Emily Webster and The Gods of Olympus {ON HOLD}

Chapter Ten

Iris had just hugged me voluntarily. Wow. Just wow. We glanced at each other awkwardly as Josh, Chris, and Rosie reached us.

"That was...impressive." Chris muttered. Josh's eyes were wide. Rosie was wide awake next to him.

"Where to next?" Iris asked. I could tell she was anxious to leave the memory behind. I was too.

"Um, well...the shack is in this forest. We can just go in here I guess." We all followed Josh into the forest. Iris drifted to the back and was soon by my side.

"Hey," she said, glancing nervously at her feet.

"You know, I really...its...nice not being the only girl. You're...well...it's nicer than having to be Rosie's BFF 24/7. So thanks." She glanced at me, her face red. We continued hiking until josh decided to stop.

"It's getting close to night fall. We should stop here." He dug through his backpack and took out his sleeping bag. Chris and Rosie followed his example.

"Can you stoke the fire, iris?" She nodded. Everyone else spread out and settled into their sleeping bags around the fire. Within give minutes they were out cold. I sat up an gazed at Iris from across the fire. Her eyes danced.

"Normally I'm not such an open book. But I feel like I can trust you. You seem...different. Can I tell you something?" I nodded my head staring up at iris.

"Before I knew I was a half blood...well, lets just say my life was hard and complicated. My dad was cruel. He beat me and threatened me. It was really scary. I had to deal with that until I was six. Finally my dad got remarried and his wife reported him. He went to jail for child abuse. I lived with my step mom until I was ten. We got really close. But on my tenth birthday she died in a car crash. I was taken into social services because I had no other family. I hated that place. They put me with a family that didn't want me. They wanted a boy. Always a boy. They always talked about it. So six months after when I was ten and a half, I ran away. Chris found me a month after us run away starving and asleep. He took me to Camp Half Blood. I learned to train with Percy and Annabeth. Demeter claimed me on my thirteenth birthday. Look where I am now. On the run again. Chris knew you were a half blood from miles away. We came with him to scout. You walked into it." We locked eyes, but I turned away quickly. I felt like she wanted me to tell things too. So I did.

"My dad left before I was born. They were never really married. My mom was a doctor. We had lived in Arizona. We moved to San Francisco where she studied for three long years to become a teacher. She married a man named Steve. He was terrible. My mother hated him. He got drunk and went to Vegas. He died four years ago. We got all of his money." Iris nodded her head and pursed her lips.

"Does she know..." Iris trailed off. I first I was confused. Then I realized she was talking about my mom. I shook my head sadly. Iris stood up and came to sit next me. I leaned into her and cried like she was my older sister.

"Shh. It'll be okay. We can go through this together, okay?" As my tears began to subside I heard something. It sounded like footsteps.

"One sec," Iris whispered. She grabbed her sword and walked into the forest. I could only catch bits of the conversation.

"...found her..."

"...is she okay?..."

"...the others..."

"...camp..."

"...now?"

Then Iris walked in with Percy and Annabeth trailing behind her.