Ticking Clock

𝓔𝓅𝒾𝓁𝑜𝑔𝓊𝑒

Epilogue

The following week was a difficult one. Desirae hadn't been at camp very long, but she made a lot of friends. Those who had the chance to meet her were deeply saddened by her short time with them. Of course, demigods dying at a young age was nothing new. But it still hurt every time that it happened.

After a week of mourning, Grover took it upon himself to deliver the news to Camila and Marcus. He wanted to tell Camila first. She didn't know about Desirae being a demigod, so it was going to take a while to explain the situation. Since it was almost the end of her shift, he decided to wait outside her place of work. Her normal exit time came and left with no sign of her anywhere. Grover must have waited about an hour before going inside to talk to Gina. He had to wait another half hour before she was available to talk.

"Hey, Gina? I was waiting for Camila's shift to end but she never came out. Did she change shifts or something?" Grover asked her, his nerves on edge.

"Camila? No. She quit about a week ago. No idea why, but I'm sure you'll find her at home."

With a deep sigh, he left the establishment and made his way toward her house. During his walk to her house, he had the feeling that something was amiss. He sped up his walking speed until the roof of her apartment building came into view. He let out a sigh of relief and jogged up the stairs.

5A...5C...5E. This is the one, he thought to himself.

He knocked once. Twice. Three times. There was no answer. No light from inside leaked underneath the door. There wasn't a single sound coming from her apartment. Not even the sound of the AC running.

Grover was slightly panicking and getting ready to break down the door when Camila's neighbor from 5C — Tom — opened his door.

"Hey. Grover, right? If you're looking for Cam, you're outta luck, my guy. She left a week ago. Didn't say where she was going, but she took a small backpack with her. Her friend's dad picked her up."

The newly acquired information about the girl he liked made Grover's heart jump into his throat. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Questions immediately flooded his brain.

Where is she? Did something happen? Is she ok? Was Tom talking about Marcus?

Now that he had taken a second longer, there were faint traces of Marcus's scent. However, none of the answers to his other questions made an appearance, so he quickly went to Marcus's place in hopes of getting some insight from the middle-aged man and possibly finding the girl he has feelings for.

When he got to Marcus's house, his gut feeling slightly worsened. He knocked on the door a few times and waited, hoping he would find the two safe and sound.

After 5 minutes of no response, he used his in-case-of-emergency key to open the door.

Grover didn't really know what to expect. He thought that the house would be empty but it wasn't. Everything was still there. From the pictures mounted on the walls of Desirae's childhood to the basket of National Geographic magazines in the living room. The only thing that was missing was Marcus. The only proof that someone was there not too long ago was a note on the fridge that still smelled like him and the faint traces of Camila's scent.