A/N: Yeah, yeah, real angsty, but I'm in that kind of mood. Next one-shot will be happier, hopefully. More reviews = faster update. :)
Annabeth smiled at Percy, though the smile was weak and not heartfelt. "I'm going to take a shower," she called.
"Okay," Percy answered, not even bothering to look up at her. He kept on typing on his laptop, typing to friends whom were better than her, prettier than her, funnier than her, and more important than her. She swallowed, and knew that her thoughts weren't fair. Percy wasn't emailing friends, he was working at a new case. But still, she couldn't help but feel bitter.
She walked to the bathroom, searching in her pocket for her new best friend. When she touched the metallic blade, cool to the touch, she instantly relaxed. It was the only thing that could calm her down now - pain to take away the other pain.
She turned on the shower and, after stripping off her clothes and tossing them to the side carelessly, she stepped in, not even caring that the water was freezing cold. She then remembered she had left it outside, so she groped for the knife in her pocket, and, after a few seconds of searching, pulled out her shiny razor blade. She smiled a small little smile. The razor was the only thing that could make her smile these days.
In the beginning, she had never thought that she would be a cutter. She was simply depressed, and would never resort to something so barbaric as to cutting herself. She could cope with it, she secretly bought antidepressant pills to not burden Percy with her load. She knew that if he found out, he would have been furious with her for hiding such an important thing, but hey - what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?
It had been an accident. She had been slicing an orange one day, and her hand slipped, so she cut her finger deeply. She winced, waiting for the pain, but instead of the sharp, biting feeling, she felt good. A warmth started to spread from the place blood was leaking out, and she had felt relaxed for the first time in days.
She knew it wasn't good for her, physically or mentally. She was slowly cutting away her skin, her blood, her energy, and her mental state wasn't getting any better. She should've gone to see a therapist, but with the state they were in, Percy and Annabeth couldn't afford it. With Percy working day and night, they could barely support the baby.
She flinched. The baby. That was the only thing that was stopping her from doing something drastic. Percy, she knew, would move on - he'd find a new girlfriend, a new lover; someone else to give him a baby daughter. But she couldn't leave Lynn. She couldn't have her baby grow up without a mother, that was just wrong.
So she stayed the same, cutting herself.
She sliced her delicate skin, sliding the blade over the skin, and closed her eyes in bliss. She was in paradise - she could see the palm trees, she could feel the soft sand underneath her feet, she could feel the sun caressing her face, the wind wrapping around her body, she could hear the waves washing upon the shore, feel them lapping upon her feet - and then somebody burst inside.
"P-Percy?" Annabeth gasped, dropping the razor and trying to desperately wash the blood away before he saw. But she knew he had seen, she saw the way his face darkened in shock.
"Annabeth..." he dropped to his knees, took her mauled arm to his face, stared at in disbelief, not even caring she had no clothes on. "Oh my god, Annabeth..." A sob racked his shoulders, and Annabeth, seeing him cry so openly on the floor like that, couldn't help but let a tear slide down her cheek as well, too. He cared for her so much. She didn't deserve him. He deserved someone better, a prettier, happier girl, not the depressed mess that she had become.
"Annabeth, what's wrong? Baby, tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, turning his face to look into her eyes.
"Percy, nothing's wrong," she tried pathetically, pushing him away. "Really, you don't need to worry about anything."
"Annabeth, tell me," he demanded, his voice firmer now, as anger slowly crept onto him.
"I-" She desperately searched for an excuse, any excuse, but her brain failed her. Nothing came to her. "I..."
Percy opened his mouth to speak, but just then, Lynn started wailing. "Lynn!" she called, running out, wrapping a towel around her body. She came to her baby's bedside, to see that her breaths were shallow and her face was grey. "Oh my gods! PERCY!" she screamed. "We need to get Lynn to the hospital, now!" She put on her clothes as fast as she could, and, wrapping Lynn in a soft blanket, she brought her to the car.
Percy was already inside, his keys in ignition. He drove as fast as he could to the hospital, ignoring the multitude of honks he had gotten, while Annabeth called the hospital. "Hello? Um, this is Annabeth Chase. My baby, Lynn Chase is sick, it seems. She's barely breathing and her face is the color of ash. Yes, I'm on the way to the hospital right now...She's eight months." Annabeth paused, listening to the lady speak a little longer, and then replied, "Thank you. Good night."
Percy looked at her, a question on his face. "Well?" he asked.
Annabeth couldn't bring herself to meet his face. "The lady..." her voice broke. "She said it's bad."
Percy widened his eyes, and stepped on the accelerator. More honks.
Minutes later, they arrived at the hospital, breathless, even though they hadn't ran for more than five seconds. Annabeth practically shoved the baby onto the woman's arms. "Hurry up, she's sick!" Annabeth screamed.
The lady held up one finger, and Annabeth wanted to slap her. "Now, wait one moment," she said, wagging her finger, "and let me examine her." The lady looked at her, turned her over a couple of times, and checked her pulse and opened an eye. "Emergency room," she said, and gave them directions.
When the doctor held her, though, he said two words, before even working on her. "She's gone."
Annabeth collapsed on the floor, and everything went black.
"Annabeth, sweetheart, can you hear me?" Percy asked.
Annabeth opened her eyes groggily. "Hm?" she asked. She tried to stand up, but was unsteady on her feet. "Where am I, Percy? Where's Ly-" Her eyes flew open. "Shit! Lynn!" she sobbed. "Oh, my pretty, sweet, Lynn. What will I do without Lynn?"
Percy wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright, Annabeth," he reassured, "everything is alright."
"No, it isn't," Annabeth protested, her tears leaking onto his shirt. "Nothing is alright, because my Lynnie is gone!"
"No, Annabeth," Percy said, "Look at me."
Annabeth grudgingly looked into his beautiful sea green eyes. They flickered and swirled, sympathy the only thing in those depths. "Annabeth, we'll work it out," he promised. "Me and you, together, as always. Right, Wise Girl?"
Annabeth just looked away.
Percy was at work, tapping a pencil on his forehead. Annabeth was seriously depressed. He didn't know what to do. He would've brought her to a therapist days ago, but he wasn't sure if that was going to help at all. Knowing Annabeth the way he did, she wouldn't listen to anybody.
She would just do something drastic, one day he went to work - Shit! Percy jumped out of his chair. His mind raced. This was the first day he was out at work. Annabeth had been unusually quiet today, and had said goodbye instead of see you later. Was she really going to...?
He grabbed his coat and ran outside the door, but his boss stood in front of him. Percy scowled at the sight of the tight miser. "I need to go," he said stiffly, trying to sidestep him.
"Mr. Jackson," his boss said infuriatingly slowly, "I think you know as well as I do that you can't leave work in the middle of the day."
"Let me go," he growled. "Something's happening."
"What is happening?" his boss demanded, his face red. "Anything that important, I can know."
"My fiancé is going to kill herself! Get out of my way!" He pushed his dazed overseer to the side and jumped outside and raced to the train tracks nearest to home. He knew that would be the way Annabeth would want to leave the earth.
When he got there, though, he saw Annabeth gazing at the flashing red lights. He quickly parked and jumped out. "Annabeth!" he yelled, running toward her. "Annabeth! Don't do this!"
She looked sadly at him. "I love you, Percy. I always have. You need to move on, though. I don't deserve you. Goodbye," she called. "Perhaps we will meet in the Underworld."
He could hear the trains coming. He was getting closer, maybe close enough to pull her off. Ten feet - five feet, two feet - he made a grab for her, but she jumped in front of the train, and wind slapped his face as it ran over his beautiful Annabeth.