Favorite : Change for the both of us

Chapter 35

As it turns out, Zeus is already on his way to our house. Apparently Hermes hacked into our damn landline and set it to alert him if we dialled 911. So when we called my uncle he was already pulling up outside our house.

"You idiot," he snarls, slapping his little brother across the back of his head. "Why didn't you call sooner?"

"Nice to see you too, brother," Poseidon mutters, rubbing the back of his head. I roll my eyes at the whole older-sibling habits. I used to wonder what it would be like to have an older brother or sister, until I met my cousins and I found out what it was like. Apparently, everyone acts the same no matter what age.

We're about to call Hades too, but Zeus texted him on his way here. He too slaps Poseidon and then starts asking what happened here. My uncle's priorities are odd.

"Dad, can I go call Annabeth and Athena?" I ask, slipping into the middle of their conversation. My panic attack has worn down, leaving me just slightly breathless and more than tired. "I think they'd want to know about this,"

"Sure," Poseidon says, nodding as he hands me his cell-phone. It had been in his back pocket during the entire incident, however he was obviously a bit too preoccupied to use it. I notice his eyes glance precariously down towards my stomach, shining with worry, and I do my best to give him a reassuring look.

I head into the hallway, where there are less people, and call Athena's number. She answers with a displeased grunt. I ask for Annabeth and she swiftly passes her on once she realises that I'm not my dad.

"What's up?" Annabeth asks.

"Okay...so don't panic," I say, fiddling with my fingernails nervously and bouncing my leg. "But, uh, Kronos was just here,"

She hangs up without a word. Cursing, I slip out of the hall and sit myself on the front step. I try to ignore the paranoia in the back of my mind and focus on Poseidon's voice just a few feet away in the living room. Three minutes later, Athena's car pulls up in our driveway. Annabeth barrels towards me, jumping out of the car before it's even stopped, and engulfs me in a hug, her arms squeezing the air out of me.

"Annabeth," I choke, both hugging her back and trying to loosen her grip on me. Her hands accidentally brush the back of my head where I bashed it and I withdraw quickly. "Ouch! Whoa, careful,"

"What happened?" Athena asks once Annabeth finally releases me. I notice her breaths coming in short gasps, just like mine had earlier. Without commenting, I grab her hand and squeeze it. She squeezes back painfully, as though making sure I'm real and not an illusion.

"He was here," I say to Athena, who narrows her eyes at Annabeth's hand in mine. "Kronos. He was waiting for me and dad in the living room, with a knife. It's alright, though. He's on his way to a jail cell as we speak,"

"For real?" Annabeth questions, apparently calming down at my words.

I grin, nodding. "For real. He's gone," For now.

We head back inside the house, where Hades and Zeus have teamed up to berate my dad on the usefulness of phones. I make sure not to release Annabeth's hand, since she still seems panicky. Poseidon and I give a quick run-down of what happened – how I made the first move and knocked the knife from Kronos's hand, how he cut my stomach and nearly my neck and finally how Poseidon had knocked him out – and Annabeth slaps me, being the great friend she is.

"You idiot, why didn't you just run?!" she exclaims, looking more worried and scared than angry at me.

"I wasn't going to leave my dad," I explain, wincing at the pain now running through my shoulder as we enter the kitchen (the adults need their caffeine). Poseidon shoots me a smile when he hears me and motions me over. Annabeth and I both sit on the kitchen counter besides him and he wraps an arm around my shoulders.