As the days went by my mind was still fixated on Percy. No matter what I did I couldn't get him or the thought of our kiss out of my mind.

Christmas Eve had come and gone. We didn't have much celebrations for Christmas. Our only tradition was going home on Christmas morning, which we did this year like any other.

Being the only grandchild, Alice was allowed to control how the day went, and she always chose presents first.

"Mommy, look!" Alice cried as she waved a brightly colored toy baseball bat that was still half wrapped in wrapping paper in my face, narrowly avoiding smacking me.

I quickly snatched the baseball bat away from Alice, causing her to frown. "Woah, there, Alice, be careful! Thanks for the new weapon."

My father chuckled weakly as he examined the bat from afar. "Well, I don't like the fact you live in such a big city all alone!"

"I don't," I replied, winking at Thalia. Thalia had been spending Christmases with my family since high school and was always invited as her own mother never threw one. "Now, can you be careful, Alice?"

Alice's smile turned into a thin line and she nodded, looking as serious as a little kid could be. "Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes before reaching for Alice and tickling her, causing her to giggle and drop the baseball bat, which lay ignored on the ground.

"I think I should teach Alice baseball," Matthew, one of my half-brothers, decided as he snatched the baseball bat off of the ground.

"I agree," Bobby, his twin brother, said with a grin.

Thalia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly. "If anyone will be teaching Alice baseball, it'll be me!"

The three of them all rushed outside, Alice on their trail. I laughed as I watched them all teach Alice through the window.

"Anyone up for tea?" my father asked as he rose out of his chair, groaning as he walked.

Helen, my stepmother, nodded. "That sounds lovely, Fredrick. And I'm sure Annabeth agrees."

I hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, dad, that sounds great."

Helen became my stepmother when I was seven. She was the kind of woman who said whatever was on her mind, no matter what it was. She wasn't rude, per say, but she certainly wasn't kind.

"So, Annabeth, darling," Helen started as she tucked a piece of her graying hair away from her face, "where is Alice's father this Christmas?"

I bit the inside of my cheek as Helen smiled innocently at me and batted her eyelashes. She asked this question every Christmas. In fact, she asked it every holiday. It was like our own special tradition.

"Oh, I don't know," I replied weakly. "I think Hawaii was what he settled on for this year."

Every time she'd ask me that question, I would make up some obviously fake lie just to annoy Helen as she would never openly call me out in front of everyone for doing so.

Helen readjusted herself before nodding. "Ahh, I see. I heard that it's just lovely there this time of year. I was considering taking a trip there myself eventually. What's he doing there? Maybe I'll try it if I ever go."

"Scuba diving," I blurted out, but then nodded to cover my awkwardness. "Yeah, he really wanted to come this year, but he was busy scuba diving. With sharks!"

"Of course. Well, I guess that's less dangerous than the minor league wrestling tournament he was in last year..." Helen said, her voice trailing off.

I had never told anyone about Alice's real dad despite the fact I knew it was Percy ever since I learned of her existence, but since he didn't even know I didn't go around telling people about it.

I knew my family had their suspicions. They hadn't even learned of Alice until the day she was born, and I knew all of them hoped she wasn't Percy's based on his immaturity.

"Have you talked to your mother recently?" Helen asked abruptly. Her eyes narrowed as she mentioned my mother and her tone became more forceful.

My face grew red and I stood up instantly, which caused Helen to stare at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I've caused offense—"

"No, no, it's fine. You've just reminded me that I promised to call her about now," I lied, holding back tears. "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

I rushed out of the room much to Helen's shock and made my way up the creaky, old stairs to my old bedroom. When I entered the room I shut and locked the door before sitting down on my bed and dialing my mother's number.

My mother had left my father shortly after I was born. Her ambition had gotten in the way of our family, and she eventually decided her job was too important and left us.

As the years went by the amount of times I saw her got smaller and smaller until they were completely nonexistent. The last time I'd seen her she'd been both angry and disappointed with me, especially after I lied to her about Alice.

I could vividly remember that day. Alice was only a few months old and it was the first time I'd visited my mother in years. We'd met for lunch, and after she saw Alice and realized what had happened, she screamed at me for wasting my life away before leaving without paying, leaving me to pay the huge bill as a broke college student and single mother.

Now my mother lived alone in New York City. She ran some random hugely successful business, but I tried my best not to learn any of the details out of spite.

Calling her was a long shot as she probably didn't even have my number saved in her phone, so after the phone stopped ringing I threw it into my bed and sighed.

Huge tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision. Years of pent up anger and resentment towards my mother all came rushing out of me.

Then my phone dinged, causing me to anxiously and quickly sit up and grab the phone, only to see a number from Percy, which made the tears stop falling and actually managed to make me smile and feel less awful, which I didn't believe to be possible.

<Percy> Merry Christmas, wise girl!

<Annabeth> You too! Any big plans?

<Percy> lol no. Unless you count binge watching. I couldn't get a flight to NY

My heart pounded against my chest. Of course he would try to go home to New York, that's where his family was. Then it hit me, he was still in California. He was near.

<Annabeth> that sucks. Was it the storm?

A huge winter storm had devastated the Midwest and had even sprinkled towards the East, causing major flight cancellations for the holiday season.

<Percy> yeah, I'm stuck in my apartment. Maybe I'll even get coal for Christmas

<Annabeth> knowing u, probs

A smile formed on my face as I wiped the tears from my eyes and laughed. Texting Percy made me feel instantly better.

And as I peered out the window to see Alice, my half-brothers, and Thalia below and back to my messages from Percy, I grinned.

Maybe this Christmas isn't as bad as I thought...