Forgot to Say [Percy Jackson and the Olympians Fanfic]

Things I Should Have Told You

She acted like she was young and foolish, like she hadn’t had millennia’s to grow up and all the wisdom she’d cultivated was nonexistent. It was in reverse. Percy, though young in age and mostly inexperienced of the world, was actually much older than her and had learned more of the world than she should have known.

It was a gray existence, and a humbling one, for her now.

She put the clean plate away and glanced around the kitchen. She sighed and decided perhaps she should go vacuum the carpets.

It had been one month, three days, and nine hours since she started to serve Sally and Paul Blofis.

Two months, seven days, and six hours since Percy died.

She had been worn out physically and emotionally, but she felt more empty than anything. Life had become dull and lifeless without Percy, and she was alone and stranded in the mortal world with two mortals who couldn’t be around her. Who couldn’t stand to be around her.

Everything was too loud in her head.

She walked into someone and stumbled back, having been too lost in her thoughts. She looked to see that it had been Paul who she’d bumped into, and his surprised expression morphed into one of extreme distaste.

“Watch where you’re going,” he snapped at her, before going around her and avoiding touching her in any way.

Paul hadn’t been happy at all having her in his home, and hadn’t wanted her anywhere near them or in his home. He hadn’t wanted anything to do with her.

Sally couldn’t look her in the face, but she never said a bad thing to her, even though Athena was at fault for all the pain her son had gone through in the last times of his life. Just like Percy had told her his mom was like, never saying a bad thing against anyone and always so kind and sweet.

The words she so wanted to say to him now –I’msorryPleaseforgivemeYou’rebeautifulIloveyou –were the loudest in her head.

Athena finished quickly in the house and asked Sally for permission to leave the house for awhile. Percy’s mother made a vague notion, and Athena guiltily noted that the woman was pouring intensely over old photo albums, with Percy mainly in them. A sob escaped through Sally’s mouth and Paul quickly appeared, rushing to her side and holding her close in comfort. He murmured soothing things, but neither of them seemed comforted and they stared down at the photos.

Athena rubbed at her eyes furiously and escaped the house.

She aimlessly walked around, eventually ending up walking through the park. She looked around at the colors of spring, and remembered the dark look in Persephone’s eyes as she looked at her the last time. And yet she couldn’t deny the brightness of everything, the wind in her hair, and the laughter around her was so beautiful. Was this what Percy had seen back when he was alive? It’s been so long since she or any of the others would just walk through the mortal world and just enjoy and see things, and she wondered at how a mortal would see everything now, how Percy would have seen this.