Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this one, poor Thalia is all I have to say about this- not the best way to find out that your mom is dead and you'll never get to confront her for answer but hey, at least she has Luke there to be supportive.
It took them two weeks to get to LA after the run in with Medusa.
In retrospect Luke and Thalia should have expected some trouble- after all they were demigods, attacks were to be expected, but, well it wasn't as if they were on a quest, and during his childhood he'd had the oils his dad had supplied weakening his and Percy's scents. Those had been used up by now- though they could both defend themselves which meant they didn't need it so much.
Still he hadn't spent too long out of camp since he'd first arrived there- so he hadn't expected quite so many monster attacks.
Of course there was nothing they couldn't handle but still, it did slow their progress.
But they did make it to LA eventually, and Luke let Thalia take the lead, until they reached a fairly large house and Thalia came to a stop in front of it.
She was paler than normal, her expression tight and drawn as Luke moved so that he was stood by her side, and he reached out, gently grabbing her hand.
"Are you okay?" his voice was soft.
"I don't know." Thalia almost breathed the words. "It looks so normal." and it did- it was a nice enough house, fairly upmarket, but then Thalia's mom had been a successful actress for a long time before she'd blown it, she'd had enough money to buy a nice house even with her life falling apart as she descended into alcoholism and obsession.
The lawn at the front seemed pretty neat- there were flowers lining the path up to the door. It wasn't what Luke had expected he knew that much.
"It does. Do you think she's still here?"
"I don't know." Thalia stared up at the door. "I thought- I don't know. I didn't think it would look like this. I thought- it was always a mess."
"So either she's not here anymore or she's pulled herself together-"
"I don't know what I'd prefer." Thalia looked bitter when she said that, "I think... if she got her life together then why- why couldn't she do that for Jason and I when we were kids? Didn't we deserve something like this?"
"Of course you did." Luke squeezed Thalia's hand, very much aware that Thalia was being more open with him than she'd likely ever been with anyone before. She deserved his full attention. "Of course you did Thalia. Sometimes it just doesn't work like that-"
"I won't forgive her." Thalia's voice was fierce, "She- Jason... all because of her." She shook her head, eyes shining slightly with unshed tears.
"I don't blame you." Luke stated firmly, "Gods Thalia how could I ever blame you for that? Of course you won't forgive her. So. The question is are you sure you want to do this?"
"I-" Thalia hesitated before nodding, and she pulled Luke along up the path, moving to the door and knocking, and if Luke wasn't watching her so closely, if he wasn't still holding her hand he wouldn't have noticed that she was trembling slightly.
A few moments later the door was opened by a middle aged woman with black hair, who looked surprised at the sight of the somewhat scruffy duo.
"Uh- hello. Can I help you?"
Thalia stared at her for a long moment before she managed to speak. "I was- there... there was a woman who used to live here. Beryl Grace."
"Oh I'm sorry." the woman shook her head, "We've lived here three years now. And we didn't buy from anyone named Beryl. How long ago would it have been?"
"Seven years ago." Thalia let out a slow breath, "I'm sorry for bothering you I just... I wanted to see what happened to her."
"Maybe one of the neighbours could help." the woman suggested, "The Chittering's have been here for years-"
"They're still here?" Thalia looked startled at that, "I remember him. I- thank you." Thalia gave a polite nod, "We'll go and speak to them."
"Good luck then-" there was a cry from inside of the house- a baby and the woman sighed, a tired look on her face, "I've got to go. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."
"It's fine." Luke spoke up, "That's for talking to us." and she left quickly, shutting the door behind her. Then Luke turned to Thalia, who let out a breath.
"I don't know how I feel right now. Is that bad/ I don't know if I should be relieved or disappointed-"
"Feelings aren't simple." Luke pointed out softly, "I always feel conflicted when I think about my mom."
"I remember you said she wasn't stable." Thalia's voice was curious, "What did you mean?"
"You'll understand when you meet her." Luke shook his head, "I don't... it's hard to explain if you haven't seen her."
"Right." Thalia nodded, "Well I guess I have that to look forward too-"
"First we find out where your mom is." Luke stated smoothly, "Then we deal with my mom."
"Of course." Thalia nodded, "Right, so the Chittering's live just next door." she pointed to the house on the left, "There's a car so it looks like they're in at least."
"Then why are we wasting time." Luke wrapped an arm around Thalia's shoulder- and it was obvious how nervous she was because she didn't even try to shake his arm away- she wasn't a tactile person usually but she almost leaned into him, clearly needing the comfort even if she wasn't willing to ask for it.
"You're right." Thalia gave a short nod, and together they made their way to the house next door- it looked similar to Thalia's old home, though the grass was a bit longer and there weren't any flowers lining the path.
When they reached the door it was Luke who knocked, keeping his arm firmly over Thalia's shoulders, and there was a lot of shuffling from inside and a voice, slightly muffled from the walls and door blocking them from the owner called, "Just a moment!" and after several minutes the door was unlocked and opened, and an older man was stood there, his hair was gray and he had a kind face, and he looked between the duo curiously. "Hello, do I know you-"
"Mr Chittering." Thalia gave a small but genuine smile, "My name is Thalia Grace, I don't know if you remember-"
"Thalia!" the old man's eyes widened, "My goodness look at you. The last time I saw you you couldn't have been more than what, ten years old?"
"Around that yeah." Thalia nodded.
"You ran away." his brows furrowed, "And that poor little brother of yours-" he shook his head, "I remember all the trouble over it. They never did make sense of what happened. I didn't think we'd ever see you again." his eyes flicked to Luke, who gave a small smile. "And who's this young man."
"Luke Jackson, I'm a friend, I met Thalia a few months ago."
"I wanted.." Thalia faltered before her voice grew stronger, "I wanted to come and find out where my mom is now- I haven't seen her since I ran away. I was kinda nervous so Luke said he'd come with me."
"How lovely." the old man looked slightly pained, "I am sorry though Thalia. I hate to be the one to tell you this but she passed almost three years ago now in a car crash."
"She-" Thalia's eyes widened, "She's dead." her voice was soft, stunned. "I..." she frowned, "I wasn't expecting that. I don't- I don't know why. She was always so out of control even before I ran away. Was- was she drinking." and the look on the old mans face said it all really.
"I really am sorry Thalia. Do you want to come in and sit down-"
"No. No." Thalia shook her head, "I don't- that wouldn't help me right now. I think I need to get out of here-" she was shrugging Luke's shoulder away and whirling around, sprinting down the path, a pained look on her face.
Luke resisted the urge to curse, giving the old man an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry-"
"No, no it's fine. I'm sure it's a lot to take in. You go after her. Look after her, please. She was always such a sweet child- she doted on her little brother-"
"She told me." Luke hesitated, "Do you- this is a horrible question but do you know where she's buried? If Thalia wants to go and visit her grave I want to know where to take her-"
"Oh of course." the man nodded, "Evergreen Cemetery. It's not too far from here."
"Thanks." Luke gave the man a grateful smile before he turned and jogged down the path, looking around quickly and spotting Thalia a short distance away ducking into an ally.
He rushed after her quickly, reaching her in time to see her sinking to the ground, back against the wall and head in her hands as she sobbed- and he dropped to his knees in front of her, a soft look on his face, "Thalia- Thal's can you look at me-"
"Why am I crying?" Thalia gasped the words out, "Why? She was a shit mom I hated her so why am I crying-"
"Because even if she was a shit mom she was still your mom." Luke pointed out. "Even if you hated her a part of you probably still wanted there to be a chance she could change and be better."
"She killed my brother. She- she killed him and she never- she was horrible she was drunk most of the time I had to raise myself-" she faltered when Luke's hands landed on her knees and squeezed gently.
"Thalia you're allowed to be upset. Of course you are-"
"I should have known." Thalia's voice cracked, "I should have known she'd get herself killed like that I don't even know why I'm surprised."
"It's bound to be a shock." Luke sighed, "I can't know how you're feeling right now but.. whatever you're feeling you shouldn't feel guilty for it. You should give yourself time to process it."
"What would you do?" Thalia asked after a long moment, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, "What would you do if you were me?"
"I don't know." Luke said slowly after a moment, "I might visit the grave- I asked your old neighbour, he said your mom was buried at Evergreen cemetery."
"I-I guess it couldn't hurt." Thalia hesitated, "I just- I wanted to get answers I wanted to know why... why she... why Jason-" she shook her head, "I guess now I'm never gonna get any answers huh?"
"I guess not." Luke shifted, "You'll have to learn to live with that. It sucks but you don't have much of a choice." he held out his hand for her as he stood up, "Why don't we go and get some food and then go to the cemetery. You might not be able to get answers about why but at least you might get a little bit of closure by visiting the grave."
"That- I'd like that." Thalia hesitated, "I wonder- there was this little diner place I used to take Jason. I wonder if it's still there."
"We can go and see." Luke stated firmly, "And if it is then we'll get some food there- it's on me by the way-"
"Luke you've been pretty much paying this whole trip-"
"That would be because I'm the one with money."
"But you can't just pay for everything-"
"I can and I will." Luke elbowed Thalia lightly, "Relax Thals, no ones gonna hold it against you that you're not paying for all of the food."
"How about any of it. I feel like a leech-"
"Thalia I don't mind." Luke shrugged, "I pay for the food, you shock the monsters, now that sounds like a good deal to me, don't'cha think?"
"Fine." Thalia let out a laugh after a moment, shaking her head, "So diner first then we'll head to the cemetery. Then... then I guess we move on from my part of the journey and head to your old home."
"Oh yeah." Luke nodded, "It's been years since I've visited." he grimaced slightly, "But she's alive, I'd have been contacted if anything had happened to her so at least I won't be getting any nasty surprises."
"That's something at least. At least some parts of this journey will end happy."
"I'm not sure happy is the right word. But you'll understand when you meet her." Luke admitted. "Just... try not to be freaked out when you do. She scared me a lot as a child. She doesn't mean any harm really she just... she can't help it." he closed his eyes, running his fingers through his hair. "Let's focus on you for now though." and Thalia at last accepted his hand, pulling herself to her feet.
"Right. Diner then cemetery. A fun day out don't you think?" she snorted. "Still, it's not the worst day I've ever had so at least that's something. I'm gonna be okay. You were right I just need time."