Thanks For the Memories

Part one: Waking Up

Asteria’s POV

I blinked to clear my vision. The pavement crunched beneath my high-tops as I stumbled in what I guessed was hundred degree heat.

“Why is it so hot here?” I mumbled to myself. It dawned on me that I didn’t exactly know where here even was. I slowed down to a walk, focusing more on my surroundings, why was I running again? It was hot.

I hope there aren’t sweat rings in my armpits-

Asteria.

“What?” There was no answer. I swear I heard someone say it, my name. “Hello?” I whispered this time, there was no one around, but for some, probably stupid, reason, I whispered in a hope that they would answer.

“Crowe!,” A voice had wheezed between gasping breaths, “Wait! Aster!”  The voice was distinctly male, I vaguely recognized it, but, I hated to admit it, but it was sexy. Especially when it was saying my name.

“Yesuh-” My jaw dropped. Yes, dropped, Cliché, I know but it did. If his voice was sexy, then he was thermogenic. Oh my lord. I snapped my jaw shut and pretended I knew exactly who he was and who I myself was and tried to be as sexy as him. “You called?” I flicked my hair out of my face like J.B.

“Uh, yeah, why the hell are you running? Someone was just murdered and you run away like you’re guilty?”  Um, what?!

“Um, yeah, what?!” Murder? I tried to answer sweetly as possible, the gorgeous guy speaking to me. Instead my voice cracked and my eyes decided it was the perfect time to cry, was I wearing makeup? I wiped my face with the sleeve I didn’t have, so I just stupidly thought about my arm. Damn, a black streak was left on my arm. “Stupid mascara,” I mumbled as the gorgeous guy enveloped me in a hug.

I sobbed into his shoulder like an idiot. The sons of Apollo and the daughter of Ares will help you. My head snapped up, eyes wide. Again, like an idiot, I whacked my head into his chin. Nik, Cameron ,and Faith will help you.

“Ow!? Aster!” Was he ‘Nik’? I looked up. It was like I flipped a switch; He put his hands in the space between us and backed up a step, while I saw a different scene than the street I was standing in moments before.

“Nik?” I was confused, am I dreaming? I pinched my arm to find it bare. I got a good look at myself, a satin dress, that was a kind of pearly, opal color somehow, every time the dress shifted the colors moved like the stone. Nope not dreaming. But possibly not sane.

“Uh, Aster, your, uh,” he rushed the last words, “Your eyes are silver. No, they’re like that one rainbow stone, um an opal.” he was stuttering. I don’t know how to describe it but I didn’t hear him stutter, it’s more like I felt it, I wasn’t paying attention anyway because of the sensation of me defying gravity was more interesting than a hot guy stuttering. Nope, I’m not sane, to normal people a hot guy stuttering you is more interesting, well to whores anyway. Maybe I am sane? No. No sane person has no memories.  “Aster?”  He sounded concerned but I wasn’t sure.

I heard his voice in the back of my mind, like it was a distant memory that you couldn’t quite reach. I looked at my feet and notice ornate, leather sandals and perfect toenails with what looked like clear nail polish on them, I notice the same with my fingernails. Thinking about this I was overcome with the scent of honeysuckle and lavender, I also noticed grass lime green but not lime green. It was a perfect color like everything else here. Perfect. I looked around noticing the lavender and honeysuckle which would explain the smell. I looked at the sky which was mesmerising, it was almost cloudless, the clouds that were there shimmered like mist and were translucent. The sky itself was shimmering but wasn’t, it’s like a sunset in the middle of the day, it was just beautiful, the sight pulled at something in my memory, ice blue eyes that I felt matched my own, a family member maybe? I don’t know I don’t, I can’t see anything, no memories, it’s all murky, like looking through muddy water, I see shapes moving but the sounds are muffled and I can’t exactly see very much. I was giving myself a headache, it wasn’t like any headache I’d felt before, though, I could tell. It was increasing.

“Asteria?” He pleaded. The last thing I saw, even if it was only a glimpse, his green eyes full of sorrow and scared out his mind. The message they sent broke my heart.