Favorite : Change for the both of us

Chapter 19

Remember that 'argument' of sorts I had with Poseidon and he swore that he would get Hugh jailed for a reason totally not related to my past? Yeah, well, it looks like Poseidon's been busy. Yesterday morning, I saw in an article in the newspaper: Man Arrested For Illegal Activities. Beneath the headline is a picture of Hugh, stating that he'd been grassed up by many sources for doing all sorts of criminal stuff. I showed Poseidon the paper and he smiled knowingly.

"Well, he shouldn't be bothering us for another three years," he'd said cheerfully, sipping his coffee.

"I didn't tell you he was jailed for three years," I said, rolling my eyes. Wow. Just wow. So subtle, dear father...

"You didn't?"

"No,"

"I read the article earlier,"

"Suuuure," I muttered. "Were you involved in this?"

"Of course not...well, maybe a little," said Poseidon. I raised an eyebrow. "I simply talked to a few...ahem,'friends',"

Personally, I didn't like the sound of that, nor the little air quotes he used. So I dropped the newspaper and waledk out of the room with another roll of my eyes. I have to admit – even though I feel like Poseidon's reaction to Hugh and his role in my past was a little...uhh, what's the word? Fussy or whatever, at least now the bastard is locked up in jail for a few years. I can deal with that. Thank god I don't have to worry about Hugh going all creepy over me...

Anyway, that's old news. You should know - I have weird sleeping patterns. Some nights, I'll sleep like a log for twelve hours straight. Sometimes, I'll have a nightmare. And then other nights, I'll wake up to the tiniest sound or to nothing at all. Tonight is one of those nights. I wake up at three in the morning and I can't get back to sleep for the life of me. Recently, since living with Poseidon, it's usually because I'm not near my dad and something has unsettled me. In this case, Kronos. So naturally, I get out of bed and head to my dad's room, hoping that I'll find some sort of rest there.

I'm not joking when I say that Zeus's house is big. In the dark corridors, I'm lost instantly. I swear that Poseidon's room is just down the hall to me...it turns out it's not. Well, fuck. Now I'm screwed. Which way is back to my room again?

I wander the empty corridors silently, shivering slightly at the low temperature. I hate winter. It's so cold and glum. The only good thing about it is snow. I much prefer the summer – when the weather is warm and the sea is filled with more exotic fish. And it doesn't help that I'm wearing just a t-shirt. I wrap my arms around myself and focus my eyes through the darkness. I really need to find a light switch...

I eventually find a familiar room. Thalia's. I don't go in, but at least now I know where I am. A few minutes later I'm back in my room, hurrying towards my bed for warmth. I'll find Poseidon when it's a little lighter, I decide. I can last a few hours...and then I realise something is wrong.

My room at Zeus's place is fancy-pants as hell. I've got a walk-in wardrobe and an ensuite bathroom and a balcony which overlooks the backyard where Thalia, Nico and I like to play. The doors to the balcony are wide open, allowing in a numbingly cold breeze that completely defeats the purpose of me coming in here to find warmth in the first place. I stare at it.

I definitely did not open those doors.

Something moves in the corner. I take an instinctive step back, memories of my childhood flooding back. I remember some of mom's old boyfriends emerging from the shadows dramatically, fists raised...no, damn it, don't think about that! I shake my head, focusing on the present. The balcony doors are open. There's something in my room that's freaking moving!