Hello, everybody! I'm back. For now. I hope you'll enjoy this story.

(1.0)

Annabeth's POV

My father placed my suitcase on the creaky, wooden floor and left me in the room, closing the door. I sighed. Oh perfect, after years of staying in California, I get to go to the big, wonderful city of New York, living in a creepy, old, haunted mansion. Perfect. Just perfect. I rolled my eyes in the door's direction and crossed my arms. My dad just had to get a new job as professor in NYU. Crap, crap, CRAP!

I looked around the room and decided that even though this whole, entire mansion looks like it's about to fall over and me family, crashing us to bits, my room certainly isn't going to feel that way. I opened my suitcase and placed all my clothes in the closet. The closet, as expected, is even more horrendous than the structure of the house.

I swept the floor clean from dust and lizard poop then replaced the old bed sheets with newly washed ones. I opened the dressers and placed my undergarments in.

"Annabeth, honey?" my stepmom, Christine, called. "Grandmother Maurie is finally here. Come on and see her."

Grandma Maurie is the kind of person who makes mushroom soup, instead of the classic chicken soup when you're sick. She makes bed sheets instead of sweaters when you're cold because it's warmer but you can't really wear bed sheets outside, now can you?

"Coming," I muttered. I walked beside my stepmom and glanced at her from time to time. She was staring at me like I'm some kind of alien or something. Frankly, I feel the same way about her. "What?"

"Nothing, honey," she shook her head, her brown hair waving behind her back.

"Don't call me 'honey', it's weird."

"Okay, honey."

I saw grandma Maurie sitting on the peach sofa with a cup of tea on her hand and her cat, Lucille, on her lap. Lucille is probably the worst cat ever. Last year, she did her business on my carpet floor and she ripped all my blueprints for the stage planning of our school play. Honestly, I want to rip her heart out.

Lucille looked at me intently with her yellowish green eyes and I glared at her. She growled instinctively and grandma Maurie rubbed her back. Stupid cat. I sat down in front of her and I shivered.

She smiled at me and set her tea on the glass table. "Annabeth, my dear, you look lovely today."

"Um, thank you."

She was wearing a long green sundress with faded leather boots. Her gray hair was tied back to a tight bun and her gold pendant sparkled in the sunlight. She wasn't really that old but at the same time, she's not looking any younger either.

She cleared her throat and straightened her back. "Annie, how do you like the new house?"

"It's," I hesitated, "uh, great."

She nodded. "Good. I picked it out just for you."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered.

"You might find new friends here."

I narrowed my eyes. "In New York or in the house?"

"Both."

"Oh." Great. What the heck is she talking about?

"You'll find out soon."

I froze. Is she reading my mind. That's impossible. No human can do that. Unless . . . maybe she's not human.

"By the way, Annie, I have something to give to you."

She took the pendant out of her neck, grabbed by hand and placed it on my palm. I stammered, "Y-you're giving this to me? But this is priceless! I simply couldn-"

She shook her head. "It's yours. I want to give it to you. Think of it as a gift."

I examined the object closely and realized for the first time that it'd not a pendant. It's a locket. I tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh," she said, "you need a key for that."

"Where is it?"

"You have to find it."

Seriously?

"You just have to look closer, Annie. Then, you'll know where it is."

I sighed and tied it on my neck. It felt light but it seems bigger. "Thank you, grandma."

"You're welcome. I'll go now, dear. It's good to see again. Come on, Lucille."

She stood up and the white cat jumped out of her lap and followed behind her.

"Wait, grandma!"

"Hmm?"

"You haven't said goodbye to my parents yet."

She looked back at me and smiled. My heart skipped a beat. Her smile was a tad bit creepy.

"I was never here, dearie."

My head snapped up and in instant, she was gone. I couldn't smell her extremely strong jasmine perfume that always left me running my nose for hours just to erase the smell. There was no sign of gray hair on the sofa; it's usually there. There was no trace of cat fur from Lucille; she always leaves something behind. The weirdest thing just happened: it was like she was never here.

(1.1)

My family and I were sitting in front of the kitchen table, eating green peas and mashed potato. Bobby was stabbing his peas, his eyes drooping. Matthew munched lazily on his potato. My stepmother stared at me then rolled her eyes on the twins. They grinned at the same time, it was almost creepy to look at. I drank my orange juice and found Christine staring at me again.

"Seriously, why are you staring at me like that?"

"What's that on your neck?"

I touched the locket gently and recalled how grandma suddenly disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"It's a locket Grandmother Maurie gave me."

She squinted her eyes and looked at it curiously. "Who's that, Annabeth?"

"Your . . . mom," I said slowly, my head throbbing and my heart pounding so fast, it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.

My father spoke up, something he rarely does. "Annabeth, what game are you playing? You're not the kind of person to joke around."

"I'm not playing some kind of game," I said, raising my voice. "Don't you know who she is? She's Christine's mom!"

"Annabeth," Christine said, "I don't know who my mother is. She died before I was born."

"That's not true! Christine, didn't you call me earlier when she was here?"

"What are you saying? I was making dinner all this time."

"Chris-"

"Annabeth, do not yell at your mother!" my dad roared. The table quieted. The twins stopped snickering and they both looked like they wanted to die.

"She is your mother, Annabeth. It's time you treat her like one."

"She is not my mother!" I shouted. "She never will be."

I stood up abruptly and left the kitchen table, stomping. I'm not going to cry over a simple fuss like this, I thought. It's just silly.

I went inside my room and slammed the door, locking it. I buried my face on the pillows and tears swelled in my eyes, remembering the moment when my mom died from a car crash. I was selfish and stupid. My teddy was ripped apart and I wanted a new one desperately. I kept crying and crying. My mom took one glance at me and it was over. I wish I was the one who died, not her.

I heard a small thump and I looked up, searching for the sound in my room. For once in my life, I was happy Lucille was here. I scurried to her side and leaned down to her level. "Lucille," I whispered, "where's Grandma Maurie?" I actually felt stupid talking to a cat.

She meowed and eyed the locket. "What about the locket . . ."

The key. The key is the answer. Now, I just have to find it. Grandma said to look closer. But where could I possibly find it? I stared at Lucille and my eyes lowered to her blue tag. But it's not exactly a tag. It's just a blue leather leash and small key was hanging on it.

"Perfect, Lucille, you're a genius!"

I grabbed the key and slowly placed it in the locket. Like a speed of lightning, my whole body shivered. The locket opened and before I knew it, I was swept away into a place I never thought I could go.

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