I'll be here forever

chapter 63

I couldn't move. I couldn't move, and I couldn't look away.

I watched in silent horror as Leo stumbled backward, flames flickering before going out completely, looking down at the knife in his stomach, and back up, before looking over his shoulder and meeting my eyes- the despair I saw, deep in them, it was worse than any I've ever seen before. My heart tore in two.

And then he crumpled like a rag doll, hitting the ground with a thud, and I felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs.

I knew I should've done something. Something, instead of just standing there. Maybe I could've saved him. I should've ran to him, held him for the last moments of his life. But I couldn't. I felt frozen in place, like some invisible force was keeping me trapped there.

Leo curled in on himself, and he started to cough, shaking, blood pooling around his body. I couldn't breathe.

"No... no, no, no..." I whispered. I couldn't quite make my voice go any louder.

I knew the other person was still here; I could see him out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't really care anymore. All I could see was Leo, bleeding out on the ground, alone. I couldn't bring myself to move.

And then he was reaching down, hand wrapping around the hilt of the knife in Leo's stomach. I watched as Leo tried to pry his hand off weakly, failing, smearing his blood all over his hand.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. My mouth was dry, my lips cracked.

And then he ripped the knife out of him.

A ragged cry ripped from my throat as I watched Leo choke and sputter, unable to move as he was dying. Ironically, the dagger had been the only thing keeping him alive. He was dying, and I couldn't move. I couldn't get to him.

The blood was everywhere.

And all I could do was watch.

I watched as the person simply stepped over him, like he was trash. I watched as Leo rolled to the side, gasping for breath, and then he was looking at me, his eyes meeting mine. There was blood, blood everywhere.

He reached for me, mouth opening and closing like he was trying to say something but couldn't quite get it out, his hand raising, and then- and then it fell, falling to the ground with a thud.

I watched the life drain out of his eyes. I watched his blood sleep into the dirt.

And it broke me inside.

"You... Leo... How- how could you?" I whispered, my voice breaking, unable to tear my eyes away from his lifeless body.

"I was defending myself," he said, almost like he was trying to convince me of it.

Leo's eyes looked like glass- shiny and clear, but not quite real. Motionless. Dead.

"You didn't have to kill him," I spat, trying to sound angry and failing as my voice broke.

Festus, and now Leo. The only ones who had ever cared enough about me to come back.

I was going to serve them justice, if it was the last thing I'd ever do.

I looked up, fingers tightening around my sword, finally tearing my eyes away from Leo's lifeless body and fixing them on him; swearing under my breath to have my revenge.

"And he didn't have to try and kill me, but he did. So, I suppose, this isn't really my fault," the person replied, sharply, and I found myself surprised. He actually sounded remorseful; too bad his conscience had come a little too late.

But then he looked up, his eyes meeting mine, shining with pain and something else I didn't recognize, and I knew him.

I knew him.

I knew his voice. I knew that voice from a long time ago- too long. From conversations on the beach, from promises he didn't keep, from whispers I still heard in my dreams.

I knew his crooked smile- the one I couldn't have helped but fall in love with so long ago. I remembered seeing him wash up on my island, thinking of how he'd be the death of me. Him leaving hurt the most, worse than any other before.

I knew his laugh, the one that made you feel full inside- and you could almost taste it, like ambrosia, but more.

And I knew those green eyes. Every time I looked out at the sea, I could see him, in the waves, in the currents that washed ashore. Those eyes, the ones I still thought about sometimes. Wondered about. Asked about.

"Percy?" I whispered, feeling like something was stuck in my throat.

He blinked, and paused, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

He was much different than how I remembered him. He used to be much shorter- much scrawnier. I remembered how much he'd moved around, always bouncing on the balls of his feet, twirling his pen. I remembered how brightly he'd smiled. He used to be smaller. Less scary.

All that time ago, one of the things I'd known I would always remember about him was that bright look in his eyes. Hope- hope that everything would turn out okay.

He didn't have that anymore.

Still, for a moment, I saw him the same as how I'd seen him then- young, scared, and unsure.

And then, with a shake of his head, the boy I'd known disappeared. And I was left with someone who might as well have been a stranger.