To Find A Place
By: Moonlightbear
Summary: It's the place where love takes over hate, where confusion becomes clear vision, where once you were lost, now you are found. This is the story of Lilias Connor, a girl who seen too much, but knows so little. Formally, It's a Hard Demigod Life…
Disclaimer: these books are so good I wish I could say I wrote them, but I didn't… please give it up for the brilliant Rick Rioridan!! Although all characters you know are his, but the ones who are new are mine and I'm proud of it!!
Chapter Two: Trouble, Hate, Reunion, and Life
Alex and my other siblings flew in for the funeral, and then we all took the train home. Nothing really happened until three weeks later. My mom and stepdad argued really loudly one night. Andrew started crying and woke everyone else up. Meg and Mattie started calling for mommy and daddy, and I just couldn't take it. I went into my mom's room to tell her and Alex to stop yelling and fix the babies. I barely spoke a word when my stepdad saw me and yelled at me. My mom smacked him across the face and then came towards me, telling me he didn't mean it. She closed the door behind her, guided me back to my room, and then went to calm the babies. Alexandar didn't leave his room that night and in the morning I found my mom sleeping in the guest room downstairs.
A week later mom and I were living in an apartment in Phoenix, AZ, an hour away from Prescott. My mom explain to me that she and Alex were taking time apart and since he own the house, had lots of family and friends, the babies would stay with him. We went to see them twice or three times a week, so it was cool. My stepdad wouldn't look at me though and that made me sad.
I didn't understand exactly why my mom and Alex were fighting and why he hated me suddenly, until my mom picked me up late from school one day. She told me she had been at the doctor's. She was pregnant again. No biggie, I was used to that, but the reason this time is different is because of when she got pregnant.
She told me about my real dad visiting her in North Carolina. How they spent time together and she fell in love with him again and now I was getting a new sibling. When I asked if he was going to come here and be my daddy she said "No, he still has a big job that he can't leave." This made me so mad! How dare he do that to my momma?! She may not be mad at him, but I sure was! I threw a proper little temper tantrum. Twice he's gotten her pregnant and twice he's left her to deal with it!
My mom must have started to draw me a bath when we first got home but I don't remember her leaving my side. She had to have though because the tub overflowed and flooded the bathroom and we only noticed it when it started coming into the living room. I kind of calmed down pretty fast because mommy started to worry and cleaned up. When she was finished, we had a long talk. She tried to get me to understand why my dad and stepdad were doing the things they were doing. I kind of get my stepdad, but my dad there was no understanding. He was the reason my stepdad looked at me differently. Then she would play that song she always played, and tell me about a place where I would belong someday.
A year later, when my mom and stepdad finally worked things out, we moved back into the house. It took a month to resolve a lot of the problems at the apartment, though. There was water damage to the floors and even the ceiling of the apartment below us, and also the bath tub had salt residue so we had to pay for that. Mom didn't question it much; she just paid it when she could.
When we moved back in with Alexandar, he didn't treat me like he did before. He used to act like I was his daughter, but now I'm just there. He pays more attention to his kids and only what he had to towards me and our new addition, Elijah.
Over the next couple of years, my stepdad and my mom's relationship got stronger; even with Eli, who was one of the most energetic babies I'd ever seen! More energetic the any of the babies thus far, and that's saying something when you consider the twins. Mom said he is worst than I was, so apparently I was worst then the twins, but don't believe it. You don't know what crazy is until you meet the ever mischievous M&Ms… Well, now there's Eli, but still!
The other hard thing is school. I was at yet another new school. The last one had a problem keeping their classroom pets contained and controlled, and the one before that were mean when they decided I wasn't trying. This school decided I had dyslexia and they put me in some special classes which were ok, I guess.
Mom was pregnant again and my stepdad decided the following summer after the baby was born we'd go on the biggest road trip yet! Everyone was excited and couldn't wait for the baby to come and for summer to arrive. When baby Dale came, he was surprisingly quiet and calm, which was a relief from the ever chaotic ball of energy, Eli.
Finally summer was here and off we went! We rented a van and drove from Prescott to Louisville, IN where Alexandar's sister lives. On the way we stopped just outside of Amarillo, TX at the Cadillac Graveyard where Mom, my stepdad, and I got to spray paint on these old Cadillacs in the desert. Some of the little ones painted too, but mom and Alex had to help. One night we stayed in Oklahoma City and the next morning we saw a super pretty house called Overholser Mansion. I love the place.
The next night we were in St. Louis, MO and the following day we went to the top of the Gateway Arch in the morning and then went out to lunch. We were leaving the restaurant when we noticed a big crowd gathering. An explosion at the top of the Arch happened only moments before we came out. My mommy didn't listen to me, but I swear I saw a boy get out of the lake and he was totally dry! How can someone do that?!
A few hours later we finally got back on the road and made it to my step-aunt Georgie's ranch in Louisville, IN. We turned in the rental van the next day and stalked up on supplies. We stayed at Georgie's place for a few days before making the longest horseback riding trip ever! We rode for five days, all the way to the outskirts of Washington DC. It was awesome! We stayed on camp grounds and had bond fires every night and smores! This summer had to have been the best ever!
Once we got to Georgie's brother-in-law's place, he's the one who lived on the outskirts of DC, we visited all the museums. DC is so cool! I'd love to live there. In truth, Alexandar had no real plans after DC so mom suggested we go to North Carolina. At first, they yelled at each other, but then Alex said it was fine. We took the train down. My stepdad really liked it there once we got there. We spent everyday on the beach and at the seaside shops.
While we were in North Carolina, there was a massive earthquake in LA that had after shocks the made it to AZ. My parents were happy we didn't have to deal with that.
We went down to Miami and Key West, before heading back home. We spent a few days in New Orleans, which was fun. When we got home we notice a few things that were knocked over, but nothing big. Everyone said the shake came at like 3 in the morning and only woke a few people. It wasn't huge or nothing here, but you could just imagine the damage it cause in LA. I cringe at the thought.
Being at home, we got into a routine pretty fast. Alexandar was working really hard all the time. Mom and he got into an argument one day because the house seemed more crowded then it really was and that was because the baby was sleeping in their room. I had my room, Eli had his own room, the twins shared with Andrew, and then we had mom's art study. Mom also said it's possible we would be even more crowded soon. She said she'd give up her art room for the new baby that will be coming in 8 months or so. She also said the most she was willing to do is have me move into Eli's room and let Andrew and Dale share mine, but I wanted my own room!
That's when she dropped a huge bombshell on me. Three weeks before school started she decided to tell me I was going to boarding school! I'd gone to every school in town and she knew eventually I'd be going away to school any way. It was my father's wish; supposedly, he had a few wishes that my mom had to fulfill. The first was that I knew he was my dad, even if I didn't know who he was, just that I didn't think Alex or anyone else was my real dad. The second was a good and safe education and this led to boarding school. The school I was gonna go to had so much more than any of the local schools I've gone to, so I guess it works. Maybe this was the place I belonged…
The three weeks before I started at the new boarding school was not fun. Eli was in the terrible twos; he'd wake up early and start throwing things at me. I wanted to strangle him! Several nights I went into mom's study and slept on the sofa. Mom told me after the third morning she found me there, that she would figure something out before I came home for the winter holidays. That made me feel better. I know I sound spoiled because I want my own room, but my mom promised me I always would. And seriously, who wants to share with their two year old brother; I mean come on! I'm seven! I'd rather share with Mattie and Meg, they're quiet and sneaky and I can deal with that, but mom says it wouldn't work out and Alexandar agreed.
--End chapter—
Another bunch of changes… again much is the same but some is very different too… let me know what you think!! Thanks…
