Country Life

I was pissed, to say the least. I mean, me, Annabeth Chase, a brat? At least those were the words my mother, Athena, used to describe me during our fight yesterday. I picked up my phone and snapped a pic of the sky through the plane window, posting it to Instagram with a sad face. I couldn't tell my followers where I was going, but I could at least share my feelings with all twenty million of them. My mother was making me travel to a small town in Kansas , to get me to "get my priorities straight". Whatever. All I knew was that I was missing out on the audition of a lifetime. I'm a very famous actor and I wanted to get a role in this new upcoming movie about romance. I'm pretty sure it was by Nicholas Sparks. The lead male actor, who was already chosen, was super hot. If I could have a celeb crush, which I can't because I'm famous, he would be it. His name is Ethan Flatt and the regular girls of the world swoon over him. He was just as popular as I was.

I looked at the little map on the TV screen that showed where we were. Thirty minutes left. Plus another four hours in the car from the airport to the house. I was staying with someone who was friends with my mom. Well, they actually weren't friends now. She just said that he owed her a favor because she basically saved his life one time a couple years ago. His name was Poseidon and he had a son, Percy and a wife, Sally. They were probably all country homebodies. I rolled my eyes to myself. I was using their last name, Jackson as a cover up. The name on my ticket and fake passport was Annabelle Jackson. My hair and makeup artist, Silena had made me up so no one would recognize me unless they looked closely which wasn't possible because we had bought both first class seats.

The seatbelt sign came on, and a male voice said, "We will be landing shortly, so please return to your seats and put your seatbelts on." I sighed, and buckled up. A flight attendant came by and I dropped my water bottle into the trash bag even though it was still half full. She just shook her head in disgust and walked on, probably thinking something along the lines of rich kids. My phone dinged, and I checked it. It was my brother Malcolm. He sent me an iMessage that said, Have fun in Walshire. There will probably be a lot of people there (: Love you. I smiled slightly. Malcolm was the only person in my family who I loved. He was the only one who understood me. If my mom thought I was a brat, then she should know that she was the one who drove me to be like that. She pushed and pushed me to be an actor. To be famous, to be rich. It wasn't what I had wanted but that was what had happened, and I had embraced the lifestyle. I didn't understand the big deal with my actions. It was how every other big star acted. We were used to getting our way.

The plane started its descent and I closed my eyes, leaning my head back. This part always made me a little sick. Five short minutes later, it crashed into the ground, roaring into a stop. I threw my sunglasses on, and got up to get my overhead bag when the plane stopped.

When I walked off the plane, I expected to be the only good looking person there. I was a little shocked when I got to Wichita. It was a working metropolis, just like LA. Okay, well it was a lot smaller than Los Angeles, but still it looked like a real city outside. I kept my head straight and walked to baggage claim. When I got there, my bag was already out. I grabbed the black suitcase and looked around for a sign that said my name on it. I spotted it in a corner by the revolving doors. A man wearing a plaid button up and khakis stood still. I walked over to him, and he waved when he saw me coming. I didn't wave back.

"Are you Annabelle?" He asked, still using my fake name.

"Yes, but Annabeth will be fine from now on." I pulled down my sunglasses so he could see my grey eyes.

"Let me take your bag." He started to say, but I was already handing it to him. "I'm Poseidon. Sorry my wife and son aren't here to welcome you, but a horse broke out of its stable last night and hurt its leg so they stayed and tended to it."

"It's fine." I said, my voice icy cold, even for my standards. "I won't be needing to get to know them very well anyway. I won't need to get to know any of you, actually, so it would be better if we stopped talking."

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Really? Your mother says you will be staying for three months, until the school year starts up again. Maybe even longer, if you can't get a grip by that time."

I stopped in my tracks, the harsh words sinking in. I laughed, blowing them off. "She says that, but I'll be back home in a week or so. She won't be able to live her lavish life style without my daily appearances bringing the cash in." Poseidon didn't seem like a rude person, so for him to get angry meant I must have been acting pretty badly. Worse than usual, probably.

"We'll see." Was all he said. "You'll have to excuse the mess of a car. We're busy at the farm, dealing with the horses and cows and gardening. There's some things in the trunk, so we'll have to put your stuff in the backseat."

I put my sunglasses on top of my head, my hip cocked. "Where am I supposed to sit?" I said it more like a cruel statement than an honest question.

"Shotgun," He answered. "Like the rest of society."

Man, this guy just wasn't giving up. He fired back on all of my rude comments. I huffed and grumbled while getting in the car. "I am not the rest of society." Poseidon just shook his head, and hit the gas.

I have to say, the drive was beautiful. Lush green trees lined the curvy highway. It didn't take long to drive out of Wichita, and once we did it seemed like there was no civilization for miles. A river ran through the road, the sound of the creek rushing could be heard through the car doors. Poseidon talked the whole way.

"A lot of the land around Wichita is farming for big companies. When you get out to the real country, then it's just people living off their land with no other purposes. You probably can't tell the difference between a company farmer and a small farmer, but it's obvious to the locals. We live about an hour and a half away from the Kansas City. We'll have to take you there sometime. It's a very cool place. Percy and his friends like to visit on the weekends."

"I can't go into the city. Actually, I can't go into any towns. Not even Walshire." I said.

"Oh, right of course." He gave himself a face palm, which I didn't think was the safest thing to do while driving. But, then again, I had only seen three other cars on this road in the two hours we had been on it. "People will see you, and your location has to be secret."

"Yeah." I said quietly, and started twirling my phone, uncomfortable in the silence. The truth was, whenever I thought about not being able to go places without bodyguards, it made me upset. I remember being a little girl and running through the park with my brother and mom. I would go up to the ice cream stand and they would hand me my ice cream without asking for a picture to post on social media. Now, I couldn't even go take a walk to calm myself down when I was upset or something. If I wanted to do that, the least amount of bodyguards that had to come with was three.

Poseidon looked over at me, seeing my facial expression. "Do you ever get… tired of the fame?" He asked, gently. I straightened up, putting my guard back in place.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "Who would, honestly. It's a dream. I mean, I live the life that everyone wants to have."

"Not everyone." He said. "We're about ten minutes away."

"Okay." I said. The rest of the ride was silent. We pulled into a long driveway with birch trees standing in a line with the road. On either side of me were acres and acres of land. The stables were too my right, and a horse whinnied as Poseidon drove by, and I cracked a grin.

Poseidon saw my smile and said, "That's Blackjack, Percy's horse. That's the one that escaped last night so he must be feeling better. Percy was worried sick about him." We pulled up in front of the house and Poseidon parked the car at a weird angle. A woman who was probably around forty-five came running out. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. Her plaid shirt had come untucked and was blowing in the breeze and her hands were dirty from hard work. She was beautiful in an unkempt way. I looked down at my own outfit and realized I was really not dressed for this lifestyle. I had on some light blue skinny jeans with a grey crop top that barely covered my mid-riff. My high heeled black boots finished the look. I also had on a diamond bracelet that Malcolm gave me when I went to my first movie premiere. I had worn it every day since then.

I waited for Poseidon to open my door, but all he did was start to unload my luggage. I sighed, and opened the door myself. As soon as I did, Sally – I assumed that was Poseidon's wife – rushed over to me.

"Hi!" She said, her accent stronger than Poseidon's was. I kind of liked the sound of the country talk. "I'm Sally, it's so nice to meet you! How was the drive over here?" Her voice bubbled over with warmth, and it made me jealous of Percy. It reminded me of how my childhood friend's moms used to act. Nice and warm and nothing like my mom. At the age of three, my mom enrolled me in acting classes, and at the age of five, I played some part of a little kid in a movie. It was like my mom was addicted to the money.

"It was fine." I said, and bypassed her outstretched hand that hung their limply waiting to shake mine.

She didn't get discouraged and came running after me. "Percy's inside, making himself some dinner. We can get you some food too, but we aren't going to eat as a family tonight. Percy has to go back out with Blackjack and keep him company while he heals. Oh, sorry Blackjack is –"

"Percy's horse." I cut her off. "I know." The words family rung in my mind. I couldn't even remember the last time I sat down at my kitchen table with my mom and Malcolm. The only time we ever ate together was when we went out to dinner at some super nice place with skin tight dresses on.

We reached the front of the house and walked inside. Sally kept talking. "Your room is on the second floor, right across the hall from Percy's. It's pretty spacious, so I hope you like it."

I thought about saying something rude after that, but I got distracted when a boy with messy raven black hair turned around. I took in a sharp breath. I had expected a country boy to look… disheveled. Gross. Dirty. This wasn't what Percy Jackson looked like at all. His eyes were a deep sea green and they pierced into mine. His hair was jet black and stuck up in all of the right places. It was a mess, but somehow it looked clean. His t-shirt clung to his muscles. For a minute, this place suddenly seemed like it was going to be ok. Until, Percy started talking with his mouth open and chewing.

"Hey." He said, but I got the feeling he was just being polite. "I'm Percy." He didn't stick out a hand for me to shake which I was grateful for. They were probably covered in mud.

"Do you always talk with your mouth full?" I cocked my hip and tilted my head.

He rolled his eyes and look pointedly at his mom, like as if to say See, we shouldn't have brought her here. Which kind of hurt. I didn't want to be a problem. Sometimes, the comments are second nature to me. It was a guard I had built up. I hurt other people so other people couldn't hurt me. For instance, my mother.

"I'm going to my room." Percy announced. He started to walk up the creaky stair but his mom called him back down.

"You can show Annabeth her room. Take her suitcase up with her." His mom had a pleading look in her eye.

"Fine." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He picked up my big suitcase. "Do you need me to take your backpack, princess?" He smirked.

"No, I got it." I glared back at him and picked up my purse and bag and followed him up the stairs. When we reached the top he pointed to a door on the left.

"That's your room, and the one across the hall is mine. Don't bother me." He dumped my suitcase by the door and went into his own room. I stood there, a little shocked. No one had ever treated me like that. Not even my mother.

I walked into the room that actually was pretty big. It took up half of the upstairs floor. A queen size bed was in a corner of the room with a window above it that looked out over a forest of trees. There was a dresser, a vanity set, and a closet. There was another window that looked out over the stables. I collapsed on the bed and stared at the black screen of my phone. I was supposed to call my mom when I got here, but I didn't feel like talking to her. Instead, I texted Malcolm.

Hi, just wanted to let you know I got here safely. Love you, and can't wait to see you again. This place sucks.

Try to make the best of it Annie. I'm sure there not that bad. I bet you do your fair share of trouble also.

Only when they deserve it.

I didn't get a response, and I threw my phone across the room. It landed on the couch in the living room area of the huge bedroom. I wasn't ever going to admit this, but the room was basically the same size as my room back home. I leaned back against the bed, and I was asleep in minutes.