Apollo laughed and I heard footsteps enter the house. They did not go far however and the volume of the two gods voices told me that they were standing just outside of my closet. I quietly sunk to the floor, hoping that sitting down would prove to be a quiet way to listen in to the conversation.
"Why are you asking me? It is not my job to watch over your children," Apollo laughed. I heard my father almost growl.
"Don't try that. I told you to stay away from my children. Now where is Laura? Her brothers haven't seen her since last night and you always conveniently know exactly where to find her."
"Which one is Laura again," I knew Apollo was trying to protect me but I felt a little hurt at this. I pushed it aside quickly knowing that he was just saying whatever he had to in order to get Hermes out of there.
"I know you're the one who pulled her out of the water when she almost drowned," Hermes said, his voice getting louder. "I know you're the one who conveniently found her in the forest. I also know that somehow you've managed to see her every possible time you could have since the first day of the summer."
"Perhaps your daughter is attracted to me," I smiled to myself. "But I do not know where she is. Why do you even care so much? She's a demigod she can handle herself."
"There's more to it then you know," Hermes said. "I owe it to her mother to make sure her daughter lives a safe life."
"We don't owe mortals anything."
"The only reason Sarah died was because she was expecting twins," I tried to stifle a gasp. I knew my mother had been dating someone when she was killed but this was news to me. I considered for a moment revealing myself, I wanted more answers. Apollo must have sensed this because the door was jammed when I pressed my hand against it.
"She had a demigod daughter and she was being chased by a Cyclops, it is rare for any mortal to survive that situation," Apollo said. Hermes grunted again.
"She was pregnant with two more of my children, Apollo, and Laura had been attracting a lot of monster's attention from the time she was born. I had made a deal with Chiron for her to allow Laura's mother some protection until the twins were born." I was tearing up in the closet and pulled my knees to my chest.
"So yes I need to make sure my daughter is alright now, because that is all I can do for her. Laura does not trust me and I do not expect her to, so all I can do is make sure no god or prophecy ruins her life any further. So tell me, where is she?"
"I truly do not know," Apollo said. Before Hermes could answer the door crashed open again and a woman's laugh rang out.
"Aphrodite," Apollo greeted.
"I need your help Hermes," the voice replied. My father mumbled something I could not hear. "You must come at once, there is a problem at the camp." My ears perked up at this.
"Give me a moment I will meet you outside," I heard the door close before he continued. "Apollo if I catch you again with Laura I will tell Father and I will make sure Olympus is closed for the foreseeable future, if distancing ourselves from the demigods once again is what it takes to keep you away from her I will do it. I don't need another one of my children becoming entangled in a prophecy."
The door slammed again and for a moment I heard nothing but silence. I allowed the tears to start flowing but did not attempt to leave my hiding spot. Apollo opened the door and pulled me to my feet. I did not look at him but instead focused on my still bare feet. We did not say anything and I held out my present, still grasped in my hand.
"Can you put this on for me, I'm bad with clasps," I felt Apollo's gentle hands brush your neck as he carefully put my necklace on for me. He didn't say anything and neither did I. We had made our decisions it was time to see where they took us.