Ashes, Ashes

chapter 6

-aspen-

I had to look away. Now I fully understood why I had to go to Camp Half-Blood. I nodded to show him that I understood. But...

"How d-do we leave? And when? And w-won't anyone n-notice that you're missing?" The questions shot out of me like missiles.

"Yeah, but I'm sure Chiron can control the Mist to think we weren't here."

"Missed- what?"

"M-i-s-t. It's like a second layer that's magic and you can manipulate it to make mortals think– whatever." He explained.

"So, um, do we leave now?" I asked, curious.

"No, we leave when you're ready. I mean, just go home today, tell your parent and i'll meet you back here at school tomorrow, all packed and ready to go. Bring all of your stuff." He smiled.

How did he know I only have one parent? Does it have to do with this Greek stuff? I wondered.

"Let's meet at... uh, the big oak tree at the back of the school?" I offered.

"Alright," he agreed.

Then it was a plan. The difficult part of the rest of the day was my mom. I sighed.

* * *

While, Ash and I were fighting the monster, everybody in school was going about their day like nothing had happened. It's amazing how the worst stuff could be happening to you but everybody else would just be chilling out... I mused. I was distracted and antsy for the rest of the day.

Finally, I got home. Holding my breath, i walked in. There, I saw my mom sitting at her computer on the couch. My mom, Catherine Iver, was a work addict. She comes up with all kinds of excuses to be managing her restaurant instead of taking care of me. She was fun when I was younger, making me her famous lasagna almost everyday after I came back from school. Now, she's pretty distant. I honestly wasn't sure how hard or easy telling her was going to be. I mean, this is still really hard for me to grasp.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, mom? C-can we talk?"

"Sorry honey, not now. I have work to do." She waved her hand at me, telling me to go away.

"This is serious. I have to talk to you now." I pressed.

She looked up and raised her eyebrows at me through her glasses poised at the tip of her nose. "What could possibly be more serious than my work?" She asked, as if challenging me.

"Uh, w-well, I..." No, Aspen. You can't screw this up. Not now. "I'm a demigod," I blurted out. Her eyes widened and she stood up.

"How did you know?" My mom jumped up and paced frantically around the room. Her head turned sharply to me. "Did a satyr come for you?"she asked.

"Um, yeah. There was also a monster..." I trailed off. My mom immediately ran to my room and brought out some bags. Dang, my mom can run. What is she doing?

"You have to go, Aspen. It is the safest place for you. Stay there until you learn everything about yourself. Remember, I always have your back. Now go pack everything you can in your bags." She said, her cheery voice sounding fake and rushed.

What?! For the last 7 years, she's been treating me like chopped liver. Suddenly, she 'has my back'? And it even sounds like she doesn't want me here! My own mother! I had had enough.

"So now, you care about me? What about four years ago, when you completely forgot about dinner? Multiple times? Or that time when you said, 'yeah, pizza's fine' after I asked you for friend advice? How can you suddenly expect to be my mom when you couldn't even be around?" I said quietly, my voice breaking on the last sentence. The look on my mother's face was so stunned I almost laughed.

This time it was she who stuttered. Not me. Not me, who got jumpy and nervous every time I talked to her for fear that she would dislike me or wave me away. Not me, who developed the habit of being even more shy for fear others would dislike me and push me away.

"A-aspen what? I-I don't remember any of this," she stuttered, confused. But I recognized a dawning light in her eyes.

"Yes, you do. I know you do, and I also know you don't care. Now, if you don't mind..." I said trailing off. My words were like venom and honestly, Im proud of myself for finally being able to tell her how i feel. I left, roughly pushing past her, giving her a sharp glare full of all my resentment of the past seven years. She flinched and I turned around to walk away.

I strode down the hallway to my room where i packed what I would probably need for tomorrow. I knew Ash was doing the same. Some of my clothes, my money, a flashlight, a bottle of water and some breakfast bars went into my bag. A weapon would go in at night, when my mother was asleep.

* * *

With my night lamp on, I slowly turned my bedroom door knob so it would create as much less noise as possible. I had chosen my dimmest flashlight so as not to wake up my mother. Right now, I wasn't really caring what she thought. If she caught me taking the knife, I would love to see the expression on her face, I thought, picturing the scared look in her face.

I tiptoed down to the kitchen in my socks, taking care not to slip. I grabbed the biggest knife I could find– a butcher knife we never used– and sized it up. It would do well for now, I thought and stuck it back in its plastic sheath. For some reason, it suddenly seemed to have a bronze glow to it, but it was probably just the glow of my flashlight.

Then I tiptoed back into my room and tossed it into the bag. I stood in the center of it, drinking it all in, because I would be in too much of a hurry to say goodbye tomorrow.

My favorite sketchbook caught my eye and I walked over to retrieve it. I sank onto my bed, flipping through my drawings and carefully put it into my bag along with a pen. I sighed and clicked off the light, and crept into bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.