Chapter Two - Charmed Life

Who on earth was Annabeth?

The question floated around my head all through the day. Through dinner, through the washing up, through my favourite show (Mr What, of course, the shapeshifting alien from Sixam!), I couldn't really concentrate on anything but that.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. "Mom, I'm going to my room," I announced, and she stared at me, but smiled after a minute.

"Talking to someone?" she asked, winking, and I blushed hotly.

"No! Oh my Plumbobs, Mom, no!" I stomped away, glad to have an excuse to go. Mom was always checking in little ways like that if I had a boyfriend yet. She was the prettiest girl in school at her age, and had a host of boys with crushes on her when she was still in pigtails.

Me? Not so much.

I slammed my door, and locked it for good measure, before picking up the pillow and reaching for the photo album.

The next photo was a picture of Annabeth with the same man, heavily pregnant this time, and again doing the soppy romantic staring. There was a pumpkin behind them, so I guessed it was October, sometime.

Below that photo was a picture of a woman in sunglasses, her hands on Annabeth's stomach. They seemed pretty close, the two of them, from the way Annabeth seemed to be laughing, and I wondered if this was the person who had taken the picture above, and the previous picture of Annabeth and her partner.

The photos on the opposite side were both around the same time - one of Annabeth carving a pumpkin, and one of two pumpkins either side of the door. They seemed a bit angled, actually, and I guessed the man must have snapped them.

The next pages were sweet. A nursery, empty, obviously waiting for a child, and then the other photos were all of a baby girl.

Her parents obviously loved this little girl so much. I smiled, and checked the back of the photos, but there was no writing on any of them to give me a clue about the little girl's name.

Annabeth certainly seemed to lead a charmed life. A baby to love, and a husband who loved her. What I couldn't figure out was what the photos were doing in our house, seeing as I had no idea who she was.