Daniel-
"You're moving?" Lyza asked after Percy told us the news.
"Yeah." Percy told us the three of us. "Back to New York. In about a month."
Suddenly Karyan got this really guilty look on her face.
"What?" I dared to ask Karyan.
"I'm..." She started. "While were announcing it. I'm going back to DC. Next year."
So that leaves Lyza and myself.
Karyan had to leave and we asked Percy why.
"I love it here, I do." Percy told us. "But my family, the camp, the gods, my childhood. That's all there. I'll still be coming here a few times a year I hope at least. There's always IM, video chatting, we have phones. If I'll be there permanently, I don't know. I'm only 25."
That last month we had one helluva time all together. But the first of July came and he was gone.
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Percy-
Being back in the city was... Weird. The last few years everyone came to Minnesota because they've never been there before. Well Paul has. But that's about it. He was for a few hours waiting for a plane. In a airport. Never left the airport.
Paul has a few kids. He was divorced before he married my mom just like my mom was. But he never heard of Gabe. He'd flip if we ever told him.
I've actually never met Paul's kids. Any of them. There's a set of twins and then an older one. The oldest one is 19, she just graduated high school. The twins are 16. Paul had gotten divorced when the twins were 4. For holidays they're with their mom so that's why I haven't met them. Moved in with Paul 4 years ago. Haven't been home since then. The kids names are Zariach, Perseus (and named after Perseus. Which is just weird. And there was a mix up so they have the last name of Jackson. So that was nice.) Which were the twins and then Adalade.
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Adalade-
"Oh, yeah." I said as I walked home from my last day of school. "I forgot. I can't Saturday. My step brother has something... I dont know."
"You have a step brother?" Emalie asked me. She's my girlfriend. And girlfriend in that way. We've been dating since about last year. We came out to her family, not mine. Yet. This summer.
"Apparently." I told her. "I've never actually met him. He's in college or something."
"So he's older." She said.
"Yeah." I said. "Must live with his dad, too."
It was Thursday here in New York.
We get to my place and Dad was there. Sally was working. Perseus and Zariach were still at school.
Sally got home five minutes later. She's really nice. I like her as a mom. We used to live here in the summer after they got married aside the summer after they got married, of 2009. Four years ago we fully moved in.
I thought it was Saturday we were going to meet my step brother.
Nope.
Today.
"When are we going?" I asked Dad.
"As soon as your brothers get home." He told me.
So Saturday was free again.
The family invited Emalie to come with and help which was really nice. It was like a 20 minute car ride to get to my step brothers which was a nice place. Empty. But nice size.
We made him guess who was who.
"Adalade." My step brother points at me, then Emalie. "You're not related." Then to Zariach. "Zariach and Percy...?"
"Perseus." Perseus hates being called Percy. "Not Percy. I hate being called Percy."
"Works for me." He said.
"Remember that." He told our step brother.
"I will, don't worry." He tells us.
Dad and Sally leave. Sally had word, Dad had a meeting. So it's just us. And I realize something
"I never caught your name." Emalie told our step brother.
"Oh, yeah, sorry." By the way, he's like 25 or something around there. Fucking old. "Perseus Jackson. But I'm called Percy."
"That won't get confusing." I comment. "Fuck."
"Wait, did you live with your dad?" Zariach asked him.
"No." Percy answers.
"Then how come we never met you?" Perseus asked. "We lived at our dads house in the summers after they got married. Moved in fully four years ago."
"Left for college four years ago." He tells us. "And I didn't live with my dad ever. Never happened. Shed know what I'm talking about."
He motions to Emalie and everyone here but Percy knows. As in family I mean we haven't told my parents yet and I knew Emalie's dad was Ares. I have known.
"Wha...?" She started to ask and she stopped to think. "Percy Jackson... Fucking hell."
"What?" Perseus asked.
"I might've exposed the gods go a few people..." She said. "Like everyone here."
Emalie was expecting a punishment.
"Half of the world knows by now." Percy told her. "No bigee."
Percy turned out to be a really fun guy. I was glad we went there today. It was a blast.
A few weeks later we celebrated the twins birthday and three days later was Sally's birthday.
Perseus has always wanted to learn to fight with blades. He knows guns, bow and arrow, nunchucks.
So Percy got him a sword.
A real, legit sword. Made out of a weird metal that can't harm us, only children of gods and monsters and gods and of the like. It seemed really cool. Wish Mom would've done stuff like that.
We spent our first holiday at our Dads in like 12 years. Mom just couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't afford kids anymore. Dad had the full custody now. We could see her. But... Yeah.
Divorced parents suck. Having them divorced sucks. They dont suck. The divorce does.
They always argued. Always. College sweethearts. It was perfect until the twins were 2. Which it wasn't their fault when Dad went in for stitches because Mom got too violent with him.
My mother has anxiety, used to have schizophrenia, and when she realized her and Dad were divorced she got really depressed. She hasn't looked at anyone like she did with Dad. Hasn't dated, flirted. Nothing. Once. But she was wasted and didn't know what she was doing. She doesn't really drink, but when she did she got a guys number and never contacted him.
After everyone left I went to Percy's for the weekend. Whatever. Perseus and Zariach came, too. Sibling thing.
And of course Percy isn't Christian but he didn't seem to into Christmas. He hasn't gotten us anything compared to Dad or Sally until we got there. Dad and Sally drove the twins there, Percy and me went in the same car. We pull up to the house, say goodbye, go in the house.
Where our mom was.
