DISCALIMER: I own nothing. All rights to Rick Riordan.
Here's a little feel screwer for you...
Annabeth and Percy were wrapping tinsel around the banister of their staircase. The sound of their children writing letters to Santa filled the house.
"Here Ethan, this is how you write an 'A'" Their eldest daughter Skylar instructed in a very light tone, probably holding Ethan's chubby 3 year old had as they wrote an A together.
"Sky can you check this for me. I don't want to make any mistakes otherwise Santa will get my list wrong." 5-year-old James asked.
"Mama, Mama! Look!" Ethan came barreling into the living room, a paper flying around his head as he insisted for his mother to look. Annabeth took the rather crinkled letter and smiled at the messy blue letters.
"Wow Ethan! This looks like a big boy wrote it." Annabeth smiled, picking up her son and asking him if that was everything.
"All done!" Declared James as he ran into the living room with Skylar in tow. They both held a white piece of paper with blue writing.
"Daddy can you please help us put them in their envelopes?" Skylar asked as Percy stood up from the banister.
"Sure thing princess." Percy took the letters and led the kids to the coffee table. "Okay so what you do is fold your letter like this." Percy demonstrated with an old scrap of paper, his kids following. Annabeth helped Ethan who was whimpering in defeat. She just laughed and smoothed out his blond curls.
"Okay put them in your envelopes." Percy said after the kids folded their letters, "Write down where it has to go in the left hand corner and where it is from in the middle." James furrowed his eyebrows and shoved the paper into an envelope.
"I forgot what to do next." He said.
"Come here and I'll help you." Percy said, his son standing up and joining him on the other side of the table. Mrs. O'Leary gladly took his spot, placing her huge head behind Skylar.
When the kids finished writing The North Pole and Santa Clause on the letters they ran to the entrance of the house and started throwing on their boots and jackets.
Annabeth and Percy zipped up their zippers and tied the laces of the many shoes, finally adjusting miss put gloves and slipping hats. The two of them quickly bundled up, Percy clipped a leash on Mrs. O'Leary and then the were off, heading down 2 blocks to the mailbox. Of course Percy told them to put the house location for the delivery address, he wanted to be sure their children's presents were fulfilled.
"Race you James!" Skylar declared, running ahead of her brother.
"STOP AT THE CORNER!" Annabeth called after her kids, watching as Ethan slumped to his knees in the snow but quickly got up to make it to his brother and sister.
"Poor little guy." She said as she laughed at her son's poor state of winning. Quickly her eyes shot up to see where her kids stood, James was quite so space behind while Skylar stood triumphantly at the corner, just as her mother requested. Satisfied by her children listening, Annabeth looked back to Ethan while Percy tried to fix Mrs. O'Leary's misshapen leash.
It was truly the fastest thing anyone could see. A sudden bright flash of lights only showed the silhouette of an 8-year-old girl and then a blood-curling scream accompanied it. Percy and Annabeth looked up to suddenly see their daughter hidden under a car, the driver shocked as she clutched her steering wheel. In a quick motion she pulled back her car and then drove away, Skylar's body and blood being what's left on the curb.
"SKYLAR!" Annabeth frantically called, scooping Ethan up as he began to cry an attempting to trudge through the snow.
Percy released Mrs. O'Leary's leash and threw himself throw the snow so quickly you'd think it were as easy as swimming in water.
He passed a shocked James that stared at his sister with a blank expression.
"Skylar, baby answer me!" Percy demanded, falling to her side and moving away her blonde hair. Blood trickled down from her forehead as her body laid limp in the hands of Percy. Annabeth was shaking as she screamed for help into her phone, still clutching Ethan. James began to cry slowly, a neighbor coming out from her house to see the commotion.
Multiple people looked outside to see what was going on, some even started to call 911 in desperation to help the little girl lying on the corner.
"Skylar!" James whimpered loudly as he felt the old woman of unit 67 wrap her arms around him and trying to cover his eyes from the sight.
"Skylar open your eyes." Percy said loudly to his daughter, as tears fell from his red eyes. "I am telling you to do something! Wake up!" He demanded through clenched teeth, trying to force life back into her body.
Annabeth was now on her knees as she cradled Ethan's head and allowed a woman to hold her shoulders.
A man came running to Percy with a towel and heavy blanket, helping him wrap Skylar and attempt to stop the blood from protruding our of her forehead.
Sirens bellowed in the distance and soon become horrendously loud.
Paramedics ran to Skylar and clipped a brace around her neck, placing her on a stretcher and hoisting her up on a bed. They began to check for a pulse but coming to no avail, they started chest compressions, pressing down on the little girl's chest and trying to draw any heartbeat out of her. They spent over 3 minutes doing the same thing before looking to Percy and Annabeth with pained expressions. Annabeth lost control, she placed Ethan down and ran to the body of her daughter, holding her face and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Skylar wake up! You can't be dead! You have to open your grey eyes and show mommy and daddy that you are okay. Just open them, show me that there is still life and happiness in that gentle expression. Give me on last smile, please baby don't leave mommy, don't let go! We were supposed to go home and make the gingerbread cookies, you promised to help daddy put the star on the tree. Ethan still wants to hear the story about The Night Before Christmas. You promised to wear the same pajamas as James tonight. Daddy and I bought all three of you a little reindeer. Skylar you need to wake up so we can show you all of these things! Please just don't leave me, I love you so much baby. Just tell me one last time that you love me." Percy had to pull Annabeth away, the paramedics slipping her body into a black bag and zipping it shut.
"SHE HAS TO TELL ME THAT SHE LOVES ME!" Annabeth sobbed so loud the whole neighborhood probably heard it.
Skylar Lilly Jackson passed away on December 20th, 5 days from Christmas. Her parents were left with only the memories of her straight blonde hair and deep grey eyes, her wonderful smile and huge heart. They never got to put the star up or make ginger bread cookies. James didn't wear matching pajamas with his sister and Ethan never heard the story about The Night Before Christmas.
The driver of the vehicle was found 2 days later and charged with drunk driving and murder.
All that was left on the corner of Burkenlake Street was a dented STOP sign and a forgotten letter, one addressed to a Mr. Santa Clause and signed by a Miss. Skylar Jackson. The letter was never read, it had disappeared under the snow and was never found after that.
All that I can tell you is that Skylar didn't ask for toys that year, she only asked for one thing in particular…
A chance to see her new baby sister very soon.
So I sort of cried writing this... sorry if that sounds cocky I just don't like death and I was writing about it so yeah bring on the water works!
Thanks for reading this one-shot, I've been in a rather large writer's block lately for my other story Innocent Love but I promise to try and publish a new chapter tomorrow (Friday)
Hey it's Katniss Everdeen's birthday today! Happy Birthday Katniss, you're by biggest hero :)
Well have a good day, I hope I didn't destroy your feels too much.
-Valentina