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Dear Annabeth,
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I last saw you. You left so quickly and never looked back. When I got home and found out you were gone, I was a wreck. Helen felt so bad about what she said to you; she’s so sorry, sweetheart, and so am I. I treated everything you said like it was just your imagination because I was scared of losing you, and then I lost you anyway. I didn’t want to believe that you could be seeing those things so soon, although your mother warned me. I know now I should have listened.
I know I don’t deserve it, but do you think you could find in your heart to forgive me? I want you back, sweetie. Please give me another chance. Come home.
I love you so much.
Daddy
The blonde eight-year-old stared at the sheet of stationary in her hands. The cramped handwriting was slightly smeared from the tears that were hitting it.
“Annabeth? What are you doing?” her oldest brother, Malcolm, asked.
She sniffled and looked up at him, gripping the ring tightly in her fist. “I wanna go home.”
~College Ring~
Frederick Chase slowed his car to a stop at the base of the tall hill. He glanced at the passenger’s seat, but his wife stared straight ahead silently. In the backseat, the twins were asleep. He sighed and opened his door.
Looking up, he saw two figures standing at the top of the slope and began a long trek to them.
When he reached them, he stopped.
“Annabeth?” he said quietly.
The young girl fiddled with the strap of her orange duffle bag. “Hi, Daddy.” She looked up but didn’t make a move toward him.
When his daughter didn’t say anything else, he cleared his throat and turned to the teenage boy beside her. “Frederick Chase,” he stated, offering his hand.
The boy considered him for a moment with hard blue eyes before he accepted the hand and shook it firmly. “Luke Castellan.”
Frederick took in Luke’s seemingly-protective stance. “Are you Annabeth’s brother?”
Luke shook his head. “Hermes.” He left at that and knelt down to be Annabeth’s height. “Why don’t you go say goodbye to Chiron one more time, okay?”
Frederick expected his daughter to stubbornly refuse, as she always had before. He was shocked when she nodded silently, set her bag down, and turned to walk through the wooden structure that he assumed indicated the camp entrance.
Once she was gone, Luke turned back to Frederick. “Listen. Annabeth is smart. Really she’s a genius, even for a daughter of Athena. She may be eight, but I trust her to make decisions. She chose to give you a second chance, and you’d better not waste it.”
The college professor folded his arms over his chest. “And I suppose you know my daughter well?”
“You could say that,” Luke said snidely. “I was a runaway, too. I left home when I was nine and never looked back. I was on my own for a couple years before I met another demigod who was also running. Last year, we came across a scared little girl who had only a hammer to defend herself against monsters. We took her in, protected her, taught her how to fight, how to survive. A few months later, we were found by a satyr who brought us here.
“You know who that little girl was? Annabeth. Your daughter. She was all alone and terrified, and we helped her. So yeah, I know her well. And I have seen her grow and learn so much the past year she’s been here. She’s tough and can hold her own, but she’s still a child. So be careful, because I don’t know if she can take getting her family back and losing it again.”
Frederick was stunned into silence. “Where is the other runaway?” he finally asked in a quiet voice.
Luke averted his gaze. “Not here. Three demigods and a satyr let off a heavy scent.”
Before Frederick could respond, Annabeth appeared again, walking back to Luke. “I said goodbye. I went to my cabin again, too.”
Frederick watched in astonishment as Luke seemed to completely transform. “That’s good, sweetie,” he said, his eyes softening. “Now let’s just do one more check, alright?” He held up a finger. “Clothes?”
“Check,” Annabeth replied dutifully.
“Camp shirt?”
“Check.”
“Shoes?”
“Check.”
“Bag of drachma?”
“Check.”
“Ambrosia and nectar?”
“Check and check.”
“Greek books?”
“Check.”
“Necklace?”
“I’m wearing, Luke. I never take it off.”
The teenager smiled. “Then you’re all set.”
Frederick took the statement as a chance to interrupt. “Ready to go, then, kiddo?”
Annabeth hesitated before looking up at Luke. “Can I say goodbye first?”
A shadow of something fell across his face. “Of course.” He glanced up. “Wait here.”
The duo walked towards a tall pine tree that stood closest to the camp entrance. Frederick watched in confusion as his daughter placed and hand on the trunk. Fortunately, he was close enough to hear some of what was being said.
“Hi, Thalia,” Annabeth said to the pine. “Today is the day. I’m going back to Virginia. I know we said we’d never go home, but I want to try. I’ve missed my daddy. I hope you’re not mad.”
“She’d never be mad at you,” Luke corrected. “Would you, Thals.”
“What about the time I used her book to kill that spider and she yelled at me?”
“Well… except for that.” He spoke to the tree again. “Don’t worry, Thalia. I’ll keep up with her. I promise. Family, remember?”
Annabeth looked at her feet. “I’ll miss you, Thalia. I love you.” She quickly wrapped her arms around Luke and buried her face in his stomach. He embraced her and rubbed her back.
After a quiet moment, the demigods returned to the professor. With a deep breath, Annabeth said, “I’m ready.”
Frederick went to grab her bag, but Luke beat him to it. He slung the strap across his body and crouched down. “One last go?”
Annabeth eagerly clambered onto the teen’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “Let’s go!”
Luke took off down the hill with the girl, laughter trailing behind them. Frederick did his best to follow them quickly.
Once they reached the car, Luke helped Annabeth off his back and removed her bag.
“Thanks, Luke,” Annabeth giggled.
He smiled back at her. “Anytime, squirt.”
She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation against the nickname, but she quickly sobered up when Frederick put the duffle bag in the trunk.
Luke crouched to be at her level again. “Hey,” he said, waiting until she looked at him. “It’s only for a year, right? You’ll be back next summer. And I know we can’t use phones, but there’s always IM. Okay?”
She nodded.
“I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
Annabeth lunged forward and squeezed him tight. “Bye, Luke. I love you.”
He closed his eyes and held her to him. “I love you, too, Annabeth.”
Frederick held the back door open and Annabeth sat down in her old car seat, buckling herself in. She looked out the window at her friend and waved until she couldn’t see him anymore.
“Annabeth, sweetie?” Frederick looked at her in the rearview mirror. “What was that with the tree?”
She stared at her hands. “I had to say goodbye to Thalia.”
The man remembered Luke’s vague reply to his question about the third demigod and wondered exactly what not here meant.