SWEET SORROWS│p. jackson

[ 23. ]

II xxiii. never forget... II

HANDS ROUGHLY scrubbed through thick, grimy hair as cool water ran through it, dragging the dirt and grease down her hair into the drain below her. Her hair was pulled up in soapy bubbles, body practically in a soap suit. Yet she still scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed.

Andromeda was confused. Well, happy at first. Happy that Alabaster had finally been able to come home, happy that her and her friends had successfully completed their quest-yet, not quite complete. And it was a complicated feeling. Something...well, someone had been missing.

After Hera had flat out told her she would never get Percy back-she had lost her shit (it was quite obvious when she was practically screaming her head off at the goddess in the cage). And since she couldn't exactly choke the answer out of a goddess (even if she deserved it) she took out her emotions on something different. Herself.

Three times. She had shampooed, conditioned, and washed, all over. She hadn't even noticed the hot tears forming under her eyes. Her hand reached out, and she shut off the water. Stepping out she wrapped the cool towel over herself. And she stared at the reflection in the mirror in front of her.

A knock on the door. "Romie," Her sister called. "You alright?"

Andromeda swallowed, eyes shutting and arms enclosing around her body. "Yeah, Lou. I'm good!"

"Oh, okay," Her sister didn't sound too convinced. Andromeda watched her sister's shadow from underneath the door, shifting from side to side. "Well," Lou continued. "Everyone's asleep, and it's late so I just thought I'd check up on you-"

"Thanks, Lou, but I'm fine."

A small silence. "Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight Andromeda."

Her sister's footsteps turned away from the room, and now everything was silent. Everything but her own thoughts, of course. She dried off, slipping into a pair of plaid pajama shorts and an old t-shirt of Percy's. Quietly sneaking out of the bathroom, she headed out of the Hecate cabin and shut the door. Seating herself down on the steps, she waited.

She waited, and she waited. The cool night air made her hair feel cold, and it brushed over her bare legs-raising goosebumps-but she ignored it. His t-shirt smelled like him. Of course it did. She raised the collar over her lips, gently kissing it. Her eyes shut, and a hot, wet tear slid down the side of her cheek, soaking into his shirt.

Her shoulders shook, and a muffled sob left her lips. Her fingers only tightened against the shirt around her. She thought she was done with this crying shit. They all needed her to stay strong, but she just missed him too much. Her heart ached for him. And she wondered if somewhere out there, he felt the same.

"Andie,"

Her head snapped up, and she managed a small laugh at who stood before her. "Piper, we've gotta stop meeting like this,"

The pretty girl giggled, before it fell back into a concerned frown. "Are you alright?"

"Yup!" The shirt fell from her grasp and she raised two thumbs up. "Awesome, doing absolutely..." She paused, dropping her hands. "Doing absolutely awful." At the last sentence, her voice cracked. She sighed, dropping her head in her hands. "Doing fucking horrible."

Piper stood there for a moment, before soundlessly taking a seat beside the curly-haired girl. Andromeda's head lifted back up. "What are you doing here, Piper? You should be in your dorm."

"Hey, you try to sleep with Drew's snoring echoing around the whole freaking room." In a lower whisper, she added. "She always blames Lacey, but we all know it's her."