The Good and The Bad ~ Percabeth

fifty three

[unedited]

p.j.

My dreams are troubling.

The first one finds me at Olympus. It's still under construction, teeming with cyclopses and harpies. I'm walking towards my dad's throne. He and Zeus are arguing. That isn't what troubles me; they fight all the time. What alarms me is what they're talking about.

"They don't belong to anyone!" Zeus bellows.

"Well, they have to. Someone has to claim them." My dad, dressed in board shorts and a swim shirt, picks at his finger nails, seeming bored. His eyes, though, say otherwise.

"They're not demigods," Zeus insists.

"Technically speaking, yes they are."

Zeus shakes his fist, a storm cloud billowing out from under his feet. "They're unpredictable. They need to be eradicated."

"You know how I feel about unnecessary violence, brother," Poseidon begs. "We've coexisted with them for thousands of years. We can manage them."

"They're getting more powerful." Zeus reminds him.

"We can at least alert the camps before we act. They need to know what's going on."

"I don't want to talk anymore!" Zeus' voice echoes through the throne room. "I've had it! That species must go."

The dream shifts. I'm in a pitch black room. I immediately panic. I'm laying down. My hands touch something beside me, a warm body, and I cry out. Immediately, a child's sobs echo through the room. The body beside me moves and flicks on a light switch. "I'll get him."

Annabeth rubs her eyes and stretches her arms but it's not Annabeth. She's old. Don't get me wrong, she's still hot, but she looks like a 25 year old lady. She walks over to her side of the bed to the source of the crying and pulls out a baby. She hugs him to her chest and kisses his head. I look around the room at hung up pictures and boxes of baby wipes and realize that this is our house and this is our child.

She walks over to the bed and slides in, nestling herself in my arms. She leans up and kisses me softly, holding the baby close. I lift my hand to his toes and little legs, and even though I know this is a dream, he feels so real. I've just met him and I know that I love him more than anything. He looks up at me with big grey eyes, shaded by a thick set of lashes much like my own and I know that I'm his dad and it's the greatest thing I will ever be.

The peacefulness would never have ended if it had been up to me, but I'm not in charge.

The dream changes again.

It's dark and rainy. Lightning strikes dangerously close to this house. Annabeth runs outside, tears streaming down her face. She's even older now. A man follows her, and I almost don't recognize myself. My hair is a bit longer and I have a neatly groomed beard. Good to know that in the future, I can grow proper facial hair.

Not important right now.

Dad Percy grabs Annabeth's cheeks, and she tries to pull away from him. "Listen to me," he says, voice catching. "You have to go. Take them. I'll take their clothes and throw off the scent. Drive as fast as you can and don't come back. They'll never be safe if he knows where they are."

"Come with me, Percy, please," she begs. I've seen Annabeth in pain before, but this is different. Her world is ending, and there's nothing I can do but watch. "We can run away together."

"You know why we can't do that," Dad Percy insists, wiping away her tears. It's no use; she keeps crying and the rain is still pouring. "I love you, Annabeth, for all the good it does and will ever do. We'll figure it out like we always have. I just need you to take them and go now."

"They need their dad and I need my husband," she whispers. I feel sick watching this. "Please."

"They're in the car. They're sleeping. You can be in another state by the time they wake up. I love you always."

"And longer," she sniffles. They kiss for a long time, which shouldnt make me uncomfortable, but it somehow does. I know it's me, but I really don't like watching Annabeth kiss another dude, no matter how handsome he is.

Annabeth runs to the garage and I watch a vehicle streak out of the driveway. As soon as it's out of sight, Dad Percy sits down on the steps and starts to cry. It's a big, ugly, emotional cry. His hair drips and his clothes soak. He doesn't try and stop it.

I want to run to him and ask him how we can help keep his kids safe. I cant, and I feel like throwing up. This is normally when I would wake up from a dream, but this isn't a normal sleep, so I stare into a black abyss, gut wrenching and eyes burning with hot, broken-hearted tears.

- - - - - - - - - -

Wowie, you're all so dang supportive, I can't even handle it! I love to write more than anything and getting positive feedback from my readers makes me so happy. I was planning on waiting a week to put this out, as I often do, but I was rereading all of your old comments and I genuinely can't get over how supportive you all are, so I want to give you a bit more. 

Also, if I took a shot every time you guys got mad at me for ending chapters with cliffhangers, I would be in the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Sorry!

I keep saying I'm going to wrap up this book, which I am, but I'm kind of dragging it out. I don't want it to be over! It's been almost a year since I started and I thank you all for hanging out with me. This is a bit of a shorter update, but I hope you love it all the same.

I hope you're all keeping well. My heart is with my American friends right now; these are scary times and I want you to know that I'm here for all of you and I'm doing what I can from my side of the border to support our marginalized communities. It's hard to see when we're all so far away, but we are here for you. We are your allies. We will not stop donating, sharing, and protesting until justice is served for the innocent victims of such hateful violence. 

I love you so much.

Thank the gods for everything in your life that brings you happiness.

Love, tumblingupwards