This is my first attempt at a oneshot. I'm just not that used to ending things so abruptly, and this story seemed to fly by just as it did as I thought it. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. And if you could tell me how well I did, I'd really appreciate that too :D
Disclaimer: PJO is not mine. :(
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(welcome to the depths of the ocean)
"Dad!"
Another yell, another mouthful of cold, cold salt water that rushes deep into my lungs. The waves crumple my body, forcing it under the waves, forcing me to curl up into a small ball. I'm still screaming inwardly, but where I am, nobody can hear. Nobody ever will hear.
I try to scream again, though my brain is still racing to try to save me. Some instinct locks my mouth shut like a trap. The waves grab me with their thick, merciless fingers, squeezing my lungs tight.
Breathing is a chore.
Am I going to die down here?
"Dad," I moan.
His voice doesn't answer me, and that's when I realize what I knew all along. What I had known but never, ever, wanted to believe. Because that would mean it was real.
My father is gone.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hanna, dear?"
I stare down at my pasta and shove the plate toward my mom. Her soft brown eyes radiate sympathy, but I hate it. I don't want her to look at me like that.
"I'm not hungry." Like yesterday night, the night before that…
"Okay." She swipes away the plate and bustles into the kitchen, humming to herself. I wince painfully, my green eyes still lingering on the table. I don't want to raise my gaze. Seeing that empty chair once was enough.
"I'm going to my room," I call emotionlessly, not bothering to hear her reply before I take the stairs two at a time. The floor creaks when I reach the landing, and that's when I finally pause, allowing my walled emotions to come tumbling down.
I was well attuned to this particular squeak. I'd lay on my bed, watching the ceiling as the clock hands slowly revolved to five o'clock. Then that stupid, stupid, landing would squeak, and I'd know my father was home. I would launch myself into his welcoming arms, exploding with news about my day. Looking back, I realized how meaningless I must have sounded. What a waste of time.
Those were precious minutes I'd never get back.
I stumble into my room, slamming the door shut behind me.
The tears are already pouring out and I can't stop them. Can't, won't, all of it melds together as my eyes blur. What a baby.
It seems like only yesterday that I was released from the hospital.
The doctor had said I'd been very lucky. Survived with minor cuts and scratches, and they'd had to pump my stomach for the salt water. But I was barely listening. Where was my father? Did they find him too? Why wasn't the doctor talking about him…?
As soon as he left, I had turned to my mom. I hadn't seen them then, but her eyes had been glistening with tears. Oh why, why hadn't I seen them?
"Didn't the doctor treat Dad too?"
She swallowed noisily before addressing me. "No, honey."
I waited impatiently. "Oh, did they transfer him to a different hospital? Can we go visit him?"
"No, honey." Her voice was trembling. I should have seen that as a sign to shut up.
"Then where…?"
"They didn't find him. They only found you."
She burst into tears. Suddenly I was crying, too. Our arms were wrapped tightly around each other, as if we hoped that we would be able to keep from falling apart, from crumbling into tiny, irreparable little pieces.
Oh God, I want to forget.
It slowly registers. I'm still in my bedroom, not at the hospital, not surrounded by those smooth whitewashed walls, or my mom's arms. I crash down into the bed, curling up around myself as I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for another sleepless night.
Another round of nightmares.
* * * * * * * * * *
"I can't."
"Can't what, Hanna?" My gym teacher asks reasonably. I gaze down into the rippling pool, watching as my friends and classmates tumble and splash, my fear spiking sky high. I know Mrs. Colt has no idea why I'm acting so irrational.
I back up quickly, spinning away from the pool, my green eyes wide.
"I can't!" My voice is rising in pitch. The whole class is turning to watch silently, pausing to watch me. The freak.
The floor is slippery under my bare feet. I'm shaking, trembling visibly in the warm air. Mrs. Colt still looks puzzled.
I'm so focused on my fear that I don't hear the soft padding of Sam, coming up behind me. I open my mouth to protest my case further when he pushes me.
I trip over the edge of the pool in slow motion, breaking the still water with my thrashing and writhing. I struggle, breathing loudly through my nose as fear and pain swarms through me.
"Help!" I yell, kicking crazily. I'm sure my eyes are dilated, wild in my fear.
That's when I realize I'm not getting wet.
What the heck?
The whole class is laughing. At me. Sam stands above me, holding his shaking sides, looking smugly pleased with himself. Jerk.
They're laughing so hard, they don't even notice when I yank myself out of the pool, perfectly dry, and flee into the girl's dressing room. I escape down the hallway.
The cool summer air greets me as I push out of the main doors, freezing the tears in their tracks. I keep running, not caring and not knowing where I'm going.
To the sea.
The cliff spreads out before me, the ocean expanding beyond that, farther than I can see. I feel the scream build up in my lungs.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" I bellow into the wind. Anger is crashing through my system. "DAD! I HATE YOU!"
I take the few steps that carry me over to the edge. I feel the tips of my sneakers slide over into nothingness, hanging over the ocean and rocks that lay in wait far below, like a gaping mouth waiting for me to jump. I just might.
Someone speaks behind me. "I don't think that's a good idea."
It's a girl. But I ignore her.
"Hey now, you don't want to-"
"What do you know about what I want?!" I snarl. I slide my right foot forward a couple inches, till half of it is dangling. "Go away."
"You know the truth. This fall won't kill you." She continues to speak soothingly. "You know you're different."
I'm crying again. I can't believe I let this girl get to me.
"I don't care, all right? I just want to see my dad again!" Another couple inches and all I have to do is fall forward.
"Is that all?" A deep voice asks. I freeze.
"Dad?" I cry, stumbling back from the cliff. I find myself looking into his deep sea green eyes, my heart throbbing. "It's you!"
"Of course it is, honey," he murmurs into my hair.
We almost forget about the girl standing next to us.
She's grinning at me. She has beautiful blue eyes, dark raven-winged hair. I don't recognize her.
My eyes slide over her shoulder. A huge sword hilt is just visible, gleaming in the fading sun. A warning sounds through my system.
"Get away from us!" I say, trying to pull my dad away. He resists, a stern expression in his normally twinkling eyes.
"This is Rylin," he says, introducing us. "She helped me find you."
"She's got a sword!" I point out, yanking on his arm again. He refuses to budge.
Then he starts to talk.
I'm a daughter of Poseidon. A demigod, half human, half god. A hybrid. It wasn't exactly that I have a problem with. It's the fact that my dad is, in fact, the god Poseidon, of the sea and the ocean, and I'm his daughter, and I'm in some sort of danger because of this, and I have to go to some stupid summer camp.
Well.
He says a couple of other things, which I'm not paying attention to, because I'm still trying to get my mind around the whole fact that my dad is a god.
"I have to go," he says sorrowfully. "I'm not supposed to be here."
"But Dad-"
He holds up a hand. Then he pulls me up in his arms, hugging me a final time.
"I'll be back, Hanna," he whispers in my ear.
Then he's gone, disappearing into the ocean that had once stolen him from me. This time I feel an almost giddy excitement as I glance through the crashing waves, a warm feeling that grows in my stomach and spreads everywhere. My father is in there somewhere, and he will return for me.
I turn to Rylin. "So are you a…demigod, too?
She waves my question away with an uninterested look on her face. "Later. Now, we have to get going."
"To that camp? Yay." I don't bother disguising the sarcastic edge in my tone.
She turns away. "Yeah."
I pause to watch the ocean roil below the horizon. Something, itching at the back of my mind, longs for me to just jump in and swim forever. I almost do. But I turn my head and see Rylin waiting impatiently.
All right, Dad. I'll go to your stupid summer camp.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
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Please review. Especially you, MuSiCxcDj. If you're reading this.
Which you're probably not. :D