Two chapters left after this one!
After spending sometime at the beach, Percy and Annabeth took the simple way away from the beach without having to go through the entire forest.
He sort of wished he had gone that way before.
But he was glad that he hadn't, because now, he knew so many things. He decided that he believed Annabeth and that he wanted to trust her, even if it was a bit awkward between them. He believed that he was indeed a son of Poseidon, because all the evidence supported the claim. He hadn't wanted to leave the sea, but Annabeth told him that it was time for dinner and they had to go.
They didn't talk for a while as they climbed over the dunes. Percy broke the silence. "Annabeth, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
He swallowed. "Do you think my mom knew that my dad was Poseidon?"
Annabeth didn't answer for a few minutes, and Percy considered asking her the question again. But Annabeth was supposed to be smart, and Percy realized she was just considering what he'd asked. It wasn't that hard of a question. All he needed was a yes or no.
Percy thought about his mom and stupid Gabe. Had anything happened between them during those years he couldn't remember. Did his mom even know what had happened? Did she know where he was and about this place called Camp Half-Blood? He thought about asking Annabeth to show him a phone, but he didn't want his mom to worry, because she had a habit of doing that. Besides, she had enough on her plate.
"Yes," Annabeth finally answered. "She does know. She's always known you were a demigod, and she's given up everything to make sure that no one would hurt you."
A cold feeling settled inside of Percy. "What do you mean?"
"Percy, a lot has changed and there's a lot you don't realize. Monsters… they track us by our scent. With you being one of the most powerful demigods alive, many monsters want you dead. Your mom only married Gabe so that his scent would cover up your own and you wouldn't be hurt."
"I can't believe she did that for me." Percy had always wondered why Gabe was around, because Sally and Percy both hated him. He was a fat pig that did nothing all day and abused them both. She really had tried to help him.
Only an hour and a half ago, Percy wouldn't have believed Annabeth. He would have accused her of lying, but she had saved his life and actually help him. A bunch of questions bubbled inside of him about different things, like his scent and how she knew all of this, but he kept them down because she wasn't finished.
"A few years ago, after… our first quest together, Sally and Gabe—" Annabeth cut off abruptly, like she didn't know what to say. "Um… let's just say that they called it quits and got divorced. Your mother got lots of money and you moved to a new apartment. Your mother decided to start taking classes because she's always wanted to be—"
"An author," Percy finished.
"Yeah. Well, she met this man named Paul Blofis, and you usually call him Mr. Blowfish, which gets on your mothers last nerves. They started dating, which freaked you out at first but eventually it made you happy because they were happy. And then they got married, and now you guys live together as one happy family. Paul knows that you're a son of Poseidon too. He actually met Poseidon on your fifteenth birthday."
He blinked. It was a lot to take in at once.
"You think my mom and Poseidon loved each other?"
Annabeth smiled at him. "They still love each other, Percy, but they can't be together. Your mother is a mortal, and Poseidon is a god. They live two separate lives, but they made one hell of a kid."
Percy blushed. "Does mom know about you and the other demigods and Camp Half-Blood."
She nodded. "I've actually met your mom one several occasions. She's sort of like a second mother to me."
"How do you know her so well?"
"Percy, you may not remember me at all, but I was your girlfriend and your best friend. Well, one of them. I've met your mom on many occasions, and she would always get on you about being a gentleman when you were with me, and I would always laugh and support her and you always thought we were ganging up on you and that it wasn't fair." Her expression turned wistful .
The awkwardness was back, because Percy wasn't sure what he felt for Annabeth.
She claimed they'd had something, but he still couldn't see it. They were opposites, but apparently, they had known each other for years and were really close. She was a beautiful girl and she clearly liked him, but did he like her? Did he want to be involved with someone?
All in all, he just wanted his life back.
He wanted his memories.
When he met Annabeth's eyes, she wasn't smiling anymore. "Come on, let's get to dinner."
Dinner passed by in a blur of food and Coke. Annabeth told Percy that he had to sit at a table all by himself, which he found completely unfair. Then he realized that they were grouped together according to their lineage, and no one was a child of Poseidon except for him. The two twins he'd met earlier were at the Hermes table, and Annabeth was sitting with her brothers and sisters at the Athena table. For some reason, Percy wished that she was sitting with him, but she had suddenly become very cold.
After dinner, Annabeth walked over to Percy. "We give burnt offerings to the gods," she informed him as she scraped some of her leftovers into the giant fire. He watched them burn. "You should do the same."
Reluctantly, Percy tossed what was left of his burger into the pit. Hey, Poseidon, Dad, whatever, he said in his mind. I'm really confused right now. I need guidance and I need my memories. Please help me.
"We have a camp fire and sing alongs," Annabeth told him, still somber. What had he done to make her mad?
"I don't feel like going," he said automatically. Actually, he really wanted to go, because a sing along sounded cool. But he couldn't stand the way all of the campers were looking at him. He could hear their whispers, referring to him as the amnesiac. The name sent a weird vibe through his body, a negative one. They all looked like they wanted to talk to him but were afraid to. He didn't recognize a single face.
"Okay… I'll walk you back to your cabin, I guess."
"It's cool," Percy told her, looking at his feet. "I can get there myself."
Annabeth glared at him for a second before turning around a stomping off.
Every bit of bonding they had done on the beach seemed to have vanished.
When Percy arrived back in his cabin, he felt really bad. He didn't bother to look for a change of clothes. He collapsed into his bed and found out that he was exhausted. What had he done wrong? Had it been something in his expression? Whatever it was, it had really affected Annabeth.
Sleep settled down on him like a blanket and in his dreams, he was peacefully walking toward this bright, white light. He wasn't really in control of his body though. It was more like he was watching himself. It felt third person. But this oblivion of sorts was beautiful and peaceful, and all at once, Percy turned around and started to run away from it. Why, he didn't know, but he kept running and running like the oblivion would kill him.
Until he began to fall.
As he fell towards the oblivion, he screamed one name over and over again.
A
N
N
A
B
E
T
H
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Okay, perhaps that last bit was from Beautiful Chaos, but I thought it fit in pretty well. Reviews really help out a lot!
-BBH