40. Golden Slumbers

"Honey, come inside," she pleaded.

"No!" she cried, sitting at the door's threshold; waiting for the person who had left her hours ago. Her mother sniffled.

"Thalia," she said. "He's- he's not coming back," she said, choking up. Thalia looked back. Her mother was a mess. The strap of her dress was down one shoulder, exposing most of her polka dotted bra and her mascara was running down her cheeks.

"But –" Thalia began to protest.

"Dammit Thalia!" her mother said frustrated, stomping her white stiletto. Thalia jumped as her mother sobbed. "Just get inside," she said, trying to sound strong, though she didn't quite manage it. She walked away, not looking back to see if Thalia had listened to her. Thalia looked out when she heard a weird pattering sound. She looked back and jump, toppling over. Water was flowing down from the hallway and was pouring out the kitchen sink, filling the entire apartment, washing away everything in its path. Thalia was frozen in fear. The water rushed around her. There was a loud wailing sound.

"No!" Thalia yelled, sitting up. Her hair flew and fell down her shoulders. She took a deep breath when something wet fell on her nose. She gasped and wiped at it. She looked around, forgetting for a moment where she was. Oh. OH! She was still on the terrace! She looked down and saw Percy still sound asleep. She was breathing heavy when another drop of something fell on her hand. She looked up, to have another drop fall in her eye.

"Gah," she said as she rubbed her eyes. It was starting to rain. Moving her stiff body she poked Percy in the cheek.

"Wake up," she said. He swiped at her hand, and turned over. She rolled her eyes. She stretched out, aimed at his small, but firm butt and kicked.

"Ya-ow!" Percy yelped as he jumped up. He rubbed his sore backside. "What the hell?" he asked sleepily. Thalia stood up. "What happened?"

"We fell asleep on the terrace, that's what happened," Thalia grumbled as she shook dust off her ass. She checked her watch and paled.

"Aw man, it's 1:00 AM, Percy," she said. Percy seemed to wake up.

"Crap," he said. More raindrops fell.

"Let's go before it decides to pour," she said as she made her way to the big metal door, making sure to keep her eyes straight to avoid looking off the building. They shuffled in and gripped the rail as they sleepily made their way down the stairs. They stopped in front of his door. Thalia murmured a bye and kept walking, but she was pulled back.

"Not leaving without a goodnight kiss," he said, giving her a sleepy cockeyed smile. He bent down and gave her a quick and sweet kiss. But she was too sleepy to enjoy it and she almost fell backwards by almost falling asleep.

"Whoa," he chuckled as he held her from toppling over.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Sure, night," he said. She mumbled night and left. She heard him sneak back into his apartment as she started to walk down the stairs. She wasn't sure how long it took to get to her apartment, but she narrowly made it as it started raining cats and dogs. She stumbled into her apartment and was walking blindly to her room when there was a loud sound. She screamed and threw herself on the floor. Her arms were shaking, but when she looked around, it had only been the TV.

Her heart was hammering and her knees felt like jelly, but she managed to stand up. Her mother was zonked out on the couch, the remote still in her hand and ID was playing. A reenactment was on where a man was holding a gun, and Thalia's heart beat faster. She stepped back into the island and gripped it hard. Her breathing was coming uneven and there was another loud gunshot and she felt like her nerves were being fried. She couldn't stand it anymore. With a raspy gasp, she lunged away, her hands slamming against the wall as she stumbled down the hallway.

She felt like her heart was constricting itself and she couldn't breathe. Her hands were shaking and she didn't know what to do. She burst into the bathroom, and fully dressed, jumped into the shower and turned it on. Freezing water rushed down her skin and she gasped from the sudden cold. She shivered as she sat in the bathtub.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm- I'm okay," she stuttered. She rocked back and forth, trying to calm herself. Her jaw was clenching, as she tried to stop the painful chattering of her teeth. She closed her eyes.

"Once there was a way, to get back homeward. Once there was a way, to get back home," she sang softly and unevenly through chattering teeth.

"Sleep, pretty darling. Do not cry. And I will sing you a lullaby. Golden slumbers fill your eyes. Smiles await you when you rise. Sleep, pretty darling. Do not cry, and I will sing you a lullaby…" Her body slowly relaxed, despite the cold water rushing and soaking through her clothes. She wasn't shaking from fear anymore, though she was still a little bit scared. She shut the water off, waited a few more long moments and then stepped out of the tub, dripping like a waterfall on the small rug next to the tub.

Her mother used to sing her that song when she had nightmares or couldn't sleep. It had always relaxed her, and even though her mother wasn't her mother anymore, the song still made her feel warm inside. She stripped, wrapped a towel around her, and skipped into her room. She got dressed in her PJs and went to sleep. It took her a while, since her heart was still beating a little too fast, but she eventually did.

Her alarm went off. She rolled over, moaning, and turned it off with her eyes closed. Hey, habit. Taking a deep breath she got up.

"Whoo…" she said as she saw her messed up hair in the mirror. "Not good," she moaned. She yawned and got ready for school. Before heading off, she glanced in the mirror. She looked decent; a pair of Capri with rips going across her thighs and knees, converse and a snug black V-neck. Her hair was just below her shoulders.

"Gah, I need to get a haircut," she mumbled, as she looked at her hair in disgust. She left quickly and barely made it to school.

"You're cutting it close, Ms. Grace," Mr. Whatley commented as she walked in while the bell went off. She shrugged.

"I can only walk so fast," she said sarcastically. Mr. Whatley shook his head and ignored her. She rested her cheek on her palm and she listened to the boring semantics of government. Her mind kept drifting off into the clouds, and she kept missing chunks of her class. But she couldn't help it. She kept thinking about the stars, the dinner… the kiss. And then she exhaled roughly when she realized she wasn't plain old single Thalia Grace the goth girl anymore. She was a girlfriend. She covered her mouth.

Her skin tingled, but she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Then she thought about the kiss. Good… definitely good. She was so buried in her thoughts she hadn't heard her teacher call her. It was already third period, and she kept zoning off, so it still felt like first. She was about to say "yes Mr. Whatley" when she realized she was in English, not government. She cleared her throat.

"Thalia, get up here," Mrs. Myer said, somewhat impatient. Thalia stood up and grabbed the paper the teacher was handing her.

"Thalia," Mrs. Myer said before she could turn around and sit back down.

"Yes Mrs. Myer?"

"Your opinion and conclusion of Romeo and Juliet was both intriguing and rather pessimistic," she commented. Thalia forced a smile. What was she going to say? "Thank you, pessimistic is what I aim for"?

"Try lightening up in the future," she said, sending her a smile. Thalia tried to return it, but she probably looked like she was about to puke; and that wasn't too far from the truth.

"Well, uh… thanks?" Thalia said as she quickly turned and almost ran to her desk. She sat down, and almost immediately her mind started to wander off again, but this time is wondered to her mother. Her hand tightened on her pencil. THE MEETING! She was so busy with Percy's stupid dinner, she'd forgotten all about the meeting! And she figured her mother probably didn't go. She sighed. She hoped they wouldn't kick her out for missing a meet.

She spent the rest of the day fuming about it. She was walking home, thinking about what insults she was going to use against her mother when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered a little grumpily. She cleared her throat. "Hello?" she asked a little nicer.

"Thalia! Everything all right?" Luna's sweet voice came on the line.

"Peachy," Thalia said.

"Well, I'm calling to ask you to come to Manhattan Paradise to do some volunteer work with me. Tim got some last minute work, so he can't go with me this time."

Thalia mulled it over, but she didn't really feel like spending time at an old folk's home. Not that she had anything against old foggies, but it's not like she liked to spend time around people who criticized her black and ripped clothes, unruly hair and black eye liner. Guess when you get senile, you also get mouth diarrhea.

"I don't know, Luna," she said, trying to sound nice. Luna was a good person and had helped her with many things, like last-minute studying for a math test she was almost destined to fail and had passed with a solid C -.

"It's only for a few hours and it's not as bad as people say it is," she added to try and change her mind. Thalia gritted her teeth, but sighed. She owed it to Luna.

"All right. Just tell me when," she said. Though she didn't think she'd regret it afterwards.

Okay, so I'll admit, this chapter is a little bit slow, sorry about that. But, I think the next one will have a little more something :) I hope you liked this chapter and just in case no one got it the first time: in the previous chapter when Thalia says "I can see the stars again" that was a mini tribute to Zoe :) NOW, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

I do not own the lyrics. All credit goes to Golden Slumbers by The Beatles.