Family Business [Cherry]

Annaleigh didn't like being late, but she had to. She saw Avery by the lake, his feet dipped in the clear blue water. She plopped down beside him, "Sorry" she said quietly. She really meant that he was sorry about the memories that he had, but she knew it was better than to end up with amnesia like their father. Dad... She remembered how he would hug her and hold her close like nothing else mattered to him. She remembered her mother genuinely happy, when she would smile and laugh and be like any other mom. Leigh looked up to her mother, and understood that Amber had tried really hard in taking care of two kids, but they reminded her too much of dad, and she would break down sobbing after not seeing them after a while.

She remembered when they had first brought Avery out of the hospital room. She was two and a half, but she remembered herself wearing pigtails and licking the ice cream her father had bought her that day. It hurt to remember her father, but they both knew that their mother was the one who suffered the most.

She became the caretaker for Avery since then, her mother couldn't stand crying in front of her children. She knew what really hit her mother was the hope that he could be alive. But why didn't he return? Leigh knew better than to even hope that her father was alive, but her mother was too stubborn to believe it. Maybe there were demigod dreams, maybe her mother was just too heartbroken to care. That she didn't get to be with him in his supposed last minutes. Maybe it was because he never had a proper burial. Maybe it was just plain hope.

[color=0000cc]He looked over at Leigh. "Hi." he said, he sighed, kicking his feet slowly in the water. He wrinkled his eyebrows. "Do... Do youthink that there's a chance that dad's alive?" he asked slowly. He looked over at Leigh, they usually tried to avoid these conversations, by he couldn't. He had questions that he wanted answered.

He looked up at the sky, "Maybe?" he asked her after she didn't respond for a while. She looked like dad, Avery acted like him. Adrian used to tell them that the spilt of who they looked like and how thu acted was perfectly equal.

He couldn't help but miss him. His mind then wondered to his mom. If they didn't call herthat night, they would both have to send letters. It wasn't that he didn't love his mom, he adored her; he just wished that she was there for them more of the time.

Leigh laughed. She laughed unil her sides hurt and she couldn't possibly laugh anymore, but still kept laughing that sweet little laugh of her's. She shook her head, smiling at her brother. To her, he would always be the little brother that was immature and childish, the one that she would forever have to take care of. It wasn't like anyone noticed, but her brother was the clumsiest person ever. It used to crack mom up, she would always pick little Avery off the ground and tell him to go chang in his room. Leigh smiled, remembering how her mom was really like.

She had a small hope that dad was still alive, and the only thing fueling it was her family. She was self sacrifical, but they were people she really cared about, people who have been there for her. Like how mer mother would try her best for them, and she would return the favor. To make it fair for everyone. Most importantly, to make everyone happy. She took out a Tide 2Go stick and tossed it at her brother. Yes, she was serious, she carried those around in her bag, but it always came in handy.

"You should carry one of these around, girls don't like boys with stained clothes." she teased in a sisterly way. It was true, and Avery had only ever dated... Well, not many girls in his life. In so many ways, his personality was on the other pole of the world. Unlike his sister's.

Avery smiled at her. "You wanna hug?" he asked jokingly. He heled out his arms toasted her. He took the Tide 2Go stick. "Girls don't wanna date me." he answered, shrugging it off. He was always too silly, and never serious. He wondered why that was, but then he knew.

He didn't want things to get so serious that he would get married and be deveatated when something happened. In reality, Avery was scared of falling in love. He sighed. Heremembered dad telling the story of how he and mom met all the time. It was the kids' favorite, he didn't like thinking about his dad much anymore. Only the fact that he could still be alive.

"I don't think this is going to cover all down the front of my shirt. He shrugged, fruit to get the stain off his shirt. He looked over at Leigh. She looked like dad so much. He smiled at her. He loved his sister, she was always there. Someone to fall back on. Sometimes literally he would fall down and she would help him.

He scrunched his eyebrows together, trying to get the stain to come out. "Leilei, it's not coming out..." he trailed off handing her the Tide stick.

Leigh smiled, "Don't be silly, you just don't like any of the girls tht do bother." She said, in a motherly tone. They had always asked their dad how he met their mom, and because she was the grand daughter of Aphrodite, she would always love those sappy stories. But after dad had gone missing, Leigh knew not to ask anymore. She knew he was just going to cause hurt.

She looked out beyond the lake, thinking about what might've been like if her dad hadn't gone missing. Would she be watching a movie with him right at this moment? Would she be at boarding school, waiting to graduate into an ivy league college? There were infinite possibilities. Nobody knew. Well, maybe the gods would, but that's not the point.

Though she could've asked the last time they visited Olympus, bur she was too scared of the possibility. She had also run into Aphrodite, but they didn't talk, because evidently, gods wern't supposed to talk with their offspring. She couldn't care any less, she would chose her own steps carefully, it didn't matter if she knew everything or not. Heck, sometimes the truth hurts even more then hope.

Leigh smirked at her brother' comment, "Too bad." she said.

he shook his head. "Yeah right." he rolled his eyes. "should we call mom?" he asked, looking at her. He sighed. He raised an eyebrow at her. Sometimes he hate calling his mom. It was easy to tell that she was still broken. He hated seeing his mom like yurt. If he knew where the he'll dad was he go look for him.

He bit his lip, looking at his sister, awaiting an answer. If not, he would write his mom a letter and be done with it. His mind wandered again, back to the fact of barely datit anyone. No matter what Leigh said, he knew the reason that girls didn't want to date him. Maybe Averys mom could deal with his dad, who apperantly was just as immature as him.

"Leigh, you have to leave camp soon..." he trailed off quietly, he would have two years without his big sister, it was weird. He had never been without Annaleigh. She had always been there to help him.

Leigh sat up straight and looked at her brother. Her expression said "Are you crazy?!" and she actually meant it. She knew that her brother wanted to see their father again, but wasn't that a bit too much? What would their mother say? She would burst into tears. She snapped back into reality as the familiar, cheerful voice of Amber Hawthorne amplified through the phone. It seemed louder than usual, maybe because of what Avery had just said.

"Hello? If you're another one of those prank callers, I'm going to start accepting corporate calls only!" her mother demanded in that soft yet authoritative voice of her's. Leigh instantly spoke. "Oh hey mom." she said.

[color=#0000cc]Avery gulped, "Just..." he sighed, mumbling it out quietly, "Just a suggestion." he said quietly as his mom answered. He wouldn't bring it up, sometimes... sometimes he thought that in his family he was never taken seriously, because of the way he acted. Sometimes it got on his nerves. He sighed, "Hey mom." he said quietly. She said teh same thing everytime she answered. By now, he believed he could say their entire conversation in his head.

Leigh gave her brother a look as if to say that they better not make their mother cry again or else. She had a worldwide famous enterprise to handle and she didn't have her husband. She just wish that they could find Adrian, to have him lift her up and spin her around like she was the only thing in the world that he cared about, but it just wasn't an option. Her brother didn't realize it.

"Oh hello Avery! How's camp? Have you meet anyone yet? Is Leigh with you?" she aked him. Amber stopped talking as she realized that she was bombing hr children with questions. Leigh knew that he had met someone the other night at the festival of lights, though. He had walked back into the cabin with a dreamy look on his face. This girl better be decent. Her brother had a knack for dating total bishes because he was desperate.