WARNING: contains abuse, slight violence, and alot of feels
Paring: Thaluke. /Side story to the Percabeth Fanfiction Smile./ Enjoy.
Just Trust Me
Dread filled eight year-old Thalia's heart as she stood in front of that wooden door.
It was only after sunset, but it seemed like the dead of night for her. She knew what was going to happen. She just hoped that wretched woman was passed out.
The house with nearly-collapsing stone walls and a wooden roof was partly hidden around a corner, just off the main road. The yells and laughter of the merry townsfolk had drowned out behind her as she stared at the wooden handle. She didn't want to open it, but she knew she was in trouble if she stalled any longer.
Finally, she steeled her nerves, opened the door, and walked in. She closed the door behind her as quietly as possible. The room was dark, but she could make out the small dining table and the chairs. The hearth at the back of the wall was lit dimly, only a candle's worth of light flickering within.
She scanned the room once more. All clear.
She crept silently into the hall at the far side of the room, trying to ignore the stench of wine and rum. She hated it. It was the very spirit-stench of this house. But she couldn't escape. She couldn't just run away. Not after last time…
She snapped herself out of her thoughts. She looked into the dimply-lit hallway. Two doors on either side, both closed. She kept her eyes on the one on the left, praying that it wouldn't open, inching her way towards the one on the right.
She had reached the door and almost called it safe, until a sudden thud was heard inside of the other room.
The little girl froze, her bright blue eyes fixated on the door in front of her. The handle turned. It swung open so violently it caused her to jump.
Thalia was greeted with the unsightly drunk face of her mother, Beryl Grace. Her once graceful blond hair was dirty and tangled. Her warm brown eyes were now dark and sunken, harboring a constant gleam of greed and sorrow. Her breath stunk of alcohol and Thalia had to resist the urge to cover her nose.
"You." The woman scowled, pointing the bottle of rum in her hand at her daughter. "Where've you been?" her words were slurred together, but furious all the same. "And don't lie, you wretched little disgrace!"
Thalia remembered the last time her mother had called her a blessing. She remembered the warmth of her hugs, how she used to sit her onto her lap and brush her long dark hair, whispering sweet words to her. Now, all she received was hate and anger. It wasn't her fault her father left, but her mother insisted on it. She just had some conscience left to not kill her daughter. Or none at all, letting her daughter live just to be her torture thing.
"I-I was looking for… for-" she stammered, but Beryl growled.
"Your papa, eh?" She sneered, taking a step closer to Thalia who was backed-up against the door. "Your father is never coming back! He left us, understand? He doesn't want you anymore!"
"Yes he does!" Thalia shouted back, although she didn't know why. She felt a surge of energy, a sudden confidence to defend her father. She remembered the little note he left her- his promise to always love them, Thalia, her mother, and her brother Jason. She held onto that thought. She just wanted a family.
"Then why is he gone?" Beryl screamed, almost seeming desperate for an answer. "If he loved you, then why did he leave, huh?" Thalia had no answer, but she stared at her mother defiantly. She was definitely at her drunkest this night.
Unfortunately, Beryl took her stare as a challenge. She growled and yanked at her daughter's hair violently, causing the little girl to scream. She was dragged by the hair into her room, where a little blond boy sat in a corner, gaping wide-eyed at the scene. But the woman took not notice of the boy and stomped towards one of the two beds in the room, momentarily letting go of her daughter's hair.
She flung up the pillows until she found it- a yellowed piece of parchment with a fluent handwriting on it,
Wait for me, Thalia.
Know that I will always love you and your mother. Take care of your little brother who is on the way. His name will be Jason. Promise me you'll love him, take care of him and your mother, and I promise you I'll come back.
~Papa
Beryl faced her daughter, holding up the note. "Lies." She said and stormed down the hallway.
Thalia's eyes widened. "No!" She screamed, struggling to get up. Once she did, she immediately scrambled after her mother. She reached the main room, and froze. Her mother, next to the hearth that was now burning brightly with new tinder, held up the parchment. The flames reflected in her broken brown eyes that glared at her with fury.
"He had a wife, Thalia." Beryl said, her voice calm yet menacing. "It was not me. I was just another one of his play things. He came back twice... So what? He's a married man. That is why your name isn't Jackson. You took my name, you took my life. When you were born everything seemed fine, until I found out you weren't supposed to be born."
Those last words broke Thalia more than ever. The woman who stood before her now… this wasn't her mother. She was gone, shattered by the man she once saw as honorable and great, but now her views had changed altogether. He had created them and now left them to suffer. He had broken her mother. She was gone. Her hopes of completing her family faded. How were you supposed to fix a family that shouldn't even exist?
"You never should've happened." Beryl whispered, and with that she tossed the parchment into the hearth, the flames swallowing it up. She simply walked passed her daughter who scrambled to the hearth, kneeling before it, watching in horror as her only anchor burned to ashes.
Her tears dripped down her chin as she stared at the flames. It seemed like an eternity of pain, seeing that promise crumble to ashes. She felt like tossing herself into the flames as well, until she felt those cold, little arms wrap around her shoulders.
She looked over her shoulder to find her little brother staring at her as he hugged her. His little mop of blond hair was disheveled and uncombed, and his sky blue eyes were glassy with tears.
"Don't cry anymore, Thals." He said, wiping away the tears on her cheek with his little hands. Thalia sniffled and smiled, engulfing her brother in a hug.
"I-I'll save us, Jason." She whispered. "I'll… I'll find a way."
Well, there we go, folks! First chapter up!
Now, just to remind you, this is a somewhat side-story to Smile, the Percabeth fanfic. There will be some scenes in here concerning the first one, so only those who've read that will experience more giddiness. But if you don't want to read that, then it's fine. This story has a plot of it's own, occasionally intertwining with Smile's plot.
So yeah. Thanks for reading! Stay updated for the next chapter! Review!
~Apollo's Aweshum Daughter XD
