;Luke Castellan×Reader; (On Hold)

27 - Giving Up

  ;you;

  I peeled my eyes open and squinted as they adjusted to the burning light.

  I rubbed my temples, my head aching.

  I saw a guy above me with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes looking down at me.

  "Hey. You're awake," a deep voice said.

  He grabbed my arms and helped me sit up carefully.

  "I'm Lee Fletcher, cabin seven's counselor."

  I nodded my head slowly, feeling my neck throb when my head bobbed.

  He grabbed a glass of what looked like apple juice. I remembered it by heart.

  Ambrosia.

  Lee poked a straw at the liquid, it sinking in. He guided the straw to my mouth and my lips covered it.

  I sucked the liquid down till the glass was empty.

  "Whoah there tiger. Calm down. Don't hurt yourself. Too much is dangerous."
 
  I croaked out," I know."

  My eyes scanned the room and I waited to see a blonde boy with his sparkling blue eyes.

  But, his blue eyes were nowhere in sight.

  "Where's Luke?" I asked Lee, slinging my legs over the cot I was in, ready to stand up.

  Lee cleared his throat. "He's in the arena if you need him."

  I nodded and stood up, walking out of the infirmary.

--

  I walked into the arena, looking around.

  Clarisse and Luke were teaching a class of boys and girls.

  Clarisse noticed me as I walked in and shrieked with happiness and ran over, tackling me in a bear hug.

  I smiled and hugged her back.

  "How long have I been out?"

  "Almost a week," she told me with a frown.

  I looked at Luke. Our eyes locked before he turned back to the group.

  "I'll talk to you later. You should get back to teaching."
 
  Clarisse nodded and walked back into her place.

--

  I sat on the beach with my shoes off. My toes were tickled by the often wave of water that swished by.

  "Y/n."

  I turned my head and saw Luke standing there.

  "Luke."

  He took a seat next to me and sighed.

  "I can't be with you anymore. Too much has happened because I'm here with you. It's time for me to move on," he told me, loud and clear. "It's time for you to move on as well."

  My jaw dropped slightly but Luke pushed my chin up, closing my mouth.

  I wanted to say something -- anything, but it felt as if I couldn't produce words.

  "I can't sit here and watch you in pain all the time. Pain that I have caused. You broke through a door, Y/n."

  "It wasn't that bad," I said quietly.

  He groaned. "You blacked out cause of the pain! I thought you would never wake up!"

  I planted my hands in the sand and helped myself stand up.

  "You know, maybe I should've let Percy keep me. You don't seem to want me."
 
  I didn't wait for an answer. I didn't want his voice like poison seeping in my ears to tell me he couldn't have me around anymore.

--

  I sat on a branch of a tree. Far away from the ground. Far away from anyone to see me.

  My heart had been shattered many times. I'm surprised it hasn't been vaporized to dust and blew away in the wind, only to reform in Tartarus.

  Luke's words replayed in my head, sharpening my headache.

  The only thing that calmed me down was the sound of crickets chirping, the lovely aroma of burning wood and the faint voices of campers singing.

  I wanted to sing at the fire with everyone. Smile. Have smores and live happily before something or someone interrupted that.

  "Nobody's stopping you from that."

  I looked at the tree branch in front of me. Conner Stoll sat there, filling up water balloons with pickle juice.

  "You know, you think out loud a lot. And you have a lot of thoughts," he said with a chuckle.

  I rolled my eyes and let my lips curl into a slight smile.

  "What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be at the camp fire?" I asked.

  "I could ask the same question. I didn't know where you were but I knew what tree you loved to climb," he said, tieing a balloon and putting into a ziplock bag. "You seemed distressed. What's up?"

  I watched as he tightly closed the lid of the jar.

  "Luke. He told me that he couldn't be with me anymore. We weren't even together but I felt like it," I said, blushing. "He told me I needed to move on and so did he."

  Conner put the jar into the backpack he was carrying. "My brother's over dramatic. He doesn't understand that yet. He believes everything is his fault. He just needs someone to convince him that he is."

  I nodded slowly.

  "Do you think he'll open his eyes soon?"
 
  Conner raised an eyebrow and smirked. "A Hermes' kid. Opening his eyes." He gave his knee a slight smack. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!"

  I blushed hard and let out a huff of air. Conner was complicated sometimes. But he still could help me see his points surprisingly.

  "I'm guessing that's a no."

  Conner sighed. "Look, nothing is gonna be all unicorns and rainbows.. We're half-bloods! We live in a world of constant worry. And that won't change unless you try to help it change. I'll help you through this but I can't forever." He paused and looked down at his feet. "Who knows if I'll wake up tomarrow. Or the next day. And the next day after that. Nobody does, Y/n. So live a little."

  I nodded. "Thanks Conner."

  "No problem. Now we should get back to our cabins before the harpies start watching around."

--