Chapter 12
Percy
Being grounded at Poseidon's house wasn't necessarily as bad as it sounded. Sure, it sucked not being able to hang out with his new friends who he had just started to actually enjoy being around, but the place was so massive that Percy could've spent every day of isolation exploring a whole new part that he had yet to discover.
In retrospect, a week wasn't that long. He had suffered much worse with his mom, two weeks, a month sometimes holed up in his Manhattan apartment, wandering around the house complaining without friends or video games to keep him entertained. Eventually, he usually got so bored and restless that he gave in and actually did his homework for once.
At least all of the chores and punishments gave him time to think. The day he got home, after a long nap, hot shower and a good breakfast, Poseidon had sent him out to the creek to repair a fence that an animal had chewed down to a stick. He tried to put Annabeth out of his mind, but he kept coming back to that unknown, that unwelcome pit in his stomach. She had been so… so not Annabeth that night, so soft and kind and thankful, so completely opposite to her usual hard, mysterious exterior, the harsh words that were so often uttered from her lips.
It occurred to him that maybe he had only gotten to know one side of Annabeth. The side she showed strangers or people she disliked, or Percy in this case. Maybe she didn't trust him enough before all this to be herself around him. The thought was oddly painful. They didn't know each other. Not really, anyways. They fought a lot, they hung out a lot but never alone. They had never had one meaningful conversation, so he couldn't blame Annabeth for not wanting to let down her guard around him. It wasn't like he was doing anything different around her.
Still, though. A part of him, the same part that convinced him to stay last night, wanted it to be different with her. He wanted to be different to her, for her.
He shook his head. What a silly, dumb thought. It was almost romantic, and Percy was not a romantic in any way.
The next day, it was six in the morning when his dad woke him up, told him the horses needed to be fed, the eggs needed to be collected and gave him a whole bunch of other chores that Poseidon had never actually done himself. Percy grumbled, pretending to fall out of bed because he was so tired but his dad didn't think it was that funny.
Realistically, Percy didn't mind the work on the ranch as much as he liked to portray. It was honest, hard work that made him sweat and ache but when he came into the house bone tired and ready to drop, there was always a huge feast of burgers and corn on the cob and coleslaw and chips and sweet tea every night and it almost made him feel completely renewed.
On his third night being grounded, Percy snuck a beer from the fridge in the garage and took a walk after his chores to the meadow he had discovered during his time stuck at home. If you walked down a trail through the forest about half a mile, there was a clearing just to the right. Tall grass blew in the wind that night, the breeze taking away the humid air that made the day stale and damp. There were a few bare patches of bluebells that swayed as well, but nothing compared to the bluebell's that grew down by the Chase's side of the creek. The thought made him miss his job there, even if his time off was just for the week. He had grown accustomed to seeing Leo and his other friends there, jumping in the creek to cool off and drying off everyday in the heat before they had to report back to Annabeth's dad.
Tonight, he had taken a chance and instead of walking had saddled up a horse, riding him slowly - extremely slowly - into the woods. But he got there alright, and after slipping down and tying Guido to a nearby tree he had an odd feeling that mirrored pride as he realized that he had done all that on his own for the first time. Taking the blanket that he had placed in the pack on the saddle and spreading it out on the ground, he settled in for the night with a Budlight and cigarette.
If you angled your body just right, and looked straight at a spot between the pine trees, the sun set directly between them. Tonight, it didn't disappoint. He cracked open his beer, perched back on his elbows, and watched the sun turn from yellow to orange to red until it was no more than a sliver of glowing light sinking behind the earth.
By the time he got home, he was starving. Dinner was over as it was almost nine, but he went to the fridge and grabbed some leftover spaghetti. Placing it in the microwave he waited until the ding went off, then grabbed a fork and stabbed it, shoving bites into his mouth to try and curb his hunger.
Barely paying attention to anything else other than his food, he had made it to the second step on the staircase when his father spoke.
"Perseus," Poseidon's voice boomed. Percy froze, turning slowly, a few noodles still hanging out of his mouth. Spaghetti sauce lingered on his chin and he wiped it quickly, feeling very subconscious all of a sudden.
Poseidon sat facing the fire, one leg crossed over the other, arms spread out on the back of the deeply browned leather couch. He looked ghostly in the amber light and Percy resisted from pinching himself. The past few weeks he had been going and going and going with friends, work, parties. He hadn't stopped to really think about the fact that he was here with his dad who he thought never wanted to see him - ever again.
A swell of anger appeared in Percy's chest, tightening the veins in his neck as he came and sat opposite his dad in a creamy upholstered armchair. His dad abandoned him - hated him, hated his mother, left them to live in poverty while Poseidon and Amphitrite partied with the A-listers in Manhattan.
Percy sank deeper into the chair, crossing his arms. Poseidon's eyes never strayed from the fire, the flames dancing in the green eyes that so similarly matched Percy's. Swirling and bright, a sea green almost that looked like the ocean and changed violently with each passing emotion.
"Did your mother ever tell you the reason I left?" His dad asked, eyes finally meeting Percy's.
Percy glared at him, "Because you decided we weren't good enough for your dumb lifestyle." He suggested, leaning back and trying to look half as intimidating as his father. He doubted it was working.
Poseidon gave a half smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. There were crinkles in the corners, like he smiled a lot. Percy wondered if he would end up with the same lines when he was older, live a happy enough life to have a smile imprinted on his face at all times. "No. No, of course not. I didn't want to leave you, honestly, but… your mother and I, we were dirt poor. College poor. My father was… not pleased," He sighed shifting on the couch, "to say the least, that I had gotten a girl pregnant in my junior year. Demanded I forget all about you two and run away from it if I wanted to keep my promised job at the family company."
Poseidon glanced at Percy, caution clear in his eyes. Percy wrung his hands nervously, but nodded for him to continue.
"I didn't want to. Leave, I mean. Your mom though, she thought it was a good idea. Said that she would be okay, being a single mom for a few years as long as she consistently got checks from my trust fund. Eventually, it was an unspoken idea that I would move in with you two, get to raise you as my own, but Sally and I, we weren't seriously dating, you know? She knew that the money was more useful than any company I could give her - and, I think there was a part of her that didn't trust me to stick around, leave her with no money and no companionship."
"Which you did," Percy cut in, sharply.
Poseidon winced, "It was not my… finest moment." He said, glancing at Percy who gave him a wave of his hand to continue. "Anyways, so we did. I told my dad I was leaving you guys, and I sent checks to her, and she would send me a picture every once and awhile. She had moved back in with her uncle when you were a baby, and went to her local college in her hometown. We both graduated, and the plan was for her to move back to Manhattan and for me to go work at my dad's office and I could start seeing you more, but I got involved with a lot of alcohol. And drugs. And parties. And before I knew it I had blown your entire child support check on my drug problem, Percy."
Percy sat up a little straighter. This part, he had never heard.
"I'll save you the disgusting details of addiction, but the point is, I made a lot of mistakes. I'm clean now, obviously. Went in for rehab about a year after my problem started but I never…" He shook his head, regret obvious in his eyes, "I never went back to helping your mom. I met Amphitrite a couple weeks out of rehab, and she helped me stay sober. I thought about you guys all the time, honestly. Amphitrite didn't want kids, and I… I'll forever wish I could go back in time and change everything about that. I would've lived with your mother in a dirt, rat infested apartment if I could have raised you."
Percy felt hot. His head was spinning. He didn't know whether to be angry or sad or… he barely even knew if he felt anything besides an angry stir in his stomach. Poseidon looked expectant, like he wanted Percy to have something profound to say or he wanted them to have some sort of loving father son moment, but all Percy said was, "Am I supposed to feel bad for you?"
Poseidon winced again. "No, no of course not. What I did, Percy, there's no amount of apologizing or time that can make up for it. But, I know your mother sent you here because you were in trouble, but I had been calling her since that winter asking to see you. I want… I want us to know each other."
Percy shook his head, "You could never know me like mom does." He insisted, balling his fists. "You don't deserve to know me, to love me. You gave up that right when you walked away all those years ago."
Poseidon sent his eyes down to the floor, "Percy…" He sounded close to pleading. "I understand. But I also know we have a whole summer together. And I think it would be a whole lot more fun if we could get along."
Percy wanted to be mad. He really did. But somewhere deep down, he felt the same way. He had wanted a dad his whole life, and now here he was, saying he wanted to be a part of his life again, wanted to get to know him. Besides all that, Percy saw himself in Poseidon. The constant joking, the love of the ocean, the twinkle in his eyes whenever he was doing something he probably shouldn't do. The tanned skin, the sea green eyes, the broad chest and jet black hair. If Percy was honest with himself, he was the spitting image of his father. Not that he enjoyed thinking about that much, but the longer he sat here the more his anger disappeared. This was the most honest Poseidon had ever been with him, which is all Percy could ask for at this point.
"Okay," Percy decided simply.
"Okay?" Poseidon asked, his lips breaking into a cautious smile.
Percy shrugged. "Don't expect too much." He tried to sound nonchalant, but Percy was happy, for once. "But I don't really want to be sneaking around this house any longer to keep avoiding you either. Besides, none of my friends are interested in fishing so I might need somebody to go with." Percy hesitantly glanced at his father. The fire had dimmed considerably, the wood burned to almost ash but Poseidon's face suddenly looked clearer than it ever had. More human, less this… this mythical figure, this person that was always just out of reach. Percy's whole life he felt like Poseidon's face was fuzzy, like Percy could never see him, even when he concentrated. Now, though, Poseidon just seemed human. He seemed like his dad.
I'm not about to start listening to you, or anything." Percy added, trying to lighten a mood that was getting sappier by the minute.
Poseidon laughed. "You are my son after all."
Percy grinned. "Yeah, I am."
"We can go fishing." Poseidon started. "And riding and to the beach and play some football and," Poseidon was warming up now and Percy cut him off with a raised hand.
"Slow down," He said with a laugh. "One thing at a time, maybe."
Poseidon grinned sheepishly, "Sorry. Listen, why don't you go into town tomorrow. Get some service and call your mother. She's been wondering where you are."
Percy almost kicked himself. He had been so wrapped up in the last month here he had forgotten about his own mother.
"No friends." Poseidon warned. "But take the day off from the chores."
Percy gave him another smile. "Okay. I'm gonna head to bed then, it's been a pretty long day."
Poseidon nodded. "Sure. Goodnight, Percy."
Percy stood, stretching and popping out his shoulders. Halfway up the staircase, Percy paused. Before he could think better of it, he turned around, throwing a casual, "Goodnight, Dad." Over his shoulder. Poseidon's face stretched into a wide grin, which made Percy feel a little bit better about the rash decision. Hiding his own smile, he headed up to bed.
The next morning, Percy headed into town as soon as he could force himself to roll out of bed. He was a teenager, and ten AM was usually as early as he could manage if he didn't have anything to actually get up for. Poseidon was already out, him and Amphitrite at some obligation they had at the country club. His dad had left him a note though, a list of leftovers that were in the fridge for Percy to eat and a few things to pick up at the store. It ended with a smiley face and a glad we talked which made Percy smile.
He drove the thirty minutes to the village, the dusty road soon turning into paved as he rolled up in front of the coffee shop.
"Mornin', Percy," Hazel said with a wave, tying her apron behind her as if she had just clocked in. This morning, her hair was done up in a large ponytail, tight curls bouncing behind her back.
"Hazel," He gave her a smile in greeting. "Usual, please." He slid a five dollar bill on the counter, connecting his phone to the internet while he waited on the coffee. Thanking Hazel and reveling in the caffeine that surged through his body, he called his mom, walking back to the truck.
He idled with the AC on, the weather way too extreme to sit in a car without the air. His mom answered on the second ring.
"Percy!" Her excited voice rang in his ear, and Percy couldn't help but smile. He was a total mama's boy, even if he didn't always let most people see that.
"Hey, mom." He said casually, taking another sip of coffee. He watched another truck drive down the almost empty road, noting the familiarity but not being able to place it as it pulled into the grocery store just across the street.
"How are you?" His mom breathed, but Percy was officially distracted, watching the black truck.
"Good." Percy said, honestly. Despite all the shit that had gone down a few nights ago, his conversation with his dad last night had made him feel a slight bit better. "Dad and I we've been… well, getting along better lately."
"Dad?" His mom commented, and the smile was evident in his voice.
Percy blushed, glad she couldn't see him, "Don't read too much into that." Percy warned. "He's still a dick."
Sally laughed. "And how's everything else. You've met friends, hopefully?"
"Yeah," Percy said. "They're awesome, actually. Thalia and Jason have been nice, they introduced me to everybody. There's this girl, too…" He trailed off, unsure of why he was about to tell his mom about Annabeth. Maybe because she was so confusing, maybe because it dawned on him that that was Annabeth's truck, parked in front of the store and she was stepping out right then, blonde curls loose and hanging around an oversized t-shirt and denim shorts.
"A girl, huh?" Sally asked. "Well, I'm glad you're having a good time. And working, too I heard."
Percy didn't respond, distracted by the sight of her in very form hugging clothes and the fact that he was seeing her for the first time since that night.
"Percy?" His mom asked again, through the phone.
"Huh?" Percy asked, then realized she had been talking. "Oh, sorry. Listen, I'm sorry but I gotta go. I forgot I have to go… run an errand." He rushed out, turning off the engine and locking the car, walking over to the store. What was he doing?
"Uh-uh." His mom sounded unconvinced, but not angry. "Okay, Percy. Love you. Don't let it be three weeks before you call again."
Percy smiled, crossing the street. "I won't. Love you too." He hung up, shoving the phone in his back pocket before making the rash decision to enter the store. He pulled his dad's list out, giving him a legitimate reason to be in here in the first place, then set off to find Annabeth between the rows of canned food and their bleak selection of produce.
Happy Wednesday, hope you guys enjoyed! This was a fun chapter to right, but I am even more excited for you guys to read next chapter. Anyways, I'll try to update before I go on vacation on Friday but it might not be until next week, sorry. See you later!
-a
