Shoot an Arrow Through His Heart

The di Angelos Present: Thanksgiving From Hell

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Thanksgiving dinner.

BEGINNING NOTES

As usual, I suck at posting on time, but at least I'm posting??????

There's a mention of suicide in this--no one does or attempts anything, but it is mentioned.

Starts out as Bianca's POV, because that isn't super clear at the beginning.

And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

Who's going to talk about Thanksgiving from Hell?

Oh fuck, I'm not doing that. I've spent the last two years trying to block that from my memory. I'm not undoing all that work for you, nuh-uh.

Do you want to leave the room?

Nah, just get on with it. It's getting pretty late, even for me. I think let's get to New Year's then finish up tomorrow. I'm not in the mood to pull an all-nighter.

Fair enough. Ladies and gentlemen... Thanksgiving from hell!

Wednesday afternoon, Percy, Will, and I helped Sally cook Thanksgiving dinner. Because we had Will's extra set of hands, we got through more than we usually did. I let Sally and Percy head out a bit early as a thank you; we had plenty of leftovers for dinner. Will stayed for dinner, then Jules-Albert took him home.

I didn't see Nico or Hazel at all. I decided to check on them. Nico was lying in his bed smoking a cigarette and listening to some alt rock that he blasted so loud I couldn't hear myself think. He was in a mood, like usual. I didn't bother to scold him about the cigarette; I knew he wouldn't listen to me, and, honestly, I was just happy I didn't smell any alcohol. I laid the food on his nightstand, kissed him on the cheek, and told him to get some rest.

I went to Hazel next. She was lying on her bed too, on her back, staring up at the ceiling with dead eyes. One hand was on her phone resting on her stomach. I did the same thing for her that I did for Nico. She smiled at me and said, "Thank you," but wouldn't tell me what's wrong. I didn't push. She'd come to me when she was ready.

I woke up early on Thanksgiving to help Sally finish up the food.

I heard someone humming as I came into the kitchen. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. "You got here early," I said.

"I do live here." It was Persephone.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were Sally," I said. "Aren't you normally out of the house by now?"

"I don't have to work on Thanksgiving," she reminded me, "and I wanted to make sure everything was ready for my mother. She's a vegan, so she needs something special." Persephone hummed, amused. "She'll throw a fit if things don't go her way. I love her, but she's a handful. Always has been."

I laughed. "I forgot--you used to make Thanksgiving dinner for yourself."

"It's easier when it was just the three of us," Persephone said. "Hazel would try to help, but that girl works so hard, school, helping us with the gardening. I needed to let her have at least one day off. Besides, your father's busy with the Board of Ed organizing that scholarship, and it's awfully boring to listen to him talk about it."

I laughed. "Yeah, the Olympus Scholarship is his baby." It took me a moment to work up the courage, but then I asked Persephone, "Can I ask a rude question?"She nodded. "Hazel's told me how poor you guys were. Why'd you decide to adopt her? Not that-- just--"