Tell Me You Love Me

Thanksgiving(Onety-Twoty-Four)

Luke's POV

"So, Noah," I said.

"Yes, Luke?" He asked with a quick peck on my lips as we sat on the couch in my living room.

"Well, Thanksgiving is next week, and if you're not going home, then you're invited to our crazy holiday."

"Really?" He asked. He'd gotten to know everyone pretty well since the lake trip, but he's always super excited to see everyone.

"Yeah," I said. "Plus my grandma's gonna be there. And my grandpa and aunt. My dad's side of the family."

"Really?" Noah repeated with an air of nervousness. I nodded.

"What about..." he started, then quieter, "what about your mom's side? You never talk about them."

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Well my mom was never close with them, I guess. She ran away from home when she was seven. But Dad said they reconnected, but I guess Mom was the only connection they really had to my dad and us. They're not like Grandma Sally, she generally loves us and if it was my dad that died, she'd still take in my mom. But I guess mom's side just isn't like that. They just don't care for that relationship much. I've met them a few times, Dad tries to get a visit in at least once a year, but we're not close."

Noah nodded slowly, looking at his hands. "My my grandparents disowned my mom when she got pregnant with me. They didn't approve of her affair with Dionysus. They met him once and thought he was a trashy person and a bad influence."

I silently interlaced our fingers.

"I've just been thinking," I said. "About my parents childhoods and I've realized that they sucked. Like all the seven and everyone else, they had it really tough. And I guess that kind of gets passed down to us a bit."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked me.

"Well Grandma Sally and Grandpa Paul are the best people in the world, but that's her second husband. Dad won't ever talk about it, but Grandma's talked to me about being careful with who I choose to date. She told me about how rotten a person Gabe was and...what he...what he did to her and my dad. So...there's that. Plus mom and her family. And like, did you know that Hazel died when she was thirteen? And then she came back to life some 70 years later? And Leo was practically raised in foster homes cuz his mom died when he was eight. The more you look into it, all the demigods had shitty pasts."

"Whoa," Noah whispered.

"Yeah."

There was a long, tense silence.

"So are you in?" I asked, breaking the silence.

And Noah laughed, breaking the awkwardness. "Yes, I'm in."

"Good," I said, kissing him on the lips.

^*^*^*^

"I'm nervous."

"Why are you nervous?" I asked with a laugh. I was walking Noah over to my house where we were holding Thanksgiving.

"Well I'm going to meet the Grandma Sally."

I laughed. "Yeah. She'll love you, though, you have nothing to worry about."

"And what about your dad's sister?"

"Yeah Estelle's awesome. She's like, 21 now or something. Holy shit. She can drink now. Weird."