Summary: Her adrenaline rush slowly stopped as the pain faded, and she slashed her wrist again, only this time deeper. Her head throbbed and the room spun. She leaned against the cupboard and slid to her knees. Again and again she slashed her wrists, each time getting deeper.

AN (1): Recommended music: Breathe Me by Sia

AN (2): PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE ANGUST AND CUTTING! This is a really emotional chapter and a bit OOC, well actually a lot of OOC. I felt like something pretty emotional and bad had to happen for Percy and Annabeth to become closer and back together again. I'm sorry if you don't like the chapter, but this is how I wanted it to play out. Please R&R. I do not own Percy Jackson.

Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will follow you.

Hold Me, Wrap Me Up.

…..

His eyes felt heavy and his vision was blurry from lack of sleep. As he wanted to sleep, the world was coming alive. People were making their way to work, and the traffic was getting even worse than before. Percy groaned realizing yet another cab cut in front of him, in any situation this would have aggravated him, but fill with exhaustion, he just yawned.

"Come on, Annabeth. Pick up." He shook his phone, wishing it would make her pick up. Her voicemail was the only thing he heard. He threw the phone on the passenger seat, rubbing his head. "Where are you, Annabeth?"

She felt hopeless. Never had she felt the way she did at this moment. The silence of her condo was haunting. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and closed the box of pizza. Sighing, she looked at her phone lying on the table. Why couldn't she get up and turn it on? What was she scared of? It took everything inside her to wobble towards the dining room table. Her phone vibrated as it turned on, making her jump. "Percy?" she looked at her missed calls. "27? You've got to be kidding me." What should I do?

On instinct, Annabeth pressed the call button.

"Annabeth," a voice panted. "Are you alright? What's going on?"

"I went to see my parents." She sighed, she choked back a sob. "My father didn't particularly like the news I had for him." She closed her eyes, hoping to regain some control on her emotions. "He kicked me out and didn't want to hear anything I had to say. I'm sorry."

"Annabeth, why are you sorry?"

"If I had been more careful about being with you, Hilary never would have found us. None of this would have happened."

"Annabeth, it's not your fault. None of this is. If anything it's all because of me." He sighed, "I should have told Hilary the truth from the start. It was my own fault for letting it get that far." It was silent between the two as Annabeth sat at her table and Percy tried to maneuver through downtown New York City.

"Where are you?" he asked.

Annabeth looked at her nails and replied, "At home." She hung up her phone, wanting to hold Percy and not only hear his voice.

"Annabeth," he groaned. "What are you doing?" he swerved in a more effective matter to make it through the maze of New York City traffic. From the corner of his eye he could see a taxi driver giving him the finger. But nothing mattered except getting to Annabeth. Everything that had happened over the past few days, months, every year didn't matter. All Percy's brain could comprehend was that Annabeth was hurt, upset and if she was thinking irrationally, could do something incredibly stupid.

She held the kitchen knife in her hand, she didn't want this, nor did she think it was the best option. But she had too. The pain she felt inside was too much to bear, knowing everyone hated her, knowing everything in her life was a wreck. She played the message on the answering machine,

Annabeth, it's me, Derick. I-I'm sorry that I wasn't able to tell you this in person because I knew you were away. But what I'm about to tell you needed to be done right at the moment. I'm sorry to say that we will no longer be needing you to design anything anymore. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. We all wish you the best in everything you do.

She lost her job. She lost her family. She lost everything she wanted with Percy. Her life came to a standstill as she held the knife in her hand, finding the strength to do something with it, anything with it. The knife shook in her hand as she sliced a small cut into the inside of her wrist. The pain was numbing, for a moment all she could think about was the pain, it gave her a sense of control on her life. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

Her adrenaline rush slowly stopped as the pain faded, and she slashed her wrist again, only this time deeper. Her head throbbed and the room spun. She leaned against the cupboard and slid to her knees. Again and again she slashed her wrists, each time getting deeper. Her eyes began to feel heavier, the blood covering her wrist and clothes made her nauseous.

"Annabeth?" the voice was mumbled, as if her brain couldn't process it. "Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth what did you do?" the voice faded until her whole world went black.