The Dark in The Daughter of Apollo¹ | l. valdez

Good Morning, Who Is Crepusculo?

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(Will's POV)

It was about dawn before I was able to slip back into the Apollo Cabin. Nico needed me to stay with him so I could comfort him if he had a nightmare. It hurts me so much to see him in such pain and knowing that there isn't anything I could do to help him.

That hurt more than anything.

I looked around at my siblings, smiling slightly as I saw them all sleeping soundly. My smile flattered some when I saw Melody's bed empty. I shook Austin on the shoulder, "Austin, wake up." He groaned, "Five more minutes."

"Austin, get your butt out of bed."

"I wanna sleep."

"Get up."

"No."

I grabbed the bottom of his mattress and started to flip it over. Austin immediately woke up, flailing around a little, "I'm up!! I'm up!!" I placed it back down, "Do you know where Melody is?" He gave me a confused look, "Is she not in her bed?"

I gave an exasperated sigh, "Austin, if she was in her bed, I wouldn't have woken you up in the first place." He held up his hands in defense, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was just a question."

"A dumb question."

"I heard that."

"You were suppose to."

"Hey!"

I held out my hand to him, "Come on, we gotta look for Melody." We looked all over the Cabin, under the beds, on the roof, outside the windows, before we had to start waking the other Apollo kids asking if they had seen her.

The majority of them fell back asleep after they answered the question, but a few of them stayed up to help us search. I ran my fingers through my hair, "Has anyone found anything?" Everyone shook their heads when we heard Austin call from the back, "I found something!!"

I rushed back there to see something that shocked me. Sol was humming Banana Pancakes in her sleep and was holding a sleeping Melody in a gentle, yet protective grip. Melody was cuddled up against Sol's chest, a slight smile on her face. I could feel everyone pause, looking at the scene before us.

Melody yawned and rubbed her eyes, taking a moment to wake up before noticing us. "Oh, hey guys, what's up?" I crossed my arms and gave her 'the look'. "What are you doing in Sol's bed?"

She looked down as if she was ashamed, "I had a bad dream and when I woke up, you weren't there. I noticed Sol was thrashing around some, so I went to wake her up. When she woke up and I told her what happened, she offered to make sure I didn't have another nightmare."

I felt the guilt fill me up after she said she had a nightmare. I sighed, "Just get ready for the day." She nodded and went to get up, only to be pulled back down by Sol. She held Melody close to her and was shaking like she was about to cry, ¿Qué estás haciendo Dia? ¿Cómo pudiste dejar a tu madre? ¿¡Tu hermana!? Debido a un pequeño argumento?!"

She paused for a moment before ranting again, "Me quedo porque mamá necesita apoyo, no drama! Dia, su ex esposo acababa de ir a la cárcel y ella acaba de dar a luz a nuestra hermanita hace un año. ¿Cómo pudiste irte sabiendo eso?"

She kept shaking as she argued with this mysterious person,"Sal de esta casa ... y nunca vuelvas." There was a small pause and she raised her voice, "Dime eso otra vez y te arrancaré la lengua."

She let go of Melody and rolled over onto her back, her face flushed red, "¡Sal de aquí, vieja demonio! ¡Mantente fuera de esta casa hasta que tengas la decencia de disculparte por lo que dijiste sobre mamá! ¡¡Sal de aquí!! ¡¡AHORA!!" She rolled back over and shivered, lacking the warmth that Melody was providing for her.

I walked over and shook her shoulder, "Sol....Sol, wake up." She opened her eyes groggily before they filled with alarm and she sat up, "Where is Melody?!" I backed up a little, "Melody's alright, she woke up a few minutes ago."

She relaxed before rubbing her eyes, "Then why did you wake me up?" I ignored her question, "Who's Crepusculo?" He her eyes went wide and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, her hand drawn back into a fist and the other holding me down by the shoulder.

Her eyes burned in rage, "¿¡¿¡Quien te lo dijo!?!? ¿Quién te habló de ella?" Austin ran forward and pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and whispering soft things into her ears. I felt other people pulling me to my feet and I took a shaky breath.

Sol pushed Austin off of her before she walked back over to her bed, sitting down and slowly placing her head in her hands. I placed my hand on Austin's shoulder, "Take the others to breakfast, I think we need a minute." He nodded in understanding before getting everyone else out, leaving me and her alone in the Cabin.

I sighed and sat down next to her, "I'm sorry..." She shook her head before looking at me with confused eyes, "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry, I just pinned you to the ground." I ran my fingers through my hair, "But I asked you something that wasn't any of my business, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "No, we're bunk mates, you deserve the truth." She rubbed her hands together nervously and her eyes never stayed in one place for to long. I hesitantly sat down, preparing myself for the worst, "Alright." She was silent for a moment before she spoke up, "I'm not an only child."

I was a little shocked. Gods usually only have one child with a mortal, sometimes two. But if what Sol is telling me is true...

She continued, "Apollo stopped seeing my mom after Crepusculo was born and when Dia found out, it wasn't good. She got in a fight with my mom one day and...she said some pretty cruel things to her." A few tears fell down her face, "I told Crepusculo to hide in the other room, trying to keep her away from the fight but still know what's going on."

She hands started to shake, "Soon after, Dia slammed the door open and stomped up to her room. I ran after her, begging her to slow down and to explain what was going on. I could hear my mom's sobs in the other room. She told me she was leaving and she wasn't coming back."

She took a shaky breath, "I started yelling at her for wanting to leave and she yelled at me for wanting to stay. While we were arguing, Crepusculo came into the room, asking for mom. Dia grabbed Crepusculo and ran to the front door. We started yelling at each other and Dia...she said some more hurtful things to me. I was so frozen in shock that I couldn't even stop her. We screamed something hurtful things at each other when she went out the door."

Her shaking began to stop, "That's where the nightmare ended but when after Dia did leave, I immediately went to mom's room after she left and started to comfort her. I told her I would never leave." Her eyes held so much regret and pain, "I didn't mean any of it Will. I didn't mean it."

I nodded in understanding, "I know you didn't. And you can make it up to her. All you have to do, is go home. Go home to your mom ad try and find Dia and Crepusculo. Take them home to you and your mother." She looked like she was about to cry again, "I promised my mom I wouldn't leave her. I didn't want to leave Will. I really didn't want to leave her."

I pulled her into a hug that she immediately returned, shaking ever so slightly as she buried her face into my shirt. I rubbed her back, "Don't force it...take all the time you need." She shook harder at my words, "¡¡Lo siento!! Lo siento mucho mamá !! ¡No quería que esto sucediera! ¡No mereces ser maldecido con un niño como yo! ¡No soy lo suficientemente digna para ser llamada tu hija! Lo siento mucho mamá!!"

(Translation: I'm sorry!! I'm so sorry Mom!! I didn't want this to happen!! You don't deserve to be cursed with a child like me!! I'm not worthy enough to be called your daughter!! I'm so sorry Mom!!)

I rubbed back a little more, "Sol, can you speak English please? I don't know Spanish." She covered her face with her hands, "She's gone Will. I can't help her make up with Dia now. She will never get to meet Crepusculo now. She'll never be there again. She's gone!!" I uncovered her face, "Sol, who's gone?" One single tears slipped out of the corner of her eye and I wiped it away, "My mom, Will, my mom's dead."

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