In my dream, I was freezing. It was dark but I had the sense of severe claustrophobia. I was clammy and cold and just plain miserable. I needed to get out of there.
"It's up to you, hero. You have to save us or else all of destiny will be lost. Help us, Naida Hale. Fate depends on you."
I was confused. I couldn't see anything but the three voices that were buzzing around in my head certainly knew me. They talked as one but I had no clue what they were talking about. I couldn't even see the women that apparently wanted me to save them.
"Naida!"
I sat up in my bunk quickly, getting light-headed in the process. The sun was barely rising and it made a nice glow over the white walls of the cabin. I guessed that I still had a few hours before anyone else woke up, but I couldn't sleep anymore. I got up and put on my swim suit. There was a gorgeous lake right outside our cabin and it looked crystal clear. I dove right in and let the gentle waves take over. I wasn't sure how long I stayed under, looking at the strange plants and creatures. When I was done with my swim, I got out and just sat there on the dock. I liked the solitude and I definitely needed time to myself to just drift.
My knees were pulled up into my chest and my chin was resting on them when the sun finally came up fully. That's how I was when someone found me.
"Hey, what's on your mind?"
I looked up. Nico was standing there in all black looking down at me. I blushed but then turned deep red when I realized that I was still in my polka dot bikini. "Um, nothing," I muttered.
"Liar," he accused. "I can tell that something's bothering you. So spill."
I shrugged. "Just thinking, that's all. It's been a long couple of days. It's hard to imagine that just yesterday morning I was on the other side of the country surfing with my mom. It's just scary how fast things can change."
"Are you sure that's it?"
I didn't like the way he was studying me. It was like he knew about the dream. "Y-yeah, that's it. I'm just having a hard time adjusting. And the damn time zones are messin’ with me."
Nico rolled his dark eyes and planted himself on the dock next to me. "I still say that you're bull shitting, but I'll let it slide for now. Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Where are you from?"
I took a deep breath and blew my wet bangs out of my face. I stared out at the open water while I spoke. "I'm originally from Noble, Oklahoma. My mom grew up there and was training to swim in the Olympics when she was 16 and met my dad. She had me and her folks kicked her out. We lived with a lot of different people when I was younger. Then Mom saved up enough when I was like five so that we could take care of ourselves. The two of us have been on the run ever since, moving from place to place.”
I grabbed a big stone and chucked it in the water as far as it would go. It wasn’t until I was talking to Nico that I realized how mad I really was about everything that had happened within the last day. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I exploded, “She knew the entire time. My mom knew about all of this crap and she never had the decency to tell me! I asked her about it a million times, asked about my dad and her solution was to move to a new city so I was too distracted to think about him. How could she not tell me the truth?”
Nico patted my shoulder. “I’m sure that she was just trying to protect you. If you asked too many questions it would have alerted monsters to where you were. Constantly moving kept you alive.”
My blue eyes met his dark ones. “She still should have told me,” I whispered. “It’s her fault that I’m such a coward. I just want to run away from all of this like we usually do.”
“That feeling like you’re the last one to know anything will go away, Naida. I promise.”
I shot him a quick smile. It was time for a subject change before I burst into tears. “What about you?"
"I don't really remember much from before Grover found us in Maine a few years ago. My sister joined the Hunters of Artemis not long after and then she died. I've been here or with my dad ever since."
"I'm sorry. It must be terrible to lose someone that you love."
It was his turn to change the subject. "C'mon, it's time for breakfast. If you tell me what's bugging you, I'll go help you train after breakfast."
I wrinkled my nose. "I'll think about it."
Nico smiled crookedly. "Fair enough. At least come sit with me at breakfast?"
"I guess. But then you can't bug me about what's on my mind."
"'Kay. Let's go."
Nico helped me to my feet. We started walking toward the pavilion when I realized that I still needed to put some real clothes on. A blush made my pale freckled face even redder than my hair. "Um, why don't I meet you there?"
Nico was blushing madly, too, and looking at the ground. "Good idea," he mumbled. "Meet you there."
I seriously needed to get my head on straight. I couldn't let Nico make me so nervous. I would end up doing something to completely embarrass myself. That would just suck.

Notes

a million thank you's to: Evil espresso drinks Thalia grace and tmcar1 . you guys are the reason I'm updating and I'm just sorry it took so long!