I LOVE YOU SO || PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS¹

12.

"I DON'T REALLY KNOW.."

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Staring at her Dad awkwardly, he doesn't say anything, he just stares back at her with an oddly blank look on his face. Was she in trouble? Or was she about to get murdered? Licking her lips, he still does say anything, not a single word or a single sound. It's unnerving. Biting her tongue, she doesn't want to speak up in fear of him telling her to stay quiet a little longer.

Shutting his eyes for a second, she watches with tense shoulders, her mind screaming over and over. Telling her something was wrong. Letting out a small sigh, he pulls out a small book from under the table. It's packed to the brim with stuff. Eyeing the book with narrowed eyes, she glances back at her Dad, watching as his face pales at the sight of the book.

"I want to talk to you about your Mother. Just me and you, no Dr Gibson. No one, but me and you. Can we do that?" He asks, his voice wavering.

"Dr Gibson said talking about Mom shouldn't hurt or be forced out, that it should be natural. That it's something you want to do, not something you feel like you have to do." Natasha argues, "I agree with her, Dad."

"It's been fourteen years, Natasha. I should've peeled the bandage off a lot sooner. I'll talk if you want me too." He argues, sighing.

"Fine.."

Eyeing the book carefully, she looks back up at her Dad, his eyes brimming with tears. Fuck. Fuck. Tensing up at the sight of his tears, he opens up the book with a deep breath. Flipping through the pages, he sucked on the inside of his cheek, his bottom lip trembling. And she fears for a second, he'd break down crying. Stopping on one page, he stares at the page for what feels like hours. His eyes glazed over, his lips slowly curling up into a trembling smile.

Her heart picks up at all of the possible things that could be in the picture. Was it a group photo? Was it a picture of her? Of the both of them? Picking up a photo from the page, he takes a deep breath in before placing it down on the table in front of her. Her eyes follow it down. Digging her nails into the palm of her hand, she tries really hard to not seem too desperate, but it was really hard. She wanted to see it.

"I was twenty four, I had finished an internship at some start up company. I won a company paid vacation, and I went to California. I did all the tourist things you do. Sightseeing, going shopping, and going to a concert." He explains, pushing the picture forward.

"California? That's where you met Mom? I thought you met her in New York." Natasha questions, raising a brow.

"No, California, that's where I met your Mother. At some concert of some band, I can't remember, even if I tried." He explains, "She said her name was Nia Addams. Of course, that's the mortal name she went by at the time."

Licking her lips, she makes a mental note of the name, trying to engrave it into the tiniest parts of her brain. Nia Addams. Her Mom's name is Nia Addams. Nodding her head, she picks up the picture from the table, a churning feeling in her gut. What did she look like? Was she pretty? Did she have the same nose as her? Staring at it with narrowed eyes, she searched the blurred face of the woman next to her father.

It's a crappy old black and white photo booth roll. So she can't make out her features exactly, but she can see the blurred areas of where her eyes and nose are. A small smile grows on her face at the sight of her Mom. She's blurry, but she's pretty. Flipping the picture to the back, there was a scribbled quote written on it, 'I loved you as Icarus loved the sun. Too close, too much.'  It wasn't her father's writing. It was her Mom's.

"Nia Addams. Nia Addams." She repeats, "Is her fake name connected to her goddess name? Or was it just random?"

"I don't know. When she mentioned being a goddess, she didn't really give names of who she was. I just knew her as Nia.." He sighs, looking down at the book.

"Can you..Can you tell me more about her? What was she like?" She questions, placing the photo down on the table.

"She was funny, and beautiful. She adored my big dorky glasses and terrible flirting skills." He laughs, pulling out another picture from the book.

Holding the photo out for her to take, she snatches it out of his hand, instantly latching onto the photo. It's of the two of them at the beach, the distant image of the pier in the background. Smiling bright at the clearer picture, her mom is sporting a bright pink bathing suit. Her dad was wearing a ridiculous seahorse arm floatie and Hawaiian swim trunks. Tracing the picture with her finger, she could only imagine what it was like being there, with her Mom.

"What else?" She questions, "What did she do?"

"She was working at some witch store, it's out of business now. But, they sold crystals and things that could talk to the dead. It gave me the heebie jeebies." He chuckles, "They had this creepy mannequin that they would keep by the door. The amount of times I screamed seeing it."

"A witch store? In California? Mom was working at a witch store?"

"Yeah, but I stayed there for a few weeks. Then I left for New York, and she followed me. Told me she didn't want to leave me." He explains, "The strangest thing happened though. She changed her hair and everything, but I don't think that's a big deal. That's just a normal woman thing, I think."

Brushing off the strange comment from her Dad, she flips the photo to the back, spotting a quote on it. Just like that last photo. It says, 'Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another thousand, then a hundred.'  The smile on her face grows at the sight of the writing. Her Mom really loved her Dad. They were happy together.

Handing her another photo, she snatched it up, glaring down all of the small details in it. Trying to memorize everything about her Mom in her brain. From the way she parts her hair to the way she smiles. She may never get to see these pictures ever again. Flipping the photo to the back, there is another quote, 'I love thee with a love that shall not die, till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old.'  That was Shakespeare.

"I was twenty seven when you were born and I was scared. Your mom and I were together for three years at that point. And suddenly, I was all alone." He explains, clearing his throat. "I know that I may not be the best at times. That I'm not the best at being a Mom. But, I hope that with Dr Gibson and anything else you may need. I will be enough for you."

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And I am done with the chapter! Stay safe out there guys!

I hope you all are doing okay emotionally and physically! I love you all!

I hope that you are enjoying the book so far! A quick reminder to comment below about the story of what you think so far.