Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

14. More assassination attempts on my life

I was walking dazed towards the elevators simply from the amount of time I spent in my father's company. If anyone were to look upon me, it might have seemed that I was drunk. As I stumbled along the marble pathway, my mind reeled as it replayed the events from the somewhat tense conversation I had with Poseidon.

He had brought me into his palace on Olympus and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. It wasn't every day that a god would invite a mortal to their palace on Olympus and even though I had nothing to be nervous about, my body didn't respond well to me being with a powerful god alone in a giant palace. 

I had told my dad everything that happened reluctantly, even though he had sworn on the Styx to never mention it to anyone else. It was unnerving, to say the least. He asked about who I really am, where I came from and most importantly, how I came here. I answered all of the questions to the best of my ability but for whatever reason, I couldn't say who sent me back. It was as if the Fates themselves wanted nothing to do with my situation.

What a bunch of old hags. I hate them more than I hate the Furies.

I hadn't told Poseidon everything. I held some things back because I felt that it was better if he didn't know. Thankfully, he understood and didn't push me to tell him. 

The elevator doors closed silently. I barely even noticed the elevator going down. I reached the lobby of the Empire State Building surprisingly quickly considering I was on the 600th floor. Without even looking at anyone else present, I walked out the grand doors and onto the sidewalk.

I called a cab as quick as I possibly could, eager to return to my mum's apartment. Like the past few times I had used a cab, I didn't even attempt to start a conversation with the driver. Fortunately, I had the type of cab driver that tried to stay as quiet as possible and to have as little interaction with his client as possible. I was thankful for that.

Silence engulfed me the whole trip. For some reason, I found it comforting. Maybe it was because of the constant feeling of war in the air that kept whispering to my consciousness before I travelled back. The noise of my paranoia and constant dreams made sure that I never experienced proper silence. And only recently have the screams of my friends plagued my mind. 

The sound of crashing metal. A dragon's hiss. Explosions. The godsdamned screams.

For whatever reason, the sounds in my mind had simmered down to a low hum. I wasn't sure what the cause of it was but I was extremely thankful. Not hearing the noises in my head was calming.

A smile crept onto my face when my mum's apartment came into view. Even though her old apartment brought back bad memories, just seeing her again made up for it a thousand times over.

I handed the cab driver some change and hopped out of the vehicle before making my way into the apartment complex. I gravitated towards the door to my mum's apartment, as if I could already sense her presence. My finger pushed down on the doorbell as soon as it came within reach.

The door swung open just as fast. My mother stood in the doorway, the worry and weariness left her face right in front of me. I was quickly embraced in a bone-crushing hug. 

'Percy!' she exclaimed in both joy and relief. 'Oh, thank goodness! Oh, my baby!'

I melted into the hug, burying my face into her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around my mother as her hands ran through my messy hair. I can't deny that I was crying, overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of my mother.

She was okay. Hades returned her even after what I said to him.

My mum was telling me all about how she just appeared in the apartment in the morning but I wasn't paying attention to it. I was just happy that my mum was here with me.