Hey guys! So I asked for 90 and I get 100?! Thank you soooo much! I love you guyz! Well anywho so I'm sorry for updating a day late. I actually decided to update after every two days but yesterday there was something wrong with my net. So I thought of this when I was writing the reply to your reviews. It's just a game sort of thing where you tell me why did you choose your username to be what it is? It's just a thing that amuses me cause so many people have different reviews. Anyways if you guys don't mind I'm only gonna answer the reviews with questions. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Kitty-aka-Fanqueen - You'll get to know about Annabeth being autistic in this chapter. Annabeth's entire past is revealed in this chapter so I hope you like it!
TyberAurora - Don't worry Annabeth won't end her life. This is not one of those stories where they fall in love and Annabeth dies in the end. I wouldn't do that. My goal is to make this story different than usual and unpredictable so that it always keeps surprising you.
IzzyQuagmire0907 - It's not Percy's fault at all and don't worry Annabeth won't be angry at him because hey, she's the wise girl right? And anyways I purposely made Percy not be there when she had the punch so I wouldn't have to make her suspicious and ruin their slowly building friendship. I have a feeling you'll hate Rachel more after this chapter...;)
Finding Adventures - You will definitely know what Thalia and Nico saw but it's gonna take a few chapters. You will get to know at the end of this chapter whether April is Luke's or not.
Divergent Daughter of Athollo - Aww thanks thats sweet! Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!
Jessica Jasso - Omg I think your close to figuring something out in your review. Of course I won't tell you about what. ;) I like to keep the suspense. Thanks for reading! Your loyal author...^-^
"Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real when you woke up you didn't know what to believe? What would you do if what you thought was true wasn't, and what you thought wasn't true was. Would you retreat into your dreams with the hope of finding a more perfect reality? Sometimes life is stranger than a dream, and the only way to wake up is to face what lies are hidden in your soul. And you can only hope that in those moments of dark reflection, that you are not alone."
"What?"
Percy's felt blood rush to his head as he stopped the car with a screech! He closed his eyes momentarily as he breathed in and out. He felt the ridiculous urge to pinch himself and check if whatever was happening was real.
Annabeth had gone silent after her giggling fit but he didn't realize until she had started sobbing that tears were running down her cheeks.
"Annabeth-how-I" Percy said getting choked up not able to find the right thing to say.
"I had managed to escape." She said through her tears. "I had but then I don't know, something happened or-or someone told them where I-I was and-and" She roughly wiped her tears with the back of her hand which Percy was sure would leave red marks later.
"There was a moment when I was lost, when they had beaten me. And I decided to beg them to let me breathe another breath and lie in the sun and just live." Then she laughed bitterly.
"But begging them wouldn't change things. It would only give them satisfaction and that I wouldn't do. No. No." She put more pressure on the word as she looked at him with angry eyes.
"This would be the job they carried with them for the rest of their lives. This would be the one they felt guilty about. That their older, fading selves woke up regretting in the middle of the night trying to quiet their remorse before their own deaths were upon them. So I made a decision to give them nothing." She sat up straighter. "And I did. And maybe they did take my virginity but they can never touch my soul." A stray tear fell from her cheek.
Percy sat still the entire time listening to her and it wasn't until she took his hand into her clammy one that he realized they were shaking. His whole being was shaking. With what? He didn't know. He was beyond shocked. He didn't know how to react. Goddamnit he had turned numb.
"But in the whole process." She continued softly. "I was the one who was left broken." With that last bit said she broke down crying wrapping her arms around herself. Heavy, loud and extremely heartbroken sobs which filled the car.
Percy's heart broke at the sight. He wanted to comfort her but at the same time he was reluctant. He didn't want to take advantage of her drunken state. Even if he would just put his arms around her he knew it would be violating her personal space. She was always the fragile type and he was afraid to do anything that would break her than she already was. He wanted to do something. Anything to make her feel better.
Annabeth sniffled beside him. "I-I could use a hug." She said softly as he voice croaked.
As quick as light Percy pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh Annabeth." He whispered as one of his hand stroked her curls while the other rubbed her back. He pressed his cheek against her forehead shutting his eyes tightly.
No one- not even the cruelest people in the world- absolutely no one deserved what Annabeth had gone through. He couldn't imagine how she had managed through all of this. Alone. She was a whole lot stronger than she thought.
"Who was it?" Percy asked quietly and her sobbing increased. He tightened his arms around her. "It was him wasn't it?" Percy asked gritting his teeth. He had an uneasy feeling about Luke from the moment he met him. The time when Luke warned him to stay away from her. Percy should have known. The sick little jerk.
He felt her nod slightly."Does he know?" He asked. "About April?"
Annabeth pulled away and looked at him with watery eyes. "I-I couldn't. I wouldn't."
"Good." Percy growled out. "He doesn't need to be anywhere near her. He doesn't deserve to." He looked back at Annabeth and was startled to find a change in her eyes. Her sobs had quieted down leaving tear tracks on her face, her grey eyes were rimmed red and thought they looked sad there was another emotion in them. Admiration. He realized. She was so beautiful.
"I should get you home."Percy whispered not taking his eyes off her. Annabeth nodded as he let go of her and sat back on her seat. The rest of the ride was quiet with Annabeth staring out of the window.
When he finally reached her home he turned to look at her sleeping figure. Her face looked so peaceful, without any worries, Percy couldn't find the heart to wake her up.
He quietly got out of the car and walked over to her side to carry her out of the car. As soon as he picked her up her hand automatically curled around his collar and her head fixed itself in the crook of his neck. It was like they had done this a million times.
He quietly shut the car door and walked over to the door. After waiting for a few minute after ringing the doorbell the door slowly creaked open. Percy wondered if the person was asleep and then cursed himself. Of course they were. It was one-thirty in the morning.
The door opened to reveal a man who looked to be in his twenties. He had terrible bed hair like he had just scrambled out of bed and was rubbing his eyes but stopped midway as he glanced at Annabeth and then at him.
Percy gulped as the man frowned at him. "Who are you and what are you doing with my sister?"
Whoa straight forward much? Percy thought but then again it was reasonable. He shifted his weight holding Annabeth. Funny how she was out like a light.
"I-uh I'm her f-friend. Percy Jackson sir." He said stuttering and mentally rolled his eyes at the 'sir' part. Seriously?
"Okay Percy Jackson." The man said. "Now could you tell me what is wrong with Annabeth?"
"She -uh- she was at the party and the punch was spike. She -uh- got drunk?" Percy said and the man raised his eyebrows. He nodded and gestured inside the house. Percy took the cue and followed the man inside to where he thought was Annabeth's room.
As Percy entered the room a lemony scent wafted through the air. He smiled at that. It was so like Annabeth. In the middle of the grey and white room was a large queen sized bed. On one side was a small bundle hidden in the covers with blonde hair peeking out. He figured that was April.
Percy slowly padded to the other side of the bed and gently lay Annabeth down next to April. As if sensing her mom April immediately snuggled up to Annabeth as she put an arm around her."Sweet dreams." He whispered smiling.
"They've always been like that. April is like her daughter," Annabeth's brother said and Percy winced at the word like. So he didn't know. Annabeth hadn't told him. Well Annabeth hadn't meant to tell Percy either, he was sure of it. It was just her drunnken self talking. Well he would have to deal with that later he thought as he let out a yawn.
"I should get going." Percy said as he was about to leave the room but Annabeth's brother stopped him. "You can stay here for the night. It's pretty late anyways."
"Here? Like here?" Percy asked his eyes widening. The man rolled his eyes. "No not here. What? Did you think I was going to let you sleep in the same bed as my sister?"
"N-No, sir-" Percy cursed himself.
"You can sleep in the guest room." He said as he left the room with Percy trailing behind muttering inaudible things. The guest room was quite nice for a guest, Percy thought. It had blue walls, he didn't know if it was a coincidence or not.
"You can find more blankets here if you want." He said and then turned to leave. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight and uh thanks." Percy replied quickly. He left and Percy sighed in relief. Annabeth's brother really made him nervous.
"Oh and Percy?" He came back again and Percy went into nervous wimp mode again.
"Yes?"
"It's Malcolm. Not sir."
Percy woke up to voices whispering above his head. He wasn't completely awake or so he thought.
"So he came here last night?" A female voice asked.
"Yeah. With Annabeth." A familiar male voice replied. Percy couldn't quite pin point who it was.
"With Annabeth?!" The woman replied shocked. "Is she okay?"
"She's shleeping." A younger voice of a girl replied.
"He looks kind of cute don't you think?" The female voice replied again and Percy could detect a smile in it. There was silence on the other end. "Okay okay. Jeez don't give me that look."
The younger voice gasped. "Look! The funny man ish drooling!"
"Oh no no sweetie. We don't touch the funny man." The older female said and it sounded like she had pulled the little girl back a few steps.
"He looked like a wimp to me. Stuttering and everything." The male voice replied gruffly.
"Oh shut it. You were as much as a wimp when you met my father." The female voice said laughing. "What's his name?"
Percy slowly started to realized that this wasn't a dream and he in fact was awake.
"Percy Jackson or something." The male voice said as Percy started to open his eyes.
"Oh so you're Percy." The female replied as he fully opened his eyes to find three pairs of eyes staring at him. Too close for comfort, might he add.
"Ahhh!" Percy yelled out sitting up which caused them to back up and April yelp and hide behind Amanda.
"Well you finally get up." Malcolm grunted crossing his arms and stared him down. Percy rubbed his face with his hands. "Uh where am I?"
Just then they heard a voice coming their way. "I've been searching all over the house! Why are you guys in the- PERCY?" Annabeth stopped mid-way in horror as if she's seen a ghost.
Percy tried for a smile. "Uh...good morning?"
"Mom, your not leaving me are you?" Seven-year old Annabeth sat beside her mom on the hospital bed. She was clutching her hand but it was of no use. Her mom was pale and clammy and looked...sick.
"Of course not." Her mom said. "Remember what I once told you about a dream?" She pushed Annabeth's curls behind her ear. "Sometimes, God falls short of good people. Whenever he needs that person he takes the person with him. Now it's my turn Annabeth. I get to be the lucky chosen one." She said a tear falling across her face as she rubbed Annabeth's cheek.
"But what if I need you more than God does?"
"Annabeth, this is Susan." Frederick introduced her to a woman with long brown hair and midnight black eyes. The woman smiled back at her sweetly and ruffled her hair. Annabeth wanted to step back but she didn't want to seem rude.
She was beyond hurt at the fact that it was only six months since her mother had left this world and her father had already moved on to another woman. Did he not love her mom at all? She understood that he needed to be happy but this soon?
As Susan moved around marvelling the house Frederick took Annabeth aside. "What do you think of her?"
"She's...sweet." Annabeth said not able to find anything else to say. Even thought Annabeth found the woman to be a lot younger than her dad she didn't object.
Frederick looked uneasily at her as he fidgeted. "I'm think of marrying her soon. Are you okay with that? I'll only marry her if you'r okay with it."
Annabeth felt tears burn her eyes but she tried to not let them show. She was definitely not okay with it but she wouldn't say that to him. "I'm happy if you're happy."
"And I now pronounce you husband and wife!" The priest said as Annabeth saw her father and Susan share a kiss. She averted her eyes at that point.
She was dressed in a beautiful light blue dress but it was getting crinkled due Annabeth crushing her fists over them. She looked around as everyone was clapping and laughing and dancing and looked...happy. Her father looked happy.
He shouldn't be. Annabeth thought should be in mourning.
As soon as she thought it she quickly shoved it away. Her father was happy. That's all that matters right? Even if her dad hadn't wondered all this time where she was. Even if her dad didn't include her in the cake cutting ceremony. Even if her dad didn't notice her sitting in the corner with her ruined dress sobbing her eyes out.
The first time when Susan hit her was when her dad was out on a business trip. She has seen Susan become sneaky those few days. She would get out of the house early in the morning and come home late at night. She wouldn't even leave breakfast or lunch or dinner for Annabeth. But Annabeth was an eleven year old girl who was forced to mature above her age so she adjusted. She always adjusted. Susan wasn't usually like this. Generally she would do all the stuff that a perfect mom does when Frederick was around but as soon as he left she was a different person.
That night she had crossed the line. She had come home drunk holding onto the arm of another man who was not her father. Annabeth was confused at first but when she saw them exchange a sloppy kiss she felt herself seeth with anger.
She yelled at Susan for cheating on her father and kept yelling until she felt a stinging pain on her cheek. She stared wide eyed at Susan who simply sneered at her and told her to get lost. Annabeth didn't anything could shock her more but she was of course proved wrong.
The man Susan had brought smugly stumbled over to Annabeth and pinned her against the wall touching her in inappropriate places. Annabeth whimpered and tried to push the man back but he didn't budge. The smell of alcohol washing over her. To add to her shock Susan simply stood there cackling with laughter.
That night Annabeth cried herself to sleep. She was so terrified that she locked her room door and even shut the windows afraid that he would come back. She was scared, afraid and so so alone.
And so this went on for a year.. As soon as her father left for business trips Susan would bring the man, John, home and the same routine over and over.
One morning she hear Susan puking her way into the bathroom. A month after she found out that Susan was expecting. The best part? It wasn't her father's. It was Johns.
Annabeth was told to keep her mouth shut or her scars would increase. And so she did. She had learned that a long time ago. Do as Susan says. And so she did.
Nine months later the baby came into the world. It was a girl. Frederick and Susan named her Charlotte and if her dad found anything unusual about her features he didn't say anything. Annabeth loved and adored the baby, her step-sister. Even if she hated Susan it wasn't the baby's fault. Even if she was John's.
Annabeth wondered if Susan had told John the truth. She guess not because soon Charlotte became her responsibility as Susan fell back into her old routine. It was like being a mother hadn't effected her at all. She began bringing John home again and Annabeth tried her best not to let Charlotted near John.
Soon Charlotte was three and Annabeth fourteen. School was getting tough and balancing between taking care of Charlotte and doing her school work left her exhausted at the end of the day. Then at midnight she had to deal with John and Susan.
Then the dreadful day came when Susan found out Charlotte was autistic. She went ballistic and blamed Annabeth that it was her fault that she didn't take care of Charlotte well. Annabeth tried to explain that it had nothing to do with upbringing but Susan got too physical to care. And so Annabeth took the hits that came at her. Every single one.
Annabeth was in the shower when she heard the quickly put on her bathing robe as she rushed down the stairs to find the bloody body of little Charlotte on the floor.
Susan was bent over the body crying. "What have you done?!" Annabeth yelled at her as she rushed towards Charlotte's body checking for her pulse. Dead. She was dead. She hadn't even started living and she was dead.
She was roughly pushed back by Susan who glared at her with hatred in her eyes. "You did this!" She growled out.
"What?" Annabeth asked her heart rate speeding up.
"I thought it was you coming down the stairs! You were supposed to be dead!" Charlotte yelled while pointing the gun at Annabeth. "I wanted to kill you! YOU!" She lunged for Annabeth as Annabeth leaped to the other side.
She managed to reach the door when she hear a shot ring out and immense pain in her leg. Susan had the shot her leg. Annabeth stumbled down as Susan caught up with her and pulled her by the hair.
"Now you will pay. You're going to be the daughter I lost. And that means doing everything that Charlotte like or disliked. That includes being autistic." Susan sneered and smacked her across the face. It didn't take Annabeth long to figure out that Susan wasn't normal.
It was after a month that Annabeth escaped. Not the easy way thought. Susan assaulted her with a knife this time. She even stabbed Annabeth in the thigh resulting in her limping on the street. It wasn't Annabeth's fault. She was simply trying to defend herself and before she knew it the knife was in Susan's abdomen and she was labeled a murderer.
She had to get out of there. She knew John would be coming after her as so she ran. She ran and ran and ran until she found an old abandoned house where she lived for a few days. She had to make money somehow and feed herself and go to high school.
So now she was standing before a coffee shop hoping they would take her in. She opened the door and the smell of coffee filled the air. She slowly walked towards the man at the counter. The place didn't look much crowded but wasn't empty either. Just the place she was looking for. She hoped John wouldn't find her here.
The man at the counter wasn't exactly a man but a teenage boy who looked about her age or a year or two older. He had one of those faces. He was looking down as he typing something into the computer at the counter. All Annabeth could see was his sandy blonde hair and a thin white scar across his eye.
"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked him as he looked up giving her a view of his sparkling blue eyes.
He smiled at her showing his teeth. "How may I help you?"
"Ha ha that's a nice one Annabeth!" Rachel laughed throwing an arm around her. All of them were seated in a circle. Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, Grover, Hazel, Juniper, Rachel, Luke and Annabeth.
In a few weeks Annabeth had managed to pay the college fees. It wasn't like she was completely broke when she had come here. She had been saving money ever since she'd had suspicions about Susan. None of her friends knew that though. They thought she was a normal girl like any of them who lived with her family. Rachel had become her best friend and Luke, her boyfriend. Thankfully Rachel didn't go to the subject of family because she had issues of her own and Luke knew it was a touchy subject so he left it alone. They were happy the way they were.
Luke pecked her on the lips as Piper gagged. "You two are so mushy I don't know whether to squeal or puke."
"The bathrooms that way, Pipes." Leo said pointing towards the restroom as Piper punched his arm. Annabeth smiled looking around her friends. She was happy that she could call them her family.
She took out something and handed it to Luke. It was a scythe necklace. She had seen him looking at it once and just thought of giving it to him. "I thought you might like it."
Luke's eyes widened comically. "No way!" he threw his arms around her. "Have I told you I love you today?" he asked pulling away.
"I don't think so." Annabeth said smiling though she knew that he in fact had already. About a hundred times that same day. Luke smirked as he pulled her face towards his and kissed her sweetly. "I love you so much." he whispered against her lips and she giggled as her friends around her gagged.
He had found her. John had found her. She didn't know how. She was very well hidden. Someone must have told him. But the one who had come after her wasn't John.
And that dreadful night. The night she lost her virginity and something entirely more than that. She lost her boyfriend, her first love, Luke. The only think she could register about the man who was about to rape her was that he had blue eyes and that exact scythe necklace she had given him. It wasn't like it was the only necklace available, but it was the only necklace with an engraved Love Annabeth on it.
The next time she opened her eyes a blonde with warm brown eyes was looking at her. Before she knew it she was welcomed into the family of Half Blood Orphanage.
She still went to school. Luke and her hadn't broken up. They simply drifted apart. The first time she saw him after the incident he was standing in front of her with a guilty look. Annabeth didn't say anything to him since then.
She tried to make her friends believe that what she was saying about Luke was true. She was shocked when Rachel was the first not to believe her. To make it worse someone had mentioned her in the newspapers. She got the knowledge that her father was dead. Underneath that was a picture of her and the words Teenager murders own mother labeled under it.
Eventually her friends sided with Luke. Piper tried to sat with her but Annabeth pushed her away. The only friend she had left but Annabeth pushed her away. Because she knew that if Piper were to stay with her it would ruin her life too. So she let go. She let go of whatever she had left.
"After that I had April." Annabeth said as Percy and her sat outside on a bench in their backyard. "Calypso, the girl who runs the orphanage, she helped me through the whole...pregnancy ordeal. "She said reluctantly glancing at him, but he had an expressionless face. Like he didn't know how to process all of this in a day. "Luke..." she sighed. "He was my first and...last love, but I can't let him into April's life." Percy winced at the word 'last'. She was too young to be giving up on love so soon.
"A year and a half after that Malcolm came into my life. He was Susan's son who she sent away to boarding school because she despised boys. He heard about me and came to take me home and here I am. I didn't tell him about April. I couldn't ruin his reputation like that, plus there would be questions about the orphanage if I did so and well...it would get complicated." Annabeth said wiping at her face.
Percy shook his head with a pained look on his face. He lightly took her hand. "Annabeth I'm-"
"Dont." Annabeth stopped him. "Don't say you're sorry."
"I wasn't." He said. "I was going to say that I'm proud of you. Of the person you are." he said smiling at her. "And to also tell you that I'll be by your side. No matter what."
"Thank you Percy." Annabeth said softly. "That really means a lot to me."
"So you're not mad?" he asked. "About me knowing?"
Annabeth shrugged. "It was bound to happen anyway and it's not like you did it on purpose. I got myself drunk." There was a comfortable silence between them for a while before April came running towards them.
"Uncle Malcolm ish ashking if you want breakfast." She said looking at Percy. He smiled and bent down to her level. "No, I probably should get going."
April was still staring at him like he was some master piece. "Who are you?"
"That's rude honey." Annabeth chastised. "This is Percy, my friend."
"Pershy." She said and Percy chuckled and ruffled her hair and Annabeth was surprised to see that she didn't back away. April usually didn't like people touching her hair. Especially not people she just met.
"Percy." He corrected. "like with an 's' but it's actually a c." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Pershy." April said again and then cocked her head to the side. "I like Fishy better." She said and Percy looked at Annabeth dumb founded as Annabeth simply shrugged.
"Fishy it is then." he said smiling at her.
Percy found Luke in the basket ball court. Alone. He preferred it that way. He calmly walked towards him as Luke threw the ball into the basket with his back turned towards Percy.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Percy asked as Luke missed catching the ball and turned around shocked. He must have not heard him come in.
"What?" He asked Percy looking confused.
"I know about your and Annabeth's relationship." He laughed bitterly. "It's funny how you were the one worrying about me hurting her when you went and stabbed her in the back."
A guilty expression crossed Luke's face as his jar stiffened. "Look, you don't have any idea what you're talking about."
"Oh I sure do, Luke." he sneered. "How could you do that to her? To the girl you once loved? Or did you really?"
"Of course I loved her!" Luke said anger prominent in his eyes. "I still love her!"
"Luke you jerk!" Percy yelled throwing a punch at him. "How could you do that to her?" He knew he could easily get expelled for picking a fight but at that moment he just didn't care. All he could see was red. He had done all that to her and still had the audacity to tell him he loved Annabeth. People in love just don't do that.
Luke punched him back. "Look!" He yelled out with his nose bleeding. "She didn't even give me time to explain!"
"Explain what? How you used her all this time?" Percy growled out.
"I didn't use her!" Luke yelled. "It wasn't my fault. Rachel just came to my house that night crying and I was expecting Annabeth-"
Percu stopped punching him mid-way. Rachel? What was he talking about? Where did Rachel come from?
"Wait- what are you talking about?" Percy asked him looking confused.
Luke frowned at him. "About why Annabeth and I broke up. I-I made a mistake." He said holding his head in his hands. "I knew I shouldn't have kissed Rachel let alone sleep with her but I-I don't know what came over me Percy and the next thing I knew Annabeth stopped coming to school. And the time when she came she didn't even talk to me!"
"So you-you cheated on Annabeth the night before she stopped coming? So you weren't with her then?" Percy asked hoping what he thought wasn't true.
Luke glared at him."Do you find it so hard to understand?! No! I was with Rachel that night!"
It all came crashing down on Percy. Luke hadn't raped Annabeth. Someone else had. But who?
So I hope I didn't confuse you guys in the end. If I did let me clear it up for you.
So according to Annabeth's past, when she and Luke were dating she gave him a scythe necklace. The night that Annabeth was raped, she saw the same necklace with 'From Annabeth' engraved in it hanging around the man's neck so of course the man was Luke. Later when Percy confronts Luke about it Luke tells him that they had broken up because he had cheated on Annabeth with Rachel. So basically the conclusion is that Annabeth only thought Luke was the one who raped her but he actually isn't. Then who is? And why was he wearing Luke's necklace?
Until next time!
Chapter 10
"I can't always keep fighting your battles, Annabeth." He frowned at her. "Someday you're gonna have to fight your own."
"Oh so that means you're leaving me?" Annabeth retorted back angrily.
"I'm not leaving you." He insisted. "I'm just saying that maybe it's time to bring back the strong and tough Annabeth you once were. And it's gonna be hard, I know, but I'm going to be with you every step of the way."
Stay tuned!- RachelChaseJackson
