I stop eating as well as she rejects her food. It's betrayer-food. She can't stomach my sandwiches any more than she can stomach me. I can see I'm making her uncomfortable. My visit isn't helping us, like I knew it wouldn't.

Then she says it should've been me. My face is impassive. Just like my first years serving Kronos, I'm emotionally withdrawing. I wish it had been me. I wish I hadn't broken her heart. I wish her father would've actually loved her instead of seeing her as a threat, and maybe she wouldn't have been lost all those years. Can our lives be any more broken? But I'm not going to sit here and cry about it. Thalia and I are stronger than that.

"Wasn't any big deal. And... sorry for barging in. I didn't want to make things harder. You shouldn't have to deal with me on top of everything else."

With that I stand up. I can't stay here any longer or the regret is going to eat a hole right through me from the inside out.