the Summer House

1 - When I Was Fourteen

Annabeth Chase

I couldn't help it.

I was excited.

"Finally," I whispered, jumping out of my dad's car, pushing past my parents. It was a safe haven.

Too bad I could only come in the summer.

And too bad I had to run all the way back to ask my dad for the keys to the house.

* * *

The house the amazing. It was two floors, with three bedrooms. I got the one with the window overlooking the forest. My mom, Athena, thought it was weird that I perfered looking at the forest rather than the distant beach.

My summer room looked like it was from a movie. The bed had an old flowery bedspread, and the closet had dresses and clothes from years and years. Some from last year could still fit. I could hear my brothers in the other room, arguing over who got the bottom bunk.

Unlike most people, my brothers loved the bottom bunk. You could hang a thin bedspread to create a cool tent. The person on top didn't get that privilege.

"Annabeth?" Mom tapped on the side of my door.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"The weather's great. You should go out."

"Yeah, I'll be out in a moment."

Percy Jackson

The water felt cold compared to the hot sand. I didn't mind. I never minded the water. I hugged my scrawny body to keep from getting too sunburned. My skin wasn't the greatest.

"Percy!" someone called. I looked behind me towards the sand. Grover Underwood, my best friend, was smiling at me. He couldn't go into the water because he was on cruches. Long and painful story.

"What?" I asked.

"Is your mom making enchiladas tonight?"

"Ugh, Grover. She will if you're coming to dinner."

"I know," Grover grinned. The smile faded from his lips, replaced by a look of curiosity. "Who's that?"

I looked to where his eyes narrowed. A blonde was walking along the shore. She was wearing a dark blue bathing suit, and she walked around as if she knew this place by heart.

Well I knew it better.

I lived in a house a mile from the beach. During the summers, I visited my dad, who lived in Florida. It was a long way from the coasts of Virginia. This summer, I stayed here. I didn't want to see my dad.

He'd just married a new woman. Her name was too weird to pronounce, and she wasn't nearly as pretty as my mom. I didn't want to see her. I didn't want to face my dad.

"Hey!" Grover called the girl over. She turned her head from the shores to us, walking over cautiously. She looked to be around my age. And she looked pretty.

"Do I know you?" She asked, looking us over. One hand was on her hip.

"Well you should! I'm Grover," he said, smiling widely. His pale skin was red in the sunlight. Almost as red as his hair.

"I'm Annabeth, Annabeth Chase. And you are?" She looked over at me. I swallowed.
"I'm Percy Jackson."