Annabeth
Knock knock knock.
Annabeth finishes screwing in the light bulb and steps off the chair. She walks over and opens the door.
"Oh my god! Jason!" She throws her arms around him in a big hug.
"Ah! careful," he gently pushes her back. "Can I come in?"
"Sure!" Annabeth lets him through and shuts the door. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
He sits down on the couch. "I'm not really doing too great. And yeah, I actually have some pretty nasty burns on my back and shoulders."
"What happened?" She sits next to him.
"There was a, uh, fire. Beth, I need to tell you something."
She can feel her heart sinking and racing; unconsciously she holds her breath, waiting for him to speak.
"I was in Russia with Percy. We were doing some work together and... something happened..."
"No," Her eyes begin to tear up. "NoNoNoNo. He's—"
"I'm sorry. He's not coming back,"
She falls to the floor, sliding off the couch and wrapping her arms over her chest. Her voice is caught in her throat and she stares off into the distance.
Jason kneels down beside her. "I know this is hard, but I need to take a look in his computer. I know it's going to be hard to hear, but he gave some sensitive information to the wrong people. And before he d— Well, he made some claims about the people he was working for. I need to investigate."
Annabeth chokes back a sob and points toward the bedroom. Jason stands and walks away. She begins to shake and cry.
No No No! She keeps screaming to herself; Fighting the truth. He can't be gone! Oh my god! He's never going to meet our baby. She places one hand on her belly.
There's a small framed picture of Percy and Annabeth standing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge; it sits on the coffee table. She reaches out and picks it up, gently touching his face.
I can't do this without you, I can't be a mom! Not alone! I can't! Sobs rack her body.
Anger begins to replace her fear.
"Why did you leave me!?" She shouts, throwing the picture at the fireplace.
The glass breaks against the floor. Jason comes out of the room. Without saying anything, he begins to clean up the broken glass.
Slowly, Annabeth stops crying but still sniffles and hiccups as she stares across the room.
"Jason," she whispers. "Why did he have to leave? If he would have just stayed home... He was—" She chokes on her words. "— he was going to be a dad."
Jason's head jerks up.
"He would have been so excited." He walks over to her and puts his arms around her. "Is there anyone I can call to be here for you?"
She starts to cry again, curling up and looking away from him.
Jason lets her go and reaches for his cell phone. He dials a number.
"Hey, yeah yeah. I know you don't want to hear from me. But I'm with your sister, she really needs you. Mhm, her place. Okay, bye."