Here's the next chapter.
Annabeth's POV
When I woke up this morning, I wasn't feeling any better from yesterday. Percy's dying body still haunted my mind. I was so scared; I didn't know what to do. Breakfast wasn't any better. Not only did I feel bad, but everyone was either talking about it or was scared of what happened like me. I just ate my breakfast in silence. I don't know it was me or not, but it just seemed I somehow lost the will to use my voice. I'm just so . . . so sad for Percy, and I was worried he might end up dying.
-Line break-
After breakfast, I went to the infirmary to see how Percy was doing. When I got there, he still wasn't awake, but he was in a different position than he was the last time. So that helped assure me a little that he was still alive. But it didn't assure me enough that he was gonna still live through this. I just sat there, staring at him, and I even let myself give in to the urge of holding his hand in mine. I wish I could wake him up and say how much I'm worried for him, but I knew if I did, he would probably lose his changes of living.
After an hour, Chiron came in. "Annabeth, could you come with me to the big house please?" he asked. I nodded and followed him to the big house.
"Chiron, what happened to Percy?" I asked, knowing he knew I was asking if he knew who did this to Percy.
"Well, we had the doctors' search for finger prints on the blade to find who had that knife and used it on Percy, and we were able to identify the wielder's finger prints." He explained.
"And?" I asked, motioning for him to continue.
"Well, all the finger prints we found, they were all Percy's." He explained sadly.
"WHAT!? PERCY DID THIS TO HIMSELF!? WHY!? HOW COULD HE!?" I exaggerated.
"You tell me. From what I've seen lately, he's been avoiding you instead of tutoring you like how he's supposed to do. And sometime after he starts avoiding you, this happens. Care to enlighten me?" He stated.
I felt like I was just hit by a brick wall. I instantly knew I was the cause of this. I think Chiron knew this too, he just wanted to hear from me what happened and why it made Percy so distant from me.
"Well, we kinda got involved in an argument." I started.
After I explained what I did to him, he just stared at me in shock. I had a hard time trying to explain everything with a straight face. I felt like I could've just busted out sobbing. Now that I know I was the cause of this, I felt even worse and even more terrible for him.
"You got in his face about when he was here just because he made do something you didn't want to do?" He asked not too happily.
All I did was nod my head, because if I said anything, I'll just break and sob.
"Annabeth, do you have any idea on why Percy was even sent here in the first place?" He asked.
"Something about a drinking problem." I said as calmly and straight as I could, trying to prevent my tears from falling.
"You have no idea what he's been through do you?" He asked.
I just shook my head no.
"He was sent here because a problem just as worse as you." He started to explain.
This will be explained by Chiron through how Percy explained it in an earlier chapter.
Drinking problem 1: I'm at a bar right now. This was like my 25th shot or something. I wasn't really keeping count, but I knew I drank enough to be in like the twenties or thirties. I snuck out of my mom's apartment because I had a rough day at school. The teachers were bitching at about my grades dropping, finding beer bottles in my locker, and me ditching school a lot. I was really pissed off, so I needed to drink away my irritation. One moment, I was just sitting down enjoying my shots, next thing I know, I'm in the hospital, getting my stomach pumped.
Drinking problem 2: I recently had a fight with my mom. She was not happy to find a box of 24 bottles of beer under my bed. As soon as she was done yelling at me, I ran out of the apartment for more beer. I was gonna buy more beer, but I have a different idea now. A beer truck just past by and stopped a few feet away from where I was. As soon as the driver got out and went inside the store, I broke into the truck. I didn't steel any of the bottles, I just drank it where I was. I didn't care how much I drank or what would happen. I just needed to lose the stress that was building up inside of me.
The truck driver eventually came back to see like half of his load was already gone because of me. He got out his cell phone to call the cops. I would run, if I wasn't as drunk as fuck. The cops got here and they arrested me.
Drinking problem 3: I got invited to this party that I'm at right now. My mom said I wasn't allowed to go. This is exactly why I snuck out yet again. She never can keep me from drinking. I'm always able to get myself a drink, no matter what she does. I had a shit load of alcohol, about like 40 glasses. Right now, I feel so alive and care free. When I finished my final drink, if I remember correctly, I got out of my clothed and ended up running through the streets. I'm, running out without a care in the world shouting: "Hey New Yorkers. Check it out. There's a naked jack ass running through the city." I'm having a really fun night.
After that night, I find mom dragging me to Brat Camp Half-Blood. I was assigned to stay at the Poseidon cabin. They thought it was the perfect cabin for me since I love to swim. Swimming was always my greatest hobby, though not too many people are interested in that.
All those memories are like nightmares. Once I was sent out of Camp Half-Blood and sent back to my mom, I ran into my mom's arms, repentantly saying sorry to her for how I acted and how terrible I felt about it. She forgave me and was happy that I changed into a decent man, though like me, she was still under so much pain of how I was before. I really wish I never put myself through all of that. I guess I did because of Gabe Ugliano, my horrible ex stepfather. He was a horrible person, and a guess I got into all of my drinking habits from him.
Gabe Ugliano was such a psychopathic asshole. He always smelled like a rotting sewer, he always slept until noon, and he was never able to hold himself or even find a job. I hated him with every fiber of my being. I have no idea how mom was able to put up with him. He was always a negative influence on me. He would physically abuse me every opportunity he got. He never abused my mom in any way, but he wasn't a very good husband to her either. The only thing he would do if he couldn't get hands on me is gamble with his friends and drink. My bad habits must have been from him, I don't know who or what else would.
Explanation is now over.
To say I was shocked was understatement. I never would've thought that someone like Percy Jackson would actually be put through so much like that. When Chiron said Percy's problems were just as terrible as mine could ever be, he wasn't joking. I didn't any of this.
"I . . . I had no idea." I said, feeling myself breaking to be beyond repaired.
"Now do you know why he's trying to help you? He went through so much in his life, and he doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he made." He said.
I nodded my head, understanding what he was trying to get at.
After our 'talk', I ran to the Athena cabin and just threw myself on my bed. I just laid there, sobbing into my pillow, feeling like I was slowly beginning to lose my own life.I sobbed until I ended up passing out on my bed. But before I did, I made myself promise to get out of this camp as a better person. And more importantly, I was determined to apologize to him and make him forgive me, even if it takes me the rest of my life.
End of chapter. Later.
