The next couple days were awkward, but by the fourth day the gods were here, Dad and I were acting normal. Neither of us mentioned my panic attack, something I was thankful for. I mean, waking up with Dad sitting slouched on a chair next to my bed and having him fuss over me was bad enough, if he would've brought it up later, I would've died from embarrassment.

At the moment, we were sitting on some rocks out in the woods. The weather was cool enough for Dad not to question my jacket, though I don't have any idea on if it was really this cool at this time of year or if it was a gods doing.

"Artemis might bring the Hunt by tomorrow." Dad said as I stared into the treeline.

"Sweet. Can't wait to kick Thalia's ass in Capture the Flag."

"Watch your language."

"Don't be a hypocrite, Dad." I grinned.

"So..." He looked up at me. "We haven't really had a good conversation. How's this place been?"

"Pretty good. Except for the younger campers who think they know how to do everything. None of us were this bad. There was a kid who pushed me into the lake because I called him out."

"You should have pulled him into the lake with you."

I smiled, but didn't laugh. "I don't want to make any others gods mad. Athena and everybody else probably hate me more now."

"Are you talking about what happened during the war? Percy, nobody blames you."

"Haven't you noticed? Dad, since you've been here have you once seen a camper come over to me just to talk? Has Nico or Clarisse or the Stolls offered to spar or hang out?"

"They probably want to spend time with their own parents."

"That would make sense, if they hadn't been avoiding me for the last month." I leaned back against a rock, shifting my gaze to the leaves above us.

"Is that why you've been hurting yourself?" Dad's voice was soft.

I looked down at him, heart in my throat. "What...what are you talking about?" Play dumb. Just play dumb and maybe he'll forget about it. "Why would I hurt myself?"

Dad climbed up next to me. "That's something I want to know too, child." 

"Why do you always call me child? I'm pretty sure you remember my name."

"Don't try to change the subject." He mumbled. "I'm not an idiot. The dried blood on the floor, the blood on your sword, the long sleeves, and the empty trashcan in your bathroom... Listen, I'm not going to force you to tell me. I just want you to know if you ever need me, I'll be here."

"Dad, I'm fine."

"Can I see your arms?"

"There's nothing-"

"I know you're lying to me and I'm trying to not lose my temper. I want to make sure you're taking care of yourself."

I ducked my head. "Can we go to the cabin please?"

Dad rested his hand on my shoulder and next thing I knew, we were sitting on my bed. "Take off the jacket." He stared at me until I sighed and took it off.

He stared at me with wide eyes. He swallowed. His eyes moved from my forearms to my biceps, before he lifted his hand and undid the bandages.

"Are there any others?"

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Dad kissed my forehead before grabbing the med kit. He grabbed the alcohol. It stung, horribly.  Cleaning them was necessary, especially since I hadn't before, but why the Hades does it have to hurt so much?!

It's not the same pain as when I drag the blade across my skin. That soothed me, this was just agonizing.

"Dad..." I tried to pull my arms away from him.

"I know, but they need cleaned." After he finished, he snapped his fingers. Boxes of bandaids appeared on the bed next to us and Dad opened them. Soon I had cartoon character bandaids plastered on my arms. A mix of Nemos, Dorys, Squirts, Spongebob and every other undersea character stared up at me. I almost laughed at his choice in bandaids.

Dad took off his hat and tossed it onto his bunk."Can you tell me how this happened?"

"Can...Can we not talk about this?"

"Tell me three things. Okay? Just three things. When did you start this? What have you used? Why did you feel like this was an acceptable answer?"

"Few days before you guys showed up. Glass and Riptide. I...I just wanted to feel something." Why the fuck am I telling him this? I'm not going to be able to do the one thing that makes me feel better. He's going to take Riptide and make sure someone is always with me and he'll tell Chiron and-

"Do you want a hug?" Dad asked.

I nodded and without hesitating, he pulled me into a tight hug. I rested my head against his shoulder, hands grasping at his shirt as my body shook. Dad kissed my head, and he rubbed my back. He was trying to calm me down, though it wasn't working out too well.

"Child, if you ever need me after us gods leave for anything like this, you can Iris Message me at any time."

"I don't want to bother you." I looked up at him, tears in my eyes and on my cheeks. Dad managed a small sad smile. He brushed some hair away from my face.

"It's not bothering me if you need me."

I have no idea how long this book will continue on. Depends on where I take it.

Hey, did you guys see the stuff for the Wattys? How do you feel about it?

See yah