Favorite : Change for the both of us

Chapter 8

Percy's POV

To be honest, school that week wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. Usually, it takes me weeks to find some sort of friend (and by that, I mean someone who could tolerate me), but with Grover we click instantly. He's awkward, I'm awkward. He's different, I'm different. Both of us are kind of dumb when it comes to things like one-plus-one. Perfect match, eh? I spend breaks and lunches with Grover and we sit together in the morning lesson and we talk a lot. I think my teachers hate me already for it.

As for Luke? Well, he tried to ambush me on the yard the following morning to my first day. He took one look at Poseidon, who I know stayed besides me on purpose, and backed up as casually as possible, his face dropping with disappointment. So rather than beating me up in the morning before school, he had a crack at it during break.

I have to say, I think I owned that fight pretty well. Even if my eye is now bruised. It was more of a tie, because the teacher pried us apart before any more damage could be done. Everyone considers me the winner, however. Luke's nose will probably be crooked for the rest of his life. What a shame.

Poseidon's nephew, Hephaestus, is getting married tomorrow. I'm going with Poseidon to keep him company around his (apparently) unbearable family. I don't know whether or not to look forward to it. I mean, I get to see Hestia. Apparently Poseidon's niece, Thalia, is twelve and his nephew, Nico, is six. Maybe we'll get along. Or maybe not. Judging from my past luck with making friends, probably not. But hey – it makes Poseidon happy that I'm going.

Everything in my life is going fine, I guess. If you exclude annoying school mates and, uh, past memories. I'm actually rather happy...and then the nightmares come back. Since I've been staying at Poseidon's, I've been sleeping all through the night. The main reason for me not to sleep before I met him was because of the nightmares, but I thought I'd escaped them here.

Clearly not. Otherwise I wouldn't be awake right now, covered in cold sweat at two o'clock in the morning; taking in deep, ragged gasps of breath. I blink the gory images of my mom and the looming shapes of her boyfriends out of my eyes. My arms are actually trembling.

"Shit..."Pardon my French, but I really can't manage any more than that.

It takes me about three minutes to get myself out of bed and check the time. I run a shaky hand over my sweaty face, swallowing down bile. I haven't had a nightmare quite this bad in months. Not since mom died. That's what the nightmare was about – my mom's death. Except rather than hanging herself in her prison cell, I'd watched my mom be murdered multiple times by every boyfriend she's ever had, except for Poseidon. And once they'd finished gutting my mom, they'd move on to me, their weapon of choice glinting in their hands with dark red blood, and before I could actually feel the pain of dying, the scene would change into a different boyfriend and murder.

I hurry out of the room.

I linger outside of Poseidon's bedroom for many minutes, trying to summon the courage to open the door. I'm worried he'll shout at me or something if I wake him up. Eventually, I turn the handle and look inside the room, but the bed is empty. Recently vacated, by the looks of it. My heart races – where's Poseidon? Has he left me? He doesn't want me, does he? He lied...

These thoughts race through my mind as I walk down the stairs in a zombie-like state, my stomach churning last night's meal. I swallow it down again and try to control my shivering. I'm not even cold. But the images of my nightmare still loom in my mind.

The moon, I realise. I need the moon.

To my surprise, the patio door is wide open. Poseidon is sat on the bench on the porch outside, overlooking the back yard and the pool, staring up at the glowing white moon which is clearly visible in tonight's cloudless sky. I stare at him for a second, the feeling of abandonment fading. I breathe a silent sigh of relief. He hasn't left me, I'm fine...