I can't believe that after all we've been through—monsters, Kronos, Gaea, and Tartarus—that this is the way she is going to die.
I pull my chair in a few inches closer to her hospital bed. I pick her hand up from beside her and link our fingers together, my thumb trailing over her knuckles. She turns her blonde head and slowly looks up at me.
"Hey," she whispers, her voice small and quiet. It scares me how quickly she went from strong to sick and weak. "Percy... I..." She coughs.
"Don't waste your breath on me," I tell her, brushing a stray hair away from her fa. I kiss her forehead, letting my lips linger on her skin.
"I'll do what I want... with my breath..." she croaks. I smile sadly. Still my stubborn Annabeth.
"I love you, Wise Girl," I say, grief barely allowing any more than a few words to escape my mouth.
"I love... you... Sea..." Her voice trails off and her body seizes up for a moment as she struggles for breath. Her hand grips mine as tightly as she can in her frail state.
"Stay with me, Annabeth," I say, kissing her ashen hand. "Please." Tears unwillingly streak down my cheeks. "Just a little longer."
Her feeble body tenses up once more before she relaxes, her beautiful gray eyes glassy. "Wise Girl," I plead. "Come on, Wise Girl!" Her hand drops back onto the white hospital sheets. My tears drip onto the bed. "Please," I cry, my hands shaking as I place my hand on her shoulder. My trembling fingers frame her pale face. My thumbs run over her cheekbones as I kiss her blue lips. "I love you, Annabeth," I sob, my face inches from hers. "I love you."