A/N: So I'm starting a new story! This will be definitely T and is quite dark. It's also a mortal AU, just to clarify. I don't own PJO.
I smiled at Luke, a real genuine smile. I couldn't be happier, I was with my loving boyfriend of seven years, now, on our anniversary! What girl wouldn't be nearly jumping with joy as she stared at the love of her life and realized they'd been together seven whole years. Seven years since he first asked me out that July day when we were twenty. However, this day was also marked with a twinge of sadness. Oh, who am I kidding? It was a huge blot on an otherwise perfect date. July first had been my brother's birthday.
No, Thalia, don't think about that now, I chided myself. But I slipped away from the party for a moment to honor my precious Jason. As I left, I saw Luke scowling at me. Strange. He loved me unconditionally. I stared into the mirror and looked at the reflection of my eyes, the eyes that were also my brothers. Tears welled up and rolled down my cheeks, and I allowed myself to cry. Today he would have been twenty. And if he was still alive, which was highly doubtful considering he was legally dead, he might not remember it was his birthday. He was only seven when we parted. I walked to the bedroom and wrote "7" on the calendar, circling it for added effect.
"Hey Thalia," Luke's friend Ethan yelled, his voice slurred. "Come back here, you're missing all the fun!" It sounded oddly like an order, but I knew Luke would never order me around. Probably just Ethan being Ethan. Also him having way too much to drink. I walked back to the party in the living room, and Luke kissed me just as I crossed the threshold. He noticed my red eyes and his narrowed. I kissed him again, murmuring something about it just being an emotional day for me. He didn't press, which was one of the many, many, things I loved about Luke.
The next morning, I stretched my arms out and yawned, ready to start the next day. Luke wasn't beside me, and I kind of panicked. After all, Jason had disappeared. Finally, I found him passed out on the couch. I'd actually been responsible, but Luke was going to have a huge hangover when he woke up. I sighed. I'd never liked alcohol, it was the cause of many of my childhood problems. My eyes landed on the door to Luke's office. He had forbidden me to enter it, but I'd thought he wouldn't have any secrets, he was a good person. Until I turned the doorknob and saw the safe.
A large safe sat in the corner of the room. I'd never noticed it before. What was in it? My curiosity triumphed for once, and I did the thing I promised myself I'd never do again, once I was living with Uncle Chiron and didn't need to steal because my mother completely ignored me and...Jason. I thrust the bobby pin into the lock and slowly but surely the door opened. I gasped. The safe had two shelves, and the first thing I noticed was a set of files. What was that about? Luke had no reason to be keeping tabs on people, or so I thought. The next thing I noticed was a bottle of hair dye. Blond hair dye. Why would Luke need to dye his hair? It must be for a friend, and the friend was embarrassed so Luke hid it from me. Still, something seemed wrong.
My eyes widened as I saw the gun.
My first impulse was to wake Luke up and scream at him. Luckily, I shakily closed the safe and walked to the bedroom, where I unplugged my cell phone and dialed a number I hadn't dialed in six years: Annabeth Chase.
"Thalia? Are you okay?" were the first words out of Annabeth's mouth. We'd been best friends since seven, but I'd shut her out since she disapproved of Luke. The concern in her voice surprised me. I'd ignored her for six years. The only communication we had was Christmas cards. Six of them, from Annabeth and her boyfriend Percy, sat on our mantel.
"I'm okay, but I found Luke has been keeping a gun in the house. Also a secret safe, filled with files about who knows what."
"Thalia, that's serious. Look at those files now."
"I don't want him to get mad at me."
"Still obsessed with pleasing the guy who's keeping secrets from you."
"Annabeth, not this again."
"Meet me for coffee tomorrow. I have something I need to show you."
She hung up, leaving me to wonder what on earth she was going to show me. I plugged the phone back in and walked to the couch. Luke had begun to stir. I kissed him, surprising him so much he woke up. I smirked, and felt really guilty about doubting this man, this man who loved me and who I loved. We would do anything for each other. But then I remembered the safe and the mysterious files, so our next kiss wasn't as passionate as the first.
"Tomorrow, I'm going for coffee with Silena," I fibbed, smiling. Luke grinned, but I saw a coldness in his eyes.
"Ah, Silena. Have fun!" His normal grin had returned.
The next day, I drove to what used to be my favorite coffee shop. Annabeth sat at a table, a sense of urgency pervading her every feature. She pulled some papers out of her bag. I studied them.
"This is about, about, about Jason. His disappearance," Annabeth said. I grabbed the articles and began to read. They were from some random college newspaper, but they seemed to be correct. The articles suggested a connection to Kronos Reape, the infamous fugitive. I stared at Annabeth in shock. Then, I saw the Reape composite photo. He would look like Luke, with black hair. I was chilled, but Luke was no criminal.
"I don't know." I shrugged helplessly, not wanting to believe that my baby brother might be at the mercy of a terrible killer. I saw that the author was someone named Artemis Wolfe. She looked familiar, and then it hit me. She was the silver-eyed girl from the bus.