Flowers

Percy Jackson drove in silence on a Wednesday afternoon, passing houses with white picket fences and perfect families inside. His heart broke all over again when he remembered the beautiful family that he and his sister used to be. It was all ended by one foolish decision. A middle-aged man with a BAC of .21 ended their happiness in one drunken moment.

Percy Jackson drove in silence, passing beautiful gardens full of every flower under the sun. His stomach flipped when he saw the most peculiar garden, full of mismatched flowers and some flowers that probably shouldn't have been able to grow there. His heart nearly stopped when he saw them…

Blue azaleas.

Percy normally didn't know or recognize the different types of flowers, but he always recognized blue azaleas. They were her favorite. She had always been a flower person. Always outside with her toy magnifying glass, looking at plants and the specific veins on leaves and asking so many questions. Toward the beginning, she would ask questions Percy could actually answer, like, "why are plants green?" After the questions had passed into the no-fly zone for him, he would take her to the library to check out books about plants. She decided within two weeks that she was going to be a bo-tan-ist when she grew up. She worked so hard to pronounce that word. Within another two weeks, after much deliberation, she decided that the blue azalea was her favorite plant.

Percy quickly pulled over, eyeing the flower. He got out of the car, closing the door quietly. Carefully, as to not disturb anyone in the house, he walked over to the patch of azaleas and gently pulled one off. He quickly got in the car and drove away so no one would see him. He raised the azalea to his nose, inhaling the fresh scent that bitterly reminded him of her. That beautiful little second grader with so, so much potential.

His thoughts remained on her as he pulled into the cemetery.

26 weeks later, 26 stolen azaleas later, he was caught.

Percy had become too comfortable, apparently, plucking the flowers off their stems. Today, he accidentally knocked over a metal watering can that made a loud pang and then a scraping noise. He winced. Immediately, he heard footsteps coming from inside the house. The screen door banged shut as the person came outside. All he saw was a mess of blonde, curly hair and a flash of angry, grey eyes and he was already being reprimanded.

"You know, stealing isn't okay. It's against the law." Percy could tell this girl was quirky. Everything she said had false confidence behind it, like she had practiced in front of a mirror, but hadn't mastered it. "Stealing is petty, although I have no idea what you would want with a bunch of azaleas…" She trailed off when she noticed he was in formal attire: khakis and a button up.

Percy noticed the girl studying him in deep concentration. She pursed her lips and took a breath before saying, "It's a girl, isn't it?"

Percy stammered, trying to say something along the lines of "kind of" but all that came out was "uh duh."

The girl let out a breathy laugh. "Well, I have to at least meet her to see if she's worth this petty stealing."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. He was trying to think of a way to tell her no, but she followed up with, "or I could report you to the cops for flower stealing."

Could you get arrested for flower stealing? Percy wasn't exactly sure he wanted to find out, so he sighed and nodded his head back toward the car.

"She's definitely worth it," he said.

The blonde girl looked satisfied as she walked around the car and got in the passenger seat.

"I hope it isn't a long drive," she said.

Percy shook his head. "Maybe ten minutes."

His mind worked overtime, trying to tell this girl that that were going to the local cemetery. He mentally crumpled all the ideas. He decided that he would just have to drive there.

When he pulled up to the gates, her brow scrunched up in confusion.

"Does she work here?"

Percy shook his head, not trusting his words.

Realization crept across his face, and her breath hitched. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed. "I – I didn't know..."

Percy just pursed his lips and nodded curtly, cutting her off.

He parked and walked the short distance to his little sister's grave. Annabeth choked back a sob when she saw what it read.

CLAIRE JACKSON

2008 – 2015

Little sister

and

future botanist

There are azaleas

in heaven.

"W-what happened?" Annabeth managed breathily.

"Drunk driver," Percy said.

Annabeth was crying freely now, tears falling thick and fast. Percy was startled when she pulled him in for a hug.

"I'm sorry. You can have as many azaleas as you want," she mumbled against his shirt.

Percy smiled and hugged her back, finally at peace.