The months came and went and Luke stayed true to his words, for the most part. Though, it was when summer's end was near that I was sure that we were in this together forever.
It was the first week of September and I had just watched Luke run across the creek, winning the final game of Capture the Flag for the Hermes cabin. I squealed and ran into the celebration thus, into Luke's arms. "That was amazing!" I shouted over the loud cheers of the rest of his team.
"I love you." He said seriously. "Babe, we need to talk."
I raised my eyebrow and said, "Now?"
He nodded. "Look, we have a child on the way. I've known you since you were just nine years old." I noticed that the noise began to fade and many eyes started to turn to us. "And when you look up at me with those beautiful hazel eyes and just smile... I'm crazy about you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
What happened next was simply uncomprehendable and unexpected. I blinked and all of a sudden, Luke was on his knee. "Jacinda Nicole Winsted, will you marry me?"
I gasped and covered my mouth, at a loss for words. Tears of happiness flooded my eyes. I visiously nodded my head, unable to speak. I held out my hand so Luke could put the ring on.
I removed my hand and mouthed "I love you" through the tears. Luke pulled me into a hug and the rest of the campers cheered louder than ever.
We were engaged. That was one thing that I never saw coming. Even so, as the delivery date grew nearer, Luke grew farther. He became more and more distant with each passing week.
The Jacksons and I were standing around in their kitchen, waiting for Luke and Annabeth to arrive for our Christmas Eve dinner.
"Where is Luke? I thought he would be with you since you guys are kinda getting married…" Percy asked.
I pursed my lips and sighed, "I really have no idea. He's been in and out lately. He works late, and leaves early almost every day. I'm beginning to wonder if he really wants this."
Paul smiled. "He's just probably sinking into reality finally. Like all guys, he probably thought that he would be young and single forever and never imagined that he would be a father or get married. Now, it's all happening at the same time." I nodded, and for the first time I thought about how Luke felt. It was odd that all girls dreamed of meeting the perfect guy and getting married for their whole life, yet guys wanted to stay single and alone forever. Luke was afraid of commitment. It was as simple as that.
"When is that little one due?" Sally asked.
"End of January," I looked down at my bulging stomach and smiled.
"So, theoretically it could happen any day now!" She said excitedly. I grinned wider. There was a knock at the door and Percy ran to the front entrance of the apartment. My heart skipped a beat as I hoped it was Luke.
"Who is it?" He asked in an awkwardly high voice as he looked through the peep hole.
"It's me, Seaweed Brain!" Percy laughed.
"That never gets old."
He opened the door to reveal a bundled up Annabeth Chase. "Sorry I'm late. Barbra wouldn't let me get away from the office." My heart sank with every word of her extravagant story about her horrible boss. In the middle of her speech, Annabeth paused, "Hang on a minute… Where is Luke?"
That had certainly become the question of the night. Everyone was asking it. "I don't know," was all I could manage without crying. I folded my arms and leaned against the counter behind me.
"You okay?" Percy asked. I nodded impatiently. Walking into the dining area, I glanced out the window and into the falling snow.
"He'll be here." Percy promised.
"We'll even hold dinner." Sally said, sitting down next to me. She hugged me as I began to sob.
The sky grew darker. The night grew colder. And I grew lonelier. It was nearly 10 o'clock and Sally still insisted that we wait until he was here to eat. It was to the point where I was sure that he wasn't coming and this would go down in history as the worst Christmas Eve ever when Annabeth, who was standing next to the window and watching the street, yelled, "Jace! That's him!"
I sprang to my feet and ran to her side. She pointed to a tall blonde man under the street lamps. He wore a long grey jacket and his mouth and nose were hidden beneath a scarf. "Yes!" I screamed. I watched intently as he turned and began to run up the stairs to the third floor of the apartment building. Sally rushed around the kitchen, trying to get the warm soup and Prime Rib on the table before he made it to the apartment.
It was a matter of minutes before there was another knock on the door. "It's open!" Paul yelled from the kitchen as he helped his wife.
When the door opened, I immediately pulled Luke into a tight hug, not wanting to let go. My heart raced as I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my hands through his hair, shaking the freshly fallen snow out and kissing him. But, when I did so, I realized that he reeked of perfume, and it wasn't mine.
I took a deep breath and forced a smile and let go when Luke laughed. "Whoa! Careful babe, you'll hurt yourself."
"Where on earth have you been?!" I demanded.
He smiled and pulled off his scarf, hanging it on the coat rack beside the door. He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when Annabeth ran in and hugged him. "You're so late!" She giggled.
"It's cold out there!" He said.
Percy, Paul, and Sally came in and greeted him. "Come on in, we have dinner for you!" Sally said, leading Luke in.
"Great! I'm starving!" He smiled again. "You guys haven't eaten yet?"
I shook my head. "We've been waiting on you!"
"You didn't have to do that!" He insisted, sitting down at the dining room table.
I picked at my food and listened to Luke small talk the others, holding my hand in his as he spoke. Don't get me wrong, Sally is a great cook, but something was on my mind. Luke had been with another woman. I know that they say not to jump to conclusions and all that, but it made sense. He was always gone. He wouldn't tell me where he had been. He was unhappy with our relationship.
Luke Castellan was cheating on his fiancé. He was also cheating on the mother of his only child.