A god in disguise

4

I ditched Grover as soon as I can.

:)

"BEAN DIP!"

I looked worriedly at mom. She sighed and walked into the kitchen. I fumbled with my things, quickly packing some clothes for a one-night stay and hauling them over my shoulder.

After wishing I could kick Gabe the Stinker in the face for the millionth time, I slammed the car door shut and told mom to hit the gas.

Then, we drove to Montauk.

"Percy, your father is a great man," Sally told me. She's not technically my mom, but she might as well be. My real mom, Gaea, was probably less of a mother figure and more of the sleeping beauty (read: hag) type that doesn't bother with her children more than her air-head of a husband other than try to kill them.

"Is? He was lost at sea," I said.

"Yes." Her gaze turned wistful. She was looking at the setting sky that has been tainted pink. The sea reflected the pink hue and it was impossible to see where the sea ended and the sky began. The lulling, constant crash of the waves against the shore making an unsung melody only it can hear. Our fire flickered when a slight breeze came and burned steadily again.

Sally took a deep breath before continuing. "He was wonderful. An important man at that who promised me many things, but you know how I am—if my life is going to mean anything, I want to earn it and live it myself. I turned him down, but that didn't stop us. That was when we had you, my little dolphin. You look just like him.

"He is a special man. So are you, my dear. Percy... you are destined for great things."

My brows furrowed. "The only thing I'm destined for is detention."

"Percy... We'll find a new place for you."

I stood up. I tried everything to be a good kid, but trouble seems to find me. And now mom has to go through so much trouble about it. "Okay. But I'm sorry I let you down."

She stood up and joined me by the water. She wrapped her arms around my shoulder, and her lips curved into a wobbly but warm smile. "No! But he did mention somewhere you have to go..." She sniffed, and I wrapped my arms around mom's, encouraging her to continue. "It's a summer camp, where you people like you train and live there. You will be safe there, but I... I can't let you go!" Sally sobbed broken-heartedly.

I hummed, rubbing circles on the back to calm her down. Looking out to the sea, I thought I saw a man floating on the water and looking sadly at us, but he was gone as soon as I blinked.

After calming down, Sally took a shaky laugh. "I see you're taking this pretty well, Percy."

"Well, this isn't the weirdest thing that has happened to me, right? Weird things have been happening since I was young. If you didn't say anything then that would be weird." I say. Then I frowned. "Wait."

Sally laughed again, this time more genuine. "Thank you, Percy. I love you."

I smiled at her. "I love you too, mom."

The ocean seemed to hum and glow that night.