"Your parents say, everything is your fault, but they don't know you like I know you, they don't you at all." –Skillet, The Last Night
Alyssa walked into the Aphrodite cabin, and looked around nervously. She didn't feel like she belonged here. She didn't feel beautiful. How could she, after all that had happened? She could feel the stares of her new brothers and sisters. A Cherokee girl walked over to her.
"Hi, my name's Piper. I'm the counselor of Aphrodite cabin. You don't need to worry, we're all friendly here. Come here, I'll show you to your bunk." Alyssa nodded and followed Piper to a bed. "Here you go, this little space is also free for you to decorate, as you can see." She indicated the wall space next to the other kid's beds. Most of them were covered with posters of models, or cute actors. "Let me know if you need anything!" Piper said in a friendly tone. Then she walked away, and left Alyssa to settle in.
Alyssa hefted her suitcase, and began unpacking her clothes. One of her sisters tapped her on the shoulder. She looked over in surprise.
"Here, we have a magical closet that holds all our clothes. I'll show you to it. By the way, my name is Lacy. Good to have a new sister!" She said. Alyssa followed Lacy to a door in the back.
"Here you go! Holler if ya need anything." She said, and then left.
"Thanks." Alyssa called after her. Lacy waved in acknowledgement.
Alyssa opened the door, and stepped into the closet. It was empty. She hung up all her shirts folded her pants, and placed them on the shelves. Being a daughter of Aphrodite, she figured the closet would fill to a bursting point sometime. But for now, she only had her few things from… home… she shuddered. She didn't like to think about the house she had escaped from. She shook it off, and walked out of the closet. She had a new life. She didn't want to think about her old one. Alyssa walked over to her bunk, and saw a piece of paper there with (what she assumed) was Piper's handwriting. Here's your schedule for camp, it read. Alyssa had already learned that this was no ordinary camp, that it was a place of refuge and training for demigods. But she still found some of the activities bizarre. Lava rock wall? The hell…? She thought. Well, it's apparently more like the Hades… but whatever. I have a camp tour.
She walked outside her cabin. She was apparently waiting for a guy named Percy. She was on the lookout for a guy with messy black hair, and green eyes. He was along a few minutes later. He waved. She gave a little wave back.
"Hey, I'm Percy Jackson. I'm a son of Poseidon. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I'll be your tour guide." He said in an exaggerated voice, kind of like how a museum guide would sound. She chuckled. "You been holding up alright? I mean, I know this is a lot to take in." She waved it off.
"I've been fine. I kind of made my way here, after I saw it in a dream." Percy nodded.
"We demigods usually have some pretty crazy dreams." He said. "But, I suppose that's a conversation for another time. Allow me to show you around." They walked off.
Percy started with the cabins, talking about the different gods and their children. Then they went to the strawberry fields, visited the arena where combat lessons took place (Percy as the trainer), the pegasi stables, and the beach where canoeing took place. The tour concluded back at the cabins.
"Thanks for showing me around." Alyssa said. Percy shrugged.
"No problem. I love meeting all the new campers that come…" He faltered. Alyssa looked at him strangely.
"What?" She asked.
"What's that on your collarbone?" He asked. Alyssa's shirt had slid down, and there was a purple mark on her skin. Her eye's widened in horror, but that was the only sign of fright she gave. But Percy noticed.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" She said, as she pulled her collar up. "Well, thanks for the tour, but I have to finish settling in. Nice meeting you Percy!" She dashed into her cabin, leaving a confused Percy outside. He had the feeling that something more had gone on before now.
Alyssa rushed into her cabin, breathing heavily. He had seen the mark. Now he would ask about what happened. And he might hurt her too. She didn't want it to happen again. She had just got out! She ran over to her bed, and collapsed, burying her face in the pillow. She composed herself before sitting back up. She liked the look of the beach that she had seen on the tour. She would go there at night, to be alone. She liked being alone. She didn't have good people experiences.
Alyssa got up, and crept towards the door. She quietly opened it, and walked out, gently shutting the hot pink door behind her. She walked silently down to the beach, her shoes making no sound as she stepped. She stopped short when she saw the silhouette of another person sitting on the sand. She slowly crept up behind the person. The person turned around. It was Percy. Who else would it be? She thought sarcastically.
"Hey. Fancy meeting you here." He said with a small smile. "Sit down." She did.
"Why're you out here?" She asked.
"Well, I'm the son of the sea god, so water just feels… right to me. I like to come out here and think about everything. But what about you? I have a feeling it has something to do with that bruise." He said, looking at her.
"It's not a bruise, just a birthmark…" Alyssa said unconvincingly. Percy looked at her skeptically.
"I've been in enough combat to know that that's a bruise. Would you mind telling me how you got it?" She looked down. It'll come out sooner or later… and he at least seems trustworthy…
Alyssa grabbed the edge of her shorts, and pulled them up a little, revealing more purple and blue bruises. She took the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it slightly above her belly button, showing cuts and bruises. Percy hissed.
"Abuse…" He said. She nodded. "Who did it?"
"It was my dad… he was a real deadbeat… he would always go off to bars and get drunk… sometimes he would even bring other women back when my mother wasn't home… He threatened to beat me almost to death if I told her… I think she knew anyways though… they always argued, and I don't know why my mother didn't just leave him. Probably too scared to give him divorce papers… the worst part about this is… he…" The tears that had been threatening to spill finally did. "He would rape me too… and my mother definitely knew about that, but again she was still too scared! So, I ran… my dreams showed me where to go, and I just… went… they're probably not even looking for me… I know my fucking dad isn't…" Percy leaned over and gave her a gentle hug before drawing back.
"I guess we both had terrible dads. Well, it was my stepdad but… same difference." She looked at him through her tears.
"You too?" He nodded.
"I would get beaten occasionally, and he would drink. He would yell at my mother a lot." He confided. "But! I don't let it bother me anymore. My mother left him, and she's now happily remarried. I can tell you, that not all stepfathers are bad." He thought fondly of Paul. "In a little bit, maybe you could find her. Perhaps she was doing it to protect you like my mother." Alyssa laughed scornfully.
"She's not even actually my mother is she? Nope… it's the stupid love goddess… yeah, that damn house was FULL of forced love making…" Percy stopped her.
"But your stand-in mother loved you." He said. Alyssa nodded.
"Yeah… at least there's that I guess…" Percy smiled.
"And now you have a whole camp full of new family. Some of them can be jerks, especially the Ares kids, but we're here for each other. I'm glad you got out of there. I'm happy to have you as a friend." Alyssa looked happy.
"I'm glad I got out too Percy. I can't wait to meet my new family." She said with a smile.
Dedicated to my friend, TehUnkn0wnGirl.
So I didn't feel like working on Bargaining today. That'll probably be up sometime next week, since I'm taking a trip this weekend, and I won't have access to a computer. So you'll have to wait for Bargaining. But, until then my friends!