Coming Back [A ReyNico FanFic]

Shrouded

"I lost you in a bright summer day just like this,
And every day after became as cold and as harsh as winter.
As I choose to lay in the dark here,
I see the fading light of your smile.
I see the pale white of your hand against mine,
The yellow splash of sunlight on your hair,
The greener promise you made that you'd never go anywhere,
The flush of red in your face when you feel us fly,
And the black curse of my days when you said goodbye."

-- Me, trying really hard to be a poet. :)

Reyna
Reyna felt like she had been slapped. Anger bubbled inside her. And something snapped too.

It couldn't be. Nico. . . dead. He promised to come back. He promised that no matter what happened, he'd find a way to her.

A part of her knew that. But a bigger part of her remained faithful to him. So faithful it was almost unhealthy. So faithful it was killing her. And she would've wanted that too, her death.

She was so close. She almost died. If Chiron hadn't saved her, she'd be dead. She'd be dead, and she wouldn't have been dealing with all this angst, with all the guilt of being the only one who survived.

But she tried to carry on. She really tried. So hard, in fact, that it broke her. For the past months she tried to be strong, to be positive, even. But every time she thought about Nico, the pain got so intense it was impossible to bear. The guilt and the regret and the anger would be so hard to endure that even his name was hard to say.

Desperation poisoned her mind. Thoughts about Nico were two-way: her salvation and her ruin. Eventually she unconsciously worked out a system. Pretend like nothing's wrong in the day, in front of people, and torture herself at night, when she'd have nobody but herself.

Hope would be her end. This tiny spark of hope inside her that always took blow after blow from the people around her. She cradled this little flame, protecting it, while it burns her from inside.

But she couldn't do that forever, could she? She was on the very verge of breaking for the past months, and now it was time to get shattered.

"Shut up. Shut. . ." Reyna's voice shook. Hazel looked so sympathetic that it was killing her.

Without any warning, she kicked open her door and ran into the night.

The cold air bit her skin as she ran into the woods. The low branches scraped her hands, arms and face as she bolted off, but she didn't stop. Her heart was hammering in super speed, and her legs were protesting.

But she ran and ran and ran away from that place, until she reached a clearing deep in the forest.

Her sword dropped to the ground with a clang as she fell to her knees, breathing hard. The dirt on the ground bunched up inside her fingers as her hands clenched into fists.

"No, you can't leave me," she said through gritted teeth. "You can't. You can't. . ."

"Up you get, praetor," Nico said, sheathing his sword. He just finished disarming her. The orange rays of the setting sun bathed his smiling face. "You need some rest, you're tired."