New life

I was running through the woods crying. How? How could they?! How... My family... They lied! They lied to me! For 17 years l have been listening to them! Believing them! And what's now?! Nothing! I can't trust them no more... Just can't...

As l was crying l didn't have strength to run. My legs refused to be controlled by me, so l tripped on something and fell down. As l fell on the ground, l couldn't get up. My knee is bleeding! Great! Through my mind the thought rushed "The whole forest is listening to your cry".

“Okay! I don't care!” l screamed and covered my face with hands.

I don't know how much time l was laying there and crying, but l heard someone coming towards me. I knew that this forest was full of monsters and some secrets... It was my bad to run there, but l just didn't think about it when l saw it...

“Who's here?” l creamed. My voice was trembling. As my body.
“Hey…” I heard familiar voice. “I thought you need someone to be here with you.”

Percy went towards me and sit down on the ground. His oceans were looking at me trying to bring piece in my world, trying to help me, trying to take my pain. But he couldn't. He took a deep breath and leaned to me. In the next moment l was in Percy's strong, protecting and saving hands. I burst with next portion of tears.

“Shh” He hugged me tight like we knew each other for a long time. “Shh…” He patted me on the head to calm me down.

***Few minutes earlier***

I raised my head to see what sigh had appeared. If l wasn't siting l would probably fall down. Yep, you know it's a little bit strange to live 17 years with some people and in one day understand that this years were fake and full of lies... As l looked up, l saw... I saw an eagle flying near my head. The eagle was so huge! His sharp eyes looked around the pavilion and found mine. In my mind the man from my nightmare appeared. In the next moment the eagle burned with purple fire that formed as Zeus's pink bolt. Pink? What's the...?

I looked around to see everybody's faces. They all were still looking at me. Something was still wrong. What can be wrong? Maybe l have dirty mouth from pizza? Or they're just shocked? No, thousands times, No!

I looked at myself. What's the hell?! I wore short black dress with a neckline frank. This dress looked as in my nightmare... I touched my hair. My hair was disheveled! I always do a normal ponytail! I looked at my legs. The highest, the most elegant, the most expensive and the most beautiful shoes were on my feet. In any other situation l would probably say "Wow!", but not in this...

A hurricane of thoughts rushed through my mind: "What?! That's impossible! My parents are not my parents no more... My true parents are Zeus and...Aphrodite?! That can't be true! It's unreal! She's his daughter! How could he?! Oh my God! He slept with his daughter! I feel like throwing up! I feel sick of this freaking world! I feel sick of this mad dissolute people! It would have been much better if l have run away! Why did you give up, Stef?! If you ran away, nothing of this would happened! And you would live with your family in piece! Why?! I need to go somewhere... l need someone to be here with me in this stupid freaking mad world! I need Charlie... Where is he? Does he miss me? It doesn't matter. I need you, Charlie... But you're not here... Charlie... I need to hide from this people... Where? Forest! This is the only place where l can be alone in the silence. Only there l can imagine that Charlie is near me..."
*** ***

“Stef…” Percy whispered in my ear. “Shh. Everything is okay. Stop crying... Shh…” This velvet voice wanted to break through the wall of despair. “Stef, l'm here with you...”

We have been sitting on the ground for, maybe, half an hour, when my body started to stop shaking from crying, when l calmed down a little bit. It was night and rather cold, so l leaned to Percy closer.

“Stef…” Percy didn't have to whisper because we were alone in this forest, but he did it to keep our privacy. “Stop crying... I know it hurts... It hurts badly... Yes... I was 12 when l arrived here. I wasn't alone as you, but...” Percy made a pause. He tried to say something that was very secretly hidden from not close friends, that still hurt him. “My mom drove me and Grover that night to this camp... I didn't know where we were going, but my mom said that it was necessary... We nearly reached the camp when we were attacked by a minotaur. This minotaur killed my mom... l thought he did... What do you think l felt in that very moment?...” Percy took a deep breath. “Yes, my arrival was, as you see, awful.” He smiled. Unhappy sad smile appeared on his face. “I was only 12... Yeah... But, hopefully, l had only nights to think about my mom, because l was busy whole day training... l think, l was lucky ... I had only mom as my true parent... I don't know how you feel, because your situation is worse than mine...”
“This is the way of helping me?” l asked sadly.
“No!” Percy laughed. His laugh was so shrill and joyful that it seemed to dispel all the darkness around us. “Totally not.” He sad seriously. “I just... I... I'm trying to understand your situation from your point of view...”
“And what? Successfully?” I quipped. That is my nature, when I feel bad, sarcasm becomes my protector.
“Um…” Percy understood my behavior and l felt sorry for it. He's trying to help, Stef. And you're just ruining everything. “You had the whole family... And now you're told that your life was a lie, that you, actually, have another parents... I wish l could help you...”
“Pers…” I looked at his eyes that tried to pull all the pain out of me. Oceans... Vast green oceans calmed and made to forget all bad things that ever happened to me, that happened today. “You're helping...”

We sat in the silence listening to forest's own life. I tried not to think about "my situation". But all these thoughts didn't listen to me. They just took control over my mind, over my body, over me. I wanted to cry, but l couldn't. I just didn't have strength to cry. I just didn't have energy to fight with my thoughts. I was squeezed like a lemon.

“Did you just call me ‘Pers’?” Percy asked me. I guess he took that pause to rethink everything, to understand that we are becoming closer to each other, that he's my support from now and on.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Do you like it?”
“I think, yes.” Percy made a pause. “Do you want to go and have some sleep?”
“Um, no. Maybe we will just sit here?” I asked and suddenly realized what l've just said. “Oh, l just... If you want... You have to be tired... So, ju...”
“No, no. Let's stay here...” Percy agreed.

It was a starry night. The sky was dark blue but it wasn't boring and lifeless. It was littered with millions of large and small, bright and faint stars that made up fancy shapes in the huge sky.

“So…” Percy started. “Who is Charlie?”
“Really? Pers, you want to talk about it? Like right now?” I suddenly felt that l needed to go away from this conversation.
“Yes, l really want” Percy laughed.
“I don't want to talk about him...”
“Stef, sorry.” Percy's voice begged my forgiveness and my heart just couldn't say no. “I just thought that this theme will cheer you up...”
“It's okay, Pers. But not today...” I paused. “And you... What will you say about Annabeth?”
“Seriously?”
“Yep!”
“Okay... We've been together since we were 12... I mean we became friends at 12...”
“Ha! I wish l believed in your friendship!”
“Hey! It was a really friendship that became a little bit more...romantic...” Percy paused. “l really love her, Stef... My heart bleeds every time she is in danger or she feels sick... We decided to be together forever before we`ve fallen into Tartarus... I`m so lucky... And I`m so happy... I love her smile, her gray stormy eyes, her smart head that is always full of some ideas and thoughts... She`s the most beautiful in this world... Even Aphrodite isn`t so beautiful as Annabeth... I love her, Stef, and want to stay with her forever...”
“I 'm really glad that you're happy, Percy...”

Notes

Here is the next chapter!)))
Thanks, guys, for following me, for your support and comments and for reading me. It means a lot to me...
Also, l`d like to say that the next chapter will be on Wednesday. I`ve already written it, just want to intrigue you)))
Thank you!