Back at camp, Annabeth and Percy were literally carried off by their campmates, so I just sort of stood on the driveway to the big house like I did the first time I went there. It was funny to think about how much had changed since then.
One thing that hadn't changed was that I wasn't excited to come home and see my dad.
"Bella!" Daisy bleated.
"Hey, Daisy." I smiled tiredly. Just as Claudia had predicted, the train ride was... interesting. That describes it pretty well.
"Oh, I was so worried! We were watching the storm on tv. I'm so glad you're okay!" she hugged me tightly.
"Um, yeah." I patted her awkwardly on the back. She let me go, and I swear she was crying a little.
"So um, not to be rude, but when do I go home? I sort of just left my dad there..."
"We'll get a bus ticket for you," Chiron smiled as he trotted up to me. "Quite the fight that went down."
"Well, there wasn't really a fight. More like..."
An emotional reunion? The voices whispered.
"Um... a temper tantrum."
Rude, the voices all said in turn.
Chiron laughed. "It ends up being that way a lot of the time. And what of Perseus?"
"Um, he decided to become a spirit." I showed him the pendant.
"Ah."
There was an awkward silence.
"So I suppose you're ready to get home?"
I bit my lip. "Well, yes and no."
"I'm sure your father will understand. If things do go sour... know that we have room for you here."
"Thanks, but..." I looked at some of the kids looking and pointing. I guess news gets around quickly. "I think I'd better stay at home."
He nodded and handed me the bus ticket.
"It was troubling to discover that the she-devils were having children. I hope that you'll do us a favour and keep an eye out for any more. I'm sure you'll be able to give them a much better explanation and welcome wagon than we did."
I nodded. The idea of me helping other she-devils was... pretty cool, actually.
"I just have one question," I said. "Am I... really just the daughter of an empousa?"
Chiron looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." I struggled to find the right words. "I can do stuff that other empousa can't. If I'm supposed to be one of their daughters, wouldn't that make me less powerful than them?"
He thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I'm afraid I am of no use in that department." he smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
I nodded again, even though I wasn't too confident.
"Do you want to say bye to Annabeth and Percy?" Daisy asked. I looked over at Annabeth, getting praised by her cabin mates, and Percy, who was chatting with some of the other kids.
"Um, maybe you can do that for me," I shifted uncomfortably. Those kids looked less than welcoming. She nodded.
___________________
I got off the bus, breathing heavily as I walked down the sidewalk to my house. The last time I did this, I had no clue what was going on. I had no answers and absolutely no idea what I was about to get into.
I hesitated before knocking on the door, the metal door knocker cold in my hand. I took a deep breath and knocked.
The door opened slowly, and my dad's annoyed face turned quickly to surprise.
"Um, hi, again," I said awkwardly. He didn't say anything. "Look, I'm really sorry. I really didn't have much of a choice-"
He hugged me. It was really awkward, but it was also really nice.
We sat in the living room, and the silence was absolutely awful. We both fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Who took you?" he asked.
"Um, a girl named Annabeth."
"And they sent you on a quest?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"To do what?"
"To stop Perses from destroying New Orleans."
He rubbed his temples. "I can't believe you just left like that. We could have at least talked about it."
At least he wasn't yelling like I thought he would.
"It all happened really fast. There wasn't any time."
Silence again.
"I can manipulate time," I blurted.
He looked at me, startled.
"And, um... tear reality."
"What? You shouldn't be able to do that."
"Yeah, but I can."
He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and sighed. "Okay, you can. Promise you'll never leave without telling me again?"
"Only if you promise something too,"
"What is it?"
"No more secrets," I said firmly. "I want to know what's going on."
"You know everything now, Bella."
He was definitely lying, but now wasn't the time to fight.
"So how does it work?" he gave a small smile.
"Watch," I closed my eyes, and focused on moving his morning newspaper from the table to his hand. It shimmered gold like my eyes, then disappeared and reappeared in his hands. I was getting good at this.
He jumped a little in surprise.
"Huh," he said quietly, inspecting the newspaper. "Can you show me again?"
"Can we do this tomorrow? I flipped all of reality like, a day ago."
"You... what?"
"Um, I can like..." I flipped my hands around, not really sure how to explain it.
"Right. Well, we can chat tomorrow. After you rest."
I smiled. "Thanks, dad."
After I got to my room, I texted Claudia, letting her know I was back. She blew up my phone, even though I'd been gone for like, one day. I was still shocked at how comfortable she was with me, even though we've only known each other for a few days. Granted, one of those days we teamed up against a titan, which sort of bonds you in a weird way.
When are you coming over next??? She texted.
Now that I was technically on summer break, I could reality rip back and forth anytime I wanted, and it wouldn't take any time at all. Not only that, but I could keep this little secret from my dad a little longer... at least until I know his head won't explode from information overload. I smiled.
How bout now? I replied.
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