Chapter 36 - Me + My Stepmom = ?

When I woke up in the morning I could feel every injury on me. And that was not good. My thigh screamed. The shallow gashes on my forehead and arm stung. The cut down my middle kept re-opening as I moved, and, well, there was still an arrow sticking out through my side. After a fair amount of pep-talk, I managed to try to sit up. It did not go well. I laid back down as I heard a knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

My stepmom poked her head in. "Annabeth, thank goodness. I brought some food, I didn't know….." She came in and set a small plate of toast and bacon in front of me and propped up pillows behind me. I felt sick and dizzy, but the sight of food made me ravenous. I realized I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. I broke off small pieces of toast as I looked at my stepmom.

"In case you're wondering, no I'm not giving up." I said coldly, before she could say anything. "I'll go back to Camp, work on the boat. I'll be back in the summer at the latest to get him."

Her lips tightened. "Annabeth. There's an arrow in your side."

"It's not fatal."

"Don't you think that statement alone should tell you that maybe you should stop? Before you die?"

"Percy wouldn't."

"Annabeth -"

"You don't get it. You don't understand my life. You haven't been on any of the quests, in any of the battles. You don't know what it's like to have a partner like that, someone you depend on in life-and-death situations every day. So why do you think you get to judge?"

Her lips tightened even more. "Because maybe I care about you, Annabeth. Maybe I don't want to see you die for such a silly reason."

"Finding my boyfriend is a silly reason?"

"Searching for someone who may not be able to be found. Not alive, anyway. Searching until your poodle drags you in on death's door, two arrows still in your body. That's a silly reason."

Silence stretched between us.

"Get out." I told her, coldly.

"This is my house. You will talk to me with respect or leave."

"Fine." With difficulty, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I glared at her. She looked surprised. I bent down, ignoring the screaming from the arrow in my side and the fact that I now wanted to puke up the small amount of toast I ate, and grabbed my backpack.

"Can you find my, ah, poodle? I'll be taking her back to New York now."

"Annabeth, you can't possibly -"

"Watch me." I challenged her. Silence spread between us once again. Slowly, my stepmom bent down and picked up several of my items that had been scattered during my dad's search yesterday. She packed my bag as we sat in complete silence. I saw her pause as she lifted Percy's sweatshirt, then she laid it on the bed. After the bag was all packed, she held it out to me.

"If you want to go, Annabeth, I won't stop you. But someday I hope you realize that what I'm doing, I'm doing because I care about you."

I swallowed and looked at her. "If you cared about me, you'd support me."

She shook her head. "Not in something that could get you killed."

"I'm a demigod. My whole life could get me killed."

Her lips tightened. She pointed to the sweatshirt. "I can help you pull that on, if you'd like."

"I can handle it myself. Go get my dog."

She turned and left without another word. As she closed the door I let out my breath. My words had been prideful. The chances I could pull on the sweatshirt were slim. But I gritted my teeth and pulled it on, despite the pain making me nearly want to black out again. As I blinked the spots out of my eyes, my dad opened the door.

"Annabeth, I just heard -" He looked me over. "It's true, isn't it? You're trying to leave, in that condition."

I shrugged. "I don't want to be somewhere I'm not welcome."

"You're always welcome here." He assured me, closing the door behind him. "What happened?"

I told him about our conversation. My dad sighed and sat down on the floor in front of me.

"Annabeth, you and your stepmom are a lot alike."

I opened my mouth to argue but he shook his head. "Just listen for now, ok? You both are willing to go to the ends of the earth to protect the people you love. It's hard to get close to you, to earn your trust, but when you do -" he shook his head in admiration. "You love hard. I see that same fire in you both. And that same stubbornness." He said with a sad smile. "She's desperate. She's trying to protect you because she loves you, Annabeth."

The statement hung in the room. It felt fragile, and alien. I thought it over and allowed the fight to escape me.

"Do…. do you really….. Think so?" I murmured. It felt so strange, so odd.

He nodded. "She wants you here, where she can protect you. Same as you want Percy home, where you can protect him. You both need to learn to let go, at least a little bit."

I opened my mouth to argue and he shook his head again. "I'm not saying give up. I'm saying…. Don't run into a camp full of evil centaurs without backup."

I blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah. That was dumb of me." I admitted.

He looked at me, curious. "Why were you alone? You said, on quests, there are three of you."

I looked at the floor. "I…. I just thought I was going to come, check it out. Stay invisible. I…. I knew when I saw the place I should have brought someone else. But my stupid pride -" A tear fell down my face, to my shame.

My dad looked at me, an odd look on his face. "Uh, you're crying."

I nodded.

After another awkward moment, my dad asked, "Can I hug you? Gently?"

I nodded. He came forward and gently wrapped his arms around my shoulders. When he pulled away, he gently pushed me back against the pillows and boosted my legs back onto the bed. Before I could say anything, he said calmly,

"Hey, I want to protect you too. That's a dad thing."

I smiled at him. "Yeah. I guess it is."

He looked me over. "Can the boys come see you? Say hi?"

I nodded. "If they bring in some laptops, I can play Minecraft with them."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

I grinned. "Dad, I was about to ride a hellhound back to Long Island. I'm pretty sure I can handle Minecraft."

To my shame, I could not handle Minecraft. The boys came in to say hello, most of me covered with blankets to hide the wounds. But by the time they returned with laptops, I was already asleep.

When I woke up, I found childish drawings on my bed. Letters and notes from my brothers, wishing for me to get well soon. Tears fell down my face again as I read each note and admired each drawing. Someone cleared their throat in the doorway. I looked up. My stepmom.

"I brought you food."

"Did you know about this?" I held up one of the drawings for her to see. She came in, nodding, and set the bowl on my nightstand.

"They were worried about you. They were so excited to play with you, but, ah, you fell asleep again. They decided to make you the drawings. They thought it might help."

"I like them. A lot. I'm going to put them up near my bunk at Camp."

She gave me a small, grateful smile.

I smiled shyly back at her. "My dad and I talked…. I… I think I understand you a bit more."

She looked confused.

"I…. I still didn't think you loved me." The words felt strange to say. "Or, liked me, even. I thought I was still in the 'tolerate' zone." Another tear fell from my face. I brushed it aside. "I…. I didn't know what you were actually saying…. Was…."

She gave me a small smile. "Annabeth, I love you. Truly."

I looked at her, still a little puzzled. "Really?"

She walked over to the desk and grabbed my chair, bringing it over to the bed. "Annabeth, you aren't my kid. I get that. I get that I didn't know you, not really, for a long time. I didn't accept you. I drove you away. And I am so sorry. About all of that. I do love you. I care about you, and I want to get to know you better."

I thought about that for several moments. My stepmom handed me the bowl of food she'd brought.

"It's chicken soup. Since you're 'sick'." She said, dryly.

I grinned at her. "Thanks." I took a small spoonful. It was very good. "Is this homemade?"

She nodded. "I like to cook."

"I'm not very good at it." I admitted. "Maybe that's something we can do together?" It was a sort of olive branch between us. She offered me a smile in return.

"I'd like that. How long are you with us this time?"

"I need to go home tomorrow." I admitted. "School starts again on Monday."

She nodded. "Will you visit, maybe in the summer?"

I looked at her, sadly. "Um, I'm not sure…. I'm kinda…. Supposed to save the world again this summer."

"I suppose I should thank you for that."

Silence stretched between us.

"I'm worried about you, Annabeth. I…. I still want to give you a normal life, normal friends….. I guess that isn't likely, is it?"

I shook my head. "Probably not. But that's ok. Not normal doesn't mean bad. It just means different."

She offered me a small smile. "Then…. Then I think I should get to know a bit more about you, and your life. Can you….. Tell me more about Percy?"

I looked her over cautiously. "Depends. Do you think he's dead?"

She thought about that. "If you say he's alive, then I trust you, Annabeth. You know a lot more about this life than I do."

I smiled at her, gratefully.

She looked concerned. "But, I want you to promise me something, Annabeth. If he's not, or if something happens, or -" She took a deep breath. "Just, don't do anything stupid. Come home, we'll get you help, grief counselors, whatever you need. We'll take care of you, as best we can. I…. I just want you to know that….. that there are still people who love you, even if Percy's gone."

That was a minefield. She was worried that, what, I'd kill myself if Percy died? Then I remembered this past winter break. A monster had dragged me under the ocean and I had been willing to give up fighting, because I thought I'd join Percy. I wouldn't really…. Would I? I looked back at my stepmom.

"I won't take my own life, if that's what you're worried about. But I also need you to understand that if it's a choice between me or him, well…."

Her mouth tightened. "Now that, I understand."

I smiled at her and she smiled back. And I realized that I was really, truly starting to understand this woman. And that maybe, just maybe, I liked what I saw.