Chapter 7

I don't think I've ever been so glad to be home in my life.

The night had been going so well. Thalia, Luke, Percy and myself were at the mall having a good time. Luke and Percy got along a lot better than I thought they would. While Thalia and I shopped around, the boys hung back and talked video games. At one point they even left us to go to to the video store.

But then, as we were about to leave, Percy pulled me aside.

"Is Luke okay?" he'd asked.

I blinked. "Um, I guess. Why?"

Percy shrugged, glancing over at Luke and Thalia, who were laughing at something. Thankfully they were just out of earshot. "Just curious. Something seems...off about him."

I shifted my weight, not sure where he was going with this, but I was starting to get aggravated. "What do you mean? Luke is fine. You're being rude. He really likes you, you know. The both of you got along so well."

Percy held his hands up in defense. "Don't snap at me, Annabeth. I know, I think he's really cool. I'm just saying, something's wrong. I don't know what it is, but..."

"He's fine," I snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Fine," Percy snapped back. He sulked off, beckoning to Thalia and leading her away.

Thalia glanced back at me, her eyes questioning. What was that all about?

I shrugged and smiled, waving. Though my stomach felt like lead. I suddenly very much wanted to punch something.

On the way home, I studied Luke's face. His face did seem hallow, almost like a skeleton, and his skin appeared more pale than when he first arrived. But other than that he was the same Luke I remembered. I shook my head. Percy didn't know what he was talking about.

Laying in bed, guilt started to creep in on me. I hadn't even listened to what Percy had had to say. I'd snapped at him and shut him down.

Forget it, I told myself. He's delusional. But no matter what I did, my fight with Percy wouldn't leave my mind. I couldn't sleep, I was too restless. I tried watching a movie on my laptop, but that didn't work either.

I pulled out my secret project, my plans to rebuild New York, and worked on it for an hour. Then another hour passed, and before I knew it, it was half past midnight.

Satisfied, I put my stuff in my desk drawer and crawled into bed. I checked my phone for any messages, but I didn't have any.

In reality I was hoping Percy would text me. But he didn't. I put it on the nightstand next to my bed and tried not to look at it. I stared at my ceiling for a while, but eventually my eyes traveled back to the phone.

I don't know how long I laid there, but eventually I fell asleep.

The sun felt warm on my face. I stood on a hill overlooking the entire city of New York, except it was different. It was my city, the one I'd spent so long creating. It was bigger, better, and mine. I really did it. I created my own city. I stared at it in awe until a cough caught my attention.

I turned. My mother, father, and Luke sat on a picnic blanket. My mother waved me over. Luke held his hand out.

"Come have lunch with us, darling," my father said. "Let's celebrate. You deserve it, for working so hard."

Half in a trance I walked foward. Before I could take Luke's hand he suddenly stood and moved off to the side. I felt a tug at my hand, and before I realized what was happening Percy was leading me down to sit beside him in the exact spot Luke was a moment before.

Thalia grabbed Luke around the waist. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"One big happy family, right?" Thalia asked, grinning.

Gasping, I woke up. I sat up, taking a moment to gather my bearings. I was in my room, in bed. Not in the sun having a picnic with my parents and friends.

I remembered Percy's hand in mine and I blushed. That was the second time now that Percy has been into my dreams. I really wished they would stop.

The sunlight peering through my windows told me it was morning. A glance at my clock told me it was very late in the morning.

"Nine o' clock!" I jumped out of bed. I had a job interview in one hour. For some reason the alarm on my phone didn't go off, so I had to take a quick shower and dress in a rush. I had wanted to wait to get a job but I needed the money. Plus, I had to pay for my gas somehow.

My job interview was with a cute little coffee shop down town. It was next to the high school, fifteen minutes from my house, so I could go to work right after. Walking in, a little bell tinkled announcing my presence.

I was prepared for this. I walked in with confidence, my head held high. What I was not prepared for, however, was Percy walking towards me wearing an apron and carrying a tray. My heart did somersaults.

Percy glanced at the door and opened his mouth to greet a new costumer when he saw that it was me. I waved sheepishly.

Percy gave an elderly lady her mocha and walked over to me, tucking the tray under his arm. He was wearing a blue button down with black jeans. The apron actually didn't look too bad on him.

Stop looking, I ordered myself. You're here for a job, not to gawk at Percy. Clearing my throat, I asked, "So, you work here, huh?"

"Yep," Percy answered. There was an awkward pause.

"Percy," I sighed. "I'm so-"

Percy shook his head. "Don't be. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overstepped."

"But I should have at least listened-"

"Well still, it was rude."

I sighed in relief. It felt as though a ton of weight had suddenly lifted my shoulders. "Thanks. So, can I speak to your manager?"

Percy nodded and led me to the back, where a woman sat talking on the phone.

She had long caramel colored hair braided over one shoulder. She played with the string of her apron while she talked, but when she saw me she smiled. She said good bye and hung up the phone, turning to me.

"Callie, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Calypso, but she prefers Callie," Percy introduced.

I walked foward and held my hand out. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." We shook hands. "You're very outgoing, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I can tell," she laughed.

She seemed so sweet, and easy going. The type that could make anyone feel welcome. But I had a feeling she could go from sweet to vicious in a heartbeat if she wanted to.

"Okay, well, I'll leave you to it," Percy said. He wiggled his fingers mockingly at Callie. "Buh bye now."

"Get back to work, Percy," Callie laughed. "Don't make me fire you."

"You won't fire me and you know it."

Callie stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed and left.

Flirty much? I thought. I hated to admit it, but that bothered me much more than it should have.

"So." Callie turned back to me, her flirty posture shifting to business. "Come into my office, please." I followed her into a small but cozy little room. She sat behind her desk and I took the seat in front.

Callie laced her fingers together. "I'm going to be completely honest here. I'm usually an easygoing person. I hate asking all these stupid interview questions, so answer honestly and we can get through it. Why do you think you're qualified for this job?"

All in all, it was probably the easiest interview I've ever been to. Callie was really cool, offering homemade cookies and crumpets.

At the end of the interview, we stood. Callie gave me a quick hug. "Well, you are definitely hired. Here's your paperwork, and you'll need to fill this out to get a drug test. Which you'll pass, I'm sure," she joked.

"Of course," I laughed. "Thank you so much, Callie."

I left her office. Percy was making a cappuccino. When he saw me he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

I grinned and held up the paperwork for him to see. He gave me a thumbs up.

I headed over to Thalia's house. When I arrived, there were voices coming from the backyard so I went through the gate and headed towards the sounds. I found Thalia, Piper, Jason sitting around a bonfire. Hazel, Nico, and Bianca were with them.

"Looks like I'm missing all the fun," I called.

"Annabeth!" Thalia jumped up. "Good, you made it! How was your interview?"

"It was good. You could've at least warned me Percy was working there, though." I took a seat between her and Jason. Piper was nestled against Jason's back. They looked so cute together, I couldn't resist telling them so.

Piper laughed. "Aw, thanks. We try."

"They're either the kind of couple that you look at and think aww how cute, or you look at and think, ugh get a room," Bianca chimed in. Hazel snorted and nearly spilled hot chocolate down her jacket.

Nico passed me a mug, pouring hot chocolate from a thermos.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. Two weeks of winter break meant freezing cold weather. I turned to Bianca, who was fretting with Nico's jacket, making sure he was warm. He swatted her hand away, like any little brother would. "So do you guys like New York?"

Bianca nodded, finally leaving Nico alone. "Yes, it's really nice. It was really sweet for our uncle to take us in. Our mother, Nico's and mine, I mean, passed away from a heart attack when were little. Our dad was all we had. He had cancer. He knew he wouldn't have much longer, so he contacted Thalia's dad about keeping us. I'll be eighteen soon, and heading off to college, but Nico and Hazel will stay with him until they finish school."

I turned to Hazel. "So your mom..."

"Abandoned me," Hazel said flatly. "Left me with a dad and two siblings i didn't even know. She could be halfway across the world and not even tell me."

I put my hand gently over hers. "I know you've probably heard this enough, but I'm sorry. For all of you," I added. Bianca gave a weak smile. Nico stared into the fire, but I could see that his eyes were shining. "Just know we're here for you. You'll like Goode, and there are some good people here." I thought back to all of the people who'd surrounded Percy and me after the car crash, and how they'd been persistent in staying with us until my parents arrived.

"Besides," Thalia chimed in, "I'm going to be your favorite cousin. Stick with me, and you be fine."

Jason shook his head. "Um, no. A little piece of advice, do not stick with my sister, no matter what you do. You'll more than likely end up in jail."

"Guess that leaves Percy," Piper laughed.

We sat talking around the fire for a long time, until the sun was setting in the distance. It wasn't until poor Hazel's teeth started chattering that we abandoned the fire and went inside. It was nice and toasty, the smell of freshly baked cookies filling the air.

"Wow, is your mom baking cookies?" Hazel asked. "They smell amazing."

"No, that's our housekeeper," Thalia said, the tone in her voice suddenly flat and edgy. I glanced sideways at her but she wouldn't meet my eyes.

The Graces' housekeeper, Lily, walked out of the kitchen. Though she cleaned the house, she also acted as a cook, and an excellent one at that.

"Oh, I was just about to come get you," she said. "Dinner is ready. Are you staying as well, Annabeth?" she asked me politely.

I shook my head. "No, ma'am. I need to get home, my brother is coming home for the holidays."

"Okay, honey, well drive safe. The weather really is getting terrible out there-"

"Lily!"

Mrs. Grace shuffled slowly down the stairs. Her dark hair was flowing down past her shoulders like an inky waterfall. She wore a frilly pink bathrobe, and she had a wineglass in her hand.

Like she always did.

Thalia stiffened, her hands balling into fists. Jason glanced at his mother and then looked away, pretending to be interested in the curtains.

"What's taking dinner so long?" Mrs. Grace said impatiently.

"I'll bring it up right away, ma'am," Lily said sweetly. "Go back to bed now."

"Humph." Mrs. Grace turned and slowly walked back upstairs. I could tell it took everything she had not to stumble and fall.

"So who's hungry?" Jason asked, breaking the tense silence.

If there was one thing I could say about Thalia, it was that she didn't cry easily. So it nearly made me start sobbing to see the tear that rolled silently down her cheek. She turned and wiped it quickly away before anyone could see.