Author's Note: Hello! How is everyone doing? I'm glad to be back here :-). Anyway, I really want to thank all those people who added this story to their favorites/alerts and those who reviewed. I'm glad to know that you liked it, and I hope you continue liking it until the end. I want to thank the first reader, even though she didn't read it completely: My best friend (If you like 50 Shades of Grey you should check her story; OrangeSunset1618 is her Pen Name). That's all I have to say. See you guys later! Leave a review if you can! Happy reading!

Chapter 2

The mattress was starting to feel uncomfortable underneath my back after an hour of lying on it without sleeping. Many questions swirled inside my head, keeping me from resting. Why hadn't I accepted Percy's job offer? How would I get a boyfriend in three days? Would it be possible to let the past go? What would be Mom's reaction if she found out I'd lied to her?

Not wanting to listen to my thoughts anymore, I got out of bed and ordered the room. I tended to clean something whenever my mind bothered me. Anything. The rooms, the floors, the dishes. By seven o'clock everything was unrecognizable. The air even smelled nice; hours ago it'd held the scent of sweaty kid (If you ever read this, Dariel, I love you).

I plopped down in a chair, staring at a spot on my desk. It was strange to see zero books on it, the surface shiny and lacking of dirt. The only item out of place was a little card with Percy's phone number. I didn't know to where it belonged: To the trashcan or to a place in the bedroom. All the cleaning hadn't helped me take a decision.

In the end, I took my phone with its broken screen from my nightstand and dialed the number written on the card. I didn't have to work forever at Percy's company, right? I could just work there until I found a new job—one with less dark-haired guys.

After some moments he answered, and I wondered if I'd woken him. It was seven in the morning. Probably he'd been asleep before my call.

"Hello?" he said, his voice laced with exhaustion.

"Hi," I replied, a blush creeping to my cheeks even though no one was watching me. "I—I'm Annabeth Chase. Do you remember me? I'm sorry for calling this early. Did I wake you up?"

At the other end of the line he let out a yawn. "Of course I remember you. I won't be forgetting what happened yesterday any time soon. Don't worry. You didn't wake me up. It was my alarm the one who did it about an hour ago."

I chuckled a little thanks to his comment. "Okay. I guess I shouldn't feel guilty, then."

"Yeah, you shouldn't." He laughed. There was one of those awkward moments when I didn't know what to say. Everything was very silent. I swear I could even hear Little D snoring inside the neighboring bedroom. Finally, Percy decided to break the silence. "So…what can I do for you, Annabeth?"

That was the perfect opportunity to talk about the job. I took a deep breath, trying to feel less nervous. I felt as if I was about to do something extremely dangerous, like jump from a cliff or meet Dariel's father. After all, I hadn't accepted his offer and now I was going to tell him to forget that.

"Uh, I was wondering…" I said, scratching the back of my head. "Is—is the job still available? The one you offered me yesterday, I mean."

Silence once again. I knew he'd heard my question, because the sound of his calm breathing touched my ears. Several times I thought of ending the call and disappearing, but my body was frozen.

After what felt like hours, I heard Percy laugh. "I knew you would call for that. And yes, it is available if you want it."

"I—I want it," I replied.

"That's great! It'll be amazing to work alongside you, Annabeth. When can we meet so you can sign the contract?"

"I can go today if you want," I answered, trying to recall what my plans were for today. I had to take Dariel to school, but Dad could take him if I asked him to do so. Also, I had an appointment with Camille, but I could call her later and explain everything.

"That would be awesome," he said. "I'll be waiting for our meeting anxiously. Let me give you the address of the company."

As fast as a flash, I produced a notepad and a pen from a nearby drawer. As Percy recited the address I jotted down every word he said. The place wasn't too far from here. It would take me about fifteen minutes to get there walking.

"Okay," I said. "Is it okay if I see you in an hour?"

"Actually, I have something to do. Why don't we meet in two hours? I have to do an errand before heading to work."

Change of plans. I could take Little D to school and then meet with Percy. That would give me time to prepare mentally for spending the morning with someone who gave me the willies. I found myself nodding even though Percy wasn't capable of watching me, so I said, "Sounds great. I'll see you in two hours, then."

"Anew, I'll be waiting for our meeting anxiously."

There was nothing left to say. Then, why hadn't I hung the phone yet? Why hadn't he ended the call? I knew he was waiting for something to happen, because I could hear him exhaling against the microphone. That totally reminded me of those horror movies where someone calls and you can only hear him breathing.

"Is there anything more you have to say?" he inquired.

I took that as, 'Do you have something more to say? Because I have more important things to do than stay here all morning, talking with a girl who can't stand being near guys that have the same hair color as me.'

"No. That's all," I answered. "I'll see you later. Bye."

Before he could reply, I tapped the phone on the 'End Call' button. I remained there, sitting in a chair, until my mind reminded me that Dariel had to wake up. After replacing my pajama clothes with jeans, a black shirt and a coat I left the room and went to find my son, who was lying on his bed, his limbs forming strange angles. He reminded me of those horror movies where someone is possessed by a demon.

"Wakey-wakey!" I bellowed while tugging at Dariel's feet. "Get up, Little D. You have to take a shower, prepare your things and have breakfast, so you better start with everything right now."

"Stop bothering, mommy," he mumbled, trying to kick me. "I don't wanna go to school. My bed needs me."

"That's not an option. Now get up and take a shower."

He didn't move. It was as though I was talking with a corpse. Frowning, I did the only thing that came to my mind. As silent as possible, I cut the distance between Dariel and me. Soon, the tips of his feet were brushing against my thighs. Swiftly, I pulled at his pajama pants until they were around his knees. That worked perfectly to wake him up.

"Mom!" he shouted, but I was already slamming the door behind me. Several times he tried opening it, but I never took my hand off of the knob. When I heard water running inside his bathroom, I set towards the kitchen.

It was strange to see the table already full of food. Usually, it was me the one who had to prepare everything. With Mom here, I didn't have to worry about that, and her food tasted like a piece of heaven—not that I had tasted that before.

"Morning," I said, taking a seat beside Dad. Across from me there was an empty chair, which would be used by Dariel once he was ready.

Dad separated his gaze from his iPad—jeez, I couldn't understand that obsession he had to work at breakfast or lunch or dinner—and put an arm around me. "Good morning, Annie. It's great to see you." He had slept all the afternoon yesterday, so I hadn't had the opportunity to see him.

"It's good to see you too, Dad."

"I have some news for you, but we should wait until breakfast is over to discuss that matter."

I glanced at him surprised, trying to know if the news were good or bad. His mouth was a tight line. Parts of his sandy hair were standing up, as if he'd run his fingers through it all night. I supposed they weren't very good news.

"Good morning, dear." Mom materialized while carrying a jug full of orange juice. Gosh, I'd missed that. What would I do once Mom left this world? "How did you sleep?"

"Quite fine, I must say. Especially because you two are here," I responded, setting a pair of waffles on my plate. "And you?"

"It's nice to be back."

We exchanged smiles and started working on our food. Twenty minutes later, I felt as if my gut was about to explode. I couldn't understand why if I'd eaten only four waffles, two bacon strips, two glasses of orange juice and a glass of water. I wasn't the only one enjoying this feast: Dariel batted his eyelashes whenever he swallowed something, his eyes completely white.

"Annabeth," said Dad. "I think it's time to tell you the news. But only you can hear this." His brown eyes fell on my mother and son, but they lingered more on him. Mom understood what he was trying to say immediately.

"Come, dear. Let me help you with the scarf and gloves." Mom placed Dariel's hand inside hers and dragged him out of the room.

"What is it, Dad?" I asked as soon as we were alone.

Silence. Instead of looking me in the eyes he stared at his iPad, tapping here and there.

"Dad?" I inquired.

"Ah, here it is," he said, though I didn't know if he was talking to me or to himself. "This, Annabeth, is what I want to show you."

It was an email he'd received a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't familiar with the sender, but he seemed to be an investigator or something of the sort, because he'd written about an investigation he'd been doing.

From: Garry Hammet, PI

Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 12:15:26 AM

To: Frederick Chase

Dear Mr. Chase,

I am pleased to inform you that, after years of investigation, we are finally getting to the end of the road. Thanks to all the facts I've gathered throughout the past five years I have been able to find some men that could be your grandson's father and your daughter's attacker. It wasn't much the information your daughter told you what feel like eons ago, but I believe it was enough to get with these people. The most suspicious of them—a man from Kansas, who had been in a bar ten minutes before Miss Chase was attacked—is currently living in New York City. With all the research I have done, I know that this person was only visiting his sister five years ago. Now, she is no longer part of this world due to a disease, and he decided to stay with her place.

I'll attach a picture of the suspicious at the bottom of this email.

I will continue searching for Miss Chase's rapist until he is found. Count with it.

If anything else is discovered I will immediately send an email to you. With nothing more to say, I say goodbye.

Kindest regards,

Garry Hammet, PI.

Suddenly, the room felt colder than before. He, the man who had attacked me many nights ago, was living in the same city as me. One of the dark-haired men I had seen could've been him. We breathed the same air, shared many things. The thought of that made me feel sick.

Dad glided a finger across the screen, and my heart stopped working when I stared at the picture of the man from Kansas who could've been my attacker.

Never before had I seen him, but his hair was unruly and fell upon his eyelids. My mind went back to the day before.

"Mommy, are you alright?" Dariel asked, tilting his head back to look into my eyes. In the process, tufts of dark hair—probably inherited by his father—fell over his eyes.

"You behave, okay?" I said, squatting in front of him so we were face to face. Without waiting for a response, I kissed his forehead and ruffled his messy hair. Sometimes I wonder why it won't stay calm.

The man from the picture was grinning, and something about that grin was familiar. I had seen it before. If I wasn't wrong, Dariel smiled like that. This has to be the man who attacked you, said my mind. And I agreed. But…now what? There was nothing to be done. I couldn't appear at the man's house and say, 'Hey, you raped me, remember? Five years ago. I hate you. You're the reason I can't trust men. Oh, and we have a son, who is a wonderful boy and very different from his father.'

"We have to call the police," proposed my father as if he'd been reading my mind. "This—person has to pay for what he did to you."

"Dad, didn't you read the letter?" I asked. "The investigator, Garry, doesn't know if this man is the one who attacked me. We have to wait until there's no doubt that he is Little D's father. What if he's put in jail and he's innocent? As much as I hate dark-haired men, I don't wanna see someone paying for something he didn't do."

He nodded after a while. Before I could stand up and search for Little D, he pulled me to an embrace. I leaned my head against his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. "I love you, Annie."

"I love you too, Dad," I replied. I felt safe inside his arms, as if I was still that little girl who screamed whenever she saw a spider. "I need to go, Dad. I have to take Dariel to school."

"I can do it if you want. You know I don't have a problem with doing it."

"Thanks, but I will do it. I agreed to meet with someone who will give me a job."

Dad's eyes opened wide. "You got a job? That's great, Annie! What will you do?"

Scratching my nape, I shook my head. "I—I don't know. I'll do the sort of things secretaries do, I suppose. I'll tell you later, okay? It's getting late." Placing a kiss on his cheek, I leapt to my feet and went to the living room.

Little D was already wearing his scarf and gloves, a beanie covering his messy hair. Mom set a kiss on his forehead before both of us exited the apartment. I tried to prepare mentally for my meeting with Percy—what would I say? Was I dressed correctly for the meeting?—but my mind was somewhere else.

Dariel had to tug at my hand for me to realize that we had arrived to our destination. The school was a block away. As we made our way towards Mrs. Suzanne, who was wearing a blue dress today, someone crashed against me. Little D was already running towards the playground, so he didn't notice I was about to fall, but the same person who'd rammed into me caught my wrist and helped me.

"I beg your pardon," he said. Right away, I recognized that voice—even when I had heard it only once. Standing before me, his hand around my wrist, was a green-eyed guy who would soon be my boss. His eyes opened as much as mine. "Annabeth?"

"Percy," I replied. He released my wrist and I rubbed it. Everything was silent, like it had been earlier during the phone call. Without thinking, I asked: "It's the second time something bad happens when you're near. Is this going to happen always?"

A smile flitted across his face. "It depends. Do you want it to happen always?" Once again, there was silence, and this time I wasn't planning to break it. He started rocking backward and forward. Then, he said: "I suppose you're here for the same reason as me." Was he raped five years ago and got pregnant? He has a son? I thought. "See, I have a brother—well, not exactly a brother. I consider him one, but we don't share blood. Anyway, he went out of the city and asked me to bring his son to school. And that's why I'm here."

"Actually, I'm here because I brought my—my son to school," I admitted.

His eyebrows shot up in reply. "Your son? I didn't know you were married."

"I am not. I am single."

Luckily, he didn't make any questions—not that I would've answered them. We remained in silence until he took out the keys of his Maserati. "Okay, I guess we should go. There's a contract you need to sign and we need to talk of many things."

I nodded, following him to the black vehicle parked at the other side of the road. Like a gentleman, he walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Thank you," I said. Everything still smelled of lemon and aftershave.

Neither he nor I said anything as the car moved through the streets. Everything felt…uncomfortable. The air around us was almost solid. What kind of thing could I say to start a conversation? The same thought was probably crossing his mind, because he didn't stop tapping a finger against the steering wheel.

I was about to say the typical 'Nice weather, right?' phrase, but before I could do it, he talked. Good, because the weather wasn't nice at all.

"So…how are you feeling, Annabeth?" he asked, staring at me through the rearview mirror. Those eyes were distracting. Their color was so abnormal but beautiful at the same. I had to shift my gaze to somewhere else, because I was starting to wonder if he used contact lens.

"I'm fine," I said. You have to be nicer, my mind scolded. He's your future boss. "How about you?"

At that he grinned, and there was something peculiar about his smile. "I'm excited. It is always exciting when someone starts working at my company. I don't know why, but that's how things stand."

"Speaking of which: I would love to know what kinds of things I will do."

"Easy things." He shrugged. "You'll receive my calls, help me with documents, accompany me to important meetings. Sometimes we'll go out of the city. As I said, easy things. And if you don't know how to do something you'll receive help from anyone. We're all like a family. We get along very well. And if no one wants to help you, I will."

The job sounded perfect. I would do simple things and win money doing them. Besides, I liked the 'we're all like a family' thing. That meant I would probably get along with the rest of the workers, what would make my stay more comfortable. As the car continued advancing he told me other things: The names of the people with whom I would interact, my schedule, amusing stuff that had occurred with his previous secretaries.

After a while the Maserati was parked in front of his company—and I felt that I didn't belong here with my jeans and black t-shirt. The building was enormous, its windows reflecting the sun's light. People entered and exited it, all of them wearing formal clothes. Was it too late to have cold feet?

"We're here," he said, opening the door for me again. Yes, it is too late to have cold feet, my mind answered. Swallowing the lump stuck in my throat, I took his hand and let him help me to get out. A tall, broad-shouldered man appeared out of the blue and took Percy's car to who-knows-where. Then, we were both heading to the set of crystal doors.

The inside was just as amazing, and people smiled at me as I passed. The atmosphere was just as Percy had described it. We crossed the lobby, reaching to the elevator. Even the cabin was fascinating. "My office is in the last level," he said, and then told me what was located inside each floor. "What do you think?"

"Everything is fabulous," I muttered.

"Thank you." He blushed, and the red color of his cheeks made him look…strange. Admit it: You think he looks cute, a voice inside my head said. But, of course, it wasn't true. I had never thought that from a guy.

The top of the building took out my breath. The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed me to see a big portion of the city. Everyone from here looked like ants. "Take a seat," Percy said as he traveled to his desk. I did as asked, sitting across from him. He made a call, asking someone to bring my contract. As we waited he explained me more about the things I would do here.

Finally, when the contract was here, he handed me a pen and waited for me to sign it. This was the moment. I would finally get a job. I read twice everything, checking the space between each line to make sure there weren't any tiny letters—that happened a lot in cartoons.

"Okay," I murmured and signed the paper.

It was done.

Percy gave me a smile as I handed him the contract. He told the nice, blond lady to prepare everything, and then she left the room after waving a hand at me. "Thank you," I said, heaving a sigh. "You know, for giving me the job."

"I like helping people." He grinned. "And you wouldn't be looking for a job if you didn't need it. Besides, I owe you for what happened yesterday. I still owe you, actually. So, if you ever need anything, you can count with me."

I don't know why, but the first thing that came to my mind was Mom's picture. Without thinking, I blurted out: "I—I actually need something."

"What is it? I'll be glad to help you." He leaned forward, as if I was about tell him a secret.

Again, without mulling things over, I said, "Be my boyfriend."

Silence. Okay, I hadn't explained myself correctly. His eyes opened wide as he leaned backward, pursing his lips. "Eh…" he said, scratching his nape. "I—I don't understand—"

"I didn't explain myself correctly." I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling as if the room was hotter. "Can you please pretend to be my boyfriend? It—it will be just for one day."

He looked as if the weight of the sky had been taken from his shoulders, but he still looked astonished. "Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because my mother is in the city. And…she—well, she's dying. There is one thing she wants to see before leaving this world." I closed my eyes. "She wants to see me be in love. It wasn't the correct thing to do, but I—I lied to her. I told her that I have a boyfriend, but of course it isn't true, and now she wants to meet him this Friday. That's why I need someone to pretend to be my boyfriend."

Now, Percy's expression lacked of emotions. I couldn't tell if he was scared of me, or if he felt pity, or if he was angry. "Why did you lie to her?" he finally asked.

"Because I want to see her happy," I responded while moving my stare to my lap. "I want her to die happy, thinking that someone will be at my side when she's gone."

His eyes darkened, looking like the sea at night. "I—I understand. I would have wanted my mother to die happy." Okay, I didn't know his mother was dead, much less that she'd died unhappy. I peered at him until he shook his head and said, "Sure. I accept to be your 'boyfriend' this Friday. It's the least thing I can do after what happened yesterday." Letting out a sigh, he got on his feet. "Why don't you make me company as I have breakfast? We could plan things out. If we're going to be a 'couple' we need to make plans. You have to tell me what kinds of questions your mother will make and things like that."

"Sure," I whispered even though I had already had breakfast. I would probably explode if something more entered my stomach.

"Follow me, Annabeth. I know a place where they prepare delicious food. Or should I say: 'Mrs. Jackson?'" He grinned, but I didn't respond.