Turning Tides | P. Jackson Books 1-5

Who Are You?

"I'm sorry," Ayden backed up. Her mother moved the door seeing the hole she made in the wall.

"Are you serious?" Her mother glared at her. "Ayden! Why would you do this?" She let go of the door and moved for Ayden. The young girl ran to her closet trying to close the door for some place to hide.

"No, Mom, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Ayden's little fingers did their best to keep hold of the small knob, but her mother got her fingers around the edge of the door as she pushed the accordion door back.

"You put a hole in the wall Ayden!" Her mother yelled. Tears started to fall from Aydens' eyes as she tried to shrink back into her clothes. She wanted to disappear.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I said I was sorry! Mommy please!" Ayden screamed as her mother reached in and grabbed her hair tightly making the girl scream. Ayden wanted to fight, but when she moved it was like hot pain shot through her scalp. Her mother pulled her from the closet and grabbed her. She threw Ayden back the little girl flopping on the bed. Her mother searched the little girl's closet.

"Where is it, Ayden?" Her mother snapped. Ayden scooted toward her headboard. She knew exactly what her mother was looking for. "Where's your belt?!" Ayden heard the metal noise as her mother stood up. The belt folded in one of her hands.

"No, I'm sorry," Ayden cried. "I said I was sorry. It was an accident."

"It's never an accident with you Ayden, you always do this." Her mother stared at her. Ayden only saw anger. "You've always been like this I swear, sometimes you are like the spawn of satan. Turn around." The little girl gripped the covers as she hid herself under the covers.

"Ayden! You have three seconds!" Her mother warned. Ayden's little body shook under the covers. Her mother was losing her patience with each millisecond. "One! Two!" Ayden's body tensed as she gripped the covers tightly. "Three!" Ayden let out a scream as the belt cracked down on her body. She was under covers but it barely softened the blows. Once. Twice. Three times. A fourth. Ayden tried to apologize hoping it would get her to stop. She truly hadn't meant to put a hole in the wall. She was stronger than she thought.

The truck shifted making Ayden's head hit Percy's shoulder. She leaned up slowly seeing his face. She looked up and saw half of Grover's body hanging a hole in the roof.

"What is he doing?" She rubbed her eyes.

"He's trying to get me a signal," Annabeth muttered. She moved the crystal back and forth waiting for the prism to catch a light. "There!" Percy helped Ayden up as she moved next to Annabeth.

"Toss the coin," Annabeth told Grover. He moved toward flicking it into the rainbow.

"Oh Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," Annabeth muttered. "Okay, show me camp Half-blood, Chiron." The rainbow shifted to show an orange shirt.

"Luke?" Percy asked. It was a transparent view of Luke's back. He turned around.

"Annabeth, Percy, Ayden, are you alright?" He smiled.

"Yeah, where is Chiron?" Annabeth asked. Luke looked over his shoulder.

"He's holding the camp together with both hands, since a war is going to break out the cabins are taking sides," He offered. "Are you alright? What do you need?"

"We've got our hands full as well, with Alecto on Saturday and Medusa on Sunday."

"Medusa was on Saturday, Ares was on Sunday, and no monsters on Sunday," Ayden corrected Percy. He stared at her for a moment.

"So Medusa on Saturday.

"When did you two become an old married couple?" Cameron laughed as she came into the frame. "Hey Ayden."