[2] 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 ― p.jackson

014.

「014. confessions of a murderer and the washed up 」

SHOCKED WAS an understatement.

cadie physically couldn't move, she couldn't see either.

it's not that she was blinded by tears- she was quite literally blinded by light. it all happened so quickly. one moment she saw figures of lilly, percy, luggage and something else- and the next thing her vision was filled with gold, painted in sunlight with a scorching heat that probably gave some people a heavy sun-burn.

and the next, there was a dark skinned girl with flawless hair with a lyre above her head.

a demigod- well, three of them.

a daughter of apollo.

cadie had a new cabinmate.

and then, movement resumed, and cadie was pushing through a crowd of demigods, desperate to get to lilly- desperate to get to percy. where they phantoms? where they real? or was this a figment of her imagination? was it just some cruel trick of the eye- a beam of light that blinded her to reality? was it-?

"cadie," whispered lilly- tears in her eyes.

cadie jumped into their arms and squeezed tight. she didn't let go- not for all th yelling done by others, and not for annabeth's scream when she saw percy (with some loud "YOU!" bursting from the blondes mouth). she didn't stop when cam ran over- when the three of them hugged each other tightly.

they didn't stop- not for anybody else.

"we were so worried," whispered cadie after a few minutes- drowning out the rest of the world around her as cam petted lilly's hair, hugging them tightly. "we- we thought it was luke. we thought..."

lilly gave her a look, and cadie fell silent.

it was luke.

"that... oh lilly i am so mad," began cadie, brows furrowed, "he's such a -"

"later," lilly whispered, pulling cadie back in for a hug with cam- squeezing her tight. "i haven't seen real people for months bar bea- let me have this moment." she squeezed her tighter before she let go of cadie.

and suddenly, everything seemed to come crashing back to her- a tidal wave of memories. three ghosts had been dragged back, no sign of percy- ogygia, an island of paradise, crying, weeping, mourning for-

"percy." she whispered.

his head snapped towards her, and she felt herself go numb.

what did somebody do in this type of situation? what does one do when they see a boy they're half in love with for the first time in weeks? what do they say to the boy who they thought died? (what do they say to the boy who pulled them in for a kiss? was it even a kiss?)

what do you do but cry some more?

"percy," she repeated, tears streaming down her face- doubling the effort they'd been putting in when they'd seen lilly.

percy, oh percy. percy jackson. wonderboy. an idiot. her stupid friend who she was half in love with and cared fully for.

"haven't seen you in a while," percy grinned- like it was only natural to smile at a funeral for himself. annabeth walked over- racing to probably tackle lilly into a hug (perhaps, in the grand scheme of things- annabeth's anger would only be delegated to one of the missing two. somewhere inside cadie, she liked to believe it wouldn't be lilly).