The light through the water

Chapter 3

(Sadies pov)

CHAPTER 3
I awake next to Jaycen, who is snoring like a pig. A big fat one. I had snuck inside his room after my conversation with Dad, and kind of needed brotherly support, even though we didn't actually say anything.
Dad, on the other hand, had had plenty to say after I stormed out of the house once my parents had dropped the news that Jaycen and I were getting a new sibling in only a few months' time.
A few months. They've known Mom was pregnant before we even moved, and they had decided to tell us now? Not even ask our opinion on where we wanted to spend the last three years of our childhood? I'd had enough.
"Sadie, wait!" Dad had yelled at me as he followed me off the front porch and down the driveway.
"What could you possibly say to me that will make this any better?" I said, really wishing everyone would just stop talking and leave me to my thoughts. Though what good that would do me, I don't know.
"Will you just talk to me, please? I'm still your dad, aren't I?"
"My 'dad' would have at least told us that Mom was pregnant before forcing us to leave our home," I turn around so fast he almost runs into me. We're in the middle of the street now. I think I see a curtain over a window in another house shuffle. We're drawing attention. I'm drawing attention.
"Sadie, I know this is a shock, but we didn't know how to tell you and Jaycen without preparing you two."
"You call this 'preparing?'" I ask, the thought so incredulous he has to explain it for me to understand. If he thinks forcing us to drive across the fucking continent is "preparing" us to handle a baby, he's crazy. Him and Mom.
"Sadie?" Mom calls from the porch. "Baby, it's cold outside. Can we talk about this inside, please?" She motions to the snow covering the grass. It is kind of chilly out here. I can see steam rolling out of my mouth when I exhale.
I glare at Dad. How could they keep this from me? My mom is my best friend. We talk about everything. Why not this?
"Come on, kid," Dad pleads. "At least let us explain ourselves? Then you can be an angry teenager and huff away."
My eyes narrow at that last comment, but then soften as I really think about it. A baby. A sister-- or another brother, I'm not picky. Just so long as he's not as stupid as Jaycen. I take a deep breath... and nod, resigning myself to my parents explanation. It better be a good one, or else I will be an angry teenager and huff away.
Eventually, my parents win me over. I kind of just sat on the couch as they talked, the conversation of reasoning which quickly led to suggesting baby names. The two of them would've been cute, if them being all cuddly with each other didn't make me want to gag. You know, like parents do. It's funny how easy it is for me to be so mad and then so happy in a split second. I guess that's what baby siblings do. Even if they aren't in this world yet. Eww, now I'm grossing myself out. I need to get away from the happy couple before it gets contagious.

So now, it is 8:30 in the morning, and I'm staring at Jaycen, wondering how on earth he can breathe -let alone snore- while his face is in his pillow. Weirdo. I stand on his bed, and jump on him until he groans to wake him up (because there's nothing like your sister jumping on you to wake you in the morning), then jump off the bed and walk out his door and down the stairs. I'm just about to hop off the final carpeted step onto the hardwood floors, when I hear voices in my kitchen. Voices I've never heard before. Now, I know these are not the everyday-voices I hear in my head because they're not telling me to kick small animals; so who is in my kitchen?
"Wow, congratulations," a man says, his voice peppy and kind.
"How old are your other kids again?" another man asks, his voice deeper and raspier. He grunts, so I'm assuming someone hit him. I'm walking past the couch now - quietly of course - almost close enough to the kitchen doorway that I can see my parents and the two strangers.
"They are both fifteen now," Dad says proudly and loudly.
"But I think they are still sleeping, so tone it down a little," Mom says, while hitting Dad. I know this because he grunts as well. My cue to jump in.
"Who's still sleeping?" I ask, at the same time I see Jaycen poking his head around the corner.
"Good morning, Sadie," Dad offers me a plate of toast. I accept, taking two pieces, already pre-buttered and jammed. Awesome.
"I hope you know I can see you, Jaycen," Mom says. Jaycen comes out from behind the door, scowling. Not the best hiding place. Not that I would know. He walks in a semi-straight line, wincing slightly as he leans against the counter to hold his balance. I don't think anyone notices but me.
"So who are the two strangers currently invading our home?" I ask sardonically, really curious at this point. Jaycen cocks his head. I can tell he's curious, too. As I get a closer look at the two men, I note that one of them has sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes, and the other has dark hair, and brown eyes. They look familiar.
"Will," the man with the blonde hair introduces himself. He holds out his hand for us to shake. I oblige, so does Jaycen.
"I'm Nico," the other guy says. "This idiot's husband." He doesn't hold his hand out, and suddenly I glance over at the fridge. Sure enough, there are pictures of them and a girl (around our age?) posted there, something our mom likes to do with her old friends. Keep pictures of them. It's kind of creepy. The guy, Nico, follows my gaze and his eyebrows raise. Then his eyes narrow.
"Seriously?" He asks my parents, gesturing to the photos. They shrug.
"Wait, you're Lee's dads?" Jaycen asks, recognition crossing his face.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"I met her yesterday," Jaycen explains. That's right. The healer. "She, um... helped me with something." Jaycen clears his throat self-consciously, not meeting anyone's eyes. Yeah, not suspicious at all. I guess he doesn't want to tell them about Damian Black today. Or the fact that two people practically had to carry him to the infirmary because he got himself electrocuted. Not like it's the first time. He's set off a fair share of powerful demigods and descendants back in New Rome.
"Yeah, she does that," Will says, pride resting on his and his husband's face.
"Well, we just wanted to stop by, welcome you back to the 'neighborhood,'" Nico says, handing my parents a ziplock bag full of atrociously frosted sugar cookies. "Will's been in a baking mood lately and if we eat all the cookies in our house, we'd die of diabetes. All being the son of Hades aside."
"I have been making a lot of cookies."
"So, we'll get out of your hair." The two of them are already out the door before Mom and Dad can protest.
"Bye, then," Dad says, confusion etched onto his face. He sets the cookies down. Me and Jaycen look at it, then each other, then race to the bag, tearing it open. The cookies aren't terrible.
"Look what you did," Mom complains to Dad, as we lick frosting from our fingers. "You've taught them how to eat like two-year-olds." Jaycen and I look at Mom like, are you kidding? We always eat like this. Like, come on. It's cookies. If anything warrants us to eat like toddlers, it is 100% definitely cookies. Atrociously frosted or not.

"What are we doing today, Jayce?" I ask Jaycen, as we walk down the street and into the strawberry fields. I don't know why they're called strawberry fields, I don't see any strawberries. Lots of snow, though.
"What day is it?" He asks, oblivious as ever.
"Monday, you wingnut," I snark.
"Oh, yeah," he says with a smirk. He's about to say something, but is then interrupted by a girl. The girl on our fridge. But with purple hair.
"Hey," she says, grabbing our attention. "Jaycen, right?" We turn around to face her.
"Yeah," he grins. "Maria-but-everyone-calls-me-Lee, right?" He mimics, ever the asshole. He earns himself an eye roll from Lee and a scrutinizing narrowing of the eyes from me. Inside joke?
"Yeah," Lee scoffs. "I'm Lee," she introduces herself to me, holding her hand out for me to shake. Like her dad, I note.
"I noticed," I say, wary of anyone who brings that stupid fucking Cheshire-cat grin to my brother's face. What the hell? I choose to accept her handshake. "Sadie. Unfortunately, I'm the one related to that," I gesture to the dolt with his smile still plastered across his face. Creep. Lee and I share an understanding smile.
"Hey!" Jaycen protests, realizing and not appreciating two girls basically calling him an idiot at the same time.
"What?" I say innocently. Lee grins. Ugh. What is with all the smiles today?
"Cool nose ring," I comment, noticing the gold loop around Lee's nose. She also wears an orange shirt with "Camp Half-Blood" on it in Greek lettering, paired with black ripped jeans and a green flannel. The outfit doesn't really match, but she somehow pulls it off, with a purple wool jacket and scarf.
"Thanks," she says. "I like yours, too." Well, I guess smiling isn't too bad. I can tell we are going to be good friends already. I link my arm through hers as we walk, like they do in those Jane Austen films when they're about to gossip. I slip my hand into her pocket and pull out her wallet, discreet and swift, just like Alex taught me, a son of Mercury at Camp Jupiter. My best friend. Well, not anymore. I quickly slide the thought of Alex out of my mind.
"So, you're the magical healer with the mystical healing powers?" I say, watching my brother's face as I hint that she has been spoken about by us. "My brother has talked a lot about you." Pink appears on his cheeks.
"Yeah, I guess I am." She has her fair share of pink on her cheeks now too, and I guarantee it's  not from the cold weather. Oh, good Gods, Jaycen. You met her yesterday and she's already crushing on you. I try to send this message through the look I give him, and I'm pretty sure he gets it.
"Jayce told me you guys met yesterday and he already likes you," I goad, trying to get a more intelligent response out of either of them. Jaycen glares at me. "As a friend, of course. He likes you in terms of friendship." Her cheeks grow even pinker, which I wouldn't have thought possible. But it is.
"Anyway," I start, ready for this part of our awkward conversation to be over, even though it was pretty much one-sided. "Do you know what we're doing today?"
"The campers with specific powers are going to the arena to train," Lee explains, eager to talk about something else. "It's a new program Chiron started a couple weeks ago so that we know how to control our powers better. We're supposed to be training with other demigods who have powers, as well."
Well, that's going to be interesting. If all the demigods and descendants that have powers at this camp are going to the arena to train them, who else is going to be there?
As we walk down the hill, closer to the amphitheater now, I can see a couple of people stretching and warming up. And sure enough, in the smack-dab center of the entire arena, is Damian, standing with his arms crossed and a smirk resting on his very irritatingly cute face. This is going to be very interesting indeed.

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