And my brother and sister loved me and they weren't mad at me.

"Okay, then we'll stay with you."

"Yeah, as long as you want."