You Can't Hold the World On Your Shoulders Forever
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry― oops. I'm used to doing it for Harry Potter. I meant to say I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Hehe.
I wanted to do a Harry Potter fic but I also wanted to try Percy Jackson… the latter won (because Halle made me). Some characters will be very OOC. Her step-brothers here are nine and they're twins.
Annabeth crept down the stairs, each step hurting her, trying not to make any noise. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding.
She stood there at the bottom of the stairs quietly. Her step-brothers were both sitting on the couch waiting for her. She gave them a small smile and told them to wait outside for her. They nodded and quickly walked outside.
They were both so young… they didn't deserve this. She had told them about her being a half-blood. They didn't understand the whole thing but they knew what she was mostly talking about. They were both very bright for their age. They were really close now. They kept no secrets from each other… from others though, that was different.
She snuck into the kitchen and carefully opened the fridge. Annabeth took out the twins' already packed lunches. She took out a water bottle, two slices of bread and a slice of cheese. She placed the cheese in between the two slices and wrapped a paper towel around it. She put it in a paper bag along with the water bottle this was her lunch. The paper bag was too loud though. She heard a grunt from upstairs and immediately froze up. All she had to do was stay quiet and hope her father didn't wake up. If only that humming would shut up. Humming! She had left the refrigerator open!
Annabeth quickly, and quietly, shut the fridge and stood still. She heard another grunt and then snoring. She let out a sigh of relief. She grabbed her paper bag and rushed out the door, carefully closing the door behind her.
She handed Bobby and Matthew their lunches and began walking them to school.
"Anna...?" Bobby asked cautiously. Annabeth grimaced; they only used that nickname when they were going to ask about... him.
"Anna... Did he hit you last night?" he finished. Annabeth bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
"Not much," she said. She didn't exactly /lie/ she was beaten last night but the 'not much' was stretching the truth. "Let's get you two to school,"
She remembered what had happened the first time he had hit her.
Her stepmother had died in a terrible accident during the summer. Well, not exactly accident since she had been murdered.
She was shopping at a store one day when a robber came in. He put a gun to her head and proclaimed that if everyone would give him their money he'd let her live. He lied. He still shot her and took everyone's money.
Annabeth had arrived the next day to find her father all messed up. He was spread out on the couch, beer cans and bottles littered all over the floor. She hadn't even known that her father drank! She looked at him in disgust and started picking up, stumbling on a few toys. Toys! Where were Bobby and Matthew? She raced up the stairs and burst into their rooms to find them in different corners… bruised.
They were both asleep, yet crying. The sight brought tears to her eyes. Then another emotion came over her, rage.
She walked down the stairs, jaw set, getting ready to scream at her father.
"HOW COULD YOU!" She yelled. Her father woke up and moaned clutching his aching head.
"Shut up, will you!" he groaned.
"No! I will not 'shut up'" she snapped making air quotes around those words. "HOW COULD YOU ABUSE MATHEW AND BOBBY LIKE THAT? YOU'RE THEIR FATHER BUT YOU'RE ACTING MORE LIK―"
Slap
Annabeth fell to the floor, her cheek stinging. She slowly reached for her cheek and touched it. It was hot, /very/ hot. She stared up at her father, how could he?
"Next time I tell you to shut up, do It.," he snarled.
That was one the first time he hit her, but not the last.
She hadn't told anybody about that, not even Percy or Grover. She had given her baseball cap to her stepbrothers. She had told them that when their father was on a 'rampage' that one of them should put it on and the other hide as well as they could. She protected them; she made sure he never got to them. She took all the beatings, the yelling and the responsibilities. She made sure her stepbrothers had enough to eat, stayed clean, and got to school safely.
She gave them one last smile and waved goodbye as they walked into their school. She noticed the disgusted look a teacher was giving her. Probably because of what she was wearing. It was a green dress, its sleeves went past her elbows and it fell right above her knees. It wasn't an ugly dress; the reason she was looking at her disgustingly was possibly because she wore it yesterday also.
She had been beaten very bad last night. So bad, she couldn't even change. She most likely looked like a mess. She remembered last night… it was terrible.
Annabeth was laying down on her bed, holding a drachma in one hand and a CD in the other. If she could get sunlight on the CD it'd create a rainbow. Then, she'd contact Percy. She'd tell him what her father had been doing, Percy would then take them away to New York, and they'd finally be free.
She put the CD down, under a lamp and started to adjust it until the 'rainbow' was reflected on the ground.
"Annabeth, what are you doing?" Her father asked carefully.
Annabeth hadn't even noticed that he'd come inside. She laid there stock still hoping that'd she turn invisible or that he'd leave.
"I asked you a question!" He said, getting angrier.
"N-nothing," she stuttered, still not turning to face him. That was a mistake on her side. He walked over and pulled her up by her hair.
Annabeth did nothing; she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her cry. He glared furiously at her and pushed her. She hit her head on the wall and fell down on the ground. Her head was killing her. What did she do to deserve this?
"Now, baby girl." he said mockingly, "Why don't you tell your daddy where those naughty boys are? I got a call from their school telling me that one of them told a lie… that I abused you…" he said caressing her cheek.
Annabeth looked at him disgusted and snapped, "That wasn't a lie."
Her fathers sadistic smile faltered and turned into a rage. "Now, Annie,"
"Don't call me that," she snarled.
Her father growled and lowered his voice. "Annabeth, I don't want to hurt you. You know I love you and your brothers―"
"Then why do you beat us―me!" she screamed at him.
He towered over in rage and kicked her in the stomach. "Don't cut me up when I am talking you worthless freak!" he dragged her up and slapped her.
"You deserve it. All of it. If it wasn't for you and your stupid, freaky friends my wife wouldn't be dead!" He took out his belt and lashed it across her back.
Annabeth still wouldn't cry, she was strong. She had held up the world, she could handle this. But then again the world wasn't her father and didn't scream insults at her.
"I didn't kill her!" she managed to squeak out in pain.
"You might as well have! You and your freakishness must have attracted other freaks and they went after her trying to find you. If you never had come here, she wouldn't have gotten killed. If you hadn't been a f**king whatever the hell you are, she'd be here. If you hadn't been BORN I wouldn't have to be putting up with your bull sh*t!" He doubled his belt and hit her repeatedly on the back. The leather left red marks on her back. He flipped her over and started kicking her stomach. Not only did the kicks hurt, but the pressure she was putting on her back pained her.
He hoisted her up and held her up against the wall. His right hand on her neck, not chocking her but held a firm grip, and his left hand pushing her against the wall.
"Listen to me, Annabeth if you DARE tell anyone about this… I will beat you so bad you'll be bordering death. But while you're still alive I'll make you watch as I kill your brothers."
Annabeth mustered as much strength as she could. "Don't you DARE touch them!" she lashed out, pushing him away from her. "If you hurt them I swear on the river of Styx that I'll personally charge up from Hades and murder you," she threatened.
Fredrick, he wasn't worthy of the title father or 'dad' anymore, laughed. "You wouldn't have the guts! You ALWAYS run away. Don't you remember, when you were younger? You ran away, with a boy?" he said.
Annabeth stared at him, trying to see where he was going.
"You're nothing but a follower. You've been following that boy, Prissy-"
"Percy," she snapped. She was sick and tired of him getting away with things.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO INTURRUPT ME YOU (censored)!" He punched her in the stomach breaking three ribs in the process.
Annabeth groaned and touched her stomach, ouch.
"Listen to me b**ch, tell ANYONE and you'll regret it. So will the runts!" he said with one last kick to her stomach. He turned and marched out of the room.
Annabeth laid there on the floor whimpering. She tried to get up but her stomach didn't allow her to. She figured since no one was now watching she could let some emotion out. And she did.
Annabeth began sobbing, why did this happen to her? What had she done to deserve this! She had help save Olympus not to long ago, why did she have to go through this! Why was she a freak!
A freak… she too was starting to believe her fath― Fredrick. Was that all she was? A freak?
Why hadn't Athena or anybody else help her out? Surely one of them would have been looking out for her! She was now the Architect of Olympus, didn't they need her? Didn't they notice her suffering! Maybe they did, maybe they found it funny.
She let out a sob, and clutched her stomach tightly. Yes, it was hilarious. The Annabeth Chase, the girl who held up the world, the girl who helped save Olympus, the girl who helped retrieve Zeus's thunderbolt, Architect of Olympus, Percy Jackson's girlfriend; couldn't stand up to her abusive father. She let out another sob, why did SHE have to go through this? Hadn't she already had enough? When would the pain end? When would she finally be happy?
She cried herself to sleep that night. Not noticing an invisible Matthew come out of her closet and Bobby crawl out from a stack of clothing. They both walked over to Annabeth's bed and grabbed a pillow and blanket. It was their fault she was suffering.
Bobby lifted her literally bloody head and put the pillow under it. Matthew pulled the blanket over her and kissed her forehead.
"Do you think Annabeth is mad at me?" Bobby asked, tears cascading down his face rapidly.
"Da― no, that guy is, I don't know about Annabeth though."Matthew said hugging his twin.
"It's all my fault. I told Ms. Watson and she didn't believe me." Bobby said, trying not to sob.
"Bobby, one day me you and Annabeth will get outta here! And dad will be arrested and… and we'll be given to nice people!" Matthew whispered. He was always the optimistic one of the two.
Bobby sniffed and nodded. "I know … but when?" he asked.
Matthew shook his head and looked away "I don't know…"
Annabeth walked into her school, ignoring the looks she was getting. She had no friends here, just the way she wanted it.
She walked into her first class just as the late bell was ringing. She took the last seat available, which was in the middle of the classroom. There was a reason nobody took that seat. The teacher had a knack of picking on the student in this particular seat to read aloud.
"Ok class, open your books up to page forty-six, we'll be learning a bit more about Greek Gods today. Ms. Chase...?" She looked at Annabeth in shock. She was bruised badly but she just brushed it off. "Start reading,"
Annabeth blinked twice and nodded. She could feel the stares she was getting. If only she had her Yankees cap...
She flipped to the page number and stared blankly at the screen. Curse her dyslexia! She could only make up a few words on the page that were in ancient Greek. Said words were 'Athena', 'Olympus', 'Zeus, Poseidon and Hades' and few more.
"Ms. Chase, we're waiting." The teacher said, starting to get impatient.
"Oh… right, sorry." she quickly apologized.
"Umm… r-or..." She said, trying to read. She was seeing 'oevr trehe mloilin eayrs oga' whatever that meant.
The teacher sighed in exasperation. A girl in front of her raised her hand, bangles and bracelets jingling as she moved her hand around. Her hair was black and curled; she was wearing a cheerleader uniform. Annabeth knew who she was, Vanessa Rivers, her worst enemy… at school at least.
"Yes, Ms. Rivers?" she asked, smiling at the cheer captain.
"I'd like to read," she said. Annabeth could here the perfect smile in her voice. She knew that she was taunting her indirectly.
"Of course, go ahead." She said nodding in approval.
Annabeth's lip quivered and she lowered her head. She had held up the world… she could handle this.
Two months later (November)
Annabeth walked into the cafeteria. She didn't feel like eating. She was eating less and less now a days. She was reserved, except with her stepbrothers.
Today she was a bit happier though. Why, you ask, because it was almost Thanksgiving. Percy promised to visit her during Thanksgiving. Her dad knew it too, he once again threatened her not to say anything. That meant no beatings for three days.
Percy would be arriving today with Sally and Paul, by car of course. She hadn't felt so excited in a long time.
Annabeth knew that when they left though… she was in for it. It'd be ten times worse than what she had ever gotten. She would have to make sure Bobby and Matthew weren't in the same room, or house, when that happened.
Sometimes she thought of giving up, but her dreams kept her going. She wanted to be an architect… marry Percy… create a family.
Lately that had seemed very unlikely. She was thinking of lowering her expectations. Who knows, maybe if her dad did… finish her off, she might be able to be noticed. They'd finally see she was in need of help. She'd be able to e where she was loved, if she ended up in Elysium.
But she couldn't leave her stepbrothers alone. She would have to stay strong for them, pretend like nothing was wrong. Like she was fine. Even if she wasn't.
When the final bell rang Annabeth walked out of the school, blending in with the crowd.
"Hey, Wise Girl!" she heard someone call. Her heart skipped a beat, there was only one person in the world that called her that, or was allowed to. She turned around and her face lit up. All she wanted to do was run up to him, hug him and cry. Also beg him to never leave her. To take her away from where she lived. To make sure Fredrick never touched her or anything again. But she couldn't do that. Instead she put on a small smirk and replied. "Long time no see Seaweed Brain."
She walked up to him and hugged him. She felt tears welling up in her eyes but blinked them back, she couldn't cry. Percy pulled away from the hug and kissed her.
She heard laughing from behind her and wolf whistles. She pulled away from the kiss and turned around. Vanessa Rivers and Kyle Nobles were there. The king and queen of the school.
"Who knew Annafrizz had it in her!" Kyle cackled.
"I don't think she does, she might be paying him. I mean look at him he's way to hot to go out with no brains there." A girl on the side said. It was Vanessa's bimbo follower.
The football team and cheerleading squad began to form around them. That led to more people gathering around.
"Take that back," Percy snapped, no one talked about Annabeth that way!
"Percy... it's ok." she said quietly. But it wasn't ok; they deserved everything that was coming their way. Really, she could have beaten them up any day, but that would bring suspicion.
"Oh, look. He was even paid to body guard." Vanessa sneered.
Percy reached for his pockets.
"Don't you dare," Annabeth snapped. For all she knew they could see him holding a bomb, then where would she end up.
Percy kept his hand in his pocket for a bit longer but finally took his hand out. He sighed, "Fine,"
Annabeth let out a small smile and pecked him on the cheek. "Good," she said walking away towards his car. "Now c'mon, I have to pick up Matthew and Bob―"
"Oh, you don't have to, your dad said he would. He―"
"What!" Annabeth screeched, Fredrick was going to pick her brothers up? No! He might... he might intentionally crash the car and have them killed! He could set fire to the back seat and escape! He could- he could…
"Annabeth, are you alright?" Percy asked.
Annabeth stared at him, eyes wide, had she said that out loud? "O-oh, it's jut because h-he usually has to work, so I'm surprised he was able to pick them up," she said as convincingly as she could.
Percy nodded, not noticing her hand, which he wasn't holding, was trembling. He opened the car door for her and got in on his side.
"You hungry?" he asked, starting up the car.
Annabeth bit her lip, she wasn't hungry per se. She had eaten a big breakfast, three bites of a muffin and almost a half a pint of orange juice! Not to mention a ham sandwich for lunch!
"No, I'm fine." she said, but of course her stomach had to betray her and grumble.
Percy laughed wholeheartedly, and Annabeth simply blushed. "Come on, my treat. Where're some good places to eat here?" he asked.
Annabeth bit her lip again; she hadn't been out to eat in a very long time. "Anywhere's good." she said coolly.
Percy nodded and turned the corner. "So how's California been for you, Wise Girl?" he asked teasingly.
"Sunny, haven't been in any trouble, I wonder why that is Seaweed Brain." she shot back. It had been way too long since she had been able to joke around and act like… herself. She had been lying a bit though; she hadn't been in any kind of trouble Demigod wise. The other was a different story, and one she wouldn't want to tell.
Percy laughed once more. "Surprisingly I haven't either. Things have been really dull now that… you know. Nothing exciting has happened… well to me."
"Me either," she said. "School's boring, no monsters are attacking... I'm sort of missing our 'adventures' Annabeth admitted."
She saw a small smile appear on Percy's lip, "You wanna know what I miss the most?" he asked slyly.
"The food, everyone's great personality, or Mr. D?" Annabeth asked sarcastically.
"How did you know? Yes, I miss Mr. D the most, I mean with his amazing personality and love for children, who wouldn't?" He said playing along.
"What I really miss is..." he whispered the last part and looked straight at the road. He turned once more into the parking lot of a Mexican Restaurant and got out of the car.
Annabeth sat there blushing; he missed their underwater kissing the most? She too got out of the car and walked towards him.
"Percy..." she said carefully.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"You're such a Seaweed Brain," she said laughing at his expression. He clearly didn't see that coming.
"Well than," he said with a mock hurt voice. He put his arm around her waist and walked inside the restaurant with her. He didn't notice her wincing as he touched her or that that was the same place her father had beat her last night.
Annabeth and Percy were back in the car, stomachs full and ready to pop. This was the first time that Annabeth had eaten a full meal in such a long time.
"Percy... my house is that way," she said pointing behind her.
"We're going to go spar a little, you up for it?" He asked. "I wanna see if you can actually beat me this time."
Annabeth snorted, "You might have your little 'power heel' but I held up the world." she shot back.
"Annabeth, you can't hold up the world forever. You're gonna lose and you know it." Percy said tauntingly.
"We'll see, but are we really going to a public park where people will probably think we have guns or grenades?" Annabeth asked.
"Of course we're not. We're going into the forest, do you think I'm that dumb?"
"Well…" Percy cut her off with a fake glare, which she returned with a dazzling smile.
Once again Percy parked the car and they got out. They walked deep into the woods until they couldn't hear anything but the wilderness.
"I've got a present for you," Percy said reaching for his pocket. He pulled out something and threw it at Annabeth. She caught it and uncapped it from its cloth, and there was a lot of cloth. She gasped at the sight.
"Yeah, someone found it a few months back and gave it to me so I could give it to you." Percy explained.
"Percy, that's why I'm not surprised to see it..."
"You like the engraving? Nico and Thalia came up with it while they were making fun of me. Aren't they great cousins?" he asked sarcastically.
"I, for one, liked the name… Percabeth, it seems…"
"Perfect," Annabeth whispered.
Percy grinned at her and withdrew his 'pen'. "Its kind of unfair that you have a knife while I have a sword though…"
"Scared you'll get beaten?" she asked.
"By you? Never,"
Percy uncapped his pen and Riptide popped out. He got in position and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Wise Girl wouldn't beat him today. He looked around but dirt see her. Crap, she had her cap!
CLASH!
Percy's sword fell on the floor. Annabeth was behind him she kicked the sword away from him.
"I win!" she smirked.
"You had your cap! That's cheating!" Percy said childishly.
"No I didn't. I've learned how to hide better without it…" she trailed off with a haunted look on her face. She was forced to learn how to or else her father would find her and her brothers and, NO! She couldn't think of that!
"Annabeth, are you ok?" Percy asked carefully.
"Yeah, but if you really feel as if I cheated I'll give you a reward for trying," she leaned over and kissed him. Percy smiled during the kiss.
"I like this reward, now here's yours for winning." Percy leaned over to kiss her but she moved away. He tried to kiss her again but she moved once more.
"Annabeth," Percy whined. Annabeth chuckled, "I'll let you give me my "reward" if you can catch me!" She said before running off.
Percy rose and eyebrow in amusement before he chased after her. They neared a lake and Percy knew exactly what to do. He ran as fast as he could and tackled Annabeth into the lake.
He grabbed her hands so she couldn't swim to the surface. She tried to get free but he didn't let his grip go. "Kiss Me," he mouthed to her. She glared before doing so. He formed a bubble around them so she could breath. After a bit they pulled apart, Percy gave her a toothy grin. She shook her head and chuckled. Percy continued smiling and looked at her.
Annabeth saw his smile falter, "What's wrong?" she asked.
He put his hand on her shirt and lifted it, his eyes widened. "Annabeth… who did this?" he asked trying to keep his cool.
Annabeth was at loss of words, what would she say? She couldn't tell him the truth, he'd kill Fredrick. Although he did abuse her it didn't mean he should die! He must still love her deep down, she was his daughter! If he just put down the bottles maybe he'd stop. Hopefully…
"Annabeth! Who did this to you?" Percy asked, no, more like demanded.
"I fell down the stairs," she lied. Maybe he'd believe it and let it go.
"You fell down the stairs?" he asked staring at her incredulously. "From what, forty flights?" he snapped.
Annabeth glared at him, "It's none of your business!" she snapped back.
Percy looked taken aback, "Annabeth, I know you're not clumsy. Who was it! Was it someone from your school? I swear when I see them they won't be able to use four of their five senses anymore!" Percy said.
"No, Percy, it wasn't them! I… got mugged. Yeah, I was out with friends a few days ago with friends and it was late so I walked home. I… got mugged on the way home," she said. 'Please believe me, please believe me!' she chanted in her head.
"What? Are you ok?" Percy asked, worried that they did more than just mug her. Annabeth nodded, "Yeah, it was near my house and my dad came to the rescue," she said getting teary eyed. If only that happened. Instead of… instead of him abusing him.
Percy enveloped her into a hug, "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked.
"I didn't want you to worry... or joke about it. I mean really, Annabeth Chase: the girl who held up the world, the girl who fought along side you for years, daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus―"
"Annabeth, you can't hold the world on your shoulders forever. You're bound to lose your footing." He said.
Annabeth was shocked, that was deep, especially since it came from Percy. He was right; the worse thing about it was that she had already lost her footing. Her dad already had her under his thumb. Sometimes she wished it was just a dream and she'd wake up.
"Come on, our parents are probably missing us." he said.
He was leaving today, she knew what that meant. Today was probably her last day. These past days she regressed back to her old self. But it would all be gone once Percy was.
"Bye Percy," she said sadly, trying not to get choked up.
Percy looked at her sadly and engulfed her into a hug. She hurried her head into his chest. If only she could stay in his arms forever. If… there were so many ifs never when. And there probably never be a "when" for her.
"C'mon Wise Girl, stay strong for both of us. I'll see you in Christmas!" he said trying to cheer her up. If only he knew, this was their last goodbye. Ha-ha, the irony. There's a when! When he knew about the abuse… she'd be gone.
"I'll miss you so much Percy," she choked out. This wasn't like her. I guess you could say this wasn't Annabeth Chase… that's because it wasn't. This wasn't Annabeth chase, this was another girl. Annabeth Chase was gone. Just a memory, who was this? Even she didn't know. But it was who she used to be.
"Annabeth, you're acting as if you'll never see me again." Percy said. "This isn't goodbye, this is just a… see you later!" he said smiling down at her.
She smiled back, if only he knew what was going to happen. Would he cry for her? Would he move on and find another girl? Would he try to avenge her death?
"See you later," she said. Yes, later. Later… when he dies.
He leaned down and kissed her before turning around and jogging to the car after his parents. He waved at her from the window and looked back at her until he couldn't see her anymore. Annabeth let a tear fall down her check before going inside and locking the door.
She turned towards her brothers, "Run. Run to a friend's house and stay the night there. Go, grab some clothes, my cap is in my drawer!"
She watched them go up the stairs. She'd miss them so much… she didn't want to die. She didn't want to, but better her than another person.
"Good," she said once they got back. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a couple of bills that Percy's parents, Sally and Paul, had slipped her incase of an "emergency".
"Here, there's approximately $120, stay the night with a friend and use the money to get someone to rent you a hotel room. Don't come back, he'll kill you too if you return here" she explained.
"Annabeth, can't we just tell Percy? He'll help us!" Matthew cried not wanting to leave his sister.
"No! He can't know!" he couldn't what would he think of her? Did it really matter at this point now though?
"Three days… if I'm not back in three days for you, call Percy." She searched the room for a pencil and a scrap sheet of paper. All She found was a blue-green crayon and bubblegum wrapper. Oh well, make due with what you've got right? She quickly scribbled down Percy's mother's cell phone number.
"Three days… no more. I know, by then I'll be dead but don't tell him until then!" Annabeth said, tears welling in her eyes. She wiped them away and set her jaw.
"Now hurry, Fredrick will be back in ten minutes. Run, don't look or come back!" she said, tears forming in her eyes once again.
"Anna…" Bobby said, tears running down his face. Nothing broke her heart more than to see her brother crying.
"P-please Annabeth come with u-us" Matthew begged, he too was crying.
"No! I can't go, he'll call the police or do something even worse. Please I don't want you guys to suffer anymore… p-pleas/" she choked out.
She didn't want to do this she really didn't, but it had to be done. "Go!" she screeched. They jumped and ran out the door tears falling rapidly down both their cheeks.
Annabeth closed the door and leaned against it bawling her eyes out. She slid down the door until she was sitting down. She hugged her knees tightly and cried. She didn't want to die! She wanted to stay with her brothers! But she couldn't… this was her fate. She was caught up in the hands of fate and couldn't get out. Soon the fates would be snipping her strand and she'd be... gone.
SLAM!
She heard her father slam the door, no! It was time already? It hadn't been ten minutes already had it! Where they far away enough? What if he found them and dragged them back! Would he kill her in front of them? 'Calm down, calm down,' she told herself 'don't hyperventilate,'
She stood up and rushed to the bathroom. She turned the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. Her puffy red eyes returning too normal quickly. She heard the door open, oh no!
"Annabeth!" she heard him call. She opened the door and slowly stepped out.
"Set the table and go get your brothers," he said placing two large paper bags on the counter.
Annabeth complied with the first task and sat down on the opposite side of her dad.
"Where are your brothers?" he asked while taking two white Styrofoam take-out boxes out of one bag.
"They're not here," Annabeth answered tentatively.
Fredrick almost dropped the third box "Where are they…?" he asked carefully, teeth clenched together.
"I mean, they left. They're not here anymore!" Annabeth snapped. If today was her last day she wouldn't be taking crap from him.
"Where are they?" he seethed.
"Well obviously they're not here!" she replied sarcastically.
"Don't get smart with me! Where are they?" He demanded.
Something inside of Annabeth just snapped in that moment. She had enough of this! She wouldn't be pushed around like a stroller any longer!
"You wanna know where they are? Fine, I'll tell you! They're gone, left, ran away! Why? Because I told them to! And you're never going to find them!" She yelled at him.
He chuckled with his head lowered, "I'll find them soon," he growled.
"Over my dead body," Annabeth said firmly.
"I've been waiting so long for you to say it…" he said, smirking maliciously at her.
Before Annabeth could process what he meant the first blow was sent. She fell backwards into the table behind her. She felt the pain surge threw her back as she hit the table. But she wouldn't give up now… or ever. She slowly stood up, just to be knocked down by her father as he punched her straight in the face.
She felt the tears well up in her eyes but refused to let them fall. She groaned and rolled over onto her back, about to get back up again. Her father beat her to it though. He grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her up with as much force as possible. He bent her arm back behind her and twisted her wrist.
Annabeth heard a crack, she wanted nothing more to do but scream and cry her eyes out, but she couldn't. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.
Fredrick pushed her down, letting go of her hand and dug his heel into her back. He smiled wickedly as he heard her whimper. She was slowly being broken; it was time to show her who was boss.
Annabeth felt his heel dig into her spine, why, why, why, WHY HER! She let out a whimper, biggest mistake ever. He grabbed her hair and lifted her up by it. He shoved her against a wall and cupped her face in one hand.
"Annabeth, I love you." was what he said. Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. All the lies, all the pain… the abuse. This is what broke her; this was exactly what she wanted him to say to her one day… if only he meant it. The love he was talking about was something else, it was mockery. It was the refute to her theory, the one that said that somewhere DEEP down inside he might still love her. He didn't. Simple as that, he didn't want her. He BLAMED her and PUNISHED her for something she didn't do.
"Tell me that you love me, baby." He said, smirking.
Annabeth was hurt beyond what she thought she could be. She was being forced to do the worst thing possible. She didn't love him in any form or way. Love… would Aphrodite be watching her now? Why wouldn't she have saved her before? Why wasn't anybody helping her! Just because she was supposedly "strong" didn't mean she could handle everything! Sure, she had held up the world, but you can't do it forever. You'd lose your footing, and that's exactly what was happening to her… she was loosing her footing.
Fredrick was becoming impatient; he slapped her across the face so hard that he left a mark. Annabeth gasped at the pain. It felt as if her cheek had caught on fire. "Say it!" he demanded.
"I love you," she spat out, venom dripping through every word. She didn't want this to be her last I love you, she especially didn't want it to be directed towards Fredrick.
"Good," he said. Annabeth saw his hand, the one that wasn't cupping her face, move across his waist… no. He let her go, but before she could even THINK of moving away she felt the belt on her side. She gasped out in pain once again. He raised his hands once more about to hit her when she moved to the side and felt inside her pocket… it was still there. Caught up in the moment of a bit of hope left she didn't notice him raising his arm.
This one was worse than the first. He made sure the buckle hit her back, causing it to tear a bit of her skin. But like the saying goes, a little goes a long way. A little, ok around four inches, gash brought her a world of pain.
The next lash came in a flash, it was aimed at her calves, which caused her to buckle over and fall down. They didn't stop there, one came after the other, each more horrible than the last and each of them tearing into her skin. He was hitting with such force that it made things shake; he even broke a vase twenty feet away! It wasn't until ten minutes later when he stopped that she noticed that she began crying. She had broken, after all this time…
Annabeth laid there on the floor, black and blue with only a bit of tattered clothes on her, crying. She couldn't take much more; every part of her body ached and was bloody.
Annabeth pulled herself up into a sitting position. It made matters worse for her though, all the movement caused her wounds to either open up, sting or bleed more. She didn't care though, not anymore. That is until she heard something, someone loading a gun.
Annabeth looked over and saw her dad holding a gun. No, no! He wouldn't shoot her would he! "D-dad?" she managed to say.
Fredrick just laughed maniacally and aimed for Annabeth. He let the first bullet fly and Annabeth screamed in horror. She dropped to the ground and tried to slow her heart rate, which seemed to be going faster than a racing horse. The whole house was quiet, nothing made a sound. She crawled around the corner and hid, hoping he wouldn't find her. About three minutes past and nothing happened.
"Got you!" he said squeezing her with one hand and the other pinning the gun on her temple.
Percy was waiting in the car for the traffic to move forward. They had only just gotten to the Golden Gate Bridge; really, he could just step out of the car and walk to Annabeth's house in thirty minutes.
He looked out of the window as his mom got a call. It was probably my principal calling to tell us that school was going to start again in two days or what not.
"Hello?" Percy heard his mother say. What? It wasn't HIS fault that he had ADHD and couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"Matthew… Matthew honey calm down… o-ok I'll pass you to Percy, h-hold on." Mrs. Jackson reluctantly handed Percy the phone. She mouthed 'speaker' before letting go of the phone. Percy nodded and did as he was told; he placed the phone on speaker.
"Hello?" Percy asked carefully. He could hear very faint screams in the background that made him feel very nervous.
"P-Percy?" Matthew whispered carefully. Percy narrowed his eyes and nodded. After a bit of silence he remembered he was talking on the phone.
"Yeah, I'm here." he heard nothing in the background anymore.
"Annabeth is in trouble Percy." Matthew said cautiously.
"What?" Percy said, immediately snapping into 'hero mode'.
"…Dad… he's-he's abusive" Bobby whimpered out, apparently he had taken the phone now from Matthew.
It took Percy a few seconds to process it. "What!" he demanded.
"H-he… he hits her, Percy" Bobby said, voice quivering. "She takes the b-beatings for u-us" there was a crash in the background.
"What was that!" Percy asked, jumping a little.
There was a moment of silence before Bobby answered, "Matthew just bumped into a vase and it fell… we're lucky they didn't hear. We're not supposed to be here right now…" he trailed off.
They weren't supposed to be there? Did they have to hide while Annabeth was being… 'beaten'? No, they said Annabeth took the beatings for them, so they must have seen it happen.
"W-why not?" Percy asked, afraid of what the answer may be.
"Annabeth told us to leave… she thinks it's ending today. She told us to go hide for… for three days, when the three days were over― and if she didn't come back for us― she told us to contact you and tell you that she's… dead."
When she was dead? Was she really dead? No, no… she couldn't be! The twins were in her house right now they would have told him already.
"H-how bad is it?" he asked.
He had to wait a few minutes to get his response. "Sh― she's bruised..." Bobby managed to choke out.
"How. Bad?" He asked firmly.
He waited impatiently for the answer, but it didn't come.
His blood ran cold, it couldn't be… but it was. It was a gunshot and a scream. Not just any scream though, it was Annabeth's scream. Percy reached over for the door handle he gripped it and tried to open it. He tugged on it, he tugged on it again, and he even pushed it! Why wouldn't it open!
"Percy, relax, I'll turn this car around and get you there as fast as I can!" Paul reassured while honking his horn. He got many honks and screams from cars all around. Percy groaned and grabbed the phone again.
"What happened?" he asked carefully, it was quiet for a bit. He tapped his foot and drummed his hands on the seat, waiting.
"I-I- we don't know… everything is so―" Percy heard Matthew, who had taken the phone, gasp before he hung up.
"Open the door," Percy demanded.
"Percy they might have just accidentally hung up, or the line might ha―"
"Open the door!" he thundered, cutting his mom off.
"Percy she's fine, I'm sure you're overreacting" she insisted.
Getting frustrated Percy opened the window to get some fresh air. The window, of course! He opened it as wide as it'd go and unbuckled his seatbelt. Before his parents could ask what he was doing he jumped out of the window.
This act didn't go unnoticed other people got out to see what all the commotion was about. He ignored it and walked to the edge of the bridge one question running through his head, was Annabeth still alive?
He'd jump and make his way through the water them run the rest of the way until he reached her house. He grabbed onto the railing and boosted himself up. He stood there getting ready to jump.
"He's going to kill himself!" a random lady shrieked, pointing at Percy in horror. This, of course, brought MORE people's attention. Some people screamed at him, others called the official, a couple just stood there in shock wondering why a teenager would want to kill himself.
"Percy, don't jump!" his mother pleaded. She knew he wasn't committing suicide and she wouldn't be able to stop him but they'd probably arrest her if she did nothing! Once they heard his name they started calling him and begging him not to jump.
Percy ignored their pleads, he needed to get to Annabeth! He'd be fine, nothing would happen to him if he jumped. He took a deep breath before bending down and getting ready to jump. The last thing he heard before hitting the water was thunder. Oh, so NOW they noticed something was wrong!
Annabeth froze, this was it. These were her last seconds and her last breaths.
She reached for her pocket and quickly took out her knife pointing it at her dad. They were even now; if he shot her she'd die but would stab him as hard as she could. He may not die but it'd at least slow him down so he couldn't escape and hurt Matthew and Bobby.
"Put that away," he growled.
Annabeth shook her head, the gun rubbing against it, "No,"
He pushed her over and kicked her then got up. He kicked the knife, which he saw as a regular kitchen knife, out of her hand and pointed the gun at her.
"You're going to regret that" he said as he neared her.
She probably would for the next seconds she'd be alive but she had no time to worry about that. She kicked him in the legs causing him to lose his balance for a bit. She took this small bit of time to get up and reaching for the gun. He had a strong grip on it though. He glared at her and shot the window. The breaking of the glass scared her and she let go of the gun. Fredrick slapped her and pushed her back down again.
"I've had enough of this!" he said as thunder boomed behind him. It was too late for her though… this was it.
'Goodbye Percy…' she thought as she heard the gun being fired.
Percy raced down the street, he had never run this fast in his life before. He was just a few blocks away from Annabeth's house.
BAM!
His blood ran cold, he ran even faster. Thanks the Gods for adrenalin. He reached Annabeth's house and stopped abruptly. He turned the knob to open the door, locked. He backed up a few feet and charged at the door. It still didn't budge. He backed up again making sure to shift his weight to the side that was going to hit the door. He charged once again but the door still didn't open.
That's when he heard the lock click and he opened the door. Bobby and or Matthew must have opened it. He wasted no time and rushed inside.
He looked around carefully, looking back a few times to make sure Annabeth's dad wasn't there. He turned the corner and went into the living room. Where was she? He looked all around whe– oh gods no! He rushed over to the broken and bloody state that was Annabeth.
"Anna..." he didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words. He had never seen her look so... weak. She had held up the world for Zeus' sake! He rushed over to the nearest phone and called for an ambulance. He quickly described what happened and where she lived then hung up.
"Percy," she said softly coughing a bit of blood out. "I-I'm so sorry..."
"No! It's not your fault! Annabeth… why didn't you tell me before?" he asked kneeling down next to her.
"I-I," she coughed out more blood again which caused tears to form in his eyes. He had to keep her talking, if he didn't it could mean that- that terrible things could happen.
"I didn't want you to w-worry…" she didn't want him to worry? What about her! She was dying right now! He couldn't help but be a bit mad at her.
"Annabeth… you can't-"
"Hold the world on your shoulders forever" she finished off, slowly closing her eyes.
Percy held her hand unfazed by the dry blood on it. To him she was still beautiful.
"D-does it hurt?" what a stupid question! Why would he ask that? Of course it hurt.
"N-no… I'm used to it. It h-hurt at f-first" she said tiredly. Where the Hades was that ambulance! Where we're the police, the firefighters?
"Annabeth… please don't die," he begged.
She slightly smiled, "Percy, everyone dies". She looked so pale and fragile, her stormy gray eyes had no sparkle or anything they looked so dead.
"You're strong, you're going to live Wise girl." he insisted.
"Seaweed brain, I love you. But both you and I kn-"
Bam!
Percy turned around and saw Annabeth's dad holding the gun again. He looked back down to Annabeth and saw that she was dead. She was shot again.
"You," he spat out, getting up again.
He held the gun out in front of him smirking. Percy fumed as he got closer. He, Percy refused to call him Annabeth's dad, loaded the gun once more.
Percy heard sirens in the distance and got even angrier. Late. Everything late. The Gods were late for noticing. He was late and couldn't save her. THEY were late and maybe her last hope. He felt him shaking in anger.
"Maybe you should join her" He spat out. Percy glared at him with nothing but hatred. He grabbed the gun out of his hand and flung it across the room.
"Go to Hades," he said fuming with anger and shaking. He felt and saw the furniture and earth moving. The last thing he saw before passing out was the paramedics and police coming in.
When Percy awoke he was laying in a hospital bed. He heard muffled voice but no one was there. He slowly sat up and the muffled voices cleared.
"And now onto tonight's breaking news with Stephen,"
Percy looked up and saw that it was the small TV in the corner. He grabbed the remote, which he had been laying on and got ready to change the channel.
"There was an Earthquake here in California. It had the magnitude of 5.7. The strangest thing though, was that it was only in one location. A house where the police had just arrived to arrest an abusive man."
Percy stopped, could they be talking about Him? He turned up the volume but he could still just barely hear it. That's when he noticed that the speakers weren't on the Tv but on the remote. He placed the remote to his ear, ignoring the slight vibration.
"The house belonged to a man named Fredrick Chase, father to Ms. Annabeth Chase, the girl who was being abused, and step father to Bobby and Matthew Chase. From what we have heard Annabeth Chase was shot twice by her father and was severely beaten. Matthew and Bobby were found about a block away from their house unscarred."
'Well at least they were alive,' Percy thought. But did he really cause an earthquake?
"Inside the house, once the police were able to get in of course, they found three people. Annabeth Chase, Perseus Jackson and Fredrick Chase-"
"Hey Stephen, weren't those two run always or something along those lines a few years ago?" Stephen's co anchor asked.
"You know Gloria, I think they were! Perseus, or "Percy", went against some biker, was it? He eventually beat him though."
"Looks like we've got ourselves a hero here, Stephen."
"I agree Gloria. Now back to the story. Percy was found sprawled on the ground next to Annabeth, we assume they might have been very close friends or may have been going out, and Fredrick was buried under two feet of rubble, he is now dead. The earthquake struck the house and ONLY that house!"
"Wow, that there is something I have never seen or heard of!" Gloria cut in.
"Right now both Percy and Annabeth are in hospital. To find out more about this story go to our website—"
Percy pulled the remote away from him. So he had started an earthquake and killed him. What about Annabeth? They didn't mention her! Was she alive! He had to find her.
"Stephen, you forgot to mention the ending of the story"
Percy heard it and immediately picked the remote and placed it to his ear again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you know I don't like telling you all sad news. But you all must know that not all endings are happy."
No… she couldn't be…
"Dear listeners, let's have a moment of silence for Annabeth Chase. The girl who as of 5:39 today has been dead."
Percy felt his heart being shredded into a million pieces. He'd never be able to kiss Annabeth again. He'd never be able to hold her in his arms, hear her beautiful voice or her laughter again. How could have been so blind! She wasn't mugged! She was abused. That's why she acted so different when he first saw her.
He'd never be able to see her smile, to fight with her, to call her Wise girl. He'd never get to get married with her and start a family. To raise kids together and grow old. He wouldn't be able to do any of those things. Not with Annabeth, and if it wasn't with her it wouldn't be with anybody else.
This was edited on November 30th. Thanks for all the reviews guys! I reached 15! (I didn't think I actually was going to) yes, I know it's sad, it's in the category of tradgedy for a reason my friends (:
To the person who told me I suck for killing Annabeth: umm did you not read the description? Haha, I laughed my butt off at your comment. But yeah, it's sad Iknow.
I'll start working on the AU soon enough so hold tight! AU doesn't mean happy ending though ;) hehe. So yeah, keep reviewing!