A/N: I'm glad so many of you love the story. Keep the reviews coming!
Chapter 3 – Leo, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel
"I guess I'll continue from where we left off," said Leo, grabbing the journal from Percy's desk.
Percy nodded, sighing heavily. He knew that they were almost finished with the second chapter, and that in the next, something would be revealed to all of them . . . something that not even Annabeth knew about. But he braced himself as all the others gathered either on Tyson's bunk, or on the floor.
"By all means, Leo," said Percy, nodding for the Repair Boy to continue.
Leo cleared his throat before reading aloud. And as he read, he had a feeling that something rather creepy was about to occur in the coming passages.
"On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase. The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies."
"More like, from a huge extended family of gods and goddesses and demigods who would kill for you and die for you," corrected Piper, layering some charmspeak into her tone as her brilliant, kaleidoscope eyes flashed at him. It was enough to make Percy smile wider as Leo continued reading. Piper could make anyone feel better simply by talking.
"They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city. What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall," Leo continued.
"Like we all haven't been there," murmured Hazel, closing her eyes as she remembered the numerous schools she got kicked out of.
"'Oh,' one of the guys said. 'That's cool.' They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed. The only person I decided saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city. During the whole bus right, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers."
"If goat-boy was trying to convince you that nothing was wrong, he was doing a very bad job," commented Nico cynically.
"Let's face it; Grover sucks at hiding things," Annabeth said.
They all chorused in agreement with one another before Leo continued reading. "It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I said, 'Looking for Kindly Ones?'"
Piper's face paled significantly as she whispered, "You had to ask that?"
Percy sighed before saying, "He'd been acting weird ever since that field trip. He was making me nervous!"
"And he had every reason to," said Jason. "Because your life was clearly in danger."
"And yet I had no clue. It wasn't my fault no one told me I was the son of the fish guy," Percy said, rolling his eyes.
Next to them, the lake seemed to ripple, as if Poseidon had somehow taking offense to that. Apparently, he'd heard that insult before from the likes of Hades, Athena, and Aries. And hearing it from his son clearly left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Sorry, Dad," Percy said in the direction of the lake. "But if I'd known early on I was a spawn of the sea, my life could've been a whole lot easier. Then maybe things would've made sense, like why I always hated eating fish!" Looking to Leo, he said, "Continue, please?"
But Percy's confession to not eating fish stunned Frank, Nico, and Hazel, who looked at him in surprise. Somehow, they hadn't expected to hear that.
"Wait . . . you don't like seafood?" asked Frank incredulously.
"I don't eat what I can talk to," Percy said. "Believe it or not, sea creatures really don't like being eaten. I've had lobsters beg me to rescue them out of their tanks in fish markets. And needing to hear them scream as they get steamed? No, no thank you."
"Makes sense," shrugged Nico.
Annabeth smiled slightly in Percy's direction. "I guess underneath that Seaweed brain, there's something else there. You're all heart."
Percy felt his face turn red as Annabeth leaned a kiss to his cheek.
"Now, you know why I'm vegetarian!" Piper exclaimed. "I passed a meat packing district once when traveling, and the smell of it repulsed me so much I couldn't bring myself to eat meat ever again."
"You should've been a daughter of Demeter, since you're such an environmentalist," mumbled Frank, only to have Piper elbow him in the stomach, her uniquely-colored eyes seeming to flash darkly – a sign of her slowly growing pissed. But the others only laughed in response.
"Okay, can I continue?" Leo asked.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, go ahead, Repair Boy."
"Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. 'What – What do you mean?' I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam. Grover's eyes twitched. 'How much did you hear?' 'Oh . . . not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?' He winced. 'Look, Percy . . . I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers . . .' 'Grover –' 'And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and . . .' 'Grover, you're a really, really bad liar.' His ears turned pink. From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. 'Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.' The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:
"Grover Underwood: Keeper. Half Blood Hill, Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009 'What's Half –' 'Don't say it aloud!' he yelped. 'That's my, um . . . summer address.' My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy."
Annabeth could only laugh under her breath. "Rich? Not so much," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm surprised you bought that one, Seaweed brain."
Percy rolled his eyes in response, far harder than she just did. "What was I supposed to think?" he asked. "I didn't even know what a half-blood was!"
"Neither did I," groaned Piper. "But I resent the term. I've had enough people make fun of me for having a father that 'cross-bred.'"
"Cross-bred?" asked Jason. "Really? Were they racist much?"
"Pretty sure they were," said Piper, sighing. "It's bad enough I hear it from Drew every day."
"They're just jealous because you don't need makeup to look good, Beauty Queen," teased Leo, causing Piper's face to turn scarlet he before continued to read the passages.
"'Okay,' I said glumly. 'So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion.' He nodded. 'Or . . . or if you need me.' 'Why would I need you?' Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. 'Look, Percy, the truth is, I – I kind of have to protect you.' I stared at him. All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me."
"Grover's not entirely helpless," argued Jason.
"While I agree he's the bravest satyr I've ever met," Percy said, "at the time, that hadn't occurred to me. He put up a pretty good act looking helpless."
"I'm sure Grover would be so happy to hear you thought of him that way," Annabeth murmured.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Keep on going, Leo."
Leo nodded before reading aloud again. "'Grover,' I said, 'what exactly are you protecting me from?' There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway. After a few minutes of clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else. We were on a stretch of country road – no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway there was nothing but maple tress and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand. The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen."
Everyone in the room tensed considerably. They knew exactly what this was. They just didn't want to say it out loud. But Leo continued reading on, his own hands shaking slightly.
"I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held and enormous basket of electric-blue yarn. All three women looked ancient, with pale faces, wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandanas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses. The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me. I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching. 'Grover?' I said. 'Hey man –' 'Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?' 'Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?'"
"That is not something to joke about, dude. Not at all," Jason shuddered, shaking his head. The others just remained silent, allowing for Leo to continue.
"'Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all.' The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors – gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath. 'We're getting on the bus,' he told me. 'Come on.' 'What?' I said. 'It's a thousand degrees in there.' 'Come on!' he pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back. Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for – Sasquatch or Godzilla."
Everyone managed a weak round of chuckles at that, despite the seriousness of the situation.
"At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life. The passengers cheered. 'Darn right!' yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. 'Everybody back on board!' Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering. 'Grover?' 'Yeah?' 'What are you not telling me?' He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. 'Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?' 'You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They not like . . . Mrs. Dodds, are they?'"
"Oh, yes they are," murmured Frank, shuddering.
"No shit, Sherlock," Nico agreed, closing his eyes in discomfort as Leo kept on reading.
"His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, 'Just tell me what you saw.' 'The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn.' He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else; something almost – older. He said, 'You saw her snip the cord.' 'Yeah, so?' But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal. 'This is not happening,' Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. 'I don't want this to be like the last time.' 'What last time?' 'Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth.'"
"What does he mean, always sixth grade?" Jason asked. But somehow, he knew in his gut what Grover was referring to – his older sister, Thalia. He'd been told what had happened to her at the age of twelve.
"You know what he means, Jason," whispered Annabeth, shivering harshly.
"Does it have something to do with Thalia?" Jason asked.
Annabeth nodded.
"Oh, Gods," whispered Jason, his face growing pale as Piper reached for his hand. Leo cleared his throat, as if asking for permission to finish up the chapter. Everyone nodded.
"'Grover,' I said, because he was really starting to scare me. 'What are you talking about?' 'Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me.' This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could. 'Is this like a superstition or something?' I asked."
"It's way more than that," whispered Annabeth, squeezing hard on Percy's fingers.
"No answer," said Leo, reading from the passage. "'Grover – that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?' He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin."
With that, Leo looked at the title of the next chapter, "Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants." "Does anyone want to read?"
"I guess I will," said Annabeth, extending her hand over. But Percy's face went pale as Annabeth glanced down at the page.
"Are you sure?" he asked her.
Annabeth nodded. "Percy, do you not want me reading this part?" she asked him.
Percy swallowed hard. For so long, he tried to protect her heart from this kind of pain he knew she was about to feel. He'd been torn away from her for so long and left her worried sick about him for four months. They'd fallen into the depths of Tartarus and had gone through literal hell for each other. But this, he didn't know if she would be able to handle it, despite her being the strongest girl he ever knew.
Annabeth, hearing Percy's breath hitch slightly, climbed into his lap and just sat there. She allowed Percy to hold her close to his chest, sensing he needed to.
"I . . . I didn't want you finding out this way," he mumbled into her hair.
"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.
"I worried this could've killed you," he admitted. "But I guess you need to know." His eyes glazed over at the mere thought. Annabeth responded by squeezing him tight before she started to read aloud.
"Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal."
"Okay, that is just rude," Piper said, shaking her head.
"I know, I know. It was rude," Annabeth read. "But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering, 'Why does this always happen?' and 'Why does it always have to be sixth grade?'"
"In your defense, man, I would've been freaked out, too," Jason agreed, and Hazel nodded as well.
Annabeth swallowed before continuing to read. "Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom."
"Tell me something I don't know," Nico mumbled. "I went to school with him for half a year, with him pretending to be a freshman in high school."
Everyone in the room managed a weak laugh as Annabeth continued reading aloud. She cleared her throat, reading, "Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown. 'East One-hundred-and-fourth and First,' I told the driver. A word about my mother, before you meet her. Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world –"
"Now, that is just a matter of fact," grinned Annabeth, her head leaning into Percy's shoulder. "Whenever I'd visit her when you'd been missing from Camp Half-Blood, she'd let me sleep in your bedroom and she would make me blue fudge brownies. Gods, I'm craving that right now."
Percy smiled into her hair, kissing Annabeth on the forehead before allowing her to continue. "– which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck."
"You're completely right," Nico whispered, thinking about his older sister, Bianca, and all the people they'd lost in the Second Titan War – Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard . . . the losses had piled up for them. They'd had to rebuild brick by brick.
Annabeth seemed to be thinking the same thing, because her eyes glazed over slightly as she kept reading. "Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much for her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma."
"Damn," whispered Jason. "And I thought Thalia and I had it bad with our mother, with her drinking all the time and us not knowing our dad."
"I'm not minimalizing that, Jason," said Percy. "I never would, ever."
"We've all been through horrible shit," Leo whispered. "I got thrown from foster home to foster home for years before learning what I was."
Annabeth breathed a quiet sigh before continuing. "The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad."
"Awww!" Piper cooed, her eyes growing soft as a hand flew over her heart. Her eyes went from blue to green. Annabeth and Percy both smiled, knowing how much Piper felt connected to love, sexuality, and beauty – and the best thing about her was she wasn't preoccupied with clothes, makeup and other beauty standards. Her ever-changing eyes, her ability to passionately love, and her compassion for others were beautiful enough on their own. It was no wonder why Jason was so deeply attracted to her.
"I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile," Annabeth read.
"So, he visited you at least once before?" asked Frank.
"Maybe," Percy admitted.
"But maybe he had that memory blocked partially, because you couldn't know about him. But there was also a part of him that wanted you to have memory of him," surmised Hazel.
Percy nodded in agreement. "That's the conclusion I came to."
"My mom doesn't like to talk about because it makes her sad," whispered Annabeth, which got Piper cooing again slightly as her eyes changed to a brilliant yellow color. "She has no pictures. See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret."
"More like, a god," muttered Frank, sighing before allowing Annabeth to continue.
"Then, one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea."
"At least it wasn't too big of a stretch," offered Leo, shrugging before allowing Annabeth to continue.
"She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid. Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano –" Annabeth read. But Leo started cracking up laughing at the sound of Gabe's last name.
"What kind of a name is Ugly-ano?" he asked.
"Italian, I think," said Percy.
"No, I'm half-Italian. That's no Italian name I ever heard of," said Nico, shaking his head before Annabeth kept reading.
"–who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nick-named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts."
The description got Hazel and Piper scrunching their faces in disgust, shuddering. It was almost as if they could smell it right there.
"Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard," Annabeth read. "The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along . . . well, when I came home is a good example. I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe –" The way Annabeth said Gabe's name, her eyes went stormy with anger. Her jaw tensed fiercely. She spat the name out like it was acerbic on her tongue. And Percy tightened his arms around her even more. "–was sitting in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet."
"What a pig. I think the Ares cabin is cleaner than that!" hissed Piper, her voice laced with disgust.
"It sounds worse than a gas station restroom," Hazel said, shaking her head.
The way Annabeth kept reading, her tone was downright murderous. She was struggling to control herself in that moment as Percy kissed her forehead repetitively.
"Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, 'So, you're home.' 'Where's my mom?' 'Working,' he said. 'You got any cash?'"
"Wait . . . he asked you for money?!" Jason's voice came across as a growl, and a flicker of electricity seemed to spark off him. "What a prick!" he added. His face turned red. He only calmed when Piper squeezed his hand and laced her voice with charmspeak, whispering, "Easy, Sparky."
Percy nodded bitterly, allowing for Annabeth to continue. "That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months? Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something."
Piper shook her head in exasperation at the thought, her eyes looking dark with anger. And as Percy looked at the others, they looked just as angry.
"He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time," Annabeth read. "I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds."
"Like I said before," Jason said. "What a prick!"
Annabeth just kept reading. Only what she read next caused tears to come to her eyes. And as she looked at Percy, his breathing was hitching fiercely as wet-trails made their way down his cheeks.
"He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out," she read, her voice trembling. Looking at her boyfriend, she asked the dreaded question. "Percy . . . did he ever . . . did he hurt you?"
Percy kept his eyes shut as he nodded, and at that, Annabeth started to sob quietly, her hands shaking badly as she brought one up to touch his face.
"Did he . . .?" she whispered, scared to ask the question that came to mind. Did he ever sexually abuse you? The question lingered in her mind as she wondered if that ever happened, and for how long. And Percy answered without needing to say anything. He shuddered harshly as he nodded, tears streaming down as he looked down with shame.
"How long?" she asked.
Percy shuddered, before saying, "From six to ten."
Annabeth felt downright murderous towards Gabe. In many ways, she was glad Sally had turned him to stone. It saved her the trouble of hunting him down and strangling him to death.
"Why . . . Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.
She brought a hand around behind to push up Percy's shirt, and her fingers grazed a deep scar that remained there. Percy flinched harshly. She could only assume Gabe had given him that, and that it had been caused by a beer bottle. Because the alcohol had caused the scar to remain there permanently. She'd seen it before; always assumed it had been from battle for years. But those scars usually always faded, and monsters never attacked them from the back – Percy's Achilles spot. But she'd convinced herself so hard that that scar had been from a battle; Percy had even told her this all the times she'd seen him shirtless. He'd convinced her so much, she almost believed it. And she knew now that scar would never fade; it would serve as a reminder of Gabe's abuse. This would remain forever.
But Piper, who had a single tear rolling from her face, made her way over. She sat on the bed beside the couple, trying to lace a little charmspeak in her voice to comfort the two of them.
"I think I know why," she murmured. "It's because it never seemed like the appropriate time."
Percy nodded. "It . . . It was bad enough you knew he'd beat my mother," he whispered, his voice shaking slightly. "But if I told you he beat me . . . and . . . he touched me like that . . ."
"And you two have been through literal hell," added Piper, reaching a hand up to stroke Annabeth's tears away. "You were devastated when Percy disappeared to Camp Jupiter. And then came Tartarus. There is such a thing as dying from a broken heart. It would've been too much for you."
Annabeth let out a harsh sob, kissing Percy softly on the lips as she brought a hand up to tousle it in his hair. She whispered against his lips, "Baby . . ."
"It's okay," Percy whispered weakly. "You . . . You don't have to apologize. Besides . . . it's over. It's done. My mom and I were done with him a long time ago."
Annabeth kissed him softly again, stroking his face before whispering, "You do not belong to him. You are mine. Nothing will ever change that." Her tone remained laced with fierce possessiveness, love, and firmness.
Percy sighed with relief at that, whispering "I love you," against her lips before kissing her gently again. "Do you want to keep going?"
Annabeth shook her head. She was worried if she kept on reading about Gabe, she would only get angrier.
"I'll go," Frank offered, reaching his hands for the journal.
Annabeth nodded, handing Frank the journal so he could continue it for her. Frank cleared his throat before beginning, sensing he would be reading the rest of the chapter.
"'I don't have any cash,' I told him. He raised a greasy eyebrow. Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else," read Frank.
Annabeth and Percy both managed watery, cynical chuckles at that. Annabeth's fingers kept on tracing the scarring that ran along Percy's lower back as Frank kept reading.
"'You took a taxi from the bus station,' he said. 'Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight," Frank said.
"Really?" Hazel asked, exasperated.
"The only weight this guy seems to carry is his own – I would guess about a hundred pounds of body fat with twenty gallons of beer," Leo commented in disgust. But even his comment got everyone in the room laughing. Percy almost forgot how fat Gabe had been. And Leo's comment painted a good visual.
"Alright, can we continue?" Frank asked, a grin on his face.
Percy nodded. "Sure, man," he said.
Frank sighed before continuing. "'Am I right, Eddie?' Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. 'Come on, Gabe,' he said. 'The kid just got here.'"
"At least someone seems to care a little," commented Nico before Frank continued.
"'Am I right?' Gabe repeated. Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony. 'Fine,' I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. 'I hope you lose.'"
"I hope he lost, too," Annabeth mumbled against Percy's chest. His fingers tangled in her blonde hair gently.
"It would've served him right," agreed Jason, before nodding at Frank to keep reading.
"'Your report card came in, brain boy!' he shouted after me. 'I wouldn't act so snooty!' I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer. I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home."
"Well, you're the master of sarcasm," said Leo, managing a grin.
"If we combined your guys' sass together, the world would explode," Piper joked, which got Percy laughing. Even Annabeth managed a giggle.
"Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn," Frank read. "But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic – how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone – something – was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons. Then I heard my mom's voice. 'Percy?' She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted. My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room."
Percy and Annabeth both smiled in agreement. Even Annabeth seemed to grow more content, sinking further into Percy's hold.
"Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few grey streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe. 'Oh Percy.' She hugged me tight. 'I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!' Her red-white-and blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home."
Annabeth's smile widened. It had been a while since she and Percy had gone to visit Sally; they knew once summer was over, they would be going to Percy's home to collect their bags of candy. It made Annabeth crave the blue raspberry licorice twists Sally would always give her extra of.
"We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attached the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I didn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing alright?" Frank read.
"Almost makes me wish my dad had been that attentive when I was younger," Annabeth mumbled, feeling Percy's lips press into her hair. "Instead I had to listen to him and my step-mother going at each other's throats because of something I did. It was as though no matter what I did, it was wrong."
"Yeah, I know," Percy murmured to her as Frank continued.
"I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her. From the other room, Gabe yelled, 'Hey Sally – how about some bean dip, huh?'"
Annabeth gritted her teeth.
"I gritted my teeth," Frank read, eying Annabeth. "My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe."
"How about a god?" asked Jason, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind coming up from the ocean and getting down on one knee."
"Too late for that," grinned Percy. "She's happy with Paul now. They deserve each other. But she didn't see that at the time." Percy's face melted into one of frustration. "She claimed I deserved the best of everything, yet when it came to herself, she didn't see she deserved the same things."
"But you do the same thing, though," Nico pointed out. "You're selfless to a fault."
"No, it's true. I do," Percy agreed.
"You can't fight the DNA there," Annabeth said, raising her head from his chest slightly.
"For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy," Frank read. "I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad . . . Until the trip to the museum . . . 'What?' my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. 'Did something scare you?' 'No, Mom.' I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought I would sound stupid."
"No, it wouldn't have," said Annabeth.
"Well, how was I supposed to know my mother could see through the Mist?" Percy retorted.
"Okay, fair enough," agreed Nico.
"She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me. 'I have a surprise for you,' she said. 'We're going to the beach.' My eyes widened. 'Montauk?' 'Three nights – same cabin.' 'When?' She smiled. 'As soon as I get changed.' I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been at Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money. Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, 'Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?' I wanted to punch him –"
"You should have!" said Jason, shaking his head. "How the hell did you put up with that guy?"
"I would've slammed his head into the wall and smacked that cigar out of his mouth," Annabeth said hotly.
"–but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here. 'I was on my way, honey,' she told Gabe. 'We were just talking about the trip.' Gabe's eyes got small. 'The trip? You mean you were serious about that?'"
"Of course, she was!" Annabeth exclaimed, exasperated. "Come on! Can't they have anything since they give you everything already?"
"'I knew it,' I muttered. 'He won't let us go.' 'Of course he will,' my mom said evenly. 'Your step-father is just worried about money. That's all.'"
"He's worried about how much money he won't have to throw out," spat Hazel. "Go to work, get out of your hole, and quit being a fucking freeloader!"
"You'd think that would be so easy!" Percy laughed sardonically.
"'Besides,' she added, 'Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works.' Gabe softened a bit. 'So this money for your trip . . . it comes out of your clothes budget, right?'"
"Gods! Are you kidding me?!" Piper asked, her eyes widening in anger. "And I don't even give a shit about clothes! But that's just low! If my mother were hearing this, she'd faint! I just know it!"
"If Silena Beauregard were still alive, she'd have a heart attack," concurred Annabeth.
"'Yes, honey,' my mother said. 'And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back.' 'We'll be very careful.'" read Frank. "Gabe scratched his double chin. 'Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip . . . And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game.'"
"What are you apologizing for?" asked Jason. "You didn't do a damn thing!"
"In his eyes, I did everything wrong," Percy said bitterly.
"Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week."
"Please, tell me you did that!" begged Jason.
"I would've," agreed Annabeth, her fingers going back to tracing the scarring along Percy's spine.
"But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad," Frank read.
"Fuck him!" Nico cursed. "Who cares about this guy? He's evil! All he did was take advantage of you guys, and your mom let him! For what?!"
"Oh, you'll find out," Percy promised. "There's a good reason for that."
"I can't think of a very good reason to stay with an ass like that," Jason said bitterly. "At least Thalia and I had enough sense to run away when we saw our mother was unstable."
"Why did she put up with this guy?" Frank read. "I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought? 'I'm sorry,' I muttered. 'I'm really I sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now.'"
"I wouldn't have apologized to him," Piper said, shaking her head.
"Knowing you, you would've used charmspeak to make him change into a dress and heels," smirked Percy, which got Annabeth laughing hard. Even Jason laughed in agreement.
"What makes you think I'd do that?" Piper asked, faking an innocent expression as her eyes went very doe-eyed and sweet. But a smirk played on her lips – replicating the smirks the Hermes kids wore.
"We know you, Beauty Queen," grinned Leo. "You don't take abuse from anybody. Anyone who can put Drew Tanaka in her place can make a guy like that cooperate."
Piper blushed slightly at that, but even she couldn't help smiling. She simply nodded at Frank to continue.
"Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement. 'yeah, whatever,' he decided. He went back to his game. 'Thank you, Percy,' my mom said. 'Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about . . . whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?' For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes – the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride – as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air. But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip."
With that, Frank set the journal down. Looking around the room, he asked, "Who wants to go next?"
"I'll do it," said Hazel, taking the book from her boyfriend. She swallowed before picking up where Frank left off. "An hour later we were ready to leave. Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car, he kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking – and more importantly, his '78 Camaro – for the whole weekend. 'Not a scratch on this car, brain boy,' he warned as I loaded the last bag. 'Not one little scratch.'"
"Like you'd be driving!" Jason groaned, exasperated.
"Oh, he took the words right out of your mouth, Jay," Hazel said, reading, "Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paintjob, he'd find a way to blame me. Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe."
"Like that's going to do anything," said Nico, shaking his head and doubting it completely. But what Hazel read next surprised them.
"The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a canon," Hazel read.
"Wait . . . how did you do that?" asked Frank, surprised.
"I still don't know," admitted Percy.
"Well, your father is a lord of storms," offered Piper with a shrug. "Maybe you're more connected to the rest of Earth's atmosphere than you think."
Annabeth nodded. "That's a possibility."
Percy nodded, as well. He'd never thought of it that way. Between him and Jason combined, they could summon storms and potentially wipe out the whole state of New York. It was no wonder so many monsters wanted them, Nico, Hazel, and Thalia dead – them being children of the Big Three and distinctly related to one another.
Hazel cleared her throat before continuing to read. "Maybe it was the wind," she read, "or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out. I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it. Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a pastel little box with faded curtains, half-sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets –"
Annabeth shuddered under Percy's hold, which led to Leo and Frank rolling their eyes. Annabeth's irrational fear of spiders would forever remain due to her mother's beef with Arachne.
"– and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I loved the place," Hazel read. "We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place she'd met my dad."
"How romantic," Piper cooed, her voice nearly silent as her eyes went very soft, the way they always did whenever she recognized sensations of love and affection. It was enough to make Jason get up from where he sat to kiss her, briefly, yet very deeply.
"As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea," read Hazel. "We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work. I guess I should explain the blue food."
"Yes, please do," Jason said, from where he sat at Piper's feet. Her fingers tousled in his sandy hair.
"Oh, we'll tell you why," grinned Annabeth.
"See, Gabe once told my mom that there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since then, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She brought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This, along with keeping her maiden-name Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano was proof she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me," Hazel read, a smile playing on her lips as she glanced up from the pages.
"That, and your dad doesn't follow rules too well, either," laughed Annabeth. "It's no wonder why we ended up getting together. Your rebellious nature rubs off on everyone else, including me."
"I never meant to. But to quote my dad, the sea doesn't like being restrained," Percy said, smiling down at her. "Whereas you're so disciplined and structured, like a monument."
"Someone has to hold you in line," Annabeth teased as she slid off his lap, moving to sit next to him. But Percy's arm never left her shoulders. He kept her pressed against his side gently. But they then heard a soft hoot of an owl, and they turned their heads to see Athena in her owl form looking at them, stern grey eyes fixated on the two of them. But underneath that stern look, Percy saw an underlying amusement. Although Athena didn't approve of Percy dating her daughter, she'd grown to realize that Percy would do anything for Annabeth – even if it meant going to the pits of hell with her. Their relationship symbolized reconciliation between Athena and Poseidon.
Annabeth managed a smile in the owl's direction. "Hi, Mom," she whispered.
The owl let out a soft hoot again, before ruffling its feathers and flying off into the night. It allowed Hazel to continue reading.
"Continue, Haze," Percy said.
Hazel nodded, reading, "When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop. Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk – my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them. 'He was kind, Percy,' she said. 'Tell, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too.'"
"I can concur with that," smiled Annabeth, glancing up at her boyfriend. Percy had gotten a lot of Poseidon's personality traits – his strength, his power, his love for his family, and above all, his compassion. It was no wonder Annabeth was so drawn to him – as impulsive as Percy could be, he was all heart and had so much passion, like a raging storm.
"'You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes,'" Hazel continued reading. "Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. 'I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.' I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me?"
"So much," Annabeth said. "You should think a little more highly of yourself, Seaweed brain. I know I'm proud to be with you."
Percy felt his eyes sting slightly as Annabeth said that. He was forever grateful that Annabeth never felt shame in being with him.
"A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years," Hazel read.
"No, you're more than that," Annabeth murmured, tilting her head up to brush her lips against his as Jason's hand squeezed at Percy's shoulder.
"'How old was I?' I asked. 'I mean . . . when he left?' She watched the flames. 'He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin.' 'But . . . he knew me as a baby.' 'No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born.' I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember . . . something about my father. A warm glow. A smile. I have always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still. I'd felt it must be true. Now to be told he'd never seen me . . . I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe," read Hazel, a hint of sadness in her tone as she picked up the bitterness in Percy's words.
"He had to have been there at least once," Piper said softly.
"If he had been, I'd never found out," Percy said.
"But to a point, he is always there," said Frank.
Percy pondered this for a moment, before realizing something. "All those times Gabe would beat me, and he'd leave bruises and scars, I'd always take a shower afterward. And for some reason, the water always healed me. I hadn't even known I was a demigod at the time. And I could have sworn I heard someone's voice, telling me things would get better."
"I would hear that from my mom," Annabeth said. "That had to have been your dad, talking to you. He was always watching you. He claimed you long before you even came to camp."
That thought got Percy's eyes misting over. It felt like a reassurance as Hazel continued to read.
"'Are you going to send me away again?' I asked her. 'To another boarding school?' She pulled a marshmallow from the fire. 'I don't know, honey.' Her voice was heavy. 'I . . . I think we'll have to do something.' 'Because you don't want me around?'"
"No! Never say that!" Nico said, his eyes widening in shock that Percy had said words so full of bitterness towards his mom.
"I regretted the words as soon as they were out," Hazel read.
"Good," Piper said, sighing as Jason began to massage her shoulders.
"My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it right. 'Oh, Percy, no. I – I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away.' Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said – that it was best for me to leave Yancy. 'Because I'm not normal,' I said. 'You said that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe.' 'Safe from what?' She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me – all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget. During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-rimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head. Before that – a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands."
"Like Hercules," whispered Leo, grinning up at Percy.
"In ever single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move. I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself to tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that."
"You should've said something," pointed out Frank, shaking his head at his long-distant relative.
"'I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could,' my mom said. 'They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy – the place your father wanted to send you. And I just . . . I just can't stand to do it.' 'My father wanted me to go to a special school?' 'Not a school,' she said softly. 'A summer camp.' My head was spinning. Why would my dad – who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born – talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before? 'I'm sorry, Percy,' she said, seeing the look in my eyes. 'But I can't talk about it. I – I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good.' 'For good? But if it's only a summer camp . . .' She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked any more questions she would start to cry. That night I had a vivid dream."
"Demigod dreams," shuddered Nico. "I hate those."
"We all do," agreed Jason, shivering slightly. "I can't explain how many dreams I had of my sister – as if she were calling out to me and looking for me." He nodded at Hazel to continue.
"It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf," read Hazel.
"Okay, why are our dads trying to kill each other? What could possibly cause them to get that angry at one another?" asked Jason.
"It's gotta be more than the generic 'Mother liked me best,'" said Frank.
"Oh, it was," Percy said bitterly. "It was a mess. And you'll find out what caused that."
"The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder," Hazel read.
"You think my dad was doing that?" asked Nico, referring to his dad.
"Oh, no, Nico," said Percy, shaking his head. "Your dad would never stoop so low as to make my father and Zeus fight like that."
"Then who could cause that?" asked Frank.
"I can't tell you yet," said Percy, shaking his head. "Haze, keep reading please."
Hazel nodded as she read, "I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed No! I woke with a start. Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery."
"Shit!" Jason cursed, shaking his head. "Our dads were pissed."
"That's an understatement," Annabeth said, shaking her head too.
"With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, 'Hurricane.' I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten," Hazel read.
"Yeah, thanks Dad!" Percy called to the lake sarcastically.
"Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end. Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice – someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door. My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock. Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't . . . he wasn't exactly Grover," Hazel said.
"What . . . What do you mean by that?" asked Piper, ringing her hands together.
"'Searching all night,' he gasped. 'What were you thinking?' My mother looked at me in terror – not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come. 'Percy,' she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. 'What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?' I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. 'O Zeu kai alloi theoi!' he yelled. 'It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?' I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten her by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on – and where his legs should be . . . where his legs should be . . ."
"Oh, Gods!" gasped Leo, his eyes growing wide with realization.
"This is where you learned . . ." stuttered Nico.
Percy nodded in response.
"My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: 'Percy. Tell me now!' I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning. She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, 'Get to the car. Both of you. Go!' Grover ran for the Camaro – but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked. Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves," Hazel concluded, closing the book.
Everyone in the room registered what they just heard. It was a lot to take in. But looking into the night, they knew it was time to turn into their own cabins.
"Guys, we should turn in for the night," Percy said.
"Yeah, we'll continue tomorrow," agreed Piper, grabbing Jason's hand. "C'mon, Sparky, let's go to yours for tonight."
Jason nodded in agreement, squeezing her hand as he led everyone out of the Poseidon cabin. But only Annabeth lingered there, sighing.
"I'll go get changed, and I'll be right back," she said to Percy, cupping his face in her hand gently before placing a soft kiss to his head.
Percy nodded, smiling. At least they were past the third chapter. They would get to move onto the fourth and fifth ones tomorrow when they had the chance to. But as Annabeth left, Percy took in the fact that he'd revealed more of his past to the others. Telling the others about the abuse Gabe Ugliano had made him suffer through took hundreds of pounds off his shoulders as he went to his dresser to retrieve sleep pants. He didn't even bother with a shirt. With Annabeth, he didn't mind sleeping shirtless. They both had their scars. There was little point in hiding it from one another.
Leaning back on his bed, he heard Annabeth reenter, wearing nothing but a grey tank top and a pair of shorts. She climbed into the bed beside him and cuddled into his hold, sighing. She tousled her fingers through his hair.
"Are you okay?" she asked, tracing her fingers along a scar that ran along Percy's arm.
Percy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'm just . . . there's a part of me that's glad I told you guys the truth."
"I just wish I'd known sooner . . . that you suffered through all that," she mumbled.
"Don't feel bad," he assured her. "It's over. Gabe is gone. He's done for."
"Good. Because if he weren't stone, I'd find him myself," Annabeth growled. "If I witnessed him hit you or touch you like that I would've killed him."
"That's why I love you, my Wise Girl," grinned Percy, kissing her in her hair.
"Forever mine, Seaweed brain," smiled Annabeth, tracing her fingers along his chest.