Disclaimer: Riordan. Enjoy.
Precisely thirty minutes it took for me to drive from Percy's house to the closest pizzeria and then back to the hospital. Matthew called me just as I was about to go out to lunch with Percy, yelling excitedly into the phone that the doctor is allowing for him to have some normal foods again. I told him Matthew's request for pizza and he didn't even hesitate to let me go. I knew he was waiting for an invitation to come with, but I just couldn't force the words out of my mouth. I'm not sure if Matt would want him there and the last thing I want to do is make him uncomfortable.
So I chose to ignore the elephant in the room, kiss Percy on the cheek, and bid him a hasty farewell. I want to get the pizza hot for Matthew, seeing as hospital food probably isn't five-star.
"Annie! You showed up at the perfect time." Matthew gushes as I make my way into his hospital room, dragging over a chair to sit on. I place the pizza box on his food tray and he takes out a piece, attacking it with a hungry fervor.
"Oh? Why's that?" I ask conversationally, taking my own piece of pizza out of the box.
"Because Nurse Emma just came in with a soggy hamburger that I didn't want to eat at all."
"Well, at least now the doctor is allowing you to eat regular foods again, so this means I can bring you all your favorites."
The grin that he gives me lights up his entire face, and it warms my heart to see him truly happy for once.
"Thank God, that applesauce and jell-o diet was disgusting." He scrunches up his nose, and while he's reminiscing about the diet, a little bit of the oil from the pizza drips onto his hands.
I grab a napkin from my purse. I've secretly kept a never-ending supply in it. It was an old habit that I've done ever since my parents died and I started treating Matt and Bobby like they were my own sons.
I dab the excess oil off of his hands and marvel in the great feeling of being useful for once. I haven't felt this way in a while, especially around Matthew.
"So, how are you doing?" I ask.
He shrugs his shoulders, and gets a depressed look in his eyes. I instantly regret asking him the question. "I feel better today than most days. I'm hoping it stays like that. Yesterday I felt like poop."
I smile at his wording. "How's the chemo going?"
"Dr. Bartley said I'm doing really good."
"Well that's great! See, Matt, that's the stuff you need to focus on. The positives."
He shrugs his shoulders again. I feel like he's been doing a lot of that lately. I mean it probably just about sums up his mood about all of this. Numb. "I guess."
I spot the TV is on in the corner of the room. "I don't think you can complain about that TV, Matt. It's pretty nice. I think it's better than the one Thalia and I have in our apartment."
"I know, I love it. Bobby says that he thinks he can hook the DVD player that we have up to it. So then me and him can watch all of our favorite movies, like we usually do."
That's Bobby for you, always into technology. "Good, the next time you guys have a movie night, make sure to call me, okay?"
"Okay!"
I remember advice that Emma gave me from a couple of weeks ago. She said that the more normalcy you can include in Matt's life, the better. So that's become the new motto for us all. I guess this is Bobby's way of attempting at some kind of normalcy. I'll have to call him later to tell him what a great idea it is.
After finishing one and half pieces of pizza, Matt just about passes out. Being tired constantly is a side effect of Chemotherapy. We've all grown used to it. I brush the hair out of his eyes and lean back into my own chair to finish my slice of pizza.
"Hey, Annabeth." I jump slightly, and turn to see who said hello to me. I relax again once I realize that it was just Emma.
"Hi, Emma." I whisper, not wanting to wake Matthew.
She takes up the same tone as me upon realizing that Matt is sleeping. "I was just coming in to check on him, but don't worry, he's accustomed to the loud noises of a hospital by now, so our voices won't wake him." She begins to check all of Matt's monitors. "So how are you?"
"I'm okay. Tired, but that's to be expected."
"I can understand tired." She smiles, and for the first time I can see the dark circles under her eyes.
"The working life isn't all it's cracked up to be, huh?"
She laughs. "No, it is not. Speaking of work, how's your job going?"
I blush, just like every other time when someone brings up work.
"What's with the blush?" Emma asks. I hate it when she picks up on all the little things. As she would say, it's one of the perks of being a nurse.
I decide to tell her. She's actually a very understanding person, so I'm pretty sure she won't think of me as a bad person after hearing this. I take a deep breath before answering her. "I…I may or may not be in a sorta-kinda relationship with my boss."
She raises her eyebrows. "You're boss?" She asks, incredulously.
I blush again and look down in embarrassment. "Oh God, it sounds even worse when I say it out loud." I say, covering my red face with my hands.
"Considering that you are a very sensible person, I'm thinking that this has a story behind it."
I let out a huff. "Oh, it does."
"Okay, explain. But be quick about it because I have to go record all of Matt's stats into the computer."
"Alright, so it all started when I told my friend Thalia about Matt and how much I needed a job. That's when she decided that it would be a great idea to get her cousin, Percy Jackson, to give me one because he's the CEO of Poseidon Incorporation and needed an assistant. I accepted, obviously, and it turns out that he is a huge pain in the ass. But despite him being extremely arrogant and all things that I have never wanted in a man, I grew feelings for him. Feelings, nonetheless, that made it all the more difficult to be around him. But then…um, we did something that we shouldn't have that made everything worse. And so I told him about Matthew and he was there for me, he was so nice and thoughtful. And now I'm in way deeper than I should be." I take a deep breath at the end of my spiel, because that explanation took a lot out of me.
"Wow. That's quite the story." She says. I nod my head in agreement.
"A big part of me wants to pursue something with him but then I feel like I'm going to lose my job if people find out. I can't afford to lose my job. And now I really can't afford to lose my job, since they found the second tumor."
"Listen, I believe with all of my heart that everything happens for a reason. I think maybe you got this job so that you had the opportunity to meet Percy. In my opinion, you should go for it. Because with Percy as the boss, I highly doubt he'd let you lose your job. Especially now that he knows why you need the money so much."
That's a good point. "Yeah but other people could complain that I'm getting special treatment and then the board could force him to fire me."
"Now you're just making excuses! I don't know if that's possible, and even if it is, I still think you should go for it."
"I'll think about it. Thanks, Emma." I smile at her, despite my apprehension.
She says one last goodbye to me and then heads out of the room, en route to the computers set up at the nurse's station.
I kiss Matt on the head and then head back to my apartment.
"Hey there, stranger. Where have you been lately?" Thalia says to me as I make my way inside of our apartment.
Not in the mood for another lecture on staying positive, I give her an answer I know will distract her from other topics. "At Percy's." That certainly grabs her attention.
"You slept over? I smell relationship." She smirks at me.
I brush her off, walking swiftly into my room and shutting the door behind me. I have a few novels to read for my literature class, so I grab on of those from my desk, open it up, and shut out the world completely.
I'm disturbed from my reading when I hear my phone ring from my purse on the floor. I find it quickly, surprised when I see that it's Percy who is calling me.
"Hello?" This should be good.
"So I have a proposition." Percy says, sounding hopeful.
"Yes?"
"You know how I was telling you about my mom and how much you would love her?"
"Yeah?" I'm still not sure where this is going.
"Well, how would you like to meet her?"
"Now?" Panic settles in. I can't meet Percy's mother. I'd like my life to be a little more put together when I do.
"I'm going to visit her and I want you to come with me."
I agreed to go. Part of me was extremely curious as to what Percy's mother could even be like to have given birth to him, and the other part of me wanted to do this for him. He seemed so eager. And as I gaze at his face now from inside of his black SUV, he seems so excited, and it makes this whole thing worth it.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" He asks me.
"A little." I say truthfully.
"Don't be." Well thanks, that puts me at ease.
Forty-five minutes later and we have arrived at the Blofis residence. I guess I was expecting a mansion, but what I'm greeted with certainly isn't that.
The house is a quaint two-story, really adorable. We walk up to the front door on a rocky pathway that is somewhat sunken into the ground, most likely from years of wearing down.
Percy knocks on the door and then opens it up. He walks in swiftly, while I'm left entering the house somewhat uneasily.
"Hey guys, we're here!" He says loudly. He grabs my hand and steps deeper into the house.
The inside is even more cute than the outside. The furniture is all slightly worn, and there are pictures of Percy everywhere. I'm overtaken with the smell of cookies baking in the oven. The entire atmosphere is very homey. I instantly take a liking to the place.
A beautiful woman enters the living room. She has long brown, curly hair and she looks to be in her late forties. I know she's Percy's mother instantly.
"Percy!" She grabs Percy and crushes him in a giant hug.
"Hi, Mom." He disentangles himself from her arms and motions towards me. "Mom, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is my mom, Sally."
I make a move to put my hand out, but she pushes it aside and envelopes me in a hug. "It's so great to finally meet you, Annabeth." She releases me from the hug, looking at me with a kindness only a mother can behold. "I've heard such amazing things about you."
"Mom!" Percy yells, but he doesn't look embarrassed at all. He wants me to know that he's talking highly of me. That's quite a good trick.
I interrupt their little mother/son feud by saying, "It's so great to meet you as well. You have a wonderful home, by the way."
"Thank you! See, Percy. Annabeth likes my home." Upon seeing my confused face, she quickly explains herself. She points to Percy. "I can't even tell you the number of times he's tried offering to buy me a new house. But I love this one. He may be comfortable with his lavish life but I'm perfectly fine here."
Percy roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I smell something good, does that mean you're baking my favorite cookies?"
"Yes, they're in the kitchen. Let's go there now, Paul wants to meet you, Annabeth. He's just checking on the lasagna that I have in the oven."
We all make our way into the kitchen. A man around the same age as Sally comes into my view. He has brown hair and is a few inches taller than I am. He seems like a very nice man.
"Well, look who we have here!" He shouts, giving Percy a manly hug.
"Paul, this is Annabeth. Annabeth this is my step-dad Paul." Percy says, introducing me once again.
"Hello, Annabeth." He says to me as he hugs me.
"Percy, get away from the cookies. They're still cooling off. You can have some after dinner." Sally says.
Percy looks forlorn but the look is wiped off of his face when we walk into the dining room and see the feast that Sally and Paul have prepared.
Percy and I sit down next to each other at the dinner table. Sally sits across from me. After Paul grabs the lasagna from the oven and sets it down on the table, he takes a seat next to Sally.
We all dig in at once. I notice Percy out of my peripheral vision putting enough food on his plate to last him a life time. I rolls my eyes and crack a smile at his behavior.
I want to ask Sally about her cancer experience and what she had to go through, but that would be rude and too probing. I'll try for something normal instead. "So, Sally, Percy tells me that you wrote a book and it became a New York Time's Bestseller." I say to her, trying at some conversation. My trying act works.
Sally jumps into a whole conversation about her book, and I can't help but be amazed. Apparently seven publishers turned her down before the eighth one agreed to publish her book. That's commitment.
"…And that's why eight is my lucky number." She finishes off her story.
"That truly is amazing. That you didn't give up." I stare at her, newfound respect for this woman growing with every second. I understand now, why Percy loves her so much.
"Percy told me that he told you about the time that I had cancer. I think from that point on in my life, hope and not giving up just came naturally. That's the one great thing that I take with me from that entire situation." She says, while eating some of her salad.
"My little brother was diagnosed with cancer two months ago."
Everything grows silent all at once. I hear Percy stop eating, and look at me like he can't believe I just said that.
I feel the uncontrollable need to explain myself. "I didn't want you to think that he told me about you having cancer just for the heck of it." I say, looking directly at Sally.
"I'm sorry, about your little brother, Annabeth." It's Paul that breaks the silence. Everyone goes back to their eating.
"If you don't mind me asking, how good of a chance does he have?" Sally asks, not unkindly.
"No, I don't mind. Believe it or not it feels pretty good to be talking about this openly, for once. The doctors are extremely positive that he's going to make it through. They caught it at an early stage." I smile to cover up any unease that appears on my face.
Sally looks at me, and I swear she can see through the façade, but thankfully she chooses not to comment on it. "Well that's just wonderful! Always trust the nurses and doctors, they know what they're doing."
Percy and Paul get up from the table and start to take our finished plates into the kitchen.
Sally takes my hand from across the table. "And if they ever do give you bad news, Annabeth, don't think it's the end of the world. There's so many miracle cases. Take mine for example."
I think that may be the best advice I've heard from anyone. I put all of my gratitude of her words into the smile that I give her.
After a wonderful desert consisting of blue cookies and apple pie, and more hugs, Percy and I make our leave. Once we're in the car, driving back to our apartments does Percy choose to speak.
"I was so surprised when you told them."
"I know, I saw your face." I laugh, feeling better than I have in a while. Seeing Percy's mother as a living cancer survivor, healthy and happy, with a wonderful life truly brightens my spirits.
I guess I had this vision of Matt never having a normal life again. I thought he would always be dragged down by the cancer he once had. But now I know that maybe there was life after all of this.
And I have Percy to thank for that realization.
A/N: Aw, shit guys. Listen I was rushing with my editorial skills in the last chapter so I must have missed the whole Ashley/Rachel thing. Sorry for the confusion. I meant Rachel! I changed it so I hope it saved. I was also rushing with editing this chapter too so I really hope I didn't miss anything.
Anyways, I wanted to update this story before the new year starts and my winter break ends because that's when all hell breaks loose for me. I really do love writing this story and I hope to update as soon as possible. Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews last chapter. Let's do the same for this one! Have a great New Year's Eve. xo