Percy

Annabeth approached the stand.

It hadn't taken long to do much of anything. She confessed right on the spot. It was a rape, she went further than she was aware I was comfortable with, without my consent, after I told her to stop twice.

That's rape.

And you know, that wasn't the hardest part of my day. Not by a long shot.

It wasn't the after effects of what happened. People telling me to man up and enjoy it. She had sex with me, I should've liked it.

That wasn't the hardest part.

The hardest part was the text and voicemail I recurved during the trial. A message I didn't see until afterwords, due to not being able to access my phone during the trial.

I looked at it after my parents had left. I was with Nico. We we're about to get ready to go on a date to celebrate.

It was from Gabe.

Dad: Hey, Percy, I managed to find your number in the phone book. So don't be weirded out when you get this message.

It's been a while, and you might not want a damn thing to do with me anymore, and that's okay. I get that. I wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore.

It's Gabe. And I'm not asking you to meet with me unless you want to. I'm not even asking you to respond to this message or pick up the call I'll make just in case this doesn't send. I just want to apologize.

I was about as shitty of a parent as you could get, it's true. I wasn't much better of a husband. I was worse to you, without a doubt, but your mother deserved so much better. And I genuinely hope that you both got better after I left. Had I never started drinking, none of this would've happened. Maybe we'd still be a family. Going to Montauk every few months, swimming on the beach, teasing you about boys.

There was a lot of things I should've done and shouldn't have done. I should've never touched you. I can't go a day without that coming up in my brain anymore. I should've never hurt your mom. I should've told her that me and alcohol have never mixed well.

I don't drink anymore. I've been sober going on four years now. I stopped smoking about two years ago. I've gambled once, when my nephew turned 21 and we brought him to Vegas. It wasn't much, just a little fun. So I've at least tried to stay clean. I'd that changes anything, maybe how you think of me now. I wouldn't think it'd convince you to do anything else.

Bottom line is that I was an asshole. I knew your dad wasn't around and I willingly took that role when your mom told me about that when we got together and I met you and you were the sweetest kid. You called me Dad for years.

Outside of that, I haven't remarried, I still don't have any kids of my own, and I'm managing; in New York right now. It's... It's been going. And if you ever need to go to someone, I'm a call or a text away. I don't expect you to. But if you ever need that, it's there.

Find someone that makes you happy, Percy. You deserve it more than anyone I know.

I started to cry as soon as he said he was a shitty parent. And I just... I was at a loss.

"Hey, Per..." He was probably going to ask what shirt I liked better, knowing Nico and all. But he saw my tears, and instantly began to worry. Which I was grateful for. She never gave a shit about if I cried. She called me a baby every time I did. He hurried over to me. "Oh my gods, babe, are you okay?"

I nodded my head, because I was. This was just... The timing. I would've cried either way, it's Gabe and he sobered up.

But he was just so sincere. And I had this urge to call and it was ripping me apart.

Gabe was always accepting of me. He himself was bi. And his parents never accepted it. So when I had my first crush on a guy, he went with it. He gave me shit, but that's because I had a crush. Not because it was a guy.

"Are you sure?"

Again, I nodded my head.

"It's tears of joy," I promised him as he held my hand and I gave his a squeeze of reassurance. "Okay? I have to make a phone call, and then I'll explain it to you and we can get ready to go."

"Okay."

I stepped out of his room, and I pressed the call button. It rang three times before he answered, and he must not have the number saved. He didn't realize who it was when he answered.

"Hello, may I help you?" Gabe asked, and that voice just... It almost put me back in tears. It was nostalgic to hear his voice. I miss it. I miss everything that didn't happen.

"Hey," my voice was still a bit shaky between the trial and that text, but I managed. "Uhm..."

I didn't know what to say. How else to tell him who I was. Because I won't call Paul this. He's Paul. He's great. But he's Paul.

"Hey, Dad."

I don't call Paul Dad, and I won't. Hell, Poseidon isn't my dad, he's my Father. There's a huge difference.

Gabe is my dad. Even if he forgot for a while. Even if he did everything a Dad wouldn't normally do to his kid.

He was my dad, and whenever I try to say someone else is my dad, I feel gross. It's a lie.

Before anyone says it, no, I don't have a daddy kink.

It was silent for a solid five seconds.

"I..." He didn't think I would call, and I was well aware of that. Especially so soon. But I had to. I couldn't sit through that date with Nico knowing I didn't call him. "Didn't think you would call. Ever. I figured you'd block me, if anything."

"You put me in tears," I told him, trying to reason this out. "I had to call."

"I did not—"

"Yes, you did," I informed him, figuring Nico could probably hear my side of this. He probably thought this was Poseidon. "I had a really shitty two days, for the most part. I don't expect you to come back from the fucking dead and send me a text message that my dyslexia won't function for telling me you were a shitty dad and you were sorry and you were hoping I was good. Like... My emotions we're all over the board, I started crying."

"Well I mean... It was a good cry, then?"

"Kind of, yeah." I assured him, and I could sense him relax a bit. "I mean, it was. I just, um... It's been a crazy few days. I was in court this morning for a case. I won, luckily. I wasn't being tried, someone else was. But um... Yeah. They confessed to everything as soon as they were called to the stand."

"That's good!" Gabe insisted, and I heard the background get quieter. He must've just gotten home or something. "Are you celebrating or anything?"

"Sort of, yeah." I felt like everything was okay, I swear. Like I could be content. Which, for me, was huge. "I uh... I have a date in a little bit. The guy I'm going out with was there when I read the message, he started to freak out when I started to cry. But it's all good. Um... Yeah. I don't have a real reason to call, I just couldn't go through that date knowing I didn't. So uh... Yeah. You said you're singles, so you can't really gush or anything. Did you have anything you wanted to say that you didn't or...?"

"Sort of." He told me. "How long have you liked this said crush?"

I felt my face heat up.

"Dad!"

He laughed, as I knew he would.

"Just let me talk to him quick, alright?" Dad requested, which made me curious. "I won't threaten him. I won't be that dad. You're 17. You're almost an adult. You can decide who you want to be with."

After I told him that his name was Nico, I handed the phone to Nico.

Nico

Percy handed me the phone without explanation.

"Hello?" I said, a bit confused.

"Hi, Nico!" It must be the guy he called but I was confused. It didn't sound like Poseidon, and he called the guy dad. "You don't know me, don't worry. I'm Percy's dad, sort of. Percy told me your name. He told me you guys were planning on going on a date tonight. Just uh... Treat my boy well. He's gone through a lot, and he deserves someone to do him so good, alright?"

"Uh, yeah..." I was so confused, but I was relieved that he didn't threaten me. "Of course."

"Thanks," he told me. "You guys have a nice night."

And then he hung up.

That's all he wanted to know. That's all he needed to tell me.

Do Percy some good. He deserves it.

Percy

Nico handed me back my phone, a little confused.

"That wasn't..." Nico was smart enough to know that it wasn't my father, nor had it been Paul. "Who was that?"

"Gabe," I explained to him as we walked over to the bathroom so I could wash off my face. "My 'dad.' I call him dad. My Mom's ex husband, he was the guy that raised me until I came here and Medusa sort of killed him. He had started drinking by then he went downhill for a long time. Put me through a lot of shit. But the text I got was from him. I haven't heard from him since before he died when I was 12, almost 13. He told me that I didn't have to call, he expected me to like hate him. But..."

I paused for a minute, and eventually just shrugged.

"I don't know." I added on. "As long as he stays sober, I'm not sure I could hate him. I mean, could you ever hate Bianca?"

"I could try," my boyfriend (or something along that, at least) reasoned. "Wouldn't get very far. But I get it. He was there when your biological dad wasn't. He means more to you. Even if he treated you like shit for a while."

"Yeah," I agreed with his summation, nodding my head again and washing my face. "Like that. But um... Shall we go?"

"Go we shall."