Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 32: Resurfacing Memories

Finally, Nico, Will and Rachel took Rosemary to go see Mr. D.

"What do you want?" He said, barely looking up from his game of pinochle, that he seemed to be playing by himself.

"We would like it if you helped Rosemary." Said Rachel.

"Rosemary? Who's that?" Dionysus said, still not looking up from his game.

"That would be me!" Exclaimed Rosemary. "But Mr. D, we met before, remember?"

Mr. D looked up. "Oh, yeah. That's right. The little girl from the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Well, what do you want?"

"We want you to help her remember the parts of her life she doesn't remember. I'm sure Chiron has told you about what's been going on with her?" Will said.

"He might have mentioned it, now that I think about it."

"Well? Can you help her?" Nico asked Mr. D.

The god just sighed. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope." Said Nico, Will and Rachel in unison.

He stood up and looked at Rosemary for a couple of seconds, then sat back down. Immediately, she fell to the floor.

They all stared at Rosemary for a couple of seconds, and Will quietly asked her what she remembered.

Nico sat down next to her. "Can you tell us what happened?"

She nodded her head slowly. Nobody said anything for a couple of minutes, but finally Rosemary spoke.

"Monsters."

It was 1 word. 8 letters. Yet it gave all 3 of them chills. They all knew what that meant. And it was never good.

Then she started crying.

"I was sleeping. Then mommy woke me up. She looked me in the eyes, told me she loved me, and told me to run. That's when the monsters came into the house. Scary. Big. Broke the door. It was so dark, I couldn't see anything. We all tried to get out, and I jumped out the window. There were screams, but no one came out of the house after me. I kept on running and running until I saw a building, and I ran inside to get away from the monsters. That building was the Lotus place. The monsters were after me, trying to get me, but they got everyone else instead."

Everything was starting to make sense. Why she was afraid of the dark. Why she didn't want to face away from the door, but still wanted to be next to it. Why she had gotten all weird when he had mentioned Bianca's death.

Nico lifted her up, and sat her on his lap and hugged her. "It's going to be okay. That happened a long time ago, and the monsters can't get you anymore, alright? You have me and Will to protect you."

"Don't forget me." Rachel added. Then her and Will silently left to give her and Nico some space. Even Mr. D left, mumbling something about needing to talk to Chiron.

"What if the monsters come back?" She cried.

"As long as we're in Camp, they won't come."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Nico?"

"Hmm?"

"I think they died. My family."

Nico took a minute to answer. "Maybe they did. But listen, even if they didn't die there, they would be dead, anyways. 1883 was a long time ago."

"It's weird. I just got these memories of them a few days ago. Before then, I didn't even know they existed. Yet I miss them so much."

"I know." Nico told her. "I miss my family, too."

"How did they die?"

"Well, my mom died back in 1939, when I was 7. A lightning strike by....uh....a bad person. My sister died a few years ago, when I was 10 and she was 12. She helped defeat a....let's say a big metal guy."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It happened a long time ago, don't worry about it."

She hiccuped. "I'm glad that I know, though. It makes me feel better, the knowing."

"I'm glad you feel better."

"Neeks, I don't have a family."

"Of course you have a family."

"What do you mean?" She asked, head tilted.

"Here, at Camp Half-Blood. With all of the campers. With the cabin full of all of your half-brothers and sisters."

"And with you." She added, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Yeah, and with me."

Nico brushed the hair out of her face. "Hey, you'll always miss them. You'll never stop missing them. But that's okay. Because that shows how much you love them. They'll always be a part of you. A part of who you are."

"They died because of me. If it wasn't for me..."

"No, it isn't your fault, okay? They made their choice. And their choice was to save you."

They sat like that for a long time, until she fell asleep. He carried her to the Hades cabin and tucked her into Hazel's bed. He kissed the top of her head.

"Everything will be okay."

Nico really did have two little sisters, didn't he?