I can tell you right now that time does not heal all wounds. It is so much better to talk to someone about it, preferably someone who you are close to.

After a couple of hours of driving I was feeling no more in control. Now and again my mind would wander. After all, humans, even demigods, cannot concentrate for long. Especially demigods, due to our battle reflexes. So I could not help but reflect on my control issues now and again, which would make me more and more upset.

My fatigue was not helping matters.

When I got to the stage where my reflections meant that my driving became dangerous, Luke quietly suggested that we should find a hotel. I could tell that he had absolutely no idea what to do about my overly-emotional state. I could also sense that he had not spoken while we drove because he did not want to give me an excuse to take out my frustrations on him. He honestly has watched too many dramatic television shows that have messed with his perceptions of women.

The thoughts of what I was doing to Luke made me even sadder. Cue the tears.

Luke had no idea what to do. He had been told by the gods that he had the ability to comfort me. He could feel the pain through the Egyptian necklace. But he failed to see how he could help. Later he told me that throughout the entire car ride he was cursing Aphrodite in his head, suspecting that she was behind the whole 'not telling him' thing to up the romantics. But he was willing to help me in whatever way he could.

He was just waiting for the right time.

Having spotted a hotel out of the corner of my eye, I parked the car and walked up to reception, asking for a double room. I could see that the receptionist was thinking that we were a couple of teenagers who were in 'love' and had snuck away from home to do you-know-what. To be fair to her, we did look like that, particularly since we were carrying school backpacks. I could tell that she didn't want to give us the room. However, she handed us the keys without a word. The hotel must not be doing so well: they've become desperate. I blame the location myself. Luke disagrees. He thinks that it was the food. What a male.

When she gave us the price, my jaw opened in shock. All I could think was that we were being ripped off. Harshly.

Then something weird happened. My necklace glowed for a second, and I noticed that my backpack was quite a bit heavier than it had been. Taking it off my back, I peered in, gobsmacked at what I saw.

A whole lot of money.

At least five hundred notes. Each for a thousand dollars. I was rich. I recalled a certain mythology book, where it had mentioned that money was no problem for the gods: gold drachmas were guarded by Hades, but any other currency was up for grabs.

Not even considering the implication of the fact that I was able to summon money out of thin air as if I was a god, I took out the necessary amount, whishing that the notes were slightly smaller. The face of the receptionist said it all. Telling her to keep the change we climbed the stair and located our hotel room.

And entered.

My first thought was that the hotel manager has an obsession with the colour pink. A strong and kind of scary obsession. Each of the walls of the living room were bright pink. The couch was a lighter pink and covered with heart cushions. The coffee table had coasters that had the word love printed in large red letters. The rug was red with pink hearts lining the edges. The carpet was a pale pink. The entire area reminded me of the song 'Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows'. As I walked around I made a mental note to talk to the receptionist about the decorum. It honestly felt like valentine's day in here. When I looked at Luke to see if his reaction was of disgust, which I would have been fine with, or of admiration, which would have resulted in me having a long discussion with him about his tastes in decoration, what I saw shocked me. He was blushing and avoiding looking at anything. Especially me.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The receptionist had decided, out of mutual hatred no doubt (no woman would subject another to this kind of place willingly) that we should be given the honeymoon suit. I had no more doubts about what she thought we would get up to. Which just made me hate her even more.

Not even Aphrodite would enjoy the decorations in this hotel room.

The bedroom was no better. The carpet, the rug and the walls were all the same. However, instead of couches there was one king-sized bed. Shaped like a heart. Literary my nightmare come true. Especially since that meant that Luke and I had to share. Which, in the state of mind that I was in at the time, would not be the best idea. Trying and failing to comfort myself I walked into the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief. All white. Thank Zeus (which I did do after I got around to it).

Having had the tour of the hotel room I wanted to do nothing more than flop on the bed and sleep. Thinking that I would have a shower the next day, I took out my toothbrush and cleaned my teeth (hygiene is important children) before getting into my pyjamas, When I unlocked and left the bathroom I saw that Luke had also changed, but had waited to learn about the sleeping arrangements. The fact that he was mindful of my thoughts on the matter made me like him that much more.

Luke did not bother to take his time. "Where should I sleep?"

Normally I would have gotten him to take the couch. However, the width of that piece of furniture was not large enough to accommodate a human being. Clearly another decorating hint that the room's two inhabitants should be enjoying themselves in certain ways. It took all the control that I had left not to go and verbally bash the receptionist for putting us in this position.

Luke took my facial expressions towards the receptionist as clues. "I guess I will be sleeping on the couch then. Goodnight Elena." He then proceeded to turn in the direction of the living room.

These was no way that he was sleeping there. I knew that a good night's sleep was very important in making sure that the both of us kept our wits about us the next day. So I told him to wait. When he did, I said, "The bed is big enough for the both of us. And far more comfortable." When Luke looked at me with suspicion in his eyes, I blurted out the truth that I had not even known until that point, "I need someone near when I am upset. It comforts me. Please?" A little embarrassed as to my confession, I looked up at him hopefully.

He nodded, and then turned around. We both automatically got into the side of the bed that we were closest to, since neither of us really cared. As soon as we were comfortable Luke turned off the only light that was left on, and we both fell to sleep instantly. It had been a long day.

…..

The dream that I had that night I can official can say was the worst that I had ever had. Considering what I had gone through since then, that is really saying something.

It started off as a normal ordinary day back before my life went nuts. After I ate breakfast, doing my best to ignore my step-siblings the entire time, I was driven to school by mum. I distinctly remember sighing as I believed all my troubles to be over.

However, the weather began to change, and lightning began to strike. The wind began to pick up: the sounds were first inaudible, but they soon became voices that told me again and again that I had a huge responsibility. As we continued to drive we came across two small figures in the distance. The closer we got the older the car became, as if time was passing with each mile. When we were almost there the car stopped working, forcing me to get out and walk. The figures became larger and larger each step, and I began to dread what I would see when I reached my destination. When I was in viewing distance I stopped suddenly and began to cry.

The first figure was on the ground, lying still. I could see blood pouring out of the chest. The second figure was standing over it in a menacing position with a knife in the hand. Worried for the safety of the first person I ran closer. When I reached him I did not hesitate to try to revive him. For I knew who he was. Luke. As my attempts failed over and over again, I turned around and angrily faced his attacker, prepared to lash out at whoever it was. But who it was frightened me more than anything.

It was me.

My eyes were black. My mouth was pulled into a menacing sneer. My body oozed power while I glowed the palest white. My clothing and hands were covered in blood. And I began to speak.

"You cannot control who you are." My voice was layered with hundreds of others. "Accept it."

I refused, staring at myself in horror. The jewel around my neck had lost all of the green: it was pure black. I could see myself looking into my eyes as I again spoke. "It is only a matter of time." All those voices that were speaking. I couldn't handle it.

And then I ran. I turned around and ran back to the old car, wanting to get comfort from my mum. For her to make the scene behind me go away. My last hope. I climbed into the car and turned towards the driver's seat. But she was not there. Instead there was an ancient skeleton wearing my mother's clothing and glasses. That was when I got it: she was long dead. I reached out to touch her. But my hand did not look right.

It was covered in blood. And there was a knife in my hand.

Instinctively I looked down at my clothing, seeing blood everywhere and a slight white glow. When I looked into the rear-view mirror I felt my heart sink down to the depths of the ocean. My eyes were black. My mouth was sneering. And then my mouth moved without my consent delivering my final words, "Embrace it."

I woke up screaming