Chapter 22

Rhea POV

"You know what really sucks? Essays, I hate essays," I groan out, speaking to Jane about my troubles.

"I know, they suck big time," she responds, barely listening, focusing on her homework.

"You're in grade five, you don't get the amount of writing that I do. You barely have to write a full page and the teacher is happy," I reply.

"Whose fault is that? Yours! Duh! You wanted skip grades faster than a bunny on crack," she replies humorously with a smile on her face that just screams 'I told you so.'

"There is a reason for that, why do I want to stay in a class that bores me to death about things I already know? I like the idea of writing and being creative, but my dyslexia is kicking in full time right now, I can barely make out if my 'd' is 'b', or if it's 'cream ice' or 'ice cream'."

"That's kind of funny, imagine having to read something out loud," she replies.

"Oh yeah, it's funny alright. Last year I made a fool out of myself when I did my presentation on the Bermuda triangle. I dropped my cards and they got mixed up, and I kept messing the words up. The more anxious I got, the worse my reading got."

"You've gotten better though. You are doing so well in school, better than all of us," she replies kindly, giving me a quick hug.

"Thanks, I'm having one of those days again. I can't focus and I have so much to do. My English teacher is being mean, especially about my writing facts, I had to write a short fiction story, and she gave it back, practically covered in her red ink on my 'many' mistakes. She's just picking on me."

"Only two months to go and then we're going home, you'll be in Grade 10 and I'll be in Grade 6. That's so weird, my best friend is four years more advanced than I am and yet, she is two years younger than me," she replies dramatically.

Two months did pass and I am home free.

I got home and my mum was already waiting at the door for me, bags packed and ready to go to Montauk.

This summer is going to be amazing, I think excitedly.

When we arrived on the beach, we were greeted by an excited Triton who surprised us by taking both my mom and I to Atlantis along with our bags.

It was weird for my mother to be under the sea and be able to breathe, curtesy of Triton's awesome godly powers.

We arrived at the palace and were then greeted by my father, who then introduced my mom to Amphitrite.

Talk about awkward, I think as I stare between the two women who were eyeing each other up and down.

"Welcome to Atlantis Sally Jackson," my step-mother said.

"Thank you, this place is amazing," my mother said nervously wringing her hands, but still in awe of our surroundings.

Sally POV

I don't know how Triton convinced me to come here, I'm a nervous wreck. What if Amphitrite smites me or something? She's not exactly known for her kindness.

Rhea and I got settled into our rooms before heading to the dining hall. The whole affair was getting to me and Rhea tried to calm me down.

"Don't worry mum, you're doing great and Triton's mom isn't so bad," she said, trying to reassure me.

We had dinner, and fortunately Poseidon took charge and asked Rhea about her year, which led to another topic- bullying.

"Dad, I can handle myself," she told him, shifting in her seat.

"It doesn't look that way to me Rhea. Your outburst got you noticed and that's exactly what we didn't want," he said slamming his fist on the table, his body half raised from the table.

All of us jumped at the action and Rhea looked down in shame.

I held her hand, and glared at Poseidon.

"That was uncalled for," I shake my head in disbelief.

"Her life is in danger, the Olympians know of her existence. If she has another outburst like that, the others will know for sure that she isn't Triton's daughter, so don't tell me that it's uncalled for!" he said narrowing his eyes.

"Husband, that's enough!" Amphitrite interjected, "we've already spoken about this, you're upsetting the child."

Triton was clenching his jaw, clearly holding back. And Rhea's jaw was trembling.

"Poseidon, you're scaring her," I told him. He finally looked at her and the fire in his eyes died down.

He sat down, his head hanging in the palm of his hand, "I'm sorry Rhea. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Her lower lip was trembling even worse, "I'm sorry."

"Oh Rhea…I can't expect you to have total control over your emotions, you're just a child and I forget that sometimes, and not only that, you probably inherited my temperament as well," he comes towards us, bending down in front of Rhea. She looks anywhere but at him.

"Rhea look at me", he pleads softly.

She looks at him reluctantly and he says, "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?"

Her eyes widen at his apology as does everyone else's in the room. Clearly this does not happen often.

She nods her head and hugs him.

"You can't have a family dinner without at least some family drama," Clapping her hands together, Amphitrite quips in, lightening the mood.

Without Rhea noticing, I glare at Poseidon in warning, promising pain if he does that again. He shifts in his seat, noticing all of us giving him the stare down besides Rhea who was blissfully eating her dessert.

Poseidon POV

I'm in trouble

I gulp down the rest of my wine, avoiding eye contact with my wife, son and ex-lover.

I would love nothing more than to kill those mortals right now who hurt my child, I'd hunt them down one by one and show them what real power looks like. But one glance at the table around me is enough to subdue me for now.

After dinner Amphitrite went to show Sally around the palace, both giving me warning looks before they left, leaving me alone with Rhea as Triton had to leave to check in with one of the generals on the south-east border about a rogue shark attack on a merman.

"Come on daughter, I want to show you something," I say, thinking of something to do.

Taking her hand in mine, I led us to the harras of hippocampi.

Her eyes widen at the sight, hundreds of hippocampi swimming around.

"Wow," she breathes out, eyes glinting in awe.

"I take it that you like them," I say, nudging her shoulder.

"It's amazing dad. Can I ride one, please?" she asks.

"Maybe tomorrow, we'll show your mother the hippocampi, and then we can all go riding to the edge of Atlantis," I reply.

"Thanks dad."

After ten minutes of walking between the sea horses and petting some of them, I notice that Rhea's yawning more frequently by the minute and leaning more into my side while we walk.

"You seem tired daughter," I state.

"M'fine," she mumbles.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," I pick her up and carry her to her room.

I tuck her in for the first time in years, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Dad?" she calls out.

"Yes Rhea?"

"I'm sorry for earlier."

"Sweetheart, there is nothing to be sorry about. I lost my temper because you got hurt by those worthless mortals. You are my daughter and if any of them try something like that again, they should be expecting a visit from me. I want to protect you from anything that could cause you pain," I reply.

"Oh..uh dad…Please don't hurt anyone. Those kids are just being stupid," she says, trying to convince me not to hurt them.

I smile at her and reply, "Of course princess. I understand."

"Dad, you smile is a little creepy," she comments, raising her eyebrows.

"This is my normal smile."

"uh huh," she says in disbelief.

She doesn't need to know that those bullies have a target on their backs.

Rhea POV

Now I am worried, looking at the crazy smile on my dad's face, I worry for Misty and her crew continuing with their shit…I fear for their lives.