Percy

I was pretty numb the next two days, but Nico stuck around. He stuck for a long time, actually. Probably because I was clinging to him most of the time.

My birthday was a week after that. And figuring my siblings wouldn't show up (they didn't, so I got them presents for nothing), Gabe actually came over. He intended to just stop by quick and say happy birthday, but we dragged him in.

There weren't a ton of people. Grover, Nico, my parents. So we gladly let him sit down and have cake with us. My mom didn't realize it was him at first, she didn't get to see him last week. She just knew that Paul called somebody.

And then I asked how they knew each other. Because that's weird.

"College," Paul explained to me as my mom went to answer the door for an unexpected visitor. "We we're roomates. How do you know Gabe?"

Gabe kind of looked at his old roommate.

"Paul."

"Yeah?"

"You're married to my ex-wife."

Paul kind of stopped for a second and thought about it. Making sense of the warynes of Mom letting him stay here. I mean, Paul let him in. Mom just didn't say anything. She doesn't hate him.

But you know, she sold him as a statue the last time he was around.

It didn't last.

"Why did you guys get divorced?" Paul questioned, trying to figure that out. "I mean, you're a good guy. She hasn't said anything."

"Remember when I got drunk?"

"Yeah, you beat the shit out anyone that said something you didn't like."

"Kids died." Paul knew that Gabe had lost kids. He didn't realize they were my siblings. "I couldn't cope. I became an alcoholic. That was... That's why she hasn't said anything. And I mean, had I stopped drinking, we probably wouldn't have gotten divorced. But that didn't happen until a few years back now. 3 or 4. It's been..."

Gabe looked at me.

"How long has it been?" He honestly couldn't remember when it happened aside that it was the summer I wasn't around.

"5 years," I answered his question. "I turned 13 like right after Mom told me about it. That was... That was a summer. I'd rather not relive it."

"2005," Gabe stated. "damn. Isn't that when you got divorced, too?"

"'04," Dad corrected my old dad. "She hasn't given birth yet."

"Paul!" My mother called from the entrance. "There's somebody here for you!"

I shit you not, it was his ex wife and kids. One of which he never got to meet because his wife kicked him out and filed for divorce before she was born.

But we have Estelle now. She's a bundle of joy. Maybe she'll give some of it to me! That'd be great.

The dude older than me brought his girlfriend. And uh...

Silena and Beckendorf.

"Beckendorf?" I saw him first, that's what had my attention. "As much as it's nice to see you, how do you know where I live and why are you here?"

"What?" He asked me, just as confused as I was. "No, I'm here with my mom to see my dad... Because we talked my mom into it after like a long time. What are you doing here?"

"I live here." I answer, just shocked that I didn't know Beckendorf was my technical step brother. He told me his mom got married when he was a baby, a guy she started dating when she was pregnant. He was super nice. But they were getting a divorce. That's why he stayed at camp. He didn't want to deal with just his mom. He didn't have his mom,but he liked his 'dad' more than his mom. "With my mom. And d... Paul."

They'd hate me if I called him dad.

"You cheated on mom?" The girl my age is dumb.

"I'm his step son," I corrected her. "My dad is.. my dad is an asshole, excuse my language."

"What happened with Poseidon?"

"His birthday present for me was telling me that he couldn't handle me as his kid and that I'm not allowed to ever step food in his presence ever again."

"So Luke was right." Silena remarked, thinking about that. "Figures.'

They were all lost.

"He's a demigod." Beckendorf explained to his mom. "We went to camp together."

Estelle came running out of the kitchen, and she clung onto Paul's kid. Which had their attention.

I got a very disappointed look from Beckendorf before explaining to him that it's not mine. It's mom and Paul's. I have a boyfriend, it doesn't work like that.

So Paul has a kid clinging to him as he's talking with his six year old daughter. It's great.

"Seriously?" The girl my age asked me.

"Yeah, its just us here." I told her. "The others live with my dad, and you guys live with your mom."

"That's why I'm here, actually." Paul's ex wife told me and she explained that she had a trip for work and it would be a long time and she wasn't supposed to bring anyone with. She wanted to see if it was possible that they live here temporarily. For the school year.

So as she was talking with my parents, I went over to Gabe and we talked for a while. Nico and Grover talking to Silena and her boyfriend.

And he hands me a bag, telling me it was a present. Of course, I insisted that he didn't have to get me anything. But he argued that he thought it was something I'd like. Something my parents haven't been able to get me.

Opening it, there had been two things in there. There was a small set of like kitchen stuff. Just nice, small things. But it was the other thing that made want to cry because he's been around for a week and he wasn't obligated to even get me anything.

It was a card, and with my dyslexia, I couldn't make it out right away. So he explained what it was.

"Bring this to the therapy place on the corner of 63rd and 95th." My ex step dad told me what to do with this. "Show them the card and they'll schedule an appointment. It's paid up for the next year, until September of next year. The same place where your grief counseling was, if you remember where that was."

"Yeah, I rem...." And then it clicked as to what this actually was.

This was Gabe disregarding the fact that he could put aside some money for something nice for himself, and instead paying for something that will help me tremendously.

For a second, all I could do was sit there. I was at a loss for words. I couldn't believe this, because my parents can't afford therapy and I'm not mentally fit to have a job. I'm not stable enough.

So I gave him a hug before he ended up having to go to work.

"What'd he get you?" Nico asked me after Grover left out, referencing Gave. "I saw you give him a hug."

"He uh..." I was still trying to figure out why he would do it. "Well there was a little cooking set. But he got... He paid for therapy for me for the next year."

"Gabe paid for..." Mom heard that, and she was shocked by that. Everyone heard, we were in the kitchen. "He paid for your therapy?"

I nodded my head. With the others here, of course, there's questions.

"Why do you need therapy?" Beckendorf questioned. "Because if it's camp stuff, they do it for free."

"No, it's other stuff." I assured my apparent step brother.

Luke

I was ready to do this, but I was doing it anyways. And I had to stop by to get something for Beckendorf. And I wasn't going to complain, because I miss his dad. I miss Paul, and now that they're all back with him, I figured I could stop in.

The address seemed strangely familiar, but I ignored that when I got that. And Silena answered the door, letting me in. I saw Paul, said hi. He seemed happy to see me, and I was very happy to see him and the others again. I could see people in the kitchen, but I wasn't sure who it was.

"What are you doing here?" Paul asked me when he saw me. In a nice manner, of course.

"I'm just stopping in," I assured him. "After this, I have to make a quick run and drop off a present for a friend of mine before heading to the airport."

I heard the voice of a little girl, and that had my attention. She came walking out here, and she was tiny. A baby. Adorable, though.

She ran over to me and handed me what appeared to be a cookie. It was blue, but I figured it might be good. I kneeled down and accepted her offer.

And I caught a glimpse of somebody in the kitchen. That somebody being Percy.

I walked over to Charles.

"Hey, dude," I said as I learned closer, not wanting Percy to hear me and think of me as an asshole. "Why is Percy here?"

He kind of laughed.

"Funny story." Beckendorf explained to me something that he still didn't seem all to used to. "Paul married Percy's mom. We're step Brothers. Did you know that he goes to therapy?"

"I'm sorry," I said, in mid fucking shock after hearing that. "For what, though?"

He shrugged.

"Stuff that isn't related to camp." The son of Hephaestus sounded pretty clueless. "That's all I managed. I guess you could ask. Why?"

"I just know that like when he was new to camp, he had..." I had to think about it for a minute. "Um... It was anxiety and something else. Anxiety and depression! Because I remember he told me one day that he'd have to skip out on training and it didn't make sense. I asked Chiron about it and I guess he had problems. But I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it since. He seemed fine at camp this summer."

"I don't know, dude." He told me and so I figured I'd leave my small little present for Percy before sneaking out. I got to meet Sally. She was really nice. Percy was lucky to have a mom that was so nice.

Nico had left before I did (I didn't see him until he was leaving) but they talked me into sticking around for dinner. A family friend. My mom was friends with Paul in college and yeah. Beckendorf's mom, too. Of course. There was another guy, Gabe. Last I heard of him, he was married with four kids. He was their step dad. They were quadropolets. In New York.

Somebody got Percy a shit, and I don't know who it was. But we wanted to see it on him. And he a guy, so it's not a big deal that he changes his shirt. We've all seen each other top half.

The bottom half is a different story. I haven't seen either of theirs. I'm not sure if I want to. Beckendorf maybe, but Percy just isn't for me. He's got the looks, don't get me wrong. But maybe. I don't know. He left camp early, so I haven't seen him much.

His chest was... Well, first off, his stomach was covered in scars. More recent ones. His back and shoulders just looked like pure hell.

It worried me.

I think it worried the others, too.