LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

II.

ARGUS DROVE THEM out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be in a normal car that wasn't worth thousands of dollars or a limo. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were sitting next to Mia as if they were normal carpoolers.

"So far so good," Percy told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gave him an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way."

Mia let herself snort, staring out the window.

"Remind me again — why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

Annabeth folded her cap of invisibility. "Look . . . we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives."

"Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she'd invented pizza — that I could understand."

"I said, forget it!"

Traffic slowed them down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan, it was sunset and starting to rain.

Argus dropped them at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, close enough to where Mia could see the Starfury skyscraper, towering high in the sky. She ripped her eyes from it.

Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got their bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction Percy was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"

Percy stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told him. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura . . . Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," he said. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy — if that makes you feel any better."

The rain kept coming down. Mia's hair was getting wet. She hated it here.

The others got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Percy wasn't too bad. Mia totally wasn't staring at him.

The game ended when Percy tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, their Hacky Sack disappeared — core, stem, and all.