Thanks to a genius idea, Revenge is now the prequel to Stages. If it's not too much trouble, I suggest you read it before you read this:
s/9214271/1/Revenge
If not, no trouble. Read on.
Percy had to take the news sitting down. He put his head in his hands, and sobbed, a terrible, heart wrenching sound. The sound of someone who just lost the love of their life. For that was exactly what had happened. Annabeth had killed herself. No warning, not even so much as a sign of sadness from her. She had seemed to be the perfect picture of mental health. So when she was found by her father with a bullet hole in her temple, it was extremely shocking, certainly life changing to everyone. Which is where we find Percy now, sitting in the Chase's living room, crying. Mr. Chase had called him immediately to give him the news. The two men sat in the living room in shocked silence, waiting for the police to arrive, tears falling from their faces.
"How… how could this have happened…?" Mr. Chase managed to choke out. Percy shook his head.
"I don't know… she never seemed to have any problems… none at all…" He said. There wasn't much to say. Percy honestly could not believe it. They heard the wailing of sirens as the police pulled into the street. Mr. Chase opened the door, and the uniforms began flooding in. the forensics and coroners looked at Mr. Chase. He pointed up to the stairs and croaked out, "First door on the left."
"Young man?" Percy saw a police officer walking up to him. He pulled his head out of his hands. "I'm Officer Brunner. I'm going to ask you a few questions, they might help clarify why this happened." Percy nodded. "Yeah… go ahead…" He said.
"Has the girl, Annabeth, been acting strange in any way?" Percy shook his head.
"No, she's been fine… she seemed perfectly happy, no problems whatsoever…" He responded. The officer looked troubled.
"Well, then I can't actually ask you anything else. Don't worry boy, we'll do all we can to figure out what happened." He said. Percy absently shook his head, mostly tuning out Officer Brunner.
Percy stood up, and walked outside to his car. He got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and began to drive home. He could not accept that his lover was dead, especially by her own hand. The words 'Annabeth' and 'dead' didn't fit together in a sentence Percy could comprehend. He drove home in silence, no music on the radio, or his iPod. He drove slightly recklessly, he didn't really care what happened to him at the moment. He eventually arrived at his dark house, and went into the bathroom. He gazed into the mirror, and splashed cold water all over his face. Then he froze. There she ways, standing right there behind him, smiling. He abruptly turned around, and saw nothing.
"No… no, no, NO she's not fucking dead!" He yelled to the empty house. Then he got an idea. "She's just out somewhere, at one of her usual places!" He said. He dried his face, and rushed back out to his car. He hopped in, and drove off to Thalia's house. This time, he had music on, trying to make everything like it was just another night. After a couple of minutes, he reached Thalia's. He knocked on her door, and she answered, a forlorn look on her face.
"Hey Perce…" She said sadly. "C'mon in…"
"Thalia! Is Annabeth here?" He asked frantically. Thalia looked at him.
"Percy… She's dead…" Tears were pooling in her eyes. "If this is some kind of joke it's NOT FUNNY!" She yelled. Percy looked shocked.
"No… she's not dead… she's not!" He said. He found a chair and collapsed into it. Thalia's tears were flowing now. It took a lot to make her cry.
"She is dead Percy… we can't fix that… its happening, we have to accept it…" She told him.
"No, I won't accept it! There are other places I have to check!" And with that, he ran out of Thalia's house, leaving her to wonder what the hell he was saying.
And so Percy began his trek across the town, searching everywhere. He looked in her favorite restaurants, the library, even the architectural hall. Nowhere. She was nowhere. He eventually had to give up and he drove home for the final time that night. He walked into the house, and didn't bother turning the lights on. He walked to his bedroom, and changed into his pajamas before falling into bed. He fell into a deep dreamless sleep almost instantly. He wished he could sleep forever.
Hey everyone! So this is going to be a five part series on the stages of grief. If you're curious about the stages, go Google it. Some of the chapters (or all of them) might be short, but hey, it's something I'm trying. Don't kill me x.x So hit follow, and you can stay updated and ready for the next chapter/stage. Until then my friends!