Phases of the Sea

Chapter 3

Perci POV

The trip mercifully went by rather smoothly, and soon enough the bus was pulling up to the station in Port Angeles. I was thankful that mom had told me what Charlie looked like, otherwise I would have no clue who was picking my up. I did find it amusing that he was police chief though, my entire school record stating that I was a troublemaker, and I'm staying with my police chief cousin. It must have been hilarious when he was getting me enrolled. As I stepped off the bus, I was able to spot him rather quickly, since he as the only person waiting in a police uniform. Grabbing my bags, I walked over to him, ignoring the odd looks.

I guessed that the mortals could sense I was different, despite the Mist. They usually could, though that normally only happened with the gods. I just hoped that Lord Zeus didn't slip godhood in with my immortality just to spite me.

"Charlie?" I asked, just to be sure as I stopped in front of the uniformed man, who had short brown hair, brown eyes, and a mustache that looked like a caterpillar on his upper lip.

"That's me. You've grown up beautifully, Perci." He said, tired eyes giving me a warm smile. I smiled back shyly, hiking my purse up on my shoulder.

"Thank you. Shall we go then?" I asked, gesturing towards the parking lot, where I could see a police cruiser.

"Oh, yeah. Here, let me grab your bags." He said, reaching out to take the suitcase and duffle bag from me.

"Thanks." I replied somewhat awkwardly, though I handed over the bags willingly enough. I followed him over to the cruiser in the parking lot, unable to hold back my amusement as I got in, even though I was riding shotgun. Mercifully soon, we were pulling onto the highway, heading down to Forks.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you afraid to fly?" He asked after a few minutes. I looked over at him, and gave an amused chuckle, finding the awkward small talk kind of funny.

"Me, and two friends of mine ended up getting kidnapped, and mom went missing when I was twelve. We ended up in California, and we flew back after getting away from our captor. The flight had so much turbulence, that it made me terrified to fly. I've pretty much got a phobia now, so I travel by land or sea." I told him, sticking with the story about my first quest that the Mist had given the public. After a second, he snapped hi fingers, a look of recognition lighting his eyes,.

"That's right, I remember that. I was worried sick about you and your mom. I nearly flew out to New York myself just to come check on the two of you, but I got a call from Sally telling me not to, and that you were both fine." He said, and I winced inwardly. I barely remembered Charlie, so I hadn't even thought about how the story would look to him. I never even asked Annabeth what her dad and step-mom thought of it.

"I guess it's nice to know someone was worried about me." I said softly, though due to the close quarters, he heard me.

"Oh, yeah. You bet, kiddo. I followed the story the entire time, starting with the bus explosion." He said, and that time I did wince.

"That was just rotten luck, actually. Lightning struck the bus, causing the explosion. Annabeth, Grover and I used the distraction to try to get away, but our captor caught up with us and just kept dragging us west." I said, earning a small chuckled from him at how adamant my voice was.

"Do I even want to know about the St. Louis Arch then?" He asked, and I winced again.

"No, probably not. Some things are just better being left buried, and that is definitely one of them." I said firmly, and his chuckle turned into a laugh.

"Fair enough. Regardless, I'm just glad you got away safely." He said, sparing me a quick glance to convey the sincerity of his statement. I blushed slightly at the utter honesty I saw in his eyes, not used to having mortals beyond my mom and Paul worry for me.

"Me too." I quietly, unable to think of anything else, and the ride continued on in comfortable silence until we pulled into Forks limits. That was when he started pointing things out to me, showing me where they were, and telling me how far it was from the house. He pointed out the hell that was known as school, and informed me that I was due to start tomorrow, and that he would have a car for me to drive myself there by the weekend. He pointed out the grocery store, and the sporting goods store where his daughter Bella worked. A few minutes later, we were pulling up outside a white two story on the edge of the woods with a rust red truck from the 50's in front of it.

"The truck is Bella's. Hopefully she'll snap out of it enough to realize you're here by tomorrow, otherwise ill have to give you a lift up to the school. If not, she'll be the one to do so until we get your car. I've talked to the coach up at the school though, and you're able to try out for the swim team if you'd like. Sally said you loved it, so I asked if there were any openings. I'll also be taking you to La Push this weekend. It's where your car is coming from, so we'll be picking it up, but there's a beach there too, if you'd like to take a swim there." He said as we got out and grabbed my bags.

At hearing the word 'beach' though, I all but launched myself at him, hugging him tightly. While I was upset about my immortality, I would never deny my love of my father's domain. A chance to go swimming at the beach would be perfect.

"Thank you." I told him; my voice thick with gratitude for all he was doing to make my stay enjoyable.

"You're welcome." He replied, sounding mildly confused, though he returned the hug easily enough. After a second, he cleared his throat and pulled back, grabbing my bags again and leading me into the house. He showed me around the main floor real quick, showing me the kitchen, living room, and a quick tour upstairs, showing me where his room was, and Bella's. I was slightly freaked out by the way the girl in question was just sitting in a rocking chair, staring out the window. She didn't even twitch when Charlie introduced me to her, and I was strongly reminded of the oracle before she change to Rachel.

After showing me the upstairs, he took me down to the basement which had a door at the bottom of the stairs that was opened straight into a large bedroom, that smelled of fresh paint, which was likely due to the blue color on the walls, that had sandy brown carpet, making it look like a beach. There was a door to the left that was partially open, revealing a bathroom, and another door to the left that likely led to the closet. A small window was mounted high in the wall that the queen sized bed was against, showing the backyard/forest behind the house.

The sheets on the bed were covered in starfish and dolphins, and I couldn't have stopped the wide grin that graced my features even if I wanted to. It was like an under the sea bedroom, or the closest thing to it without actually being under the sea.

"Do you like it?" Charlie's voice asked, breaking through my awe.

"Like it? Charlie, I love it! Thank you, so much!" I exclaimed, hugging him tightly again. Stammering an embarrassed 'you're welcome', he returned the hug before heading back upstairs, shutting the door behind him. Turning back to face my new room, I gave a slightly happy sigh. I think I'm gonna like it here.