Chapter 4

I stood on the edge of the farm road with a blue Nike duffle bag filled with my things set down on the dirt beside me. I had used the antique phone in the big house (the only phone at camp) to call for a cab to my mom's apartment. I had to wait a while as the cab was coming from the city so I paced back and forth alongside the edge of the road, twirling riptide -in it's pen form- between my fingers. I was excited to see my mom again but I wasn't looking forward to explaining what had happened between me and Annabeth, I knew that my mom would be nearly as upset as I am, she always said we were the perfect couple.

Eventually the familiar yellow NY cab rolled down the street towards me. I didn't bother opening the trunk and just threw my bag on the back seat next to me. There was something sticky on the seat so I had to cram myself next to the door to avoid it.

"Where to pal?" the cabbie asked me as I pulled the door closed.

"Upper east side, Manhattan," I told him vaguely, I'd be fine walking when I got near to my mom's place.

"You're a long way out, what've you been up to out here?" Great, I've got a chatty cabbie, I thought to myself.

"Just doing some part time work at the strawberry farm." It was a decent cover story and it should be believable as long as he didn't ask to many questions.

Thankfully the driver didn't ask many more questions and the rest of the journey passed in relative silence. Soon we were stuck in the usual New York city traffic as we neared my mom's home. At this point it would be quicker to walk than to sit in traffic so I paid my fare using my emergency quest money and got out onto the sidewalk. It had been over a year since I was last in New York -other than Olympus- and I had missed my home city, all the busy people and bright lights sent my ADHD into overdrive, New York was never boring.

I walked through the streets winding my way closer to my mom's apartment, I still remembered the area like I still lived here. I popped into a convenance store on the corner of the block and bought my mom some flowers as a surprise, they were cheap and a little bit dead but it's the thought that counts.

I climbed the stairwell to my mom's apartment and realized that I didn't even know if she was home. I hid the flowers behind my back and knocked three times on the door, I had my own key but I thought this way would be a nicer surprise.

"Coming!" I heard my mom call from inside. I couldn't help but smile at hearing my mom's voice, it had been ages since I'd spoken with her. Eventually the door opened revealing my mom standing behind it. "Percy!"

"Surprise!" I said, bringing the flowers into sight.

"Oh thank you, it's wonderful to see you!" she said taking the flowers and pulling me into a Tyson strength hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked as she planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Sorry."

"Oh don't be, but I'd have made cookies if I knew you were coming," she told me as she led the way into the apartment.

"Aww," I said bummed that I'd missed out. I really wished I'd called ahead now if I knew it wouldn't meant there were cookies.

"Is Annabeth not with you?" she asked, finally noticing I was alone. I'm not looking forward to this conversation.

"No, uhm I have something to tell you," I said as I sat down on the black leather couch that sat up against the wall.

"Oh gods, she's not dead is she?" my mom said worriedly as she sat in a chair opposite me and I realized that as a demigod I could've worded it better.

"Oh no she's fine," I reassured her. I'm sure she's loving it in Greece, I thought to myself a little bitterly.

"Then what is it?" mom asked.

"We er, broke up." I said sadly, cutting to the chase.

"What!?" my mom half yelled and half questioned. "What the hell happened?" Hell was the closest my mom came to cussing so I knew that she was outraged.

"Athena offered her a position rebuilding the Parthenon in Greece," I said starting to tear up. My mom got up from her chair and sat herself next to me.

"Oh Percy," she said sympathetically and I could see she was also upset. "I'm sorry. I didn't think children of Athena could be so selfish." She pulled me into a hug and set sat there for a moment in silence.

"So, how are you?" I eventually asked my mom.

"Well I have my own news, Paul and I were going to tell you together but I might as well now." She said and she seemed unusually nervous. She placed a hand over her stomach.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"I'm pregnant," she said as if she was unsure of how I'd respond.

"Oh Gods, that's amazing!" I said, I was over the moon for her and Paul. "This is the best news I've ever heard!" Learning that I was going to have a sibling amazing news and the only thing that took my mind of Annabeth.

"Oh I'm so pleased that you're happy, I was so worried about how you'd react." I pulled my mom into another brief hug.

"Of course I'm happy! How far along are you?"

"Nearly six months," she told me, making me realize how long it had been since I had seen her. I had been so preoccupied with worrying about telling her about Annabeth that I hadn't taken a good look at her. She was obviously pregnant and had put on a little weight but still looked good.

"I can't believe you didn't notice. Actually yes I can, you were never the most observant," she smiled at me.

"Do you know the gender?" I asked wondering if I was going to be getting a little brother or sister.

"No, Paul and I wanted to keep it a surprise." I was a little sad I wouldn't find out but I understood their decision.

"Where is Paul?" I asked wondering where my stepdad was, it was a Sunday so he wouldn't be working.

"He's at the grocery store, he's been gone a while, so I expect he'll be back soon," my mom told me before getting up. "I'm going to get a drink; do you want one?" she asked.

"Yes please."

Soon I was sipping on a glass of coke with blue food coloring in it while my mom drank a cup of coffee.

"Will you be staying long?" my mom asked me from behind her mug.

"A couple days, I don't want to bring any monsters here," I not wanting to endanger my mom, new sibling, or Paul.

"That would be lovely, dear. I should warn you though, your bedroom is in the process of becoming a nursery although there is still a bed for you there."

"I'll sleep on the couch if I need to," I wouldn't mind it honestly it was a really comfortable couch, the sort that you just sink into like a giant marshmallow.

"You always could fall asleep anywhere," my mom smiled at me, probably remembering me as a kid, I could tell she was really excited to have another child.

We continued chatting about the new addition to the family and my mind was kept off Annabeth. Eventually we heard a key rattling in the door as Paul made his way inside.

"Sally, I'm back!" he called from the hallway.

"We're through here," my mom called back to him.

"Whose we?" he questioned. Soon he was standing in the door way and I saw my favorite stepfather (it wasn't a close competition.) "Oh, hi Percy," he greeted me.

"Hi Paul, how's things?"

"Great, I assume Sally told you the news," he grinned at me.

"Yeah, congratulations," I told him genuinely.

"Thanks, what brings you here?" he asked me.

"Annabeth and I broke up and I needed to get away from camp for a bit."

"Oh damn, I'm sorry to hear that. It's good to see you though, I just wish better circumstances brought you back here." Paul was a genuinely nice guy and I'm so glad my mom found somebody like him.

"Thanks, I wish I came back for better reasons too," I told him.

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I woke up from my poor sleep to the amazing smell of homemade pancakes, I had been dreaming of Annabeth and the times we'd spent together and I was reluctant to wake up knowing that she wouldn't be there.

"Mmh," I groaned as I rolled over, cocooning myself in my sheets. I unwillingly unwrapped myself and staggered to my feet, still half asleep but following my stomach to the kitchen.

Sitting on the kitchen table were 3 stacks of blue pancakes each topped with a wedge of butter that was slowly melting on top.

"It looks so good mom, thanks," I told my mom who was gathering cutlery. I had missed my mom's blue food and I couldn't wait to tuck into my share of the pancakes. I was pouring generous amounts of syrup on my pancakes when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Paul called as he exited the main bedroom in his pajamas.

"I wonder who it is at this time in the morning," my mom said to me as I heard Paul open the door.

"Uhm…err…ahh… Percy, it's for you," Paul stuttered out from the hallway. Curious as to who was at the door I walked into the hallway, still in my boxers and a t-shirt.

Standing in front of Paul in the doorway was a beautiful woman around my age. She had long blonde hair that reached the top of her pale blue jeans, she wore a white sweater that hugged her generous figure and she had stunning bright blue eyes.

"Good, there you are," she said when she saw me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, having a good idea who the incredibly attractive woman was.

"Come on, you're coming with me," she said, ignoring me and pushing past Paul and grabbing me by the wrist.

"What?" I asked confused as I was dragged past Paul and out the door.

"Uhm, who was that?" I heard Paul ask my mom as I was being pulled away.

"I think you just met Lady Aphrodite," I just about heard my mom say as I was dragged down the first flight of stairs, still in my boxers.

"Hold up," I said grabbing the banister as we reached the ground floor. "What the Hades is going on?" I asked her.

"Shh, just come on," she begged me, giving me bright blue puppy-dog eyes that I found very hard to resist.

"Fine but can you at least give me some clothes," I asked and with a snap of her figures I was suddenly dressed in a soft blue t-shirt and black jeans with a pair of black converse on my previously bare feet. "Thank you," I said as I continued being pulled along.

Linebreak

Aphrodite had dragged me (literally) to a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan. We sat on couches opposite each other waiting for our orders to arrive.

"So can you please tell me what's going on?" I asked yet again, she had refused to answer any questions on the way here.

"I need you to stop," she told me cryptically as a waitress brought over an orange juice for me and a cappuccino for her.

"Stop what?" I asked her, confused.

"Please, stop being so heartbroken," she pleaded with me. "I know it's hard but please."

"I can't just stop, it's not a switch," I told her, a little annoyed that she thought I could get over Annabeth so quickly, of all people she should know about heartbreak.

"You know I can feel it," she said quietly, stirring her coffee. I remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "I can feel your heartbreak calling out to me, like a baby crying for it's mother. It hurts me that you're in so much pain, I've never actually felt somebody else's heartbreak before." I didn't know what to say, Hestia said that Aphrodite felt my pain but hearing it come from her made me realize it to a different degree.

"Normally I can tell when people are heartbroken but I don't share their pain, I know you loved Annabeth-" my breath hitched at her name. "-more strongly than anything else and I never thought she'd break up with you. You have a greater capacity for love than anybody else I've met, please don't let it go to waste." She pleaded with me.

"So this is an intervention to get me to move on?" I asked as Aphrodite took a sip of her drink.

"Sort of," she replied. "That and I wanted to take your mind off her for a bit."

"And talking about my breakup is supposed to take my mind off it?" I asked, confused.

"No, of course not," she answered taking another drink. "What we're doing after this will."

"And what's that?" I asked a little scared of what Aphrodite had planned.

"Shopping." She gave me a smile that sent a shiver down my spine, for some reason shopping with the love goddess seemed like it would take an age.

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It was nearly midnight when I finally got back to my mom's apartment carrying two bags. Shopping with Aphrodite had taken all day, the goddess wanted to try on literally every piece of clothing, all of which looked amazing of course. The downside was that she made me carry her bags as she went shop to shop. Honestly, it hadn't been as bad as I'd thought it would be, Aphrodite had helped me pick out a couple new shirts and a pair of shoes (plus what she'd summoned for me), it helped that Aphrodite had virtually unlimited cash.

It had been fun messing around with the goddess, it ended up feeling more like I was hanging out with a friend than with a goddess. We'd grabbed a pizza for dinner and joked about how nervous the acne-ridden teenage server was when talking to Aphrodite. It was little things like that that helped take my mind off Annabeth, while I wasn't sure at first but Aphrodite was right that shopping took my mind off her.

Overall, I had enjoyed my day but was ready for my bed and hopefully I wouldn't be disturbed by thoughts of Annabeth through the night. My mom and Paul had already gone to bed so I quietly crept through the apartment and flopped down on my bed.

As I lay face-down on my bed I thought about what Aphrodite said over coffee that morning. I felt a little guilty that my own heartbreak caused her pain but there wasn't anything I could do about it, it wasn't something I could just 'get over'.

I'd never spent any time with the love goddess but to me she seemed far different from her slutty reputation, she was funny if you actually listened to her and often cracked jokes that made me smile. I could tell that she was passionate about her domains and genuinely wanted me to move on from Annabeth for my own benefit.

Linebreak

It had been great spending a couple days with my mom and Paul, their happiness about the coming baby was infectious and helped to take my mind off what had happened with Annabeth. However when I was alone the depressed thoughts and hopelessness sank back in.

I was lying in my old bed in my old room/ the new nursery, I'd just woken up and I could hear my mom clattering away in the kitchen. I was feeling lethargic like I had been the past few days and was thinking about what Annabeth would be up to in Greece.

"Are you two coming for breakfast?" my mom called from the kitchen breaking me out of my thoughts of my ex.

"Two minutes!" I heard Paul call from the main bedroom. I let out a loud groan in response.

"Well it's getting cold!" my mom called once again, spurring me to get out of my warm bed.

I swung myself out of bed, shivering as the cold air hit my bare skin as I was dressed in only my boxers. I pulled on yesterdays green t-shirt and jeans that I'd chucked over the back of a chair and made my way to the kitchen.

"Hi mom," I yawned as I spotted my mom standing at the counter with her back to me.

"Morning dear, did you sleep well?" she asked me as I sat at the table.

"Yeah, it was alright," I lied, my sleep had been sporadic and littered with dreams of Annabeth but I lied to my mom just so she wouldn't worry.

"It doesn't look like it," my mom commented as she put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.

"Thanks for the food," I said, ignoring her comment.

"Do you drink coffee?" my mom asked standing back over by the counter.

"Not usually," the only coffee I'd ever had that I'd liked was from New Rome where they put a shot of nectar in with it.

"So any plans for today?" my mom asked seating herself opposite with her own plate in front of her.

"I think I should go today," I told my mom sadly.

"Okay," I could tell that my mom was also sad that I had to go but she understood that if I stayed then I'd be putting them all in danger. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I might just travel for a while."

"Why don't you go stay with your father?" my mom asked. I had told her about dad's offer not long after I arrived here.

"Yeah, maybe," I considered the idea. While I wasn't eager to see my step-mom or Triton anytime soon it would be good to finally be able to spend some time with my dad, and staying in a palace would be much nicer than crappy motels which was my other alternative.

After breakfast I walked into the bathroom with a drachma in my pocket. I turned on the faucet and willed the water to form a light mist. I pulled up the bind allowing light to flood through into the room causing a small rainbow above the sink.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering, show my Poseidon please," I said as I tossed the drachma into the mist. The mist shimmered for a few seconds before revealing the image of my father sitting in his throne in his Atlantis throne room.

"Percy!" he said when he saw the Iris message. "What can I do for you my boy?" he asked.

"I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer and come to Atlantis."

"Of course," my dad's face lit up at the prospect of having me stay beneath the ocean with him. "I'll send transport to meet you in the east river this afternoon."

"Ok, I'll see you this afternoon," I said, part of me was feeling excited at the idea of being able to spend some actual quality time with my dad.

AN/: Here's chapter 4, I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think.
Thanks for the support so far. Love you guys!xxx