Charlie,

There was an awkward feeling in the air as the cars pulled up and we had to decide who was going to ride with who. Swift got into her car, and she was calling for her brother to come and ride with her when Sam seemed to be a little upset about it. I even thought he might say that he wanted to ride with her when she gave him a look, making him just get in the Jeep.

Kate shocked me by getting into the car with Swift, and Noah stayed with us in the Jeep. I sat in the back with Chester beside me.

Chester still seemed to be upset about this morning's exchange at breakfast, and he didn't try to talk much in the car. He just kept his arms crossed and his headphones in throughout the drive to Silicon Valley.

Noah tried to talk to Sam, but Sam didn't seem too eager about talking. He just kept looking at the road, following Swift's lead. Noah stopped trying to talk, and he turned to his cell phone, typing away at what I saw over his shoulder was an email.

Then there was me.

I wasn't really sure what I should be doing. I found myself playing with the bow-shaped buttons on my pink vest, and I questioned if pink really was that bad. Sure, every time my grandmother bought me something pink, my mother would always shake her head and explain that I just didn't do pink.

I hadn't "done pink" since I was seven years old and decided that pink was for girls like Jenna Matthews, who was mean to me in school. Of course, as I got older, Jenna Matthews didn't matter to me anymore, but I was used to not wearing pink and had never considered wearing it.

But here I was wearing the terrible pink I had shunned for so long, and I honestly liked it.

It made me question all of the other things I had always thought I had "hated" over the years. Everything seemed to be called into question recently, not just my hatred for pink. My entire life of knowing that I would die on this quest was being gladly questioned as we embarked on our journey. My fear that Kate and Noah would never do anything about how they felt about each other was questioned. Even my feelings for two of my friends were questioned.

I already wondered if there was more that I had realized there for one of them, but that dream hit me upside the head with that fact. But was it really the right one?

Could it truly be him?

And, even more, would I ever get that dream? Just because I wanted it didn't mean that I got it.

By the time we had reached Soledad, California, I needed air, and I needed it fast. I couldn't sit in that car for another moment. I needed to think. I needed to be alone for a little while, pink vest and all.

I climbed out of the car as Sam and Swift began to fill up their car with gas, and I told the others that I was going off for a little while. Noah seemed a bit wary to let me go, but then something completely insane and out of the blue happened.

Aiden agreed with me…

"It's been a long trip. She needs some air and to be alone. She'll be fine," Aiden told Noah as he propped himself up on the car, and I gasped, expecting him to have agreed with Noah and helped him come up with more ideas to keep me locked away and safe.

I grinned at him, and he nodded to me as if telling me that I could thank him later. I almost sprinted away with my newfound freedom, and I had a proud smile on my face that I hadn't had since I was eleven years old and my mom finally agreed to let me walk with Emily-Rose alone to the yogurt shop a block away. It wasn't a very large prize in both cases, but it was still a large and shocking victory.

I was behind the gas station as I took a long and deep breath of the California air, and I leaned up against the building as I closed my eyes.

I was free to let my thoughts run wild, and that they did. I felt like I was just a body holding my brain as it rambled from thought to thought, barely even processing as it all happened. I felt like one of those boxes of puzzle pieces, useful parts being rendered useless by too much confusion.

My eyes stayed closed, my hands finding the stucco wall of the gas station behind me as I leaned up against it. I thought about what my mom had told me once.

"Just get alone, take a breath, and let your thoughts work themselves out," my mom had grinned at me as she checked dinner to see if it was ready yet.

I couldn't remember how old I was or even what it was about, but I could remember that moment perfectly down to the pearl earrings my mom had been wearing. The advice had often been helpful and used a lot.

It was helping. My mind was at ease.

But this was not the time to be at ease…

Suddenly, I felt something hard lunge at me, pulling me close, and I let out a sudden scream, the grip on me getting so tight that I felt like my ribs might break.

My eyes flew open, desperate to understand my surroundings, and I gulped. It was a rockman. No characteristics other than being made of stone. Pebbles for eyes. Pebbles for a mouth, and no nose. It was bigger than the others had been, and it even looked to be made out of marble stone.

"My, my, if it isn't the prophecy girl. I will surely get rewarded," his voice was sharp and sounded like when we used to rub rocks together at recess to see if it would catch fire.

"I-It isn't h-her," I tried, slashing around as I felt the blood getting to my brain lessen. He was holding me too tight. I was trying to pry off his hands, my options limited, but it wasn't working. He was walking away with me. I screamed again, waiting for someone to hear me, but it didn't seem like they could.

I frantically looked around, tears running down my cheeks as I screamed louder, and I finally spotted it.

A water hose.

I had to try.

I closed my eyes, and the searing pain of his grip became more pronounced as I tried to take control of the water. I could feel my energy draining, but I managed to get hold of the water, ready to try to make this guy pebbles.

"You can't do anything, girl-" the rock man stopped as I forced the water onto him, but he managed to get me before I could get him.

His grip finally got too tight, and I let out a high pitched shriek as I heard a disgusting snap. As the rock man was destroyed, I fell to the ground in a loud plop, the torturous pain running through me as I sobbed, screaming.

My eyes opened to see blood draining out of me, and I closed them again.

"Charlie!" a girl screamed.

Kate, I think.

But I was getting foggy.

The blood was draining faster, and I was fading slowly away as I could heard the pounding of people running towards me. I could feel people touching me, seeing my wounds, and I could hear panic. Lots and lots of panic.

And then I was out.

XXXXX

Cough. Cough.

I could hear it, waking me up out of my deep sleep, and my eyes hesitantly and slowly blinked open, questioning who had woken me up by coughing so loudly. I heard it again, louder, and I was slowly sitting myself up to get angry with whoever it was when I suddenly realized something.

It was me.

I had been coughing in my sleep, and I still was coughing.

As I sat myself up, I felt soreness along my body that ached painfully, and it seemed to reside mostly in my ribs, making me let out a small whimper.

I felt two hands push me back down gently, easing the pain as I was lying down again.

My eyes completely open to see who it was.

Aiden.

He looked tired and worried half to death. His hair was in a mess, he was sweaty, and there was blood on his shirt. This was the first time I had ever seen Aiden not looking perfect. He looked bad even. His face had aged with worry, drooping instead of being young and perfect. While his body language typically gave off an aura of confidence and authority, it was now defeated and sullen.

His face had seemed to relax a bit from relief, but I could see the worry still inside. And, even more, I could see the anger bottled up inside of him. The anger at himself…

"You were found," Aiden stood up, getting a bottle of water and keeping his back to me in the hotel room as he spoke. He didn't want me to see his face as he explained, "A rock man got a hold of you. Broke your ribs. You turned him into pebbles, very nice work, Charlie."

But his voice was not a voice of congratulations.

"Aiden, what's wrong?" my voice was cracking, and there was a tired slur in it as my head moved into the pillow.

"You need more rest. I should probably tell everyone that you are up," Aiden dodged my question, putting down his bottle, and he began to walk towards the door.

"Wait," I sat up, and I let out a hiss at the sudden pain.

That got his attention, and his eyes shot back to me to make sure I was okay.

Once more, Aiden rushed towards me, gently pushing me back to lay basically flat on the bed.

He seemed to realize what he had done, and he crossed his arms.

"You planned that, didn't you?" his arms were crossed, and he tried to look angry. But I noticed a little grin being suppressed, so I knew that I was off the hook.

"I could have," I grinned, a smirk on my lips. I was still in pain, still felt tired, and could have slept for ten more years. But I managed to make the best smile I could out of the moment.

"You are much less innocent than your brother thinks," Aiden rolled his eyes, and his grin that he had been trying to hide came out.

"You're probably much more innocent than your sister thinks," I laughed, and I winced as it hurt my ribs to laugh too hard.

His face was back to worry from my wince.

"I'm fine. Too much laughing."

"You don't look fine."

"But I am," I looked at him.

"Fine, you are," he kissed the top of my head, and I felt a blush form on my face, "And I am going to go get your brother. Enjoy your alone time now because this is the last you are getting of it."

He straightened his spine, looking down at me, and I knit my eyebrows in confusion.

"What?"

"You are no longer to be left alone," he said it as if it was final and never going to change.

"What?" I glared, sitting up, and he just shrugged.

"You are in danger, and you need help even if you don't want it. So, you can't be left alone," Aiden explained, very decidedly. He was not going to budge. I could tell that just by looking at his face. That lenient smile that had let me get away with it earlier was gone, and it was not coming back.

"Who decided this?" I demanded, wondering who I had to be mad at.

Was it Swift strategically thinking of this?

My brother being overprotective?

"I did," Aiden crossed his arms, and I could suddenly see the Roman General hidden inside of him.

"What?" I tried to sit up but stopped as it hurt, pulling back down.

"You got hurt because I said you could go, Charlie!"

There it was.

The anger at himself I could see in his eyes.

That was what it was about.

"Aiden, you didn't break my ribs," I tried.

"In war, I would be the one getting chewed out by my authority."

"This isn't war, Aiden."

"It is," Aiden turned around, and that was it.

He was gone, off to find my brother and to leave me in the only alone time I would get for a long time.

Kate,

I held on close to Noah, my head tucked in the little curve of his neck. My eyes were closed, feeling his breathing as his chest moved me gently. I took in the smell of the cologne that Aphrodite had put him in and the natural Noah smell that I had come to love. His soft, black hair was falling on my neck, and his hand was on my back, holding me close.

This would have been a perfect scene out of a dream of mine. I was curled up on a bed with Noah holding me so tight that it was like he needed me to survive. I wasn't blushing or nervous. I was just there for him as he depended on me.

But, just as all moments like that with us, it was ruined.

I needed him just as much as he needed me right now. I was brokenhearted and scared to death for Charlie, and I was absolutely horrified to see Noah so broken and in such pain.

If I thought about it for too long, it was like I was back there again. I could see the blood rushing out of Charlie's limp and broken body. I could see her skin paling as her beautiful sea green eyes began to close. I could hear my shoes slapping against the wet pavement as I ran towards her, desperate and screaming. I could hear his scream, the heartbreaking and chilling scream that he let out as he saw her. I could see the desperation in his eyes to take care of her, to heal her. And I could almost feel the horrible realization hit him that he could do nothing to help his baby sister.

She was alright for the most part. She had some ambrosia forced into her mouth along with some nectar, and we poured some nectar on the wounds just in case. Noah had been watching her most of the night, trying to take care of her, and I ended up taking care of him.

Every second he couldn't just wave a magic wand and make her better killed him more, and I finally got him out of there.

I didn't know where everyone else was. Swift and Sam had disappeared somewhere, and Chester was who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. Aiden was taking care of Charlie. He had been blaming himself for everything, and it didn't help that, while Noah never said anything, you could tell that he had blamed Aiden, too.

I didn't know if I did. Seeing that guilty look on his face just stopped it in its tracks if I was about to feel like that.

"I can't do this," Noah's voice was a low whisper, basically inaudible if I hadn't been right there with him.

I moved my head to where I was looking at the ceiling, and my eyes opened, studying his jaw.

"She's alright, Noah," I squeezed him for a second.

"No, I mean, I can't do this when it happens. When Charlie gets hurt. If she…" he squeezed his eyes closed as he said the next word, "…died, I-I couldn't do it. I don't know what I would do. Where to go. How to move on."

"Noah, she isn't dead," I shook my head gently, "You don't have to worry yourself over that-"

"You and I both know that I am not sitting here and crying because she broke her ribs. Not really," Noah craned his head to where my nose was touching his, "I think I'm preparing myself."

"She'll be fine," I tried, but I didn't even know that. How could I make him believe it?

"You don't know that, Kate," he was playing with my hair now, "I don't know that. Nobody knows that. We have to get there, and I have to watch my sister die or grow up. And both sound absolutely terrible."

"But you don't know that it won't turn out well. You don't know that she will die," I smiled gently.

"What if she did? What could I look at that didn't remind me of her?" he voice cracked, and I hugged him tighter.

He couldn't look at me, and I couldn't look at him.

We were the ones that could do the best at healing each other, but we would never be able to look at the other without remembering Charlie too much to bear.

"Think of that only if it happens. Don't ruin what could be your last bit of time with her with worrying about the fate that may or may not come," I whispered, and he closed his eyes, putting his forehead against mine as he kept his eyes shut.

As his chest rose and fell with his breathing, I moved with it. I could feel his breath on my skin, and I could feel his cool skin on top of mine.

"Thanks, Kate," his eyes opened, though he didn't move. He kept twirling a curl of mine around in his fingers, playing with my hair like we used to play with Charlie's hair when she was little.

I grinned a bit, and I took in his close proximity to me. It was absolutely perfect.

And then it was ruined.

Knock, knock.

Loud. Crisp. And urgent.

Noah let out a huff before untangling himself from me. I suddenly felt cold without his body warmth, and I felt uneasy without his protective arms around me and putting me at ease. I felt disappointed without what had been a pretty much perfect moment, and I forced myself to sit up with him.

"Coming," Noah called out as he stood up and walked to the door, leaving me sitting on the bed

Aiden was at the door.

Today was the day I saw Aiden actually break down. I saw much more than the perfect angle with all saw typically. He was battered, tired, emotionally unstable, and had the blood on his shirt to add to the guilt he felt about the situation.

"She just woke up. She's tired but awake."

Noah let out a sigh of relief and started walking towards the room without another word. I got up hurriedly and followed along with Aiden.

"Did you tell her?"

Aiden nodded.

"She's mad as fire. Won't forgive me for a while, but she'll get over it. It was the best choice," Aiden nodded, ruffling his blonde hair.

"So, you told her that it was your idea?" I was a little shocked, thinking that Noah would take the blame for this one as he typically did.

"I think she understands. She can tell how guilty I feel about all this. She may not like it, but I think Charlie understands," Aiden explained, and I nodded my agreement.

She had to if she liked it or not. We were not taking another risk like that.

Sam,

"So, you are all are a pretty close family, huh?" Swift asked as she brought a beer to her lips, her body leaned up against mine as she stretched her legs out in front of mine. My arm was slung around her waist, holding her close to me as I tried not to seem too protective.

It was killing me not to hold her tight and make sure that she was right here with me. I wanted to protect her, to think of ways to keep her safe just as we had been doing for Charlie just a while ago. I wanted to make sure that nothing ever happened to her.

But that was not Swift's style.

She took care of herself, and, while I loved that about her, I didn't love how it made things like this such a tightrope.

Maybe it wouldn't be if we had been together longer and I knew the way to bring things up, but we hadn't and I didn't. I was flying blind as I tried to focus on anything but what I really wanted to say.

With Swift, the words just came out of my mouth. I didn't have to really think about what I said or wanted to say. I just knew it, and I knew that she would be there to listen to it. We both did that, our only silence being when our bodies were a bit more preoccupied.

Yet, we were pretty silent now.

After Charlie had gotten hurt, we all could easily see that Noah and Kate needed some time alone, though I wasn't sure if I liked what could happen during their "time alone". Aiden watched Charlie. I gave Noah the key to our room, and I just wrapped my hands around Swift's hand and didn't let go.

A few drinks later and a walk to a nearby park later, here we were.

"Yeah, I guess we are… My aunt is Noah's step-mother. We did the whole parent trap thing, trying to get them together. Well, Kate and Noah did. I was too busy with soccer to care," I shrugged, grinning slightly down at her.

"Do you think they regret that? Now it makes it a bit weird if they decide to-" Swift started laughing, and I shook my head.

"Stop. Not going there. We are not going there."

Swift laughed harder, almost spilling her drink as she doubled over in a fit of laughter.

I found her laugh completely adorable.

Especially the way it broke out. Her face, typically stern and controlled, would try to stay the same, and a grin would tug on her lips, trying to come out. Then, finally, almost out of nowhere, she would break out in a fit of bordering-giggle laughs.

As it subsided, she leaned back against me, her head tilted up towards the sky as she closed her eyes. I kissed her forehead, smiling to myself.

As my fingers began to play with her black curls, I couldn't get out the fear of her getting hurt. It was swarming me, and I could suddenly see myself getting home from a soccer game to see twenty new messages on my answering machine. I could see myself sitting in a hospital room as the intimidating and always prepared woman I adored was lifeless in a hospital bed.

As the vision progressed in my head, I couldn't handle it, and I could only see one way to get it to stop.

"Swift?" my voice was soft as I asked her, and it caught her attention enough for her eyes to open. She stayed where she was, her eyes telling me to continue.

I swallowed heavily.

"With Charlie hurt, I've been thinking…"

"Thinking about?" she adjusted herself to look at me better.

"What if you got hurt?" I didn't look her in the eyes, focusing more on the lock of hair I was playing with.

"What?" Swift laughed a bit, turning even more to look at me. She pulled away enough that I couldn't continue to play with her hair or feel her body against me to somewhat comfort me. I just had to look at her as I continued.

My hand rested on her thigh, the exact spot where I knew she had the eternity symbol tattoo and had almost been killed.

She stopped, her smile fading, and she looked up at me.

"I am fine. I survived it. I always do."

"But what about the part in between? When we don't know if you will? Or when you are healing and I have to see you in pain? Or if you don't make it out okay? I don't think I can take that."

"I don't have to tell you then," Swift was becoming defiant, her arms crossed, and I could tell that I had gotten just what I had feared out of this conversation.

"You know that isn't what I mean, Swift," I tried to put my hand on her arm, but she pulled away from me, glaring at me.

"No, I know exactly where this is going. Let me see," she stood, "Next you would say that my job is dangerous, right?"

I stood up along with her, trying to get her back to where we had been just a minute ago. I wanted to take back the anger, but I still had a part of me that was happy we were getting this conversation (or most likely fight) out of the way.

"Well, it is, Swift," I admitted, not sure where to go. I only knew that I was treading on thin ice.

"Of course," she spat, looking at me with disgust.

"What? Are you mad at me for wanting you to be safe?!" my own anger was rising, and I looked back at her.

"Sure, you just want me safe. Please. I know what you want, and it won't happen."

"I don't know what the Hades you think I want, but I do actually want my girlfriend not to end up in a body bag!"

"Stop with all that, 'Oh, but I love you and want the best for you' thing. I am not stupid!" she cried out.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I love you. And I am getting attacked for it!"

"You're trying to get me to quit!"

"I am not! I would love it if you did! Just so I wouldn't worry!" I suddenly realized I was yelling.

"See there you go. You do want me to quit, and it won't happen. I am not going to quit just become some guy wanted me to!"

I froze, taken aback.

Some guy.

Those two, venomous words played again and again in my head.

"You're just like the rest! They think they can just make me quit! Be the perfect little girlfriend who just sits around! This is who I am!" she screamed, and some guy was blown out of the water.

You're just like the rest.

Swift was one in a million for me. She was the one. The first girl I had ever really loved. I had never even met anyone like her, let alone become involved with them.

And I was just some guy to her.

I was just like the "rest"…

I suddenly thought back to last night, wondering if that had happened to her before. That a nervous guy completely in love would confess his love for her, and she would make his dreams come true by saying the same. That, for a short time, everything was perfect. And then it came out.

He was not the first and would not be the last.

"I'm like the rest?" my voice was full of all of the heartbreak and desperation I felt. I couldn't breathe. I could barely stand. I couldn't think.

I didn't take the time to see her reaction. I couldn't look at her. I just turned around and started walking, trying to go faster. Before I knew it, I was running. I was sprinting. I needed to be anywhere but there. I needed to be away from the girl who was my one in a million while I was just some guy to her.