stargazing ✅

night eight

➸ the eighth night

hades showed up this night.

artemis didn't expect him to be there, there was a party that night and jenni sure would want to go.

arte sighed when he sat down next to her. "what are you doing here, hades?"

"i'm sorry," he whispered. artemis laughed.

"for what?"

"for not being here last night, for leaving when i said i wouldn't. for ignoring you all day after i got that phone call. i'm really sorry, arte. i'm really sorry," he told her. hades held her hand, she wanted to smile but instead she frowned.

"you have a girlfriend, why are you here with me?" she asked. artemis knew she was ignoring his apologies, she also knew she forgave him a while before.

"she's not my girlfriend. i was upset, i used to have a habit of calling her to get over everything. the habit never died down, but it's over now," he muttered.

artemis sat closer to him, in a way where her leg was halfway on top of his.

"it's okay," she whispered. her face was inches away from his. he frowned, shaking his head and strengthening his grip on her hand softly.

"no, it's not. that woman- isabel, the one who called me that night, she's- she was, my mother." he stumbled with his words, artemis tried to tell him that he didnt have to, but he told her anyway.

"she left us- my dad, my little sister, and me. i was ten, my sister was a newborn. my dad started to hate me after that, he was convinced i was the reason why. he would never hit leia, he gave no shits about hitting me though.

"he became a drug addict, left our houses and came by whenever he pleased. its been seven years, not even a card came from isabel, and only the occasional beat up from frederick. she never called me, then on one random night she does."

arte frowned. "what did she want?"

"it wasn't her."

artemis cocked her head to the side, hearing the sighs of the boy next to her.

"she died three nights ago, overdosed on some hard drug- i don't know she didn't give any details just that the funeral is this weekend and if we wanted to go, we were welcome to."

"are you going?"

he shook his head. "she didn't give a shit about us, why should we of her?"

"closure?" she muttered, it was a guess she made up.

"is that what you would do?"

she shook her head. "i'm not as strong as you."