Book 3: Chapter 56: Seth

Book 3: Chapter 56: Seth
Seth

I made my way toward where Rae had pointed my mom’s tent was. Was something wrong? Why had she left the comfort of the castle? Our Army was slowly arriving from it, the ones Alex had convinced to join, but my mom wasn't a soldier. She had some healing knowledge... But she wasn't as skilled as others I had seen. Was Dad here too? I couldn't get a grasp on what was happening...

The blue tent that Rae had described as my family's came into view. I threw open the flap, ready to demand answers from the person who had raised me. But I stopped dead just inside the door. It wasn't a tent like I was expecting with sleeping bags or cots on the floor. It was fully furnished. There was a sitting area that led to another flap that I could only assume was the bedroom. Everything was decorated in dark colors, mostly black which was my favorite... And there was a kitchen on the other side where my mother and a little girl who looked to be no older the 6 were baking something that smelled an awful lot like cookies.

"Seth!" My mother shrieked. "You're safe! I'm so glad you're here."

She rushed over to me even though she was covered in flour and god knows what else and wrapped me in a hug. I hugged her back, but my eyes didn't leave the little girl who was watching me curiously from her spot at the counter.

"Is dad with you?" I managed to ask.

"Yes." She answered not letting go yet, squeezing the life out of me. "We decided it was high time to do something in this war."

"And uh who is the little girl at the counter staring at me?" It came out far more nervously than I had intended.

"Oh!" Mom exclaimed, finally letting go. "Seth, this is Lyssa. She has been staying with me and your father for a while."

"And who is she exactly?" I pressed, unable to take my eyes off the little girl with such chocolate brown hair and wide eyes.

"Lexy found her in a prison a couple of years ago." Mom said slowly, her eyes flickering back and forth between Lyssa and me nervously. "She's been between our two houses ever since."

"Hi Lyssa," I said carefully as I approached and crouched down next to her. "I'm Seth."

"I know who you are," The girl responded dryly. "Lexy told me all about you."

I let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh."

"She likes you a lot. Always talking about you and Annabeth" The little girl responded with the same dryness as her last words. "But she also said you were an idiot."

This time my laugh was real.

"Where is Lexy?" I asked my mom, knowing that she probably wouldn't be far from her if she had any say at all.

"Izzy and Jamie popped over a couple of hours ago and said that they were sleeping in her tent next door. The sage green one."

"Who are Izzy and Jamie?" I felt stupid, like it was something I should know already.

"The other two kids that Lexy adopted. Seriously, Seth, do you even talk to her?" Mom said in exaggerated tone.

"Not really." I admitted, my face turning pink. I had been playing a game of hot and cold with her for far longer than I wanted to admit, especially to my mother who loved her like a daughter.

"Seth..." My mother's warning in just my name made me regret everything I had done over the last 4 years, and she wasn't even done, "That girl has been through hell and back, over and over again. She can't take her heart being played with. She was your best friend growing up. She was your best friend when fate intertwined your lives again. Don't make me choose between you two."

My stomach sank. I knew my mom would choose Lexy if it came down to it, and I couldn't even be mad about it. Lexy had already lost so much. If I fucked it all up, I was glad she would have my mom in her corner.

"I'm going to go see her," I responded tiredly after spending a bit more time with my mom and Lyssa. "It was a long day."

My mother gave me a pointed look but didn't stop me.

The sage tent was not something I would have envisioned her picking. She loved dark colors nearly as much as I did, just different shades of them, but yet the sage felt welcoming, even in the dark of night, like I was supposed to just walk right in.

I didn't know what to expect when I walked in. The setup was similar but different. The sitting room was set up the same, several couches making it cozy. The kitchen just behind it with counter space and a large table to my left. On the right there was a flap that I surmised was a bedroom. Then there were several more flaps and voices coming from the farthest away one, so I followed the sound.

“So, what? You’re just gonna show up there and hope for the best?” A young girl asked doubtfully about something someone had just said as I stood in the doorway taking on the scene. Lexy was on the ground surrounded by papers, looking utterly exhausted.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m gonna do." Lexy responded tiredly. "Viviana has been attacking Gala daily. We don’t have time to dally. You two remember where you go if all hell breaks loose right?”

“The place you set up. And we portal to Hemingdale.” A boy answered as if it was something they had gone over a thousand times and he was bored by the question.

“Yes, exactly. Now go get ready for bed. You need all the sleep you can get.” She responded. "Tomorrow will be just as busy as today."

The little girl's eyes met mine as she left, but I raised my finger to my lips asking for her quiet. I wanted to watch everything just a little bit longer. She gave me a weird look but just shrugged and walked by me. I assumed that she was the Izzy girl my mom had mentioned. The boy didn’t move. Instead, he just reached for her hand, and I realized he had to be Jamie.

She stared at him but didn't take it.

“Come on, Lexy.” He said. “Your sister is already in bed, and you need your rest too. You know that Izzy needs the lights out to sleep, and Lyssa is staying with Miss. Leah tonight. So you don’t need to worry there.”

I stared at the girl I once thought I would spend the rest of my life with. Her face was pale, but her cheeks were rosy. She looked exhausted in a way that I knew sleep probably wouldn't fix. Nothing would until we figured out how to defeat Vivian.

“Are the nightmares still bad?” Jamie asked. And for a second my heart clenched. Lexy had been struggling with nightmares even before her banishment. I couldn't even imagine how bad they were now. I should have been there to help her, I should have chosen differently.

“I’m fine, Jamie,” She told him. “There’s just so much to do.”

“There’s always a lot to do, Lex.” He responded slightly aggravated. “You need to take care of yourself.”

Before she could answer, I intervened.

“He’s right.”