Favorite : Change for the both of us

Chapter 20

Go ahead. Call me an idiot. I'll totally agree with you if you do. I should tell Poseidon about Kronos being in my room and the creepy note I found on my balcony. But I can't. I don't know how! You go ahead and try telling your overprotective dad that his crazy dad broke into the place that he thought would be safest for you. Go on...

Not easy, is it?

I don't want to tell Poseidon either. If I do, he'll panic. I probably won't even be allowed to go to school, never mind be left alone ever again. Most of all, it will hurt Poseidon if I tell him. I know that even the mention of Kronos brings back bad memories for him; just like mentioning Hugh makes me think of my past. I don't want to hurt my dad. And anyway, Kronos was probably joking. He won't risk sneaking into my room again, will he? He isn't going to hurt me, or try and take me. At least, I don't think he will.

Today is my birthday. Thalia and Nico wake me up on the morning with bright smiles and hugs; Poseidon follows them into the room, grinning wider than I've ever seen him grin before. "What day's it today, birthday boy?" he asks, sitting down on the edge of my bed and giving me a one-armed hug.

"Custody day," I grin, unable to contain my excitement. My eyes flicker to the balcony doors, which I've carefully kept locked at all times. I flood with relief when I see them closed. He's not here. Kronos isn't going to get in the way of today.

I get my first present at breakfast – a cellphone. Poseidon's been saying that I need one for a while, and Hades and Zeus both put a bit of money forwards each to buy it for me (however with the amount of money they both have, they could have each bought the latest cellphone for all of my cousins).

"What's with all the kindness?" Poseidon asks as he helps me set up the awesome Samsung phone. "Seriously – neither of you have ever been so nice,"

"He's our nephew," Zeus shrugs.

"And we're not always mean," Hades points out, the scowl on his face indicating that he'd much rather take the phone back. Both Nico and Thalia are smirking at them. I have a feeling that they're responsible for almost everything nice my uncles have done these past few weeks.

Hestia arrives at Zeus's place at 10am. For my birthday, she's gotten me the diving gear I'd hinted I want, so I can swim in the tanks at the aquarium all day without coming up for air. Apparently Poseidon chipped in a bit, too. He hasn't gotten me anything for my birthday except for the custody papers. Not that I'm bothered. Officially becoming his son is enough.

I get a couple of things from my cousins, too. Thalia and Nico have both created a new photo album for me – it's not got many pictures yet (only four or five) but they say that as the years go by, I can add more of all the time I spend with them and my new family, and I've also added the photos from my other album to it. Hephaestus has made me this neat pen which apparently bleeps if it gets left behind, because in school I'm always losing my pens and I think my cousin got a little annoyed when I lost his favourite one last week. Hermes gives me some awesome converse – they're blue with graffiti designs on them. He says he got them months ago, but never wore them because they didn't fit. Apollo and Artemis give me an iPod; again, its second hand, but neither of them have used it because they kept arguing over it.

Dionysus and Ares don't get me anything, which I'm also not bothered about. I don't really get along with those two cousins. Dionysus is constantly drunk or hung-over and Ares is freakishly violent for a fourteen year old. To be honest, I didn't expect any of my cousins to get me anything. The fact that they did is extremely heart-warming.

Finally, at about 1pm, Annabeth and surprisingly Grover are dropped off at Zeus's place by Athena. I never realised that Thalia had informed Annabeth about my birthday, and apparently she told Grover. She comes with a necklace for me.