Here it is! Chapter 11. Don't have much to say about it. It's still the same night, basically what's happening to our favorite demigods while everything was going down with Rikki and Zane. But I don't think anyone will be confused either.
Thanks for all the positive reviews! Gosh, I can't thank you guys enough for all your support.
also may or may not be in search of a beta
Enjoy Chapter 11!
-Spiz
Meanwhile, the Gilbert and Jackson families sat together at the dining room table. It was a tight squeeze to fit eight people, but extra chairs were set up.
"The beach was so fun," Elliot said animatedly, "Percy took me bodyboarding! It was awesome!"
Percy exchanged grins with Elliot while Annabeth rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"You took him out way too far," Emma scowled.
"It wasn't that bad, Em." Percy protested.
"Yeah! It wasn't that bad, Em!" Elliot agreed excitedly. Emma glared at Percy's smug expression.
"Yes, it was! He could have gotten seriously hurt out there. Or you could have. The ocean is dangerous and unpredictable," for humans, Emma added internally.
It took every ounce of willpower for Percy to hold back his laughter. He couldn't suppress his grin so he took a drink to cover it. Even Annabeth was smiling, but she kept her gaze at her dinner plate.
"Aunt Sally, don't you agree that Percy and Elliot were being too reckless?" Emma asked with hope that a mature adult would side with her. Sally herself had the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile, but she didn't expect to be turned to.
"Don't you agree, mom, that Emma is being too paranoid?" Percy earned another glare from Emma.
"Well, they both do seem to be perfectly fine..." Sally replied. She smiled warmly at Emma. "But Percy is very protective and an excellent swimmer. I think that if Percy and Elliot were to get into a sticky situation, he'd be able to get them out of it."
Ha! Percy thought. He knew though if he said that out loud, he'd he pushing it. It's not like I'm the son of the sea god or anything.
"Would Percy be able to get himself out of a riptide?"
Obviously not because no one can except mermaids like me, Emma smirked inwardly.
Lol please, Emma. You have no idea. Riptide is...not my middle name but it's the name of my sword! A part of Percy just wanted to tell Emma the truth. But he knew she'd never believe him, she wouldn't be able to see through the mist, and there will only be a handful of times in his life he'll ever see her, unfortunately. Besides, it could attract unwanted monsters and he won't be able to fight them off for her. She'll be killed for sure. Percy hoped that would never happen. He also hoped he would be able to see her more often in the future. After all, she is family and he loved her like a sister, even if they didn't get along. It was nice to know and have such a relationship with someone...ordinary. Percy loved his half blood friends and family, but he also appreciated that he had someone who was still part of his life, just not the crazy part. It made him feel normal, and he didn't want to mess it up.
"If your Aunt Sally says so, then I trust Percy's decisions." Lisa chimed up.
"Besides, Emma, you don't even touch water, so it's not your place to tell me and Elliot what to do." Percy pointed out. Emma's lips formed a tight line as she gripped her silverware tightly in her hands. She gave Percy one last icy glare before scooting her chair out.
"I'm going to start cleaning up." Emma informed bitterly. She started the pile on everyone's dinner plates, except for Percy's, and carried them into the kitchen.
"Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Gilbert." Annabeth said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. Lisa beamed at her.
"You're welcome, Annabeth. I'm sure you must miss your home cooked meals from your mum, hm?"
Ha. My mom. Cooking. Annabeth mused.
"Yeah," Annabeth said instead with a small smile. Percy snorted, thinking the same thing Annabeth was.
Everyone began to disperse from the table. Elliot got up to go help Emma. Lisa followed. Percy and Annabeth also rose from their seats, while Paul and Neil remained sitting, deep in conversation.
"I'll get the dishes." Percy stepped to the sink before Lisa could.
"Really? How sweet of you, Percy! I'll take you up on your offer. Thank you." Lisa beamed at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder. She returned to the table to converse with Sally and Paul.
"I'll help you dry." Annabeth offered and picked up the dish towel. Percy smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"I'll help put everything away!" Elliot added. He stood beside Annabeth expectantly. And so the three kids worked. Percy washed the dishes spotless thanks to some sneaky water magic tricks. Annabeth dried and relayed the dish to Elliot. Emma helped put away dishes too, partly because Elliot couldn't keep up with Percy's quick washing and to reach the high shelves.
Percy looked over his shoulder and grinned. Emma was crouched down putting things away in a lower cabinet. Once she closed the cabinet, but just before she rose, Percy raised some water out of the sink and sent it flying against Emma's back.
Emma yelped, her hand flew to her back, and she whipped around with a horrified expression.
"Percy!" Emma shrieked. She immediately bolted out of the kitchen, but Percy dipped his head to laugh. Annabeth whipped the towel in his face and ceased his laughter.
"What are we? Five?" Annabeth scowled. Percy chuckled.
"What? C'mon! Her expression is priceless. She doesn't even know what hits her," Percy protested. "Besides, what harm can a little water do?"
"You already got her with the wave. You don't need to do keep pranking her," Annabeth chided.
"No, I missed her. Now I got her." Percy pointed out. Annabeth glared at him before focusing her attention on trying the plates. All mischief seemed to abandon Percy at the sight of Annabeth's cold shoulder. She was irritated by him, he could tell. And he really didn't want to spend his vacation with her mad at him. Or have Emma mad at him either.
Then Percy said, "Alright. I'll go up and apologize."
Percy handed the last plate to Annabeth. She glanced at him, but said nothing. He eyed Elliot-who was patiently waiting beside Annabeth-and Paul and Neil were now sitting in the living room, each nursing a bottle of beer. Lisa and Sally were no where to be seen, seemingly went off without notifying anyone.
When Percy went upstairs, he went to Emma's bedroom and knocked on the door. There wasn't a response, no noise of indication that someone was in there, so Percy turned the handle and peeked inside.
The bedroom was empty. Despite no one in the room, Percy let himself in and took in his surroundings. Emma's bed was nearly made, as was Annabeth's air mattress. Everything was perfectly in place and spotless. Emma's desk was organized and had her summer homework-already completed-sitting in a neat pile. There were various ornaments decorating her walls and she had a large blue vanity with makeup labeled in various spots. The room was decorated very feminine, but with many different shades of blue, which was Percy's favorite color. Perhaps he and Emma weren't so different.
The window was framed by curtains and had a layer of blinds rolled at the top, providing a view of the back of the house. Below was the pool, and beyond was a dock to the ocean that reflected the crescent moon. Percy turned away from the window and examined her shelves. One shelf was lined with books in alphabetical order. Another shelf held all of Emma's trophies and hung several medals. Some certificates were framed for her swimming accomplishments. There had to be at least a dozen of these awards.
There were also many pictures framed. They mostly consisted of Emma, Cleo, and Rikki. Sometimes Lewis was there. Sometimes both Lewis and Zane were there. There were a few pictures of Emma's family, and a picture of just Emma and Elliot. There was also a picture of Emma with a guy Percy did not recognize. He was taller than Emma, dark brown hair, and a dazzling white smile with his arm casually around Emma. Emma herself was beaming at the camera and Percy wondered if this guy was the Ash mentioned before. Percy began to wonder if there were any pictures of him and Emma when they were little kids.
Percy smiled warmly. Emma had so many memories. She's been really happy these past few years. Not that she was unhappy before, but Percy never knew what she was doing all this time. Her life was good. She seemed so happy. She has best friends, a boyfriend, and a close relationship with her family. Emma went to school regularly and stayed on top of her studies. She had a job like every teenager. She was so talented when it comes to swimming, and Percy still can't wrap his mind around the fact that Emma threw all these awards that she worked so hard for were thrown away suddenly. Not to mention, she had a normal family. Her mom and dad, happily married, and a younger brother who got along great with her. Her life was just so...normal. Percy has almost forgotten what normal was like so it seemed so strange to be immersed into it again. After the two wars, he can appreciate normalcy, but he knows that it's not something he can ever return to, even if he dunked himself in the River Lethe.
But it was good to know that Emma was happy. It's good to have a side of his family that's normal and not part of his crazy life. He loved his crazy life, but Emma and his Aunt Lisa and Elliot and Uncle Neil was all like a breath of fresh air, a real vacation break from that crazy life.
Realizing he was lingering longer than he should have, Percy left Emma's bedroom and closed the door behind him. He heard the noise of a hair dryer and knocked on the bathroom door. The hair dryer stopped and Percy turned the handle, but it wouldn't budge, locked.
"Emma?"
"Don't come in!" Emma yelled. In one hand, she had a hair dryer. In the other, she had a towel as she sat propped up against the bathtub. Although she turned the hair dryer off, she continued to rub the towel against her orange scaled tail. "Go away, Percy!"
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Percy!"
"I'm sorry I sprayed you, Em," Percy apologized to the door. "I guess I got...carried away with the spray hose thing. But it was pretty immature of me and I shouldn't mess with you like that."
Emma sighed and tilted her head back against the tub. She's just frustrated with how hard it was getting to be to hide her secret. Finally, after a year, Emma thought she had gotten it down. Her powers are controlled and she wasn't growing any tails in front of anyone. But now here comes Percy. And here comes Charlotte and Ash and all these new people into her life. Hopefully, when Percy and his family leave for New York, things can return to normal. At least, normal for mermaids.
"It's fine, Percy. I'm not mad at you." Emma said after heaving a sigh. Although he was talking to the bathroom door, Percy's expression lifted.
"Thanks for not being mad. Will you come out of the bathroom now?"
"I need to take care of something. Please just leave me alone." Emma assured, trying to not sound too harsh.
"What kind of something?"
Emma scowled at his prying.
"It's a girl thing, Percy! You really want to help me with my girl issues?"
"Gods no." Percy immediately replied, cringing. "That's all on you. See you later."
Percy turned away and walked briskly back downstairs. Emma giggled to herself when she heard his quick moving footsteps. She wondered if Percy said the word "gods," which she's never heard anyone say an expression like that. But Emma decided that it doesn't matter and she couldn't quite remember which way it was. She moved her thumb over the dryer and switched it on.
After another minute, Emma's tail disappeared and she transformed back into a human. She got back on her feet and quickly headed back to her guests downstairs.
However, Emma stopped when she heard the sound of someone talking. Actually, it was two women, and their voices were faint. The sound came from the guest bedroom, where the door was shut to the crack. Emma knew that it was her mother and aunt. She also knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but she was already listening.
"It's just been...really hard for me this past year..." Aunt Sally murmured. "These past few years...actually...You know how Percy's changed a lot of schools. And he's been going away to summer camp and I just feel like...I feel like I don't see him anymore...I don't know where he is or what's...happening to him."
"Distance can be quite terrible, I know. But I also know that Percy loves you and cares for you very much." Lisa reassured. Emma couldn't see what exactly was happening inside, but she imagined her mum comforting Aunt Sally with reassuring hugs and squeezes.
"This past year, he was away...at a boarding school. And he was so far away...for so long..and I just...I was so worried..." Sally sniffled. "We lost mom and dad. And then Uncle Rich...and you live...here, halfway across the world and I know you have your family here and you're very happy. But I miss you so much. You and Percy and Paul are all I have...if I didn't have Paul to get me through this year, I don't know what I would have done..." Sally paused. "I just get so scared, Lisa...I get so terrified that one day...I'm going to lose Percy...and I'll wake up one day...and he'll just be gone..."
It fell quiet. Sally was crying, and Emma imagined Lisa was comforting her. Some words were exchanged, but they were too soft for Emma to comprehend. Emma's heart ached and felt heavy in her chest suddenly, feeling Sally's sadness. She decided she's eavesdropped enough and silently walked downstairs. She ignored Percy when they passed by each other, sat down on one of the living room chairs, and mulled over what she had just heard.
Percy, on the other hand, was heading back upstairs. He had left so quickly to get away from feminine problems that he didn't check to see where his mom and Aunt Lisa had gone off to.
Coincidentally, Percy also overheard the hushed chatter of Sally and Lisa coming from the guest bedroom. The door was cracked, but Percy raised a hand to knock.
"You know, Sally, there's something I've been meaning to tell you too..." Lisa admitted before Percy's knuckles could touch the door. Unable to resist the urge, Percy lowered his hand and leaned forward to listen.
"This past year, I think something's happened to Emma."
Sally paused, before asking, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Lisa sighed. "But this past year, she's changed dramatically. She quit swimming! She trained for years and one day, she just...stopped. She wouldn't give me a direct reason why. Something came over her. And then...she just grew so distant. Some days, she would act like a completely different girl! I feel like...she's becoming someone who I don't know or understand. Sometimes I wonder if I've been pushing her away and I've tried to...not do that, if you will. I've tried to be there for her but it's just...not enough..."
Lisa sniffled.
"I feel like I'm losing her sometimes. I don't understand how or why, but I feel so helpless and I just don't know what to do."
"Are you sure it's not just...a phase?" Sally asked.
"I've asked myself the same question. It feels so much bigger than a phase. I don't know how to explain it. I don't think either of us could ever understand it."
"You know how teenagers are. You remember how we were, right? We had our rebellious moments. But we grew older and we matured..."
"I was way more rebellious..." Lisa whispered. "I was the one who ran away when Rich died."
"Hey, no, you didn't." Sally protested. "You were in love with Australia when you went on that school trip in high school. And you fell in love with Neil when you met him on that trip. When Rich died, you had nothing to tie you down and you went after your dream. You moved to Australia, married Neil, and you got your family and you got your life together. You had your life, and I had mine."
"I abandoned you. I didn't talk to you for years. When I had Emma, I realized what I've done and I've realized how important family is. But when I reached out to you, it was too late, and you lost Percy's father at sea...and you were all alone with a baby. Even now, you've gone through so much on your own and I'm so sorry I abandoned you, Sally. You had to go through so much on your own."
"You're being too hard in yourself, Lisa. You're blaming yourself for my misfortunes, but none of it was ever your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. Although it's been...rough...I feel happier now, knowing that I'm not alone anymore. I have you, and Percy, and Paul, and everyone. We'll get through whatever happens next together."
Percy's heart was beating so hard and so fast in his chest that it hurt. He's heard enough, and truthfully, didn't want to hear anything else. He never realized how anguished Aunt Lisa was, and he didn't like it.
Sally and Lisa had fallen quiet, and Percy immediately backed away to avoid getting caught. Percy retreated downstairs. He made his way over to Neil, who was heading towards the staircase Percy came down from.
"Hey, uh, Uncle Neil?" Percy stopped him. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Percy. Is everything alright?"
Percy's eyes darted over to where Emma sat in the living room, talking to Annabeth.
"Yeah! Yeah. Everything's fine." Percy assured. "I just wanted to ask you something. It's about Emma."
"What about Emma?"
"Why did she quit swimming?"
Neil frowned and heaved a heavy sigh.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that. To this day, I still don't know. She said it was too much for her, but she's always handled pressure very well. She just said to us one day that she couldn't do it anymore. I don't understand how or why. I guess she just lost interest."
"How can she just lose interest? I thought she loved it and wanted to do it for the rest of her life." Percy said.
"I thought so too. Aunt Lisa and I have asked her numerous times about it, and she just told us she didn't want to do it anymore. It was hard to press her about it because she would avoid talking about it."
"How did she seem? Upset?"
"She seemed her usual calm, collected self. But I could see in her eyes that it pained her." Neil glanced back at his daughter, who was oblivious to the conversation. "Emma is a very smart girl and does everything with purpose. She had to have a good reason. Maybe if you asked her, she'd tell you."
"Nah, she hasn't. She won't even race against me for fun." Percy responded. Neil nodded, but he was unsure of what to say next.
"Well...I suppose people change. And Emma can change too." Neil said quietly. Percy nodded. "I'm off to bed. See you upstairs, Percy."
"See ya." Percy muttered, but he kept his gaze on Emma.
This shouldn't be such a big deal to him, but it bothered him. It bothered him greatly. Surely she can't have something as dramatic as what he experienced. For one thing, Emma is not a demigod. She's a perfectly normal human being. So then, what happened to her? Where was the Emma he knew and loved?