Forced to Love

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in a river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh
. . .
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
. . .
it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand,
There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever,
Who would have thought forever could be severed by...

...the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?
I've had just enough time
. . .
A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save 'em for a time when you're really gonna need 'em, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
If I die young- The Band Perry
. . .
'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars
I wanna die in your arms
'Cause you get lighter the more it gets dark
I'm gonna give you my heart
-Sky full of Stars by Coldplay
Eliza
I woke up laying next to Nico with his arm around me. I wasn’t sure exactly what had woken me up. I had been having a queer dream about Leo building a robot spider, writing a note, tying it to the spider’s leg, telling it to come to my cabin, and sending it out the door of Bunker 9.
That’s when I heard it. A faint scuttling sound. I pulled myself out Nico’s grasp and got out of bed to investigate. I saw a note on my bedside table. The door to my room slid open the tiniest bit and I saw the silhouette of a small metal spider. So my dream had been reality! Thats scary. My palms started to sweat, my ice ball came back.
I walked silently to my bedside table. with shaking hands, I read a note In the faint red light of the alarm clock,:
Dear Eliza,
Seeing you with him is more painful than death will be. Even my crush on Coral is not enough to stop me. The anger has been harbored too long. I am ending my life. You can’t stop me. If you want to see me one last time, be at Bunker 9 before 6:00.
So long forever,
Leo
I looked down at my alarm clock. It read 5:50. I didn’t bother to change into real clothes. I sprinted down to Bunker 9, unphased by the cold, the branches snagging on my nightgown, and the sharp rocks on my bare feet. I prayed to God that I wouldn't be too late.
I burst into Bunker 9 shivering and gasping for breath. I quickly closed the doors catching my reflection. My nightgown was torn, my skin was scratched, and my hair bronze was a mess. I didn’t linger long on my appearance, though. I quickly whirled around and my eyes skimmed the room for Leo.
When I opened my mouth to call his name, though, he stopped me by saying “There you are. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.” His voice was raspy and came out barely a whisper. “Thought you would just stay with your new boyfriend.” He spat out the word ‘boyfriend’ like he was referring to a piece of garbage.
“Leo, what is the matter with you. You’re acting…. strangely. What is it?” I asked, slightly afraid. That scared me even more, I have never been afraid of Leo, but now I was terrified.
“WHAT IS IT?!?!” he spat “WHAT IS IT?!?! NOW YOU JUST PUSH IT ASIDE LIKE YOU’RE CLUELESS, BLAMELESS EVEN!”
“What do you mean it?” I asked trying to keep my cool
“WHAT DO I MEAN IT?!?! SO NOW YOU COMPLETELY IGNORE THE RING ON YOUR FINGER. YOU IGNORE YOUR VOW TO YOUR FIANCE! YOU ACT LIKE EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE WHILE I WAS GONE IS NOTHING! I thought you loved me, but now you’re ENGAGED to that boy!”
I had never seen Leo so mad. To tell the truth, it scared me. “Leo,” I said, still trying to keep my voice down. “I told you, I don’t have the choice. If I don’t, the gods go to war and the world as we know it ends. I have to or everyone dies.”
“I thought you didn’t believe they have power over us. He said, lowering his voice. Whatever happened to that?” he scoffed.
“I don’t know,” I admitted sighing as I sank to my feet trying, unsuccessfully, not to cry. I put my arms around my knees with my head down.
This seemed to break Leo’s anger. He came at sank against the wall beside me letting out his breath slowly. “I’ve probably taken this too hard. I know that you have to marry him. I just miss you. You seem so distant now. So far away. I try to reach you, but you back away from my hand and into his arms. It hurts me to see you with him. It’s like a knife to the stomach.”
“You- you said you had a crush on my sister, Coral.” I said, looking up at him. Leo gave me an awkward smile.
“Yeah… she’s pretty awesome.” I then recognized the smile I had missed, the long distance smile, where he was thinking of someone else.
“Were you serious?” I interrupted “About committing suicide?”
He took in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. “I was,” he admitted. He paused for a moment, staring into space. “Holy Hephaestus!” he said springing up. His head turned quickly to look at the clock on the wall. He rushed over to the far side of Bunker 9. “ELIZA! GET OUT OF HERE. NOW!” he yelled over his shoulder.
“What? Why?” I called back. I understood what he meant too late. Something exploded on the far side of Bunker 9, right where Leo was. Without thinking., I threw a water shield over myself. I tried to sense more water to throw a shield over Leo, but I was too late.
He flew backwards high in the air. I screamed as he plummeted, banging my fists against the bubble. I tried to dissolve it, but I couldn’t. It’s job was to protect me, so it would not vanish until that job was fulfilled. For now, it served as plexiglass, absorbing blows from both sides so that nothing could get in… or out. I curled up in a ball and sobbed. Time slowed as the debris flew. All I could do was sit there, helpless as Leo died.
When the shield finally dissolved, I crawled quickly over to Leo. “Eliza,” he whispered wheezily. It didn’t take an Apollo kid for me to figure out that his ribs were broken. They had jabbed into his lungs that were now filling with blood. He was beyond the help of even ambrosia and nectar.
“Oh…” I sobbed, my shoulders shaking “This is all my fault”
“No.” he wheezed, “It’s my fault. I was jealous. I wanted you for myself.” He weakly touched my face. “Don’t worry, Eliza, I’ll get to see my mom again, Say bye to Jason and Piper for me, ok?” With that he took one last shaky breath and his body went limp.
“No, Leo” I whispered his name one last time. Sobs wracked my body, shaking my shoulders violently. I felt a gentle hand on my back.
I whirled around. Aphrodite was standing beside me. “YOU!” I screamed “YOU KILLED HIM! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I HATE YOU!” I threw myself at her, my anger propelling me.
She disappeared at the last second, causing me to land hard on the steel floor, landing on my wrist. I heard something snap, and I cried out in pain, but, when I heard Aphrodite’s voice again, I forgot my pain.
“Isn’t this what you wanted, sweetheart? Him to get over the heartbreak quickly? Did he not realize his mistake before he died?” she said in her sickly-sweet, sappy voice
“THIS IS NOT GETTING OVER HEARTBREAK! THIS IS DEATH! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE A GODDESS! YOU’RE A MONSTER! I HATE YOU!” I screamed.
“Now, now.” she scolded “There are always unintended consequences…”
“UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES!?? HOW DARE YOU!!” My anger enfueled me, a new found terrifying energy surged through me, and it helped to see Aphrodite, who looked a little scared.
I summoned a jet stream of water channeling it at her. The force of the oncoming water blasted a hole in the wall where Aphrodite was sitting. It sent her flying, throwing her against the far wall where Buford protected Leo’s inventions with an umbrella. Aphrodite was helpless now. She, unsuccessfully, tried to turn her head to keep from swallowing salt water and having it ruin her makeup and hair. I would have kept the water surge going, but it was draining my energy. Eventually, the jet stream reduced to a trickle.
Aphrodite sat against the wall for a few moments, choking on water. Her hair and makeup were a mess. Her hair was up at odd angles and mascara was running down her cheeks. Her designer outfits were soaked and dripping. She glared at me, fire and fury in her eyes. “You little brat!” She snapped her fingers, and she was gone.
All I wanted to do was cry, but I looked over to Leo’s lifeless body. I knew something had to be done, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t confirm his death. Anger and sorrow circulated back through my body. I fell to my knees, and started to cry. I curled in a ball, my whole body shaking in sobs.

Notes

Okay, don't kill me. Yes, Leo's dead, but it all works out in my next book YOU CAN’T FORCE ME TO LOVE HIM, I ALREADY HAVE A BOYFRIEND.I promise.