There was a time when Annabeth thought she hated her brothers, Mathew and Bobby. Her half-brothers, actually.
She remembered her annoyance when they would wake at night and wail, waking up the entire household.
She remembered her disgust when they would refuse to enjoy their meal and flung spoonfuls of cereal all over the kitchen tiles.
She remembered anger when Matthew would crawl into her room and play with her toys, her only presents from her dad.
She remembered regret when Helen had slapped her, the family's freak, for trying to hold her brothers.
She remembered sadness when her dad would take the family out for picnics, except her (because Helen had convinced him that she was too dangerous).
She remembered betrayal when she had practically begged her dad to pay attention to her, and he had yelled at her, telling her she wasn't the center of the universe. That he had a wife and two kids too.
She remembered wondering, 'Am I not family?'
She remembered despising the two devils.
She knew that her half-brothers weren't to blame. Her whole family was a mess, and she was only 7, so she thought that the root of her problems would disappear if they were gone as well. So, she wished with her entire heart they had never existed.
However, her dad had made it clear that Matthew and Bobby were their family now. They weren't going to disappear. So she thought she should.
In the dead of night, Annabeth packed her stuff in a little backpack. A bronze daggar that lay enticingly on the bottom shelf of her father's book shelf, a cap that Athena had bestowed upon her, and food rations and bottles of water. Annabeth slung the backpack over her shoulder and walked out the door, not even trying to keep her footsteps and the sloshing sound of water silent.
Her "parents" hadn't even been coming to her lately when she had a nightmare or a spider attack, thinking she was asking for attention, so Annabeth knew she didn't have to keep silent. Or perhaps, she was purposely asking for attention, waiting waiting for someone, anyone to come stop her.
But no one came.
She had reached Camp Half-Blood, but the price had been high. Thalia had died, and Luke became distant. However, she found comfort and friends at this camp, befriending people like her. Her dad constantly wrote asking her to come back, but she didn't want to until Percy had asked her to give her dad another chance.
So, here she was waiting to knock on the same little house she had run away from so many years ago. She knocked despite knowing that there was a key underneath the plant next to the door mat. It just didn't feel right. It didn't feel like home.
Helen opened the door a few moments later. She gasped and pulled her into a tight hug. Her dad came a few moments afterward, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. He looked older. Wearier. It hurt knowing she made him suffer.
Then, they came. She broke out of her daze to stare at Bobby and Matthew. They were so grown up. They were 7 now, and they looked identical to a younger version of her dad, with brown hair and sandy hair. Their cheeks were rosy, and the baby fat hadn't disappeared. They looked shyly up at her before embracing her lightly. With shy smiles gracing theirs faces, they handed her a picture. It read, "Thanks for coming back" with a messy drawing of a girl with blonde hair surrounded by her family.
She remembered the days when she hated them and thought they were devil's spawns. She remembered how she wished they had never existed, but at that moment, she realized that she, the daughter of wisdom, was wrong. Maybe it was because she had matured over the course of the years, but she realized Bobby and Matthew were her family too. She realized none of her misery was their fault. Honestly, Annabeth still couldn't forgive her mortal family for hurting her so much. And sure, it it was her parents' faults, but these two… They were gifts.
She smiled and whispered, "It's good to see you guys."