Chapter XXVI: Gone
Rating: T
Word Count: 3,400+
A/N: Another update! As I said before, I want to finish this story during the following seven days, so you'll see other two updates this week. I hope you like this; please tell me what you think. I don't have much to say, just that. Happy reading! Oh, and I forgot to thank you all for following the story, adding it to your favorites and reviewing :). You're the best.
Luke and Thalia join us an hour after the attack is over. Annabeth and I are sitting in a couple of chairs, our arms crossed upon our chests as we wait for someone to come and tell us something. The room is completely empty except for us. As my cousin weaves her way through the room, Annabeth and I get on our feet.
"What happened?" she asks, the volume of her voice a little bit loud. It's clear she's worried about us.
Annabeth, despite the situation, rolls her eyes. "I told you what happened about four times before you decided to hang the phone. I won't repeat the same story again."
Thankfully, Thalia doesn't press her. "Didn't you have bodyguards taking care of you? They're not doing a great job. Something severe could've happened to you! You should call your dad and ask him to hire new guards."
"If Ryder and Lissa hadn't appeared we wouldn't be here," I say, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jeans. "We weren't strong enough to take care of those guys. If they hadn't appeared I wouldn't only have a purple eye. I'm sure I'd be in a hospital right now. If you ask me, they're doing a very good job."
"Whatever." Thalia rolls her eyes, though I can see that she's happy to see we're okay. "So…what will happen now?"
"Ryder and Lissa are interrogating the guys who attacked us," Annabeth says, her stare never leaving the ground. Ever since we arrived here she's been thinking a lot. She gets distracted very easily. "We'll soon know who they are and what they wanted with me."
"We already know what they wanted," Luke talks for the first time, pursing his lips. Parts of his face start turning red, though he tries to look calm. "They wanted to affect your dad. By using you. If I'd been with you I'd given those shuck-faces some―"
"Calm down," Thalia says, trying to soothe him. His expression softens when my cousin wraps her arms around his chest, though I know he's still angry. "You're not the only one who would've wanted to give those guys a lesson. But there's nothing we can do. We can just…wait. Wait and see what happens."
Everyone nods in agreement. I let Thalia take my seat and fetch two more chairs for Luke and me. While doing it, my eyes notice a long corridor in the middle of the room. Something tells me that our attackers are being interrogated at the end of it. In the last room. Curiosity swells inside me. I'd like to hear what they've got to say.
Shaking my head, I go back with Annabeth and our companions. "Thanks, dude," Luke says, taking one of the chairs from me. I give him a nod and continue walking, still not knowing how to talk with him. The thought of him and Thalia together is still strange.
Annabeth takes my hand after sitting at her side. I turn to meet her gaze, but she's still staring at the ground, thinking. "You okay?" I ask. Once the question is out of my mouth I realize how stupid I must've sounded. Of course she's not okay. About an hour ago we were attacked by two people who work for someone, and that someone wants to harm her father.
"Yeah," she answers, detaching her stare from the floor and staring at me. "I'm just mulling things over. As much as I try, I can't figure out why someone would want to harm Dad. He's not a bad guy. Yeah, he didn't talk with his own daughter for months, but in the end he realized he was doing wrong."
"If everything goes well we'll soon discover something." I squeeze her hand, trying to transmit her good thoughts. A smile flits across her face. "I'm sure of it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Thalia is right: We have to wait."
She nods, not saying anything more. I know, though, that my words made her feel a bit better. Her shoulders are less tense, and she starts tracing invisible lines on the back of my hand with her thumb.
The following hour passes with a lot of silence in the room. Annabeth distracts herself by using her phone―I didn't know she plays Candy Crush. Thalia and Luke try to appear as normal as possible, but I notice they're holding hands. I, in other hand, scan my surroundings. At nine o'clock I already know which objects decorate this place. I could find them with my eyes closed.
The silence is interrupted when footsteps start echoing in the place, coming from the corridor I saw earlier. Ryder, accompanied by a man who looks like a detective, appears from it and walks over to us. We jump to our feet in a second.
"Nothing," is the only thing he says. That can only mean one thing: They didn't find anything while interrogating our attackers. Annabeth groans beside me. I feel like I lied to her. It was me who told her we'd soon discover something. Trying to feel better, I place an arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me.
"Now what?" she asks, leaning her head against mine.
"We'll continue trying to get some answers to our questions." Ryder pushes on the bridge of his sunglasses. It's been long since darkness fell upon the city. Yet, he wears them as if sunlight were going to damage his eyes. "It's getting late. You don't have to stay here all night. You can go to rest. Lissa can stay with you."
My mouth almost falls to the ground when Annabeth accepts. Something told me she wouldn't accept. "Okay." She nods. "We'll go to rest. We'll come back tomorrow to see how everything is. I think I should call Dad and tell him what happened before someone else tells him."
"I'll get Lissa." Ryder turns on his heels, heading back to the room at the end of the corridor. As he opens the door I wish to know what's beyond it. I'd like to see how an interrogation works.
"Let's go back to the apartment," Annabeth says, her eyes closed as she leans her forehead against mine. "I'm sure nothing will happen for a little while, and I need to rest. The fight left me exhausted. I wanna sleep and forget about the attack."
"Okay." I place a kiss on her forehead and pull her to an embrace. "I agree you should rest. Should I carry you to the car?"
It's the first time in hours that I hear her laugh. "Whatever," she replies. I grin, and, swiftly, I use the little strength I've got left to lift her from the ground. "I thought you were joking!" She exclaims, scared about falling.
"I was talking seriously, Chase." It's incredible how light she is. It's been time since the last time I carried her, and she still feels as light as a feather. Turning to Luke and Thalia, I say, "Tell Lissa we'll be in the car." Before waiting for an answer, I cross the room, heading to the exit.
Annabeth keeps her arms around my neck, leaning her head against mine. "I'd forgotten how strong you are. I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who can carry me when I can barely stand up." It's obvious she's trying to sound amused, but exhaustion doesn't make her sound like that.
My car is parked just outside the building, shimmering beneath the moon's light. Cold wind slashes on my face, but I ignore it and continue walking. "Here we are," I say, placing Annabeth's feet on the ground. I hadn't realized how exhausted she looks. Smiling, she gives me a quick kiss and climbs in the car.
Lissa emerges through the building's entrance five minutes later, placing her Taser in her purse. She gives us a nod as she walks to her and Ryder's car, signaling us to start moving. I nod back and turn the car's engine on. As the car advances through Boston's streets Annabeth takes out her phone and dials her house's number.
From my place in the driver's seat I can listen to Mrs. Chase's worried voice. Something tells me she wants us to go back to New York. And I wouldn't mind accepting. I'd feel better if Annabeth were safe in her home.
"No, Mom, I'm okay," Annabeth says, waving her hand as though her mother could see her. "Ryder and Lissa were there to help us. They're doing a good job… I'm sorry, Mom, but I don't wanna go back yet." I meet her gaze and she shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm sure… I promise I'll call if something happens… I'm just tired, Mom, don't worry… Why? Because your daughter helped Ryder and Lissa kick our attackers' butts. Well, they did most of the work, but I helped!" Her exhausted expression disappears when she laughs. "Okay… Yes… I'll call you later, Mom. Bye."
Silence fills in the car. The only sound audible belongs to the motor. Annabeth meets my stare in the mirror, and she talks as if she could read my mind. "I'm sure I don't wanna go back to New York yet, Percy."
"Why?" I ask, not understanding her. "I'd feel better if I knew you're safe in your house."
"Percy, I'm not safe neither here nor in New York. If someone's following me they'll follow me everywhere I go until: A) they get me, or B) we get them."
"But at least in New York people know you. Haven't you read the Harry Potter books? You're more vulnerable when you're alone." I grin as she rolls her eyes. "Or did I see it in the movies? I'm not sure. But you get my point!"
"I think someone's got an obsession with Harry Potter. You're always making references about that." She turns to stare through the window, a small smile stretched on her face.
"I can't believe you're my girlfriend. We can't be anything if you don't like Harry Potter."
"I like it―and him, too; what a shame he isn't real―but I'm not always making references about it. In fact, I think I never do them."
"You know, I don't like it anymore." I focus on driving and ignore Annabeth's gaze on me. "Harry's stealing my girlfriend, and I can't like anyone who does that. And he isn't even real!"
"Stop being a girl, Perseus Jackson!" She laughs. "I thought I was the girl in this relationship."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Mrs. Potter."
Annabeth looks less exhausted during the rest of our journey. She keeps laughing and telling me I'm a girl. Meanwhile, I focus on getting us alive to my father's apartment, grinning at her comments and laughing.
"Can you carry me again?" she asks as I exit the car. Before I can answer, she rolls her eyes and clamps a hand to her o-shaped mouth. "Oh, I forgot you're the girl in this relationship. Want me to carry you, sweetie?"
"Shut up, Chase." I grin, tugging her door open. "I'll show you I'm the man here, sweetie." I lift her from the passenger's seat with all my strength and place her on my shoulder, the upper part of her body dangling behind me.
"Percy! Put me down right now!" She punches a lot of times on my back. I ignore her protests, walking towards the apartment's entrance. "I'm talking seriously, Percy!"
"Who's the girl now?" Still ignoring her, I reach to take the key from my pocket. Just to torture her I do everything slowly. It takes me about four minutes to insert the key in the lock, and other two to unlock it. I wonder momentarily what Lissa thinks about us. Maybe she thinks it was me who planned all the attacks and now I'm trying to kidnap her. The thought of her Taser makes me shiver.
Once the door is closed behind me, I lock it and cross the hallway. "Percy, put me down in this precise moment! I've always been the girl, idiot."
"You asked me to carry you and that's what I'm doing."
I don't put her down until we arrive to the bedroom. Once her feet touch the ground she glares at me, probably killing me in her mind. "Thanks," is the only thing she says before turning around and heading to the bathroom. The sound of water falling reaches my ears, and I know she'll take a shower.
In the meantime I change my clothes, pulling on pajama pants and a long-sleeve shirt to fight the cold seeping through the walls. My mind goes back to the place where our attackers are being interrogated. What if those guys worked alongside the man who almost killed Luke before he got caught? That would mean they also helped to kidnap Dad.
Suddenly, I hate them even more―if that's possible. Not only did they try to harm Annabeth; they also helped to kidnap my father. Dad doesn't talk about what happened, but I'm sure something bad must've happened. They must've tortured him. If I'd known that earlier, I would've tried to kill Attacker one and two.
You don't know if your superstitions are true, my mind says, trying to calm me down. You have to wait to know the truth.
The sound of a door creaking drags me back to reality. I shake my head as Annabeth walks through the room, wearing warm clothes to protect herself from the weather. She's pulling her damp hair to a bun as she comes to the bed.
Heaving a sigh, she jumps and lands beside me. "I feel much better now," she says, watching the ceiling intently. It's true. Her appearance is better than before.
"You look much better, too," I say, propping on an elbow. A part of my mind tells me she will punch me for saying that, but nothing happens. She stays immobile, never meeting my gaze. "What are you thinking?" The answer to my question doesn't come until a minute of silence passes.
"Do you think I'll ever have some peace?" she asks, shifting so her body is facing mine. "I think it's been months since the last time I had some. Before I met you my parents didn't know I existed. After I met you Dad didn't talk me for months. And now that I've got both of them, someone's after me just to harm Dad."
"I'm sure that everything will fix soon, and you'll have more peace than what you need," I answer, though I'm not sure if she trusts me. Lately, I've been telling her a lot of things, and not everything has become true. Her eyes don't separate from mine until she nods.
"We should get some sleep," she says, moving closer to me. She leans her forehead against my chest, placing her hands around my body. I can't help smiling. Months ago, after sleeping on the old couch, I'd woken up to find her this close for the first time. Our relationship started here, in this city.
"Close your eyes," I mutter, running a hand along her hair. "Everything will be fine. You'll be alright."
There is a moment of silence in which I think she's already asleep. Her breath makes my shirt feel warm. Then, out of nowhere, she says, "Stop singing Safe and Sound." Even though her face is hidden I know she's grinning. Smiling, I place a kiss on her head and close my eyes, waiting to fall asleep.
. . .
The moment we arrive to Ryder's location we notice that Thalia and Luke are already here. They're talking non-stop, but it's not the kind of conversation couples have. Something about their expressions tells me they're surprised and talking about an event.
"Hi," Annabeth says, waving a hand. Sleeping more than eight hours helped her a lot. Her appearance is much better, and she hasn't stopped smiling. It's like watching someone who ate a lot of chocolate, but she didn't eat any. "What's up?"
"Your bodyguards just found out something," Luke says, crossing his arms. "The guys who attacked you worked alongside the man who almost killed me―you know, before he was caught."
"We think," Thalia continues, "that these guys helped to kidnap Uncle Poseidon. And not only that. We also think that all the attacks are being planned by the same man who planned Uncle Poseidon's kidnap. That guy likes messing up with mayors."
Annabeth, Luke and Thalia continue talking about the subject, but my mind is somewhere else. My superstitions were right. It's as if the mastermind of all the attacks wanted to mess with all my loved ones. First Dad, then Annabeth and her father.
"Percy?" asks Annabeth, tugging on my hand.
I shake my head, coming back to reality. "I already suspected that," I mutter, my blood boiling inside my veins. My mind can't believe there is someone I despise more than Khione. "I hate whoever is making all this. First Dad, now Annabeth?"
"Calm down," she says, placing her hands on my temples.
"I can't. It's like a curse. Who's next? Mom? Thalia? Luke?"
"I'm in the list of the people you love?" Thalia places her hand on her collarbone, pretending to be astonished. "Calm down, little cousin. Everything will be fine. I'm sure all this is just a coincidence.
"Yeah," Luke says, patting on my shoulder. "I also believe that whoever is doing this likes winning money from mayors. Who would like to harm your loved ones? You've got no enemies."
I nod, though that doesn't mean I feel better. Even if all this is a coincidence I feel furious. The thought of Annabeth being in danger just because someone wants to win some money makes me angry.
Thalia and Luke take us with Ryder, who tells us what we already know. They let us see how the interrogation is going from a nearby room. With the balaclavas gone, the men who attacked us look scary. Honestly, they looked better with their faces hidden beneath a black piece of clothing.
As I watch them refuse to answer questions, my anger becomes stronger. They helped kidnapped Dad. They tortured him. They worked with the man who tried to kill Annabeth. They attacked us yesterday. I wish I could go in and make them pay for all they've done.
Lately, Annabeth has been capable to read my emotions and thoughts. She takes my hand and drags me out of the room, saying, "Let's go back to the apartment, Percy. And forget about all this." I nod, breathing deeply to quench my anger. She turns to Ryder, my cousin and Luke. "We'll see you all later."
Lissa follows us, talking with Annabeth since I don't feel like doing it while being here. As we reach my car Annabeth places a hand on my chest, forcing me to stop. "What?" I ask, scanning our surroundings.
"Can I drive?" She grins. "I've never been able to drive your car."
We stare at each other for seconds while I think of what to say. Should I let her drive the car Dad lent me? Does she even have a license? We've never talked about that, so I've got no idea.
Shrugging, I place the Maserati's keys on the palm of her hand. "Just don't destroy the car, please," I say, walking to the passenger's seat.
"I don't promise anything." Clapping her hands, she walks to the driver's seat. I put on my seatbelt and wait for Annabeth to turn the car on. As she does it, the car shudders, and its engine turns off again. A shy smile spreads on her face as I lock eyes with her.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?"
. . .
"Just relax, Percy." Annabeth sets the palms of her hands on my chest and pushes me. I lose my balance and land on a couch, which softens my fall. "Relax and don't think about what you heard and saw at the interrogation.
"It's difficult not to do it," I admit.
Silence fills the place while she thinks. When she snaps her fingers I know that an idea came to her mind. "You know what? I'll help you to relax." She comes to sit by my side, placing an arm around my shoulders. "I'll prepare something so we can eat. I'll find snacks so we can watch some movies. And if that's not enough, I'll give you a massage―though I've never given one before. What do you think?"
"Sounds tempting." I smile, momentarily forgetting about everything.
"Then I'll start preparing everything." Rubbing her hands, she gets on her feet. "You stay here and relax. Are you listening to me, Perseus Jackson? Relax. Forget about everything. Okay?"
I nod, closing my eyes. It's boring not to do anything, so I try to find out what Annabeth's doing by just listening. Drawers are being open in the kitchen, then the fridge. What is she preparing? If I'm not mistaken there aren't a lot of things to prepare food.
My mind imagines how good it would feel to get a massage. As more thoughts creep to my mind, I become less aware of what's going on in the house. Soon, darkness swallows me and drags me to sleep.
. . .
The sound of a phone ringing wakes me up.
Yawning, I open my eyes and reach to take my phone from my pocket. The screen displays Thalia's number, and accompanying it is a picture of her about to bite a cookie. "Hello?" I say, stifling a second yawn.
"Percy, tell Annabeth to turn her phone on. I've been calling her to make her a question and she hasn't answered," Thalia says.
"Sure, but can't you make the question to me?"
"Well, if you want to talk about Luke…"
"Forget what I said." I get on my feet, heading to the kitchen. "I'll give Annabeth the phone so you can talk about…Luke."
To my surprise, there is no one in the kitchen. A bowl full of spaghetti rests on a counter, but it looks cold. My stare travels to the window. Darkness is already over the city. And there is no sign of Annabeth. "Just a sec," I say, heading to the bedroom. Again, I don't see my girlfriend anywhere.
My heart starts pounding against my chest while I travel to the entrance. "I can't find her," I say, trying not to panic.
"What?" Thalia asks, but I ignore her. I reach to open the door and find my car parked in its place. The only thing different from earlier is that Lissa isn't inside her car.
Calm down, Percy, I think, taking deep breaths. There aren't any snacks in the kitchen, so Annabeth went to buy some accompanied by Lissa. I almost believe what I'm thinking, but my stare falls on a thing resting on the ground. It's a phone: Annabeth's phone.
Thalia is making a lot of questions, but I don't answer her. In fact, my phone slips from my hand as I kneel to get Annabeth's. Don't panic, I think. Don't panic.
Then, I see the body of an unconscious person not so far away.
I see Lissa's body.
Sneak Peek from Next Chapter
Annabeth
I want to shout at the top of my lungs when a man presses a hot thing against my bare shoulder, but it's impossible. The only thing that comes out my lips is a groan. A piece of cloth is stuffed into my mouth, keeping me from making loud noises that could attract the neighbors' attention.
The man, who is wearing a balaclava to hide his identity, stops torturing me and lets out a chuckle. "You have a nice shoulder," he says with a muffled voice. "I wonder what you hide beneath all those clothes. Do you mind if I take a look?"