Sunburn- phoebus apollo

- iii. grover unexpectedly loses his trousers

RHEA ONLY FELT A LITTLE BAD FOR ditching Grover as they reached the bus terminal. She knew it was rude, but the way Grover was acting really freaked her and Percy out.

When Grover ran to the restroom, Rhea and Percy grabbed their suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.

"East one hundred and Fourth and First Avenue," Rhea and Percy said in sync, and got a gaping look from the driver in return. Don't ask, it's a twin thing.

******

Just a heads up on Rhea's mother before you meet her. Her name is Sally Jackson and to the sea-green eyed girl, she's the best person in the entire world. Unfortunately, the best people in the world have the rottenest luck.

Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school in her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she ever got was meeting Rhea's dad.

The girl didn't have any memories of him. None at all. She sometimes envied her brother for remembering just a little. Still, she never dared ask about her father to her mom, since she would get really sad afterwards.

They weren't married. All she said to her and Percy was that he was rich and important, and that their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey and never came back.

Lost at sea, her mom would say. Not dead. Lost at sea.

She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised Rhea and Percy on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. However, Rhea knew that she and Percy weren't easy to be taken care of.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds the girl knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jackass. When Rhea and Percy were really young, they would call him Smelly Gabe. The truth hurts, doesn't it?

Rhea and her brother walked into their little apartment, hoping mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing pier with his buddies. The television was blaring. Crisps and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar. "So, you're home."

"Where's my mom?" Rhea asked.

"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"

"Do I look like an ATM machine to you?" She sassed back.

He shot me a glare that could kill. "Watch your mouth, kid. Your report card came home, whore!"

Next to her, Percy bristled in anger. He opened his mouth to say something, but clamped his mouth shut when Rhea shot him a look. He grabbed his wad of cash and slammed it on the desk.

"I hope you lose." He snarled before grabbing Rhea's wrist and gently dragging her to their bedroom.

Rhea shut the door and flopped on the bed in exhaustion.

"Rhea? Percy?" The girl's head shot up at the sound of her mother's voice. She opened the bedroom door, and a big smile immediately spread across her face.

"Mom!" She cried, scrambling off the bed and threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly.

"Oh Rhea," she returned the hug just as fiercely. "You grew!"