the smell of the ocean was a comfort for layke jackson. the smell of the salt water that burned his nostrils, the feeling of the sand beneath his feet, and the sound of the seagulls that flew above him. "you understand what i just said, don't you?" sally jackson looked at her son with teary eyes.

this was goodbye. he understood that, but not everything else she told him. "no," he shook his head, "i don't understand." sally sighed, pushing the heels of her palms into her temples, "layke, i need you to understand what i am saying."

"you just wanna get rid of me." layke argued, turning to look at his mom, "that's all you wanna do is get rid of me." sally's heart broke at his words. "no, no that's not it. if i could keep you here with me, i would. but i can't. it puts us all in danger." the woman tried to get through to him.

it was impossible. the young boy was so convinced that his mother just wanted to get rid of him, because layke didn't get along with smelly gabe. "i'm a burden, momma, i get it." he stood up from the sand, "you're gunna send me off to some boarding school, you dont gotta tell me stupid stories."

his voice was harsh as he spoke, refusing to look at her. sally could tell layke was close to snapping. she stood up, "i'll let you calm down. come inside when you're ready to listen." sally turned and walked away, leaving the boy to sit alone on the beach and watch the sun set below the horizon.

she walked up the steps, her hands shaky as she entered the beach cottage. percy jackson, just five years old, was fast asleep on the couch. she took her two boys to the cottage as a one last getaway before layke had to leave.

sally walked passed her sleeping son, entering the kitchen and pulling out a candle. she looked at it, eyes watering as her hands shook. she pulled out a match, lighting the candle. "please," she whispered, grabbing a small cookie from the jar just in hands reach.

she placed it over the burning flame, listening to the crackle as the cookie was burnt. in just a second, a sound could be heard from the deck. she turned, looking over to see the familiar face of the man she loved standing there. his eyes weren't on her, though.

his eyes were on their eldest son, sitting on the beach near the waves. sally dropped the cookie into the sink, practically running towards the door. "poseidon," her soft voice was enough to break him of his trance, but his eyes barely moved to look at her as lightning struck.

"it is time?" the god questioned. she nodded, "do you want to talk to him?" sally prayed internally that he would. even as lightning struck, thunder following, poseidon nodded curtly.

"i'll take him to camp,"

"let percy say goodbye first."

poseidon nodded once more, walking down the steps of the deck and through the sand. his eyes never once left his son, even as the rain worsened and the thunder boomed louder.

"momma!" the storm scared the poor boy, who scrambled to stand and as he turned, he didn't watch his surroundings. he slammed right into the wall that was the earth-shaker himself.

"hold on, kid," poseidon kneeled down in the soaking wet sand as the father and son were soaked by the rain, "hold on a minute, alright?" his voice was soft and comforting.

layke didn't question who this man was, only crying as the man's large hands were placed on his shoulders. he felt a wave of familiarity with him. his eyes and his hair, but mostly his smell.

"dad?" this man smelled of the ocean. layke could feel his heart beating at the same pace that poseidon's heart beat. if he even has one, that is.

"my son," he brushed the boys wet curls off of his forehead, "everything your mother told you was the truth." he placed his hand on the boys cheek.

he shook his head, "no, no it wasn't." layke refused. he knew deep down it was the truth, but he refused to believe it. they were simply stories. that was all.

"yes it was, and you know she was telling the truth." even as poseidon let him from the waves and rain, layke had an argumentative look in his eyes. he was a lot like his mother, a little bit stubborn. yet he was still kind.

one of the kindest children.

percy, though, was already a lot like their father. every time sally looked at her youngest son, she seen poseidon within his eyes. thats where the true stubbornness and hard headedness was at.

"i'll wait here. go say goodbye to percy," poseidon stood on the porch, out of view from the windows. he didn't want percy to see him in that moment. maybe one day, but today was not that day.

sniffling, both from crying and being chilly, layke entered the cottage. percy was waking up from his sleep, sally sitting next to him and rubbing his back gently, "it's time?" sally questioned her son.

layke hesitantly nodded. of course it was time. but, his father being there truly solidified it for sally. layke, on the other hand, thought that if he played along then this nightmare would be over a lot quicker.

sally stood, kissing her eldest son's forehead, "i'll let you talk to him first," her voice broke as she slowly stepped away from her two boys, going to grab layke's bag.

the boy kneeled down in front of percy, who was just barely five years old.

"hey, starfish," he smiled, leaning against the couch on his knees. he looked at his baby brother with so much admiration and love. they were practically inseparable, and now layke was leaving.

"whats go'n on?" the young boy yawned, wiping his eyes with his small fists. layke only pulled his brother into a cold, wet hug, "i gotta go away for a little bit, but i'll be back."

"i promise i'll be back."

⁎⁺˳✧༚

promises shouldn't be made if someone can't keep them. that's what layke had learned since that night, and its the consequence that he had to face after he made that promise.

he left the cottage that night, riding on the back of a hippocampus on the way to camp half blood, with his father, through the water. it was odd, but he said they were safer in the ocean. whatever that meant. as soon as they made the shores of the camp, they were met with two men.

(and also a group of armed kids, that layke later learned were children of ares or athena.)

a centaur named chiron and the wine god named dionysos. layke was most definitely freaked out over the centaur.

"poseidon," chiron's voice sounded disappointed but also tired as he began to speak. "yeah! come on!" dionysus was just aggravated, as he interrupted chiron who he thought was going to un-shamefully shame the man. layke was beginning to think that his presence was nothing but a burden in that moment.

that his existence was a burden.

"poseidon," repeated chiron, with a glare in the wine gods direction. he didn't appreciate being interrupted by dionysos. "earthshaker, stormbringer, father of horses. hail, layke jackson, son of the sea god."

he hadn't noticed the triton appear above his head until chiron spoke. the armed kids kneeled, just as they were told when said to hail to the son of poseidon. "just get him settled," the god's voice was stern as he held out the boys bag to the leader of the camp.

dionysos scoffed, taking the bag in his hand, "zeus is going to have your head," the curly haired man had informed. "i'm prepared to face whatever he'll force me to face." poseidon didn't seem afraid of any punishment zeus had waiting.

he turned to layke, a large hand on the boys shoulder, "you'll be safe here. percy will follow in a few years." was all he said before dionysos was shooing the boy away as he watched his father leave from over his shoulder.

he knew from that moment forward, there was no seeing his baby brother until he was at camp. he couldn't dare endanger the young boy. as long as percy was oblivious to the world of the demigods, he would be in danger with layke around.

so, percy grew up with vague memories of layke that sally never talked about. she always said he wasn't real. they were dreams. even gabe uglianos said the same things.

"it's all... it's all in your head, percy." the boy was now ten. two years before he'd find out he was a demigod. "no it's not," percy whispered as his mother ran her fingers through his hair, "he said he'll come back." his eyes filled with tears.

"percy, you don't have a brother." it pained sally to lie to her youngest son about his big brother, but there was nothing else she could do.

it was too early for percy to know anything, and this was the consequence of layke breaking his promise. five years, barely any communication, and he hadn't left camp half blood once.

( that sally, or mr. d, knew of )

"why do you lie to me?" he asked, "i'm not a baby. i know who sends me those presents. i just want you to stop lying." the boy flips on his other side, facing the wall with his back to his mom.

"i'm sorry, percy," sally whispered, rubbing her sons back as she kisses his hair.

sometimes, parents have to lie.

she stood up from his bed, "go to sleep now. i love you." she said once more, waiting a moment for percy to respond. when she didn't get an answer, sally sighed and left the room.

she left his door cracked just a smidge, a habit from when layke was still living with them. he was afraid of the dark and sleeping with the door closed, so sally always left it open.

she walked the short distance down the hall, entering the living room to see gabe still up on his laptop while watching some late-airing show. she sighed, sitting on the loveseat couch as he stayed in his recliner.

"just tell the kid you sent his brother to a boot camp," gabe suggested. "for five years?" sally scoffed, narrowing her eyes at gabe, "he wont believe that."

"then tell him the truth. you sent the boy to live with his dad far, far away 'cause you couldn't deal with him." gabe was becoming annoyed with the conversation. he didn't like layke.

the boy didn't like gabe, so gabe didn't like layke. simple as that. a man having beef with a child.

"it's not that easy."

those words echoed all the way back to camp, as layke repeated the same ones to chiron.

"it's not that easy." he argued, standing on the lakeside with the centaur beside him, "i'll put them all in danger. percy's too young."

"so you would rather stay away from your family? possibly never see them again?" chiron tried to understand fully, but he couldn't.

"she married gabe because of me. if i'm away, maybe she'll be able to leave him. maybe she'll be happy," he shrugged, eyes staring down at the rocks beneath his shoes. he felt almost embarrassed by his own logic.

chiron nodded, "but don't you miss your brother?"

layke missed percy more than anything. he missed his mother a whole lot, obviously, but percy? that was a whole different feeling. percy, despite their age difference, was layke's best friend.

when layke held percy in his arms for the first time, he felt an instant sense to protect percy all he could. and if staying away meant he could protect percy, then stay away he would.

stay away as long as he could.