¹𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀. percy jackson

LX.

☼

LUCIA NEVER GOT EXCITED ABOUT HER BIRTHDAY. A birthday may have been exciting for a lot of people. But for Lucia it was just a day to dwell on painful memories and losses. A day that reminded her of lonely nights and dreadful days.

When her dad was alive her birthdays were special: with chocolate cake, gold sprinkles and singalongs. But once he was killed, the most the day would be celebrated was through a small cake baked by Sally.

Agatha didn't bother to even look at her on those days. Which Lucia always believed was a gift in itself. Davis on the other hand would give her all his attention. Which was what ruined it all. Because Lucia always knew what was coming the next day.

To say the least. Lucia simply did not care for her birthday. Growing up, she would often call it the worst day of the year. After the anniversary of her dad's death.

Despite that, she woke up on the fateful day of her sixteenth birthday with the hope of things being different from the previous years. But that hope was quickly squashed like a bug when she realized that she was the only one who remembered.

Sally greeted her like normal that morning before leaving for work. Percy gave her a quick kiss before leaving for what he described as a day of catching up with Grover. It was a Saturday so Paul didn't work but he said he was going to spend all his time grading pending schoolwork. Annabeth, Will, and Aurora didn't even answer her calls. The latter seemed to be normal but Annabeth and Will would usually call back.

It's not that Lucia expected much; she just expected something. The more she lingered on it, the more self-deprecating her thoughts got. She wondered if it was because they didn't deem her worth celebrating. If it was because they all secretly were still angry and disgusted by her for all she did under Hecate's charmspeak. She wondered and wondered until she swore her mind would break again.

She remembered her last birthday, alone on the Princess Andromeda. No one knew it and she wanted to keep it that way. But when she looked out towards the endless sea, despite the pollution in her brain, she hoped somewhere out there, anywhere out there, this day mattered to someone.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case for anyone.

Her mind tried to wrap around possible explanations. She tried to calm her racing head. And eventually, she shut her brain up, told Paul she was going out, and found peace in the only place she thought she could.

"Hey, Papa." Lucia smiled, she crossed her legs before sitting in front of the marble grave marker. "I know you're in the underworld and this is pointless. But I really need you today so I'm just going to go with it."

The sun had been beaming since the morning. Hot and bright. Even despite everything, despite the fact she hadn't seen Apollo. Deep down she hoped that it was for her.

"I'm s-sixteen." Her voice cracked, "I made it this far can you believe that? I can't..."

Lucia set a hyacinth down on the soil. Her hand softly pressed against the marble. "I'm singing in the talent show, I hope I make you proud. I hope—"

She cleared her throat, "I hope I've made you proud, Despite everything. Because despite the fact I'm pissed at you... I miss you, I miss you every day. And I promise I'm going to be okay. Even if this day keeps sucking, I'll try to make sure it keeps coming. I'll keep chasing my happy endings, Papa. Nothing and no one will hold me back like before. Not even myself."

Lucia couldn't keep the tears at bay. She had never been much of a crier growing up. She always tried to keep her sadness locked away even from herself, But the past few years she had gotten simply too tired to force them out. And she was now realizing that it felt better to not resist her own emotions.