CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Three Forty-Five
RILEY.
The roads were clearer than they should have been.
Riley couldn't tell if that was all part of the plan, or if it was just pure coincidence. Nothing stopped him as he drove down the highway, cruising through cities and suburbs until they were finally hitting the open road. Trees, mountains, fields - all dark and gloomy in the middle of the night.
He looked to his right. Alex was still dozing off.
His phone was connected to the car's audio system. The Delphi Strawberry Service truck he stole was an old one, but he had the right cable for a cigarette lighter socket. Trying to imagine anyone at 'Camp Pristine Demigods' smoking was a sight.
He had on a mellow playlist, songs with enough beat to keep him awake but not too loud so it didn't stun him out of the stillness of the night.
The next song was Sunflower. Riley squirmed in his seat. He picked up his phone to go to the next song. Bring It On Home To Me, by Sam Cooke.
Good enough, if not a little ironic.
He tried not to think of Mags' face. When the effects of the sleeping potion took over her, he was surprised at how relaxed her face looked. The knot on her brow was gone. He had to wait fifteen minutes to make sure the potion would stay, and she didn't shift in bed one bit. Mags hadn't had such a good night's sleep in months. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would've said ah, she deserved it.
Saying that now just felt wrong.
"No, it's fine," he muttered, arguing with himself. "This is the plan. Everything's going to work out." Riley looked at the dashboard of the car. He'd been unsure if there was a tracking device or something in it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He'd change cars in the next town -
"...the fool…" Alex whispered.
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
He looked at her again. Riley held his breath, turning his attention back to the road, but lowering the volume of his music and keeping even his breathing quiet in case she would say something more important. The fool? Which fool? Why are they a fool? But after five minutes of total silence in the car, with nothing but the rush of the wind outside and the sound of the wheels running along the gravel, he finally breathed again and, level by level, he brought up the music once more.
Over the years he'd figured out the telltale signs of Alex when she was dreaming versus when she was dreaming. And right now, it was the latter.
He'd been told never to interfere her when she was dreaming. To pay attention, yes, and to take note of anything that might be relevant - but no interference. And to not let anyone else interfere with it either. The hardest ones to deal with were the nightmares, when she'd be crying in her sleep.
If they'd stayed at camp any longer, Alex would have sought Clovis' help and if anyone got into her head…well, that was never allowed.
Why did he still follow these stupid rules anyway? Riley hated himself for all the times he let the rules get the better of him, letting Alex cry or shake with fear while he forced himself to follow instructions he never thought were right in the first place. He'd only started breaking the rules once they'd left, once Mags talked sense into him.
And now here he was, following the old plan, with no Mags, and a dreaming Alex.
The fool...
Memories flashed in his mind: a conversation, the cold sword in his hands, instructions, so many of them - and he hated instructions - and then Mags. Always Mags. Always the long blonde hair, the varying shades of blonde she'd dyed it over the years. The one time she accidentally bought a ginger hair dye. And she still looked like the prettiest girl he knew. Always with the solutions, always the one with the level head, the one who waited and pounced at the right time. Always the smarter, the faster. Always the love of his life - if he allowed himself to be mushy like that. She'd slap him for saying something so cheesy.
She might resort to something more painful if she ever caught him. Riley had no doubt that she would, or she would at least try. Now that she had a whole camp of demigods to back her up, nothing would stop Mags.
But it was no longer her fight. She just had to see that.
Riley gripped and re-gripped his hands on the steering wheel. He shook his head to keep himself awake.
The clock on the dashboard said [03:45]. He and Alex would be having breakfast in Washington soon. He would keep up the ruse long enough, but as soon as she suspected, of course, he'd tell her the truth. As long as he had his coffee first.
"Almost there," he whispered to himself. "Almost there." He rubbed his chest, that area over his heart, feeling it ache slightly.
Everything would be revealed soon.
A/N: A super short chapter just to tide you by! I'm trying to figure out how to unfold this part of the story since it's quite a delicate one. But I definitely know that Mags will play a larger part now - she's been in the sidelines for a while, slowly moving her way to the spotlight, so now we'll see her begin to shine!
Part of the shortness of this chapter is also because I don't really want to give Riley too much of a spotlight in terms of POV, but because Alex is sleeping in this chapter, I thought it'd be a cool instance of a rare POV. It's hard to write a character who technically knows exactly what's going on, because I can't reveal everything even if it's his thoughts rip
I'll try to write a new chapter before the end of the week, as long as uni allows me some time and energy to spare :(
Hope everyone's doing well! Thank you, as usual, for reading!