I think this is my favorite chapter up to this point.

Quote of the Chapter:

"You drool when you sleep."

~Annabeth Chase in The Lightning Thief

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Chapter 13: I Can't Do What?

Luke

Luke woke up without opening his eyes. He knew he was now slumped down onto the bed, which he remembered was not the position he had been in earlier. He was also very aware of the fact that someone was snuggled up next to him with his arm around them. Opening his eyes, Luke saw Bryn asleep, and from her slow, steady breathing, she was in a deep sleep. She looked calm and peaceful, a sharp contrast from how she is when she's awake. She was always tense and serious when she was awake. Luke wanted to get to know the Bryn that wasn't serious and tense. He wanted to know the one behind all that.

Her arms were pulled up taut to her chest, her fists curled. Her head rested on his shoulder. Some hair fell across her face, and Luke gingerly moved it out of the way. Bryn didn't even stir.

Luke realized something else as he stared at Bryn. She looked young. She looked vulnerable. And it got Luke thinking. Had she always been like she is now? He guessed not. He had a sneaking suspicion that something had happened to her before she went to camp that made her the way she is now.

Not being able to keep his eyes open any longer, Luke went back to bed.

When Luke woke back up, Bryn was gone. It was still dark in the room but there was enough light from the moon shining in that he could see the outlines of the furniture. His first thought was where had Bryn gone? Looking around, his eyes narrowed in on the barely open sliding glass door. Slowly getting up, he made his way over there, in the process using his shin as a device to find things in his way. Sure enough, when Luke looked out, Bryn was sitting on the couch outside. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and resting against the arm of the chair. Luke opened the door and her head whipped around to face him.

"Hi," she said softly. "Did I wake you?"

"No," he replied, shutting the door. "I woke up on my own. I just realized you weren't there. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing," she answered a little too quickly. "The waters were getting so rough it woke me up and I haven't been able to fall back asleep. It makes me nervous."

"Why?"

"I don't belong in open waters. I belong on land or in the sky."

"You heard Poseidon though. He said he'd protect us."

"Yeah, but only for a few days. Not forever," she pointed out. "I'm terrified that the ship will sink and that I'll drown and go down with it. I know how to swim but knowing my luck, I'd be as deep inside the ship as possible and escape would be impossible and I'd drown."

"Look, if something were to happen to this ship, I would come get you. I wouldn't let you drown; I wouldn't leave this ship without you," Luke promised. When Bryn didn't respond, he asked, "You don't trust me, do you?"

"I don't trust many people. I trust Derek, you, and Silena. That's it. Don't ask why I trust you, I don't know. All I know is I do."

"Keep it that way. I won't let you down. Not after what you're going through just to help me get my parents back," Luke assured.

"I know what it's like to have your parents absent from your life. I don't want you going through that."

The two elapsed into silence again. Bryn was looking away from Luke; her hands were gripping the arm of the couch tightly and Luke knew the choppy waters were causing her anxiety. He hated seeing her go through this all because of him. Luke looked over the horizon. The sky was turning a lighter blue. Vaguely, he wondered what time it was.

"I was five when it happened," she whispered. Luke's head snapped up and looked at her. She still wasn't looking at him but by the way she was biting her lip, he knew this wasn't something she was willing to talk about and that he needed to listen. "I was in my living room with my mother and butler. His name was Michael. My mother was six months pregnant. It was a boy. We had already decided that his name was going to be Bradley or Brady. We were playing Go Fish when someone busted down the front door. I remember screaming and my mother and Michael jumping up. I followed and grabbed the closest thing I could to use as a weapon. Michael and my mother already had swords out. Something like thirty or forty Cyclops raided our house and kidnapped me. The last thing I saw was them knocking out my mother and Michael and then they knocked me out. I woke up on an airplane but fell back asleep. I woke up again in a car, and then again in a building. They kept me there for three years. I saw no sun, I had no interaction with anyone. When I was eight, three demigods came and rescued me. I was barely conscious when they found me. Those three are all out in the real world now. But I was so out of it that I didn't fight them. However, when they saved me and brought me to camp, I flipped out. I don't know where the strength came from but I bolted. I trusted no one. I thought they had kidnapped me again and I didn't want to go through it again. I ran through the forest and climbed a tree. In fact, it was the tree you found me in after you fought that scorpion. I climbed so high that no one could reach me. It took them four hours to convince me to come down. When I finally came down, Chiron told everyone to go back to their cabins. They did and he talked to me alone. He asked me all sorts of questions from what my name was to where was I from to did I know why I was being held by the Cyclops. I had answers for everything but that question. I told him I knew who my father, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-grandfather were. I don't think he believed me but he certainly did after the campfire we had that night. I was claimed by all four. Zeus' bolt was at the top, Aphrodite's dove was below it, Hecate's paired torches were below the dove, and Apollo's laurel was last. That pretty much caused mass havoc and the night ended early. The next day, everyone talked to me and was being as sweet as they could be… well, except for these two Aphrodite chicks named Iris and Bailey. They hate me, I hate them. Anyways, no one ever asked me why I stayed year round. I guess they always assumed I wanted to. I did, actually, because I had no family except for my godly relatives. The Cyclops told me that my mother and Michael were dead. I cried for weeks when I was being held prisoner. After that, I never cried again."

She fell silent and Luke knew that was the end of her story. He was stunned by the fact that she had just told him her life story. It was strange that he had thought about what had happened to her just a few hours ago and now Bryn was telling him.

"Have you told anyone else that?" Luke inquired gently.

"No. Derek knows I lost my mother but that's about it."

"You've known Derek for ages but you've only known me for a little over a week. Why did you tell me all that and not him?"

She seemed to ponder the question briefly. "I honestly don't know. I just felt like I could."

"I'm glad you did. Really. I know this doesn't change anything but I'm sorry you went through something like that. You didn't deserve it. Hell, no one does."

"Thanks," Bryn said with a small smile. "So, anyone you like at camp?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have a crush on any girls?" She looked at him with her sparkling hazel eyes. There was a slight smirk on her face.

"Not really, although I think Olive from the Hades cabin is pretty cute. Why?"

"I wouldn't advise dating her," Bryn said.

"Why not? Jealous are you?" Luke joked.

"You wish," she retorted. "Unless you want Hades to strike you down for dating his daughter, I wouldn't advise dating her."

"What are you saying? That I can't date anyone at camp?" he demanded.

"No, you can date any girl except a daughter of the Big Three."

"I can't do what?!" Luke exclaimed.

"You can't date any daughters of the Big Three. Okay, example time since you're obviously not grasping this. Say, theoretically, that you liked me and wanted to ask me out. We couldn't date because I'm Zeus' daughter and you're Poseidon's grandson. It is pretty much forbidden."

"But my mother is Athena's daughter and my father is Poseidon's and it was pretty obvious when I first met them that they hated each other and it's obvious that if I wasn't part Athena, then the Athena kids would hate me. My parents worked out, so why couldn't we work out?"

"We couldn't work out because your grandfather and my father are the biggest rivals in the Olympian world… until it comes to the Titans. Then they will band together but that's not the point. Because of who we are related to, we can't date."

"Well, that sucks," Luke grumbled.

"What?" Bryn queried, her brows furrowing in confusion. Thank the gods she hadn't heard him say that. She couldn't know he had a major freaking crush on her.

"I said that's stupid that children of the Big Three can't date each other. Seriously, what if they're soul mates or something and they can't be together because of their parents' stupid feud? It's nuts," Luke ranted. Bryn grinned.

"That makes two of us," she said before yawning.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, but my seasickness is coming back," she replied with a grimace.

"Can I do anything to help? Does anything help it?" For some reason, Bryn blushed at the question. "What?"

"Nothing… nothing works," she said and it was obvious she was lying.

"Liar!" Luke exclaimed. "Something worked but you're too embarrassed to say it."

"You would be too if you were in my situation," she retorted.

"Then tell me," Luke challenged.

"Fine. The only thing that lessened it was when you were holding me," Bryn confessed quietly, her face turning even redder.

"All right, so I can't leave your side. I don't see the problem in that," Luke said.

She looked at him in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I owe you Bryn, you can't deny that."

"Actually, I can and I will. You don't owe me anything. I'm doing this because I wanted to, not because I was forced to."

"But I insisted you come and you gave in."

"I didn't give in. I easily could've used my Charmspeak to convince you to let me go back to camp but I didn't. I chose to go. End of story."

"No, I was too adamant about you coming along," he wrangled, refusing to let her win this argument.

To his confusion, she laughed. "We're at each other's throats already. We can't have one conversation without getting into some type of argument."

"Well, it's… what did you call it when the Oracle gave the prophecy?"

"Enmity. A hatred or bitterness."

"Yeah, that. It's the enmity passed on to us from our divine relatives. Hey, if my parents could work it out, I think we can too."

"Maybe," Bryn replied with a sly smile. She yawned and rested her head on her shoulder. Within a matter of minutes, she was completely asleep. Luke gave a small chuckle and gently lifted her up. He put her in her bed and then took residence on the couch in the room. He had promised he would stay by her side. He wasn't going to break his promise, especially with the trust issues she had. He wanted her to trust him.

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