"NO! You're lying!" Thalia stood up from where she lay in the grass. She had been taken out from under the Hera statue that fell on her, and carried down to a park beside the Empire state building, where she had laid in the grass for hours. She was waiting and waiting for the news of what happened up there between Luke, Percy, and Annabeth.
She didn't know what she hoped for, what Luke would turn good, everything would be forgiven and end up happy? Of course not. But now, the news that Luke had died was too much for her. So she stood up though her leg still hurt. Percy and Annebeth stood in front of her.
"I'm sorry Thalia, really I am. I can't imagine what this must be like for you." Percy said.
"No you can't!" Thalia yelled back at him. "Why didn't you save him Percy? Why?" She was so filled with anger, she was taking it out on Percy.
Annabeth had tears streaming down her face. "Thalia please.." She said. "Thalia there was nothing I could do." Percy said, looking down
. "Nothing you could do? So you just let him stab himself?" Thalia snapped. "I couldn't stop him! And it was the prophecy Thalia!" Percy said, she could tell he was getting angry.
This was stupid, of course it wasn't Percy's fault. A tear ran down her face."I-I'm sorry Percy…I just-" Suddenly she couldn't talk. Her emotions overtook her and she knew she was about to fall apart, and there was nothing she could do. So she turned and ran. Dispite the pain in her leg, she could run really fast. She heard Annabeth and Percy call out to her, telling her to come back. But she couldn't. She had to get away. To think, and cry, by herself.
Luke was gone, He was gone, forever. There was nothing she could do, he was never coming back. She ran and ran until she found a hill, and she began to run up that. Tears were streaming down her face constantly. She got up the hill and sat under a tree, facing the setting sun. She couldn't believe he was really gone.
She must have known, deep down that after becoming Kronos, he would have to die. But she never thought about that, and she never knew it would have such an effect on her. Would she ever be happy again? She looked out across the city below her, towards the sun. She brought her knees up t her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Suddenly her mind as full of memorys of her and Luke. Back when he was fourteen and she had been twelve. Luke had been teaching her to sword fight. They both had sticks, and they were practicing together. Luke had beat her again and again and she got discouraged.
"Luke, if a monster attacks me I'll never be able to fight it off." She said, throwing her stick down and sitting on the ground. Luke had sat down beside her and put his arm around her.
"Yes you will, don't worry. It just takes practice. But, even if a monster does attack you, I'll always be here to protect you." He had said, smiling at her.
Another time, she was having a particularly hard day, and she couldn't help but cry. She didn't want to do it in front of Luke and Annabeth, so she ran, much like she did tonight, and sat under a small tree next to a small lake. A few minutes later, Luke had come and sat beside her. He said nothing for a few minutes, just stared out at the lake.
Then he said, "You know Thals, you can trust me. You can tell me what's wrong. If you want." Thalia hesitated. She trusted Luke, but could she tell him she wished she had a mom and a dad? They had often talked about how they hated the gods, how they didn't need anyone. Would he think she was weak? But she told him anyway.
"I-sometimes I miss my mom. I wish…I wish I had parents sometimes."
Luke surprised her by saying, "me too." She looked at him. "Really?" "Of course. What kid wouldn't? It doesn't make you weak, it just makes you human." He had smiled at her. That made her smile back at him.
"But we don't have parents, which makes our relationships with each other so much stronger. You and Annabeth are the only people I have. You mean everything to me Thalia, and I'll always be here for you. No matter what."
"Thanks Luke," She had whispered, and she had hugged him.
Now, thinking of that time, Thalia had to smile. He had always known just what to say when she was scared, sad or angry. No one else knew her like Luke did. She was the first person she had ever trusted. First person she had ever loved. Of course she had loved other people, but not the way she had loved Luke. That's why she had never joined the hunters. She loved Luke. Maybe she would have done something about it too, if she hadn't got turned into a tree.
Then the bad memories started to come. When she found out Luke had joined the Titan army, she had been so angry. Sad too, but mostly angry. She remembered someone had told her once that Luke would let her down, but she didn't want to believe that person. She was so angry that person was right, that everything Luke said to her about being there for her, was a lie.
That brought back one of the worst memories of all. The last words she had ever said to Luke were, "traitor! He's a traitor!" Those were the last words she said.
The tears started again and she put her head in her knees. She was glad at least, that he died a hero, that he had turned to the good side in the end. She was startled by a hand on her shoulder suddenly, and she looked up. It was Annabeth.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked quietly. Thalia didn't know how she found her, but she didn't care. She was glad to have a friend. She nodded her head and stood up.
The sat there for a moment, neither knowing what to say to the other. Then Thalia said, "I just wish I could have talked to him one more time, let him know how much he meant to me." Annabeth stepped forward and hugged Thalia.
"I know, but don't worry. He knows." Thalia hugged her back. "Does Percy hate me? I was pretty hard on him."
"Of course not, he knows this is hard for you." Annabeth stepped back and added, "ready to go back down to the others? They're worried about you." "sure," Thalia answered, but she stayed there for a second as Annabeth started going back down. She turned to the now dark sky and whispered, "By Luke. I'll miss you." Then she followed Annabeth down the hill to the others.
Thalia knew she would never be the same. She knew she would never forget Luke, and she would miss him like crazy. But maybe, just maybe life wouldn't be too bad. She made a choice then though, that she would never love another boy. She couldn't. Not after Luke.