presents & postcards

two days after return from hawaii

tony stark mansion

malibu, ca

i left the lab and began walking upstairs. 

i had just finished installing the J.A.R.V.I.S. chip in the lilac colored heishi bracelet happy gifted me for my birthday in may.  i finally ditched the wristband for a heishi bracelet on my left wrist.

i went to the kitchen in search of food. i found nutella on toast, sitting in a plate. i looked around. no one was here, so i ate it.  

i finished eating, and went to the living room to see my dad with a bird in front of him.

"hey, minnie. did you eat?"

"uhhh. yeah. there was some nutella toast." i answered, pointing towards the kitchen.

i walked closer to the bird. "why is there an african grey here?" i asked, motioning to the bird sitting on the table in front of him.

"african grey. african grey." the bird repeated.

"well, this is a present for you."

"for me?"

"yup. you've been wanting a pet for a while, so i got you a bird." he said, pointing at the bird. "you like it?"

"like it?! i love it!!" i exclaimed, walking closer to the bird.

"great. now, are you sure you still want to start skateboarding again?" he asked.

"yup."

"okay then. off we go." he said getting up.

i fixed my helmet straps. my dad bought me a new skateboard. it was midnight black, so i could put stickers on the bottom. the wheels were a hot pink. the helmet was black with some pink lightning bolt stickers on either side. my knee pads, and elbow pads were pink with a black outline.

i stood at the top of the ramp, and went down. i was just getting used to it for the first bit, because i haven't skateboarded properly in two years. i didn't want to break something, while trying to do a trick.

"say cheese," my uncle rhodey said holding up my polaroid camera. i stood on the top of the ramp, with my skateboard propped up, holding the peace sign.

"cheese," i said.

he clicked a picture and shot me a thumbs up. 

"i'm going to go leave this in your room," he said motioning to the house.

"got it," i replied, going back down the ramp.

i was outside for hours, and only remembered to return once it was starting to get dark.

"get me the screw, dum-e. get me the screw." my bird squawked the next morning.

i yawned, and took another bite of my waffle. i ruffled my birds feathers.

"did you think about what you're going to name it?" my dad asked.

"i don't know yet." i responded. "i want it to be something creative, and unique."

"oof. good luck with that." he said before going to his lab.

i finished my breakfast, and headed upstairs. 

"where is it, where is it, where is it?" i mumbled to myself looking through the shelves.

"it's not here," the bird squawked.

"it has to be here!" i said to it.

"whatcha looking for?" my dad asked me.

"an envelope," i responded.

"oh. check my lab. there should be some. ask J.A.R.V.I.S. where." he responded.

"thanks, dad!" i yelled, going down the stairs to his workshop.

i typed the password in for the lab, and walked in. 

"J.A.R.V.I.S., where are the envelopes?" i asked the a.i.

"they should be in the back cupboard." he responded.

"thanks, bud." 

i grabbed the envelopes, and ran upstairs. i grabbed the polaroid picture that my uncle rhodey took of me, and sealed it in five envelopes. i did this every year. i would take pictures and send them to annabeth, luke, grover, and one for my siblings in aphrodite cabin. this year i sent one to percy.

i put them in and labelled the five envelopes.

one for annabeth. 

one for grover. i sent it to camp half-blood. maybe he'd never see them. but i still sent them.

one for percy. 

one for the aphrodite cabin.

one for luke. i never sent it. i wrote his name, and shoved it into a small folder, in my sock drawer.

putting his postcard away, i closed my sock drawer with slightly more force than necessary. 

sometimes, like right now, i would get mad. 

at luke, who left me, after promising 'always and forever'. the gods, who never cared for him, or any of us, really. kronos, whose brainwashing him.

i screamed in frustration, and tugged at my hair. i slid down the wall, and a sob escaped me. i shoved my fist in my mouth to stop myself. i always thought of luke as the good guy, but it was hard to do that now. 

i couldn't keep my sobs in anymore. i haven't cried properly over the loss of luke, and thinking about it now, still hurt like a fresh wound. i've only distracted myself from thinking about it, or gotten angry. never shed any tears.

i thought about how he'd been acting beforehand. 

how had i not noticed? i'm so stupid? if i talked to chiron about the off-vibes i've been getting from him, this could've been avoided?

"miss. stark, should i call your father?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked after he realized i'd been crying for a few minutes.

i shook my head, "no." my voice came out shaky and uneven. i took a deep breath and tried again, "no, J. it's fine. it's okay. i'm okay." i said getting up.

i looked at the twine bracelet. no matter what luke had done, and how mad i was at him, i couldn't throw away the last thing i got from him. 

even when i threw it across the room in anger, i'd always pick it right back up.

i washed my face and took a deep breath.

no more crying.

REY WRITES !

i'm not that proud of this chapter.

okay. so you guys get how riley feels about luke.
she tries to hate him, but she can't.
she still thinks he can be saved. mainly
because she grew up seeing him as
 her hero. she kind of blames herself
 and it connects with her fatal flaw.

thanks for reading !!