Drew
She could feel hands holding her hands; a cheek touching her cheek; lips kissing her lips. She could hear waves crashing on the shore; silence whispering her secrets; her heart pounding in her chest. She could taste the scent of longing; of desperation; of love. She reached up to whisper the three little words that held so much meaning. She could feel her breath speeding up as she waited for an answer. They opened their mouth...
Drew woke up still waiting for the response. Her normally perfect hair was in a tangled nest around her head; her typically immaculate nails bitten into ragged stubs. The guilt of what had happened in the dream flooded through her; but what had occurred wasn't the problem, it was the fact that she'd enjoyed it.
She shook herself mentally trying to rid the images from her head. Treading clumsily to the bathroom she made herself look perfect, promising herself that no matter what, she would never let any disfigurements- mental or physical- indicate her weaknesses.
Her mind wandered back to a time earlier in her life, when she was just a little girl, when her father told her that being perfect was all that ever mattered; rubbing it in her face by cancelling plans with Drew to spend time with gorgeous women. She supposed her dad wasn't the best of dads. Maybe that was why she hid her secrets deep down where no-one could even sense them. Because she had never had anyone to tell her secrets to before. And she was scared.
Like waking up in the middle of the night, darkness reflecting her pain back at her, reminding her of exactly why her palms were sweating. Exactly why her voice was hoarse from screaming with no one to listen. No one came in and turned on the light; no one came in to comfort her or to rock her back to sleep. She was alone. Her dad out with some new, beautiful woman she could never compare to.
Always alone...
She heard a commotion in the courtyard in the middle of the cabins, bringing her out of her thoughts. She snuck out to her cabin door, trying not to wake up any of her siblings. A tall,male silhouette was sneaking towards Cabin 13, the Hades cabin. As she watched, the outline of another guy walked out of the door and kissed the other man. The harsh shadows concealing them, bending around creating a veil until they were no longer there: gone. Sometimes Drew thought of disappearing, but that would mean giving up. Proving her Dad right: she could never be perfect. Will and Nico, forever happy. Well, why wouldn't they be, every mean word or disappointed glance just bounced off the bubble of their contentment. They had each other that was why they survived it all and got up every morning despite the hate.
But Drew didn't have anyone. She never would. It was impossible. And with that thought, she went back to her bed, curled up in a ball, and cried herself to sleep.
Drew saw them again, Will and Nico, strolling around without a care in the world. Flaunting their happiness in everyone's faces; not caring what anyone thought of them. That must be nice: not caring. But then Drew sees them, like lethal lions stalking their prey; trying to torture them, watch them break, watch their facade shatter and every chink in their armour crumble until nothing is left. They were jeering, giggling and pointing; trying to see if underneath their carefree appearance Will and Nico were actually hurt by this display. However, looking into the stories in their eyes, Drew realised that they truly were happy. The laughing would stop and they'd get through it, they were strong inside- unlike Drew. Everyone would learn to accept them. But would she ever be accepted, ever be understood? Would she ever be loved for being herself with all her imperfections, all her weaknesses?
Drew didn't sleep that night, muffling her sobs with her pillow as she let her tears stream down her face. The heavens opened as if the Gods could finally understand her pain, as if perhaps, her mother could see that she wasn't perfect and underneath the surface she was too broken to ever be fixed. Maybe her mother could finally see the shattered remains of a little girl's heart – Daddy not caring and glamorous women the main priority. Maybe the rain symbolised the Gods sympathising with her for once; perchance her mother regrets the decision of leaving her with a man who can't look at his daughter for a fear of the imperfections he might. Or maybe it was just rain...
Eventually her tears dried and a single star crept out from behind the clouds, just like the one that appeared when she used to wish for a family.
It never came true...