Ambrosia

Ch. 17: Hermes Visits Me

We arrive back at camp with a warm welcome the next day. I feel so appreciated when the camp bows down to me after we tell them the news.

"Congratulations, Amb! I knew you could do it!" Silas runs up to me and hugs me tightly.

I hug back and smile big and proud. The only cabin that has a disgusted face is the Aphrodite cabin, which is not a big surprise. I greet Will happily but I also look for Rose. That's when I see Lauren.

"Good job, Ambrosia. You've done well." She smiles, giving me a nod of acknowledgement.

"Thank you! Hey, have you seen Rose? You would've thought I could see her hair in this crowd!" I laugh, still scanning the campers.

Silas and Lauren look at each other with a sad face. They come to a silent agreement on something while I'm standing like a kid who doesn't understand something.

"Guys?" I raise an eyebrow.

Lauren closes her eyes and sighs. She places a hand on my shoulder and looks at me seriously.

"Ambrosia... Rose is gone..." she says with an unusually sweet voice.

"What do you mean gone? Did she go back into the city for a while?"

"No, Ambrosia... I mean gone as in... she's dead." She closes her eyes tight then lets me go.

My eyes widen shock. I shake my head furiously, backing away.

"No! She asked me to stay alive and then... and then..." I raise my voice but lower it towards then end.

"I'm sorry... But i-it's true. I watched it myself... I tried to save her but... It was too late... I'm so sorry." She frowns, her head hanging low.

"NO!" a rush of wind knocks everybody to the floor but me.

I run. That's all I do. I run and I can't stop. Tears form until I can't see anymore. I feel lost. Once I am deep in the forest, I climb a tree and stay hidden in the leaves. When some voices ring through the air calling my name, I try to steady my breathing until they leave. The people sigh as I hear them run somewhere else. Once I know they are gone, I cry some more. Rose is gone, and I can't do anything about it anymore.

In the morning, I wake up in my bunk in the Poseidon cabin. I sit up and rub my head, feeling confused. My eyebrows scrunch together as I pull a leaf out of my hair. A sinking feeling in my stomach and my eyes widen when I realize what happened last night. Somebody comes in and I hear them gasp. They run up to me and hug me tightly.

"Ambrosia! I thought we weren't going to find you until Jack saw you in the tree!" I hear Percy's voice say, slightly raspy as if he had been crying as well.

A tear trickles onto my shirt and I blink out of my shock. It takes all of the courage left in me to ask him what's on my mind.

"Percy..." I whisper.

"Yes?"

"Is she really gone?"

He sighs then there's only silence. I nod in understanding then lay back down. He frowns then squeezes my hand.

"I'll go sneak you some breakfast." He says then walks away.

Each day after that, all I do is lay in my bunk. The only time I get up is to go to the bathroom or take a shower. Even then, I barely eat and all I do is frown. No matter how hard I try I can't get over her passing. It hurts too much. She was my friend, someone I carried close to my heart even if we only knew each other for a short amount of time.

Each day, someone different comes in and sits next to me. Usually it's Jack or Theo but no matter who it is, we just sit in silence. They mainly come to keep me company so I'm not truly alone. Will comes in, then Xander, Dianthe, Silas, Sabrina, and even Lauren all come to make sure I'm alright. Although they're doing all they can to try to cheer me up, nothing works. This goes on for months... Eventually only Theo, Jack, and Percy stay. Some goddess I am, huh? I accidentally have been letting rainstorms get into camp because of my nightmares. Percy says it's no big deal but I can tell the other campers are getting frustrated and annoyed with me. It's not my fault I care about someone so much. She was the only Aphrodite camper and child I actually liked.