The Legend of Elodie Grant (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

"Hey, hot stuff."

I looked up at the sleezy man, my eyes narrowing. He was easily twice my age and clearly not here to buy his wife roses.

"Kiss my ass." I snarled, standing upright, abandoning my book on the counter.

"Gladly." He smirked, giving me what I was sure he thought was a seductive grin.

I gave him a dry look, raising an eyebrow. Finally I said, "Go away."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but my glare had him hurrying away. I rolled my eyes, turning to go back to my book, only to meet the disapproving glance of Dean, my manager.

I sighed, closing my book. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he cut me off with a sharp look.

"You know we need to have you be nice to the customers." He admonished.

"He was a sleeze!" I protested.

"I know, I know. But you need to make the customer feel like he wants to come back."

"We don't need guys like him!"

He sighed, moving his hand up to rub his eyes. I didn't regret being rude to the customer, but I knew Dean was stressed. The shop was quickly losing money and he didn't need me chasing off customers.

"I'm sorry." I told him, hoping to comfort him in some way.

"I know." He said, "How about you go bring up the roses from the back? Take a break and cool down."

I wanted to argue, but only nodded. I brushed past him and left out the back door, heading for the greenhouse. I was so angry. I couldn't believe I had been punished for defending myself! Admittedly, I could have done it with more tact, but I couldn't find it within myself to regret anything I had done.

I slammed open the sliding door of the greenhouse, fueled by my anger. Dean had planned on me calming down, but the farther I got away from the shop, the angrier I became.

I let out a frustrated groan and moved further into the room, making my way past the daisies, the lilacs, and the lilies. Finally I reached the roses, taking a moment to try and get under control.

As I stood there, staring at the roses with my fists clenched, I could hear this low, rumbling noise. I froze, unsure of what it could be. We didn't hold machinery in the greenhouse, so there was no explanation.

I slowly reached out to grab the spade that was resting on the table next to the roses. I made sure not to make any sudden movements.

I heard it again, and this time I could identify the sound. It was a growl.

I tightened my grip on the spade, turning around slowly to investigate. I froze when I was completely turned around, icy fear and adrenaline flooding my veins.

I was face to face with the biggest ass dog I had ever seen.

It was huge, black, and had these glowing red eyes. I knew immediately that this was no ordinary house pet. Neither one of us moved. I was imobolized by fear and it was stalking it's prey, other wise known as: Me.

Suddenly, I bolted, dodging to the left. At the same time, the beast lunged at me. I closed my eyes tightly and flung my hand out as if that would somehow save me. I felt this pull in my gut and heard the hound whimper, but I didn't look back.

I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding wildly. We were in the middle of Manhatten, for goodness sake. I neared the exit and I picked up my pace, my legs pumping wildly.

Finally I reached the door, bursting through into the open air...only to ram straight into a girl with wild hair and a limp.

We both reeled backwards, stunned at the sudden impact. The girl recovered faster than I did and grabbed my arm, shouting, "Come with me!"

I was in complete shock. I didn't know what to do, so I let the girl drag me past the small shop and into the street. She was faster than she appeared, despite the limp, so she managed to dodge the car we almost ran into as it drove by.

She pulled me to the side and let me rest for a minute as she tried to hail a cab. However, she was obviously not used to such an action and I had to stand up and whistle loudly in order to get a cab to pull over.

When the car arrived, she shoved me into the back and climbed in after me, slamming the door shut. She leaned forward, telling the driver my address.

I was too surprised to bother asking how she knew where I lived.

I bent over my knees, breathing deeply. I struggled to get my emotions under control. Finally I sat up, turning to look at the girl next to me.

"So, what's your name?" I asked, trying to put a sense of normalcy into this whole situation.

"That's what you're asking?!" She exclaimed, turning to look at me as if I was one step away from being committed to the nearest mental hospital.

Who knows? Maybe I was.

"Look, I could ask about the giant dog, or how I'm pretty sure I saw a boy with a hoof as a foot yesterday, or maybe I could ask about how you -- a girl I have never once seen in my life -- somehow knows where I live and probably my name, but I don't see how any of that can be answered in the length of this cab ride. So," I paused to take in a deep breath, "What is your damn name?"

She looked at me in surprise and finally muttered, "Brooke."

I sighed, relaxing back into the seat, and said, "I'm Elodie. But I'm sure you already knew that."

She didn't deny it.

Finally, the cab arrived outside of my apartment building. Brooke climbed out first, waiting until I was out before slamming the door shut.

Brooke led the way to my apartment and, once again, I didn't bother asking how she knew. When we reached my floor, she finally let me take the lead.

I opened the door, calling out for Dad. He apparently heard the tone in my voice, because he immediately appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, his hands caked with dirt.

"What's wro--" He began to ask, but he froze when he saw the girl next to me.

Brooke was watching him, her eyes cautious.

"No." He finally whispered, looking like he was broken.

"Dad?" I asked, but he ignored me.

"You can't take her! It's too soon!"