Heir of a Titan - Book 2 PJO

Chapter 36: I've Said Dreams are Eye Opening...Yet I Prefer Them Closed

Dreams. Always with the dreams. The moment my eyes closed my body was pulled into dreams.

The great expanse of Camp shimmered into existence. I blinked in the fading sun, the sunset was beautiful. Bright pink and orange and yellows. The landscape was empty though. There weren't anyone around to pick strawberries, the tetherballs hung lamly, volleyballs and basketballs lay discarded. I stood at the top of the hill by Thalia's tree. Peleus circled around the base of the tree.

I walked down the hill, and like someone pressed fast forward I zoomed down the hill through the fields and passed the dinning pavilion a s through the cabins. I came to a stop and saw the ash heap that used to be a small shed. The remains of the wood structure sat nestled beside a patch of trees that sat at the edge of the forest by the canoe sheds.

Standing in front of the ashes unmoving was a someone who I didn't think I would see again. His huge shoulders were tense. He had taken his shirt off, it was tucked into his back pocket, he had the flat of the sword leaning on his shoulder. He held his shield in his hand, but it hung loosely beside him.

He didn't move from the spot. I slowly walked up beside him. Clearly he couldn't see me or feel my presence. Or maybe he could and he just chose to ignore me. I looked up at Raph. His eyes were glassy and vacant. His jaw was clenched and the muscle twitched slightly.

He dropped the shield and sheathed his sword, and from the pocket of his jeans pulled something out. I glanced over and sucked in a sharp breath. He unfolded the worn and weathered paper. It was the silly doodle of a Sun and sunflower i made last year and then gave to him last second when he was on his way back to camp. The picture he held while his mind struggled with Eos's Lovesickness. The picture he had taken and got tattooed over his heart.

The knife in my own heart twisted. I heard footsteps approaching. I turned to see Argus marching up to him. Every eye was narrowed and directed at Raph. If it made him unnerved he didn't show it. Argus just stopped in front of him and held something out.

"What's this?" Raph asked.

Argus didn't say anything. Just held the folded paper out. Raph frowned. The knife in my chest twisted some more. It was the letter I wrote. The one telling him we were ove, he chose his side and I chose mine.

Why, why of all the things I had to see, why this? I felt the sob in my chest rising. I watched with tears in my eyes, as Raph stretched out a hand and took the paper and unfolded it. Argus nodded once and turned and walked away.

Raph looked down at the paper. He ran a finger over his name. My writing was sloppy and I always hated it. Writing was always so hard for me, trying to get the letters right, even trying to read ancient greek was hard for me. I wished I had cute writing. But I didn't. I watched as his jaw muscle clenched again as he opened the folded paper. With a sharp pain in my chest I watched his face falling as he read the shorg paragraph.

The crease between his eyebrows grew, the corner of his lip turned down. I had to look away. I closed my own eyes and felt the tears break from my lashes and fall down my cheeks. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a tear form in his eyes, and one escaped and slid down his sweaty face.

He crumpled the note in his hand as his knees hit the earth. He let out a loud horrible scream, straight from the depths of his soul, from the pit of his gut. It ripped through him and echoed around the deserted camp.

"Why, Sunshine? Why?" He finally sobbed.

He stayed on his knees for a long time, staring at the heap of a shed, the setting sun reflected off the melted gold from the chariot.