I Am Not Afraid
As Percy stared at the churning gray waters below him, all he could think was how Annabeth's eyes used to be the same color. Those eyes, along with her fiery personality, made up the person he loved most in the world. He couldn't survive without her.
People were getting more and more concerned about him; he could see it. They were always trying to be near him, peppering him with "Are you okay"s and "Do you need anything?"s.
Percy would never be okay again. He needed Annabeth, not their touches and concern. He wished they would just leave him alone. Why couldn't they understand that? Annabeth would.
He remembered it, so clearly, and he would never forget it; the way she had jumped in front of a monster that was about to kill Percy, the way she stabbed it furiously, yelling, "Get away from my boyfriend!" and it exploded into dust, but not before it managed to plunge its stinger into her. He remembered how her angry face changed into one of surprise as she saw the stinger protruding from her stomach, and how she had said, "But Athena always wins…" before collapsing. He remembered kissing her one last time, and her feeble, "I love you, Percy," before the lights faded from her eyes. He had laid down next to her, wishing desperately that Death would take him too.
When he had woken up in the infirmary, he had screamed to see her, why wasn't she here, come back.
When they had told him she wasn't going to come back, not ever, he broke down. He didn't move or eat, he just slept and let the nightmares haunt him. It was better than reality.
But then Sally and Paul came down at Chiron's request, and told Percy that he'd have a half-brother soon. "Be strong," she told him. "Be strong for the baby." And he tried. He really did. But it got him to realize that he would never have a baby boy of his own, could never be a parent, and he just couldn't live like that anymore. So he pushed everyone away.
The harsh winds and salty sea spray roused him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the frothy ocean, waves rolling and crashing, and the wind howling, as if it shared Percy's pain.
"Dad," Percy said loudly and clearly, knowing he would be listening, now most of all. "If you really love me, you have to let me do this." Annabeth might hate him for it, but he couldn't live without her. Life had nothing but pain in torture in it.
"You have to let me. If you love me, you know that I'm not happy, and I never will be. If you've ever cared about me, you have to let me do this."
He had to do it now. He could hear voices, anxious and panicked. Hazel or Nico must have felt something and warned the others. He could now see them out of the corner of his eye, making the long hike to the cliff he was at the edge of. It was now or never. "Dad," he said one last time. He meant for the single word to be strong, but it cracked with emotion. Annabeth, I love you.
Without one last look at the world he was leaving behind, he opened his arms—
and jumped.
I am not afraid.