Sorry, my updating has been horrible. I'm not even busy…oh well school starts soon and my procrastination will most definitely make me write more ;) (apparently none of my smiley/wink-y faces have appeared before, they will now). By the way, the last benchmark Chapter 20 was probably the last filler y'all will get. Say goodbye! *smiles nervously* From now on, the pacing might get a little fast, and the length of these chapters, but I'm so excited for this.
Enjoy!
Annabeth Chase's Facts about People, Life, and Earth: Licorice can be made from the licorice root extract or anise, which shares a flavor but different properties. The candy is one of the oldest, and licorice root has been used since the Ancient Egyptians for medical properties. However, there are also many risks from eating the root or consuming a large amount of black licorice, which can be avoided by checking the ingredients. One of the main benefits is that it may improve cholesterol and the candy includes a very low amount of fat per serving.
Reyna still slept incredibly lightly. Whenever he got up to drink some water, escape the ticking of the guest room's clock, grab some Tylenol for his muscle pain, clean up something for Calypso and Leo, Reyna woke. And his insomnia was the worst of his withdrawal, so he was never still.
Perhaps he should've been grateful that it wasn't too sharp. "Acute," the brochure or Annabeth's textbook term was. The worst hit in the night, the first time Reyna rolled out a comforter on the floor of the Valdezes' guest room, when he started marking time by the pad of Annabeth's footsteps to grab a glass of almond milk before bed, the last night Harvey huddled out in their hallway even when offered the living room. He had a mind-numbing wave of anxiety that kept him up. That was still there, in a quiet, resting form, and he still watched the clouds skirt across the thin strip of moonlight under the curtains, but it was better than before.
He couldn't remember how long he had been lying there with his hands folded over his aching stomach like a corpse and watched the outline of a sunrise seeping through Calypso's woven curtains. He wondered if one of the stages of nirvana could be peacefully dwelling with boredom.
The last time he had willfully woken up so early was probably when he was a little kid. Torpedoing around the apartment and shrieking with all his energy and usually racing into his mom's bedroom to get smacked with a pillow.
The clock read six when Reyna rolled over on her floor mattress. She was probably awake earlier, since she had an absurd work schedule and something against sleep in general, but Percy had sobbed about how guilty he felt one awkward game night and now they all tiptoed around him. She actually did sleep like a corpse though, so he couldn't be sure.
Her eyes glowed darkly. "Good morning," she said softly. Her voice was always wide-alert.
Even her attention could make him worried. He wished he could meet her without this permanent anxiety that she would turn him away, that she would give him what he deserved. He knew it was the withdrawal, but he also worried it wasn't. Because he wouldn't stop worrying.
"Hello," he replied, keeping his mouth halfway closed like he could make the word smaller. That she would somehow notice him less.
"You want to get up?" Reyna murmured.
He shrugged; he knew she could somehow see everything in the semi-dark.
"Another visit today." It sounded more like a command. He knew it probably wasn't, but there was definitely some urgency for him to settle down with one rehab. To appear like a potential customer they would pay attention to, though the dark circles under his eyes and general hopeless air helped, but he didn't stand out enough. Of course, Reyna's standards for him weren't to be some Ivy League college applicant, but he felt like they were. They'd visited three in the past two days, and it certainly wasn't the best experience. And there was Annabeth on the other side of the process, who would make the final call, and was a little hesitant about doing so.
"Yeah," he whispered. He looked at the tangled mess of his sheets. "Um. Can I—we go outside?" he breathed softly.
Reyna's expression said no, but she kept silent, like she was waiting for him to explain.
"Not that." He wished the obvious intent would stop hanging over them, because he seemed to remember that was a normal question. He would never dream of getting high with Reyna there. She would probably push him in front of a speeding taxicab before he could enter the basement room. Or pull out her handy pocketknife. She's probably still angry at me; she could hate me and she's decided to be nice but she still hates me inside…
"What?" Reyna asked, almost tiredly.
Percy rolled up to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know." A long pause where he tried to say what he actually did know. "There's a candy shop. Moms." It was supposed to be "my mom's," but he whispered that part too quickly, nervously.
"And do what?"
Shoot heroin together, he wanted to reply sarcastically, except he stopped feeling funny a few days ago. Precisely, three days ago, the last time he slept at night. Though even then, he woke up early to daydream about Annabeth… "Eat candy?" The obvious was now running away from them.
Reyna might have snorted. "Junk food," she reminded him.
Percy wanted to pull the "pity-me" act, but he was scared she would actually do so. Or get tired and annoyed of him. "Right."
"We can still go." Reyna paused. "Bring a salad along if you get tempted."
He felt a small laugh growing in him.
She got up and rummaged in her suitcase for clothes. "Hurry up and change, we'll grab breakfast outside." There was a gentle whir as her phone switched to silent. She left the door open by a slit—before the click could wake everyone up—as she left for the bathroom.
He didn't want to get out of bed. He thought this was a bad idea. They couldn't even do anything there, and whoever the owner was now would have to kick them out. Sweet on America might not even be standing. Or it could be the most popular store in the area, and everyone would witness him sobbing as he saw the tubs of blue gummy sharks. But Reyna had no patience with mood swings, at that, he wasn't willing to test it, so he elbowed himself off the bed to the set of drawers. They were only filled with three changes of clothes, which was all he had for winter, and the tiny bundles of his socks looked so unfortunate in the heavyset drawer as long as his arm.
Reyna was waiting in the kitchen, the sheen of splashed water on her face. Her in-a-rush luggage was apparently good enough for a month of hiking or business meetings, so she was in a purple wraparound top and a black overcoat. She handed him his jacket and ever-so-carefully unlocked the front door. "Salad?" she questioned softly in the blast of cold air, angling her body so none would reach Annabeth in the living room.
Percy shook his head. He didn't want to feel more insecure holding a Tupperware box on the subway. He simply set his phone to charge by the fridge when he realized there was 2% left.
They lightly pushed the door back. The ding of the elevator ricocheted around the still hallway. The sky still had that cold-washed feeling, and everyone around them carried a vaguely sleepy gaze, like they were still dreaming. Reyna paid for a cream cheese and smoked salmon bagel with arugula (she was rich like that) and even demanded her sesame seeds be toasted on the toasted bagel. Percy didn't know gourmet food carts existed. She passed him a large chunk and washed down the rest with fresh-roasted Brazilian coffee.
Percy kept nibbling as they rode the subway to the candy shop. Percy knew the directions by heart. Reyna set her high-heeled boots down lightly underground, like she wanted to avoid touching dirtiness as much as possible. She also insisted on standing, though they rarely found available seats. They must've looked like a redoubtable pair, the Puerto Rican boss lady with gold hoops and the washed out, scrawny dude sagging against the railing and clutching his scrap of a bagel in wax paper.
Reyna cleared her throat. "How was Nico?"
Percy closed his eyes. The only time they left him alone in the past few days was last afternoon, in Nico's apartment, though Annabeth patrolled the hallway while Reyna took the streets. He finally understood the comment about his décor, it was a literal tomb crossed with a Goth party. They both winced when Nico pulled back the black drapes. But Percy suspected he could've also been talking about the bright yellow mug hanging over the sink, or some other rather ill-fitting household items around the place Nico probably forgot to hide.
Percy sighed. "He didn't have much to say." Nico held grudges easily. Percy had been handed a once-in-a-blue-moon olive branch, and he threw it away.
Reyna nodded and looked away. She would never give comforting advice. "He didn't say anything to me. Has he always been like this?"
There was a get-together, last afternoon, because Percy had a curfew now. The gang, out on Clarisse's balcony. Percy would never admit that the thought of jumping off crossed his mind a few times during that meeting. The Stolls brought alcohol, and Connor almost fell off multiple times. Reyna only really paid attention to Nico, even though she and Dakota apparently had some history in San Francisco. "Not exactly."
Reyna nodded again. The why was altogether too obvious.
The subway was slowing down, and Reyna was physically steeling herself against the mass migration outside. The crowd of early commuters was small, but it still squeezed. Percy led the way to the open world and around a couple of streets before stopping at the big, shiny, glass-fronted Sweet on America.
Reyna didn't take the next step. "Do you want to go in?"
There was traffic on the roads, the streets, and people heading in and out. Pedestrians were already swerving around them. "Yeah, I want to take a look around," he murmured.
The ache behind his eyes started as he breathed in the dusty powdered sugar smell and the doorbell rang above them. The cashier, with a perky blond ponytail and pink bubblegum lip gloss, offered a bag. Percy stood, startled, staring at her hand until Reyna slowly took it.
"Pick what you want and weigh it here," she said, her smile only barely faltering.
Percy wanted to push it back because he couldn't even pick out anything, and he didn't want to anymore. A smooth pool of blue M&Ms cupped in his hands were nothing like his mother's touch but very suddenly seemed like it. Reyna strode on ahead to observe the licorice whips and Percy slowly trailed behind her.
He didn't have the right to change his mind suddenly. Reyna curiously reached for the nearby scoop of cherry gummies. They wandered the shop, which had clearly long since remodeled. Everything was set out in glamourous glass display cases, with those heavy tops and elaborate swirl designs. A tiny café in the corner sold peppermint lattes, and there were no longer plastic taste-test dishes with toothpicks to pull leftovers from. Percy imagined her scent still lingering in the lemony-yellow walls.
Reyna picked up a box of Tic Tacs on the way back to the counter. Her sleek wallet unfolded like a treasure box, and Reyna impassively lifted one credit card. Percy felt the taste of hunger crawl into his mouth. He looked away.
"I don't want to go home," he answered when they were out on the street, clenching his jaw. He was almost drooling; his bagel piece completely forgotten. It was like he was a toddler again, demanding what he liked and didn't. His mom rarely indulged his requests.
She tapped a Tic Tac into her mouth. "What?" she asked, her tone brooking no room for "I don't know."
He blearily looked around at their surroundings. The work rush was starting, and crisp collars and flapping ties and mile-high heels cluttered his sight. "The Park," he blurted off the top of his head and loosely gestured over.
Reyna nodded and sliced through the crowd. Central Park had emptied some more since the weather took a turn for the worse, but the cold wind biting at Percy's cheeks had to compete with every single other muscle of his aching, so they fell in ranks with the hardcore/insane shirtless joggers on the walking path. They passed a bench by the tall, leafless trees, and a turn for the lake, but Reyna continued striding. Percy was already a little winded and very sore, but he expected nothing less.
"What was that?" she asked crisply.
"Memories. Family. You know." Around Reyna, it was somehow easy to admit his mistakes, pour out what was going on with Annabeth, maybe because they stood as apologies. But he avoided confessions around her other than that. They were like this, and it was comfortable.
"Sentimental," she commented offhandedly.
He turned to look at her. She was right, of course. He brought them all across the city on a small whim, for an even smaller trip. Had he always been so emotional? "When you talk with Annabeth so much," he began, "I'm processing a lot. I'm trying to remember everything." Almost everything. "She likes surprises."
Reyna raised her eyebrows like, Of course.
"Though I sometimes wonder if she plans it all." He chuckled lightly under his breath. "But she'd probably say talking through it is better than doing something to escape or hoard an emotion."
"Is that why you were gardening for so long?"
Percy choked out a smile. He had the talk with Grover the very first day of his "imprisonment" at the Valdezes' residence. He empathetically agreed it was for the best, but he was sad. Percy wasn't at the crying stage of his withdrawal yet, but they both shed some tears in Grover's kitchen. "You know, you were welcome to join."
Grover had watched this sci-fi movie where an astronaut converted all his living area to growing crops, and he wanted to do the same to send oxygen into the atmosphere. His bathtub, the majority of his living room, and his fire escape (that he technically did not own) had tiny little sprouts shooting up in haphazard rows, and Percy offered to put on some gardening gloves and pack compost around the little buggers. Of course he almost fell asleep head-first into a bed of soil, and he'd spilled used coffee grounds all over the carpet, and Reyna got a dirt stain on her cream-colored coat that she at least didn't complain about, to her credit. They even successfully installed vines in jars or plastic bottles on the ceiling of his closet-bedroom. Grover seemed completely apathetic at the notion of being hit by a falling Snapple bottle, stream of water, or a freakishly long vine. They might've been doing it because it was therapeutic, like Annabeth would probably try to argue, but Percy couldn't handle the way Grover was looking at him. At least he would smile at his new "babies."
Reyna gave him a small grin. "I kill plants by touching them."
She could probably say the same with people. He tried to savor the moment where she was so curious about him. "It's the longest time in a while we'll be separated." Before she could try to come up with some sympathy or slap him, Percy cleared his throat. "Chris is going to be working with him again."
"Oh? What does he get to do? Janitor?"
"The reality is that he's going to be keeping my spot warm. But Chris is going to be making deliveries and driving out for our stock, so Pike will definitely prefer him."
Reyna shook her head. "Chris wouldn't stay. He hates anything that reminds him of the asylum."
Percy gawped. Was that a joke? Or was she insinuating Percy was crazy so she could make a quick getaway?
Whatever she saw in his eyes, she sighed and rolled her eyes.
Percy cleared his throat. "That last time I was at my place," and part of him still didn't want to call it that, but it sounded right, "Harvey was telling him about this liquor store. He seemed really interested in travelling to visit vineyards."
Reyna inclined her head. "That sounds fitting. Might get Clarisse away at times, too."
Percy let loose a genuine grin. "You've seen her for the first time in years."
"When the droughts aren't horrible, Napa Valley makes good wine. She could be coming my way." She grinned back.
She sounded like she belonged there, and she clearly did. Reyna would have to return. Maybe she said she would stay because Jason and Piper had just left him, because she felt bad for him, but there was so much keeping her from staying for long. Out of all of them, only Hazel's job had a Christmas break (though the time was generally a dull period with Frank's archery company, so he could tag along with her and just show up at the weekly conference calls), and for due reason. Jason had planes to design, Annabeth had people to counsel, and Reyna had murderers to prosecute. He couldn't keep everyone revolving around him.
Reyna easily settled into the silence, like only Percy could feel the awkwardness. She pried open the bag of candy.
"I'll have to sign in somewhere. Probably today." Even Calypso, who desperately wanted them as guests, had done some research and tentatively suggested he undergo in-patient care soon. Even if he detoxed by himself the first time and he was still standing today, she didn't want to take that risk.
"Yeah." She squirted hand sanitizer into her palm before pulling out a cherry and examining it. Reyna chewed off the bright-green stem first. "Should I prepare a farewell party?"
He raised his eyebrows. "I've talked to everyone already."
Reyna shrugged, and stared at him for a moment. "You're hesitating about leaving, aren't you?" She said it with a sigh, like the path to discussing his feelings was inevitable.
"I guess I don't want to leave society."
Her face was uncompromising. "What's so particularly good to you about it?" she replied, almost sardonically.
"The practice of being around people you know?" In one of the centers they'd visited, there were three bunk beds in a room. Percy still at least had his own place in his apartment, which he partially expected to be rented out to some other person by the landlord when he got out. But saying that was disillusioned, since Reyna completely started her life over when she…decided to get away from him…so he swallowed and looked away.
Reyna sighed sharply. "You're not backing down. You won't even have to pay your bills."
"Right. I know, I'm not thinking about it. Annabeth has picked her favorite location today." She always had a plan for everything.
Reyna turned to stare at him. "What's the problem?"
He imagined annoyance in her voice, like his problems were beneath her to voice. "I don't want to leave…whatever it is with us."
The last thing Reyna wanted to discuss would probably be his love life, but she succumbed. "You're not going to." Her gaze was flat.
Her reproach was pummeling him in the gut. "We're sentimental," he sighed. A thrill pushed into his rib cage at being a "we" with Annabeth.
Percy expected her to roll her eyes, but she only sidestepped into his way. Percy's crawl slowed to a stop. "Percy. Tell her."
He knew Reyna never cared for romance. Bianca sometimes snuck into movie theaters displaying chick flicks, and as they got older pretty much everyone was coupling up in the gang, but she kept a wide berth. He couldn't help raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not saying it so you two can have a happily ever after or whatever. I doubt anything will happen," she said frankly. "But you need to be authentic to her."
He nodded wryly. He usually heard that used to describe exotic dishes: "authentic tacos," or pirated movies. His honest self, he supposed.
Reyna slipped back into her spot, like that confrontation had not just happened. They passed the woodsy area of Central Park, and the wind carried the smell of bark and rotting leaves. A siren carried across the streets.
And then the sound grew louder. Reyna didn't visibly tense, but Percy was already breathing wheezily. A police car careened down the back road inside Central Park and neatly braked beside them.
Reyna folded her arms before the tinted window. Pine Evergreen relaxed as she saw them, and admittedly Percy was a little relieved it wasn't Thalia. "Percy," she rushed to say as she rolled down the window. "I need you at the precinct. Annabeth's penalty is getting decided."
-line break-
Reyna seriously considered getting in. Considering her no-contact policy, that was a great feat. Pine didn't look terribly intimidating with her green-streaked hair up in a bun and sloshing mug of hot chocolate, but she had the power to incriminate Reyna for violence on the streets, and whatever happened in her mysterious past.
But she had nothing to do with whatever was going on, so Percy could only awkwardly wave as she disappeared behind them. She could at least trust that a cop would keep Percy from rebounding.
"I don't know if she'd appreciate me telling you this," Pine hedged, rubbing the back of her neck, "but you should know at least what you're getting into. It has to do with us. She was looking for you." She gave Percy a remotely accusing look in the rearview mirror, which he tried not to drown in.
Pine decided to interrupt herself. "Okay, why didn't the two of you just accept her calls? Seriously, like, leave a note? I thought we'd have to send out a search party until another cop reported seeing you two on a walk." She raised her grass-colored eyebrows like that wasn't perfectly normal.
Percy's mind went blank when he realized what happened. His phone was still charging, and Reyna must've forgotten to put it off silent—she was never a fan of technology—and he saw her drop it into the heavily padded pocket of her coat. They assumed Annabeth would wake up at a more normal hour, and they would get back at late 7 o'clock. "Um." He said. "We were going to return soon."
Pine sighed and rested her chin on the wheel, accidentally releasing a bleep that got them panicked looks from everyone in the vicinity. She switched gears as the light changed. "Uh-huh. This doesn't look good. Was there any reason for Annabeth to look for you? Have you disappeared before, or is there something she would think you're doing?"
Percy wished he was actually a felon, sitting in the backseat, with the right to keep silent. Even if he would have to be hauled in—which Annabeth may have been. "She's my therapist, she might've thought I was…in danger." Percy swallowed heavily, because even the version of the truth sounded bad. "To myself."
Pine cleared her throat. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to force you. I just have one more question, and I'll stop. Have you gone missing before?"
"Yeah," he answered quietly.
Pine nodded, her eyes darting to the mirror one last time. "Thank you."
Percy didn't exactly want to know what happened, but he felt something clawing at her chest. "So, uh, what did she do?"
She breathed out. "I don't want you to think worse of her. She's like a sister to all of us at the precinct. She took Thalia's badge."
Percy could already imagine how easy that would be for her. But she didn't have the uniform, or even a gun—he didn't want to think about her getting arrested. "What happened?" he asked carefully.
"She didn't get far." Pine paused before a turn. "A new recruit stopped her. Santos is talking to her in the interrogation room now, because Lieutenant Grace is too close to the subject."
Percy sat in stunned silence for the rest of the ride. Pine tucked her phone between her shoulder and ear as she reported everything back to Santos in a low murmur. He'd guessed something like this would go down. But not Annabeth committing the crime.
They turned to the only concrete block building amidst skyscrapers and rundown "tough neighborhood" apartments. Tso worried face peered out from underneath her silver parka hood. Pine cleanly slid into a spot in the middle of other identical cars. Combat boots thudded against the pavement.
"What the deal?" Tso demanded.
Pine wrapped herself in a scarf and exited with her mug. "Pretty much nothing. But at least Annabeth wasn't being totally irritational."
They turned to stare at Percy, hunching to get out from under the doorway. Tso's face said the opposite. Percy trailed before the two silvery cops to the second, smaller square building, absentmindedly wondering if they really did live in those tents Annabeth designed.
There was a wider holding cell they passed on their way in, with a few grouchy-looking guys humming Christmas carols and bumping the bars with their knuckles to the tune, and stopped at the hall of interrogation rooms. Tso led them through a door, straight into the hidden listening room on the other side of a glass wall.
Inside the room itself, Santos was breathing a little shallowly and spinning her plastic Columbia pen. Annabeth sat completely still, her shoulders lowered, and her low ponytail looked was the shade of costume jewelry under the light. Lipara and Thalia straightened at Pine's arrival, both listening closely, though Thalia was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.
"Hello," Percy murmured. The all-girls factor of this precinct still was a little shocking. Their eyes raced to him. Thalia clenched her jaw and turned away..
Lipara straightened. "You can go in. Kelly, I mean Santos, is waiting for you."
Percy knocked. The door was solid wood, so he had no idea what was happening inside. Something was pushed across the table. Santos' clean-cut, professional voice rang out. "What is it?"
The other officers dodged away from the doorway so they wouldn't be caught peeping when Percy opened it. Annabeth's head was riveted in his direction, and when she saw him, her lips parted slightly as they turned downwards.
Kelly Santos' chair scraped back and she eagerly ushered him into a seat. "Percy," she said, her worried voice mingling with relief and gratitude, "Tell us what happened."
But he was only looking at Annabeth. She ran her hands through her hair, loosening the ponytail holder, and her eyes were fraught with guilt. "I wasn't thinking," she whispered, too softly for Santos to hear. "You have nothing to do with this."
Percy tried not to choke on bitter laughter. He could still remember the day after his overdose like it was yesterday, and he was hoping she wouldn't blame herself for it. What happened in that time?
"Just let this be okay," he responded without thinking. He really was becoming a toddler with no filter, asking the more responsible person to do the impossible for him.
But Annabeth only dipped her chin, like there wasn't anything else she would be doing.
Kelly coughed into her fist loudly. "So. Percy, Evergreen told me you were on a walk. You were with another woman, which Atlas identified as a Reyna Arellano-Ramírez. Annabeth told me you are all staying at a friend's place and could see you've left together. Would there be any reason for her to suspect you would," she held his gaze steadily, "be a threat to yourself around Ms. Arellano-Ramírez?"
Annabeth's eyes sidled over to him briefly. Percy couldn't try and understand what was going on, but what Pine said put something together for him. They wanted to see if Annabeth had a valid reason to take the badge—if not, could they possibly suspect she had other motives? Or something else?
"No. But Reyna has not been to New York in a while, and I've managed to lose other people before." He stupidly almost forgot to keep tight-lipped about her. The cops did not need to think about her.
Kelly nodded, still swinging her pen. "Is she a close acquaintance of yours? You two are rooming together, wouldn't she recognize any changes with you?"
Annabeth folded her hands with a frown. "Detective, may I speak?" she charged on ahead anyway. "That's not something even a good friend may be able to tell. Nevertheless, I admit I was acting senselessly. I accept whatever punishment you decide."
Kelly sat back in her chair and pushed the pen into her breast pocket. "That would be the hard part," she said with a bitter smile. "You two can head out first, I'll chat with Tso and Evergreen."
They were already waiting by the door. Tso offered Annabeth a small grimace that might've been a smile, and Pine simply ducked forward. Lipara was furiously typing on her phone and checking back and forth with a tablet, but she immediately shut all her devices off as Percy and Annabeth came over.
Thalia gave Annabeth a light brush on the shoulder. "There wasn't any harm done. They can't do anything to you."
Annabeth gave her a light nod in return. "Lipara, you can return to the main room. It's fine; I'll be fine." She spun back to Thalia when the door closed behind Lipara. "What's with the attitude?" she questioned, almost breezily.
Thalia arched an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I had an attitude. This is just how I am."
Percy's chest seized when he discovered they were talking about him. He wished he could be back in the soundproofed interrogation room.
"He doesn't deserve this," Annabeth said lowly, quickly. "What has he done to you?"
"I think you should be well-aware," Thalia snapped back. She slammed the door on the way out.
Annabeth averted her eyes. Percy felt a strong instinct to follow Thalia and run away, but staying with Annabeth won out.
"It's okay," he said in a rush. "I'm sorry for causing that." He held a hand up when she opened her mouth to protest. "Please?" He didn't know what he was asking for.
Annabeth sighed. "No, that has nothing to do with you."
But everything did. He felt a wave of acid ride across his stomach.
Annabeth rolled her shoulders. "I guess I owe you an explanation.
"I woke up around six. I had a meeting later on that I needed to prepare for. I noticed you two were gone, so I called." She mustered a smile for a moment. "Leo picked up from the kitchen. He was holding a lighter, I don't know what he wanted to do. I left before Calypso could get up and become worried." She looked away. "I had no idea where to go. The precinct is close to the shop, so I just called a taxi there. Thalia was really busy and told me she couldn't command a search party until you'd been missing for twenty-four hours." Her eyes refocused on him.
He knew it was his fault. She couldn't afford to wait for him. She also couldn't tell anyone else why it was urgent. There was definitely a list of places she would think to go; but she couldn't visit them all one by one.
"I should've let you know somehow." Maybe he'd never had someone show concern or care too much about his whereabouts before, but that was getting to be an old excuse. It was something that should've come through his sleep-deprived brain.
Annabeth let out an actual smile. "Percy, I'm just glad you're okay."
He almost felt like laughing; maybe he was feeling a little hysterical while a million worries about Annabeth's fate chased each other around in his head. "When I'm in rehab," he hesitated for a moment. "Maybe don't do this anymore?"
"Of course," Annabeth promised, holding her hands together.
"Great." Suddenly, he felt a little woozy. Percy leaned on the wall for support, and then bended over to vomit.
The door clicked open. "Annabeth, we've—"
-line break-
They wouldn't let him back into the interrogation room (a new one they relocated into, because the smell was so bad) until de Sol, a tanned girl with sunny blond hair, checked over him. Since the medical room was occupied by some criminal a certain cop had angrily knocked out earlier, Percy had to sit on the table under the stare of every Hunter and Captain Artemis as she hammered on his knee and pushed a Popsicle stick over his tongue. He was even forced to go outside with a bottle of mouthwash and spit into the bushes, because they only had a girls' bathroom and he refused to enter the jail cells for their toilets.
At least, thankfully, Annabeth was kept in the interrogation room, and he finally got to return to hear the verdict. Percy was directed to the main entrance that led straight into the tiny confined meeting room. The sense of being accused, for the second time that day, washed up. He tried not to lean too hard into it. The law had a purpose—and who was he to prance around in here with zero concern for their work?
The table was filled. Annabeth dropped a box of mints into his hand. Lipara tried not to stare as Tso made a humorous comment about how well-acquainted they were getting with his puking tendencies. Pine, sitting right across from him, raised her eyebrows. "Did de Sol give you some medicine with her six years at Harvard Med School?"
"You know, salty is not a good look for you," Lipara teased.
"What? Come on, she mentions it so often I assumed Percy had gotten an earful."
Santos waved a hand. "We've decided what should happen. Annabeth Chase, you must pay a fine of five hundred dollars. You should take that as a warning, Percy, to remember other people's concerns about you."
Percy slowly nodded and felt heavy enough to sink through his chair. Annabeth's shoulders still remained stiff.
"We don't find a good reason to keep you off our precinct, but we suggest you do." Santos sighed. "For the moment. And I ask that you schedule counseling with Prasad."
"She has her own tent," Pine offered.
Annabeth blinked. "I understand," she answered, a bit hazily like she was still processing everything.
Lipara looked up from her laptop. "She's available this afternoon." Santos held out her hand, like she was giving Annabeth something.
Percy blearily looked around. This was the most absurd thing he'd heard so far. But Annabeth didn't blink.
She opened her mouth. From what he remembered, she mentioned having her own appointment his afternoon, which Percy could easily guess would be more important. "Sorry, I cannot go then. I have an important health facility to visit with Percy."
That would be one of the rehabs, Percy realized. That slipped through all his harrowed thoughts.
The policewomen exchanged glances. Lipara bit her lip. Santos drummed her fingers on the table. "Prasad is very busy," she began delicately, but there was a thump on the glass and then the door opened.
The officers retracted their hands from their guns when they saw it was Thalia. A hot bolt of fear splashed into Percy's chest and receded.
"I'll take him," she said, her chin leveled.
Tso nodded at Annabeth. "That works out, then. Prasad should be at the main table now."
Annabeth's gaze wildly found Percy's. There was no room for either of them to protest against everyone else's Lieutenant.
Sorry, she mouthed.
Good luck, Percy soundlessly answered. She smiled and lightly touched his shoulder.
"Thanks," Annabeth told Thalia sharply as she followed Tso out. Percy wondered aimlessly if it actually sounded threatening or if he was imagining it.
"Of course," Thalia answered breezily.
-line break-
Thalia blared the sirens across most of the highway. His instincts didn't seem to have an energy limit and kept screaming at him to run, and his heart ached from beating too hard. His other muscles kept cramping.
Percy had the most temporary of reprieves when Tso drove him back to the Valdezes and got coerced into lunch. Percy had sipped his gazpacho, threw it up, and then watched a Netflix tv show on racecars with Leo where he almost nodded off. And then Thalia had incessantly rang the doorbell. The last he saw of them was Calypso yelling at Leo and Reyna's expression growing a little tired.
Thalia suddenly shut off the sirens as they veered into upstate territory. Percy's ears pulsed. His relief battled with the realization that Thalia was probably going to talk to him.
"Is it that place?"
Percy's emotions were crashing together explosively. He examined their surroundings and spotted a chain-link fence winding around a stubby U-shaped, three-story structure with bars on the windows. His few belongings tossed around in his mostly empty duffel bag as he lifted it onto his lap. "Probably."
The guards stood up stiffly when the car rolled over, and the administration officials were visibly paling at the sight of Thalia's uniform. She smirked to herself as she strutted down the asphalt driveway.
"Ma'am," a chubby white guy with a small potbelly said sweetly. "Is there something wrong?"
Thalia's smirk grew bigger as she shrugged. "Wrong department. An Annabeth Chase has booked a visit here, because we're looking to hospitalize him."
Percy was staring up at the foreboding expanse of the rehab's impeccable façade as they exchanged pleasantries. He rightfully deserved worse. "We" usually referred to Annabeth, Reyna, and him. Reyna, who instinctively shielded away from Thalia and who he would never allow to ride in a police car though she offered, and Annabeth, who was probably chatting it up with the Hunters' psychiatrist Prasad now. It didn't matter. They didn't have to be dragged into these last few moments. He could disappear cleanly from the Earth. They could both book visits and then get back on with their lives.
The potbellied man, probably the manager, cleared his throat. "Young man. What have you been using?"
He wanted to pour out a sigh that would cause all the papers in his assistant's hand to flutter away. Percy stared up at the ceiling. "Heroin. I've used it for a year, quit for nine days, and overdosed three days ago."
A nurse, with the traditional Red-cross hat pinned to her brown hair, skipped forward. "Let's take you to your medical examination."
Thalia shook her head, squinting at her phone. She seemed to be scrolling at an unbelievably long text. "Wait, no, first explain your treatment methods, admittance requirements, funding expectations, and your vision for the future…?" Thalia uttered everything in a flat monotone as she read from her phone until her voice peaked incredulously at the end.
The possible manager blinked a few times. "Yes, of course, ma'am. Would you like to come into my office?"
Thalia flapped her hand for Percy to walk faster. Percy could easily pick out a non-profit from a rich rehab by now. (They visited a fancy one a few days ago, where they were handed bottles of Perrier on a beaten silver tray and ushered to the sunny poolside. Percy had simply turned around. He sincerely hoped Annabeth did not plan on paying for that.) There were a few cracks in the plaster, dark scuffs on the corners of the linoleum tiles, and a variety of patients shooting them hostile looks. He couldn't see any hallways leading off to the living areas, but Percy could feel that he was almost there.
The most-likely-affirmed manager's office had a tiny, unwashed window with a plastic daisy plant on the windowsill. Thalia comfortably plopped into the only guest seat with some escaped stuffing. The nurse scuttled outside to grab one for Percy. The sign on his desk read, "Timothy Janus."
"So." Mr. Janus folded his hands. "Here at the Sunny Mountain Rehabilitation Center, we welcome all patrons suffering from addiction to drug abuse. Wherever there is medical urgency for in-patient care…"
Percy felt like collapsing against the ground. He was exhausted, and he was becoming conscious that he had to live in this depravity. He wanted to just disappear, like he deserved. Stop wasting all his millionth chances, and just cease.
Thalia coughed loudly. "You know what, why don't you type that up and send it to Annabeth." She reached into his World's Best Dad mug for a fountain pen and pulled a sticky note off his dollar store sticky-note-distributing calendar to jot down her email address. "Give us the tour and we'll decide if it's sold."
The nurse's eyes were focused in Percy's direction. He kept like squirming uncomfortably underneath it—why is everyone looking at me—until he felt it himself. A familiar churn.
"Bathroom," Percy gasped before his head dropped between his knees and he retched up water.
-line break-
The tour was personalized for him. He got to throw up the rest in the bathroom and rinse his mouth again with tap water before the nurse nonchalantly opened the door—they didn't lock, and brought him straight to the medical examination room. Percy passed a large dining hall, with long rectangular tables lined up closely, as Thalia pursued the menu, and then the nurse took up his elbow as another formal office came into sight.
Percy instinctively retracted his arm, hiding it behind his back, and she stared at Percy with nervous hazel eyes. Percy looked away and tasted the acrid, smokey linger of guilt deepen in his throat. His mother never flinched, but Percy should've been able to tell. Shouldn't have been deterred by just a little physical pain.
A short, tanned woman grinned at him inside the office. It was a lot cleaner than Mr. Janus', with a wool sheet-covered bed in the corner. "Hello, I'm Dr. Asch Windley. I hope you've got all your medical forms."
Percy automatically turned to Thalia because he still was a freaking toddler. She furrowed her eyebrows like, what? Percy had to text Annabeth, who helped him find and print the files, for them, and then they sat around Dr. Windley's table twiddling their thumbs for a while as they waited for the Wi-Fi. Percy tried not to yawn too much as he waited for her questions, forced himself to sit still under her stethoscope and as a light was shone into his ears for the second time that day, and then Dr. Windley got up to whisper the results to the nurse.
The nurse seemed to be Mr. Janus' acting agent now, since he apparently had spasms of disgust whenever he saw puke, and gave Percy a wobbly smile. "You're perfectly qualified to enter Sunny Mountain!" she announced.
Before either Percy or Thalia could respond, Dr. Windley was already pushing an IV needle into his arm. Percy flinched and felt a happy sigh crawling up his throat, and his thoughts raced about heroin for a few split moments before the effects failed to come through. "Nutrition," she explained. "You're also getting a little dehydrated because of the expelling." At Thalia's raised eyebrows, she clarified, "Vomiting."
"Right, of course. So I'll report all this, and I've got to chat with him." Thalia grabbed the IV and began wheeling it out of the room, so before the needle of it could be ripped out from his arm, Percy tiredly followed. At his point, he wasn't too scared of her. He could deal with whatever came from her. He wouldn't expect anything better.
Thalia texted and walked, almost crashing into a ton of patients and medicine-bearing carts or janitors' mops, and Percy had to clutch the tube bearing the nutrition into his body as he swerved around everything. She finally looked up and peered around. Thalia fearlessly pushed open a nearby door, which opened into a small room that was decorated rather like a kindergarten classroom and marched towards the circle of folding chairs as her phone buzzed incessantly.
The IV was rolled and then pushed a few seats away from her, which Percy sank into with a sigh. Thalia made herself rather comfortable, propping her combat boots on another chair and resting her chin on her chest as she answered whatever questions Annabeth had, even though this was the time of Annabeth's session. She barely straightened to buckle her phone onto her belt compartment and stare at Percy.
"So?" he sighed.
Thalia simply narrowed her eyes. "This is wrong."
He had no idea what exactly she was talking about, but he nodded.
Thalia breathed out an annoyed puff of air. "Annabeth's been missing appointments all week. Your friend Reyna could take you, or she could reschedule. But she has been spending every waking moment with you. And now this." She slid her feet off the other chair to lean in. "And now, committing a crime. Being around you is clearly not working." Thalia looked away, gritting her teeth. "Her job is really important to her, and I don't want her to discover it's gone when she finally wakes up."
I know that, he felt like protesting. But he clearly did not let himself think about it. He was too busy wallowing in his mess. "What can I do?" he whispered. He felt a last something—a moment, a wish, fade away.
Thalia's expression evened out, like it was made of stone again. "Don't accept any meetings with her. The security guards don't have permission to keep her away. You can say it's because of me, but I don't want her to see you."
Of course. He expected worse. "Okay."
She leveled a look at him. "I mean it, Jackson. Every single time, she believes in all the people she works with. You need to be better when you're around her again. Capisce?"
If only I could will myself to be better. Or to never leave. Percy mirrored her empty expression. "Yes."
"Good." She stood up. She stared at him for a moment. Thalia Grace looked hurt for a brief second. And then she turned around and left without another word.
Percy stared at the crayon doodles strung up on the wall, the ticking clock without reading the numbers. His phone dinged in his pant pocket.
Percy slowly pulled it out. Soon, it would be confiscated, and he was only allotted a call at night with a Sunny Mountain public phone, but for now, he could see Annabeth's name pop up on the screen.
Hey. How is it?
He found himself comfortably falling back into rethinking the wording of his message, checking it for mistakes. Nice place.
I'm hoping you can adjust. Have you met anyone yet?
A few, no other patients. Unless they were to barge into this room.
Okay.
He hesitated. How was the meeting with Prasad?
Pretty well, she's nice. I don't think therapists realize the importance of talking to someone else enough :).
Oh. That's good.
Yeah. The bubble hung there for a moment. I'll miss you, Percy.
Percy felt tears prick at his eyes. He hardly knew who he was without his withdrawal, but he hoped that person didn't cry so much. I miss you too. He realized he used the wrong tense too late.
But she didn't comment on it. Stay alive, and I'll see you soon ;)
The waterworks were coming. He wasn't going to reject her yet. He just couldn't.
But he was seeing her for the last time today. His heart thumped hard and he felt something impatiently knocking against his spine. Everything was twisting painfully in his stomach. Percy was mostly certain he was losing it, and he felt a pulse of gratitude that he wouldn't have to see her again for a while, or maybe it was just his exhaustion that no longer pushed him to care.
His fingers fumbled over the keys. The bubble probably hung there for ten minutes.
Annabeth, I like you.
He slammed the on/off button of the side of his phone, and it shut down before he could see a reply. And then Percy got up, held the neck of his IV, and wandered outside to find another carrot-haired nurse looking for him.
"Mr. Jackson!" she gasped. "Are you staying here?"
He nodded foggily, and signed the clipboard she held out.
She chattered a mile a minute as his heart tried to calm inside his heart, explaining that he'd been assigned the only room with a single empty bunk, and he would meet with them and another women's room daily. But for now, he would be monitored twenty-four hours, left out of the lengthier and more intensive meetings, and kept healthy enough until his physical symptoms faded.
"So how are you feeling, Mr. Jackson?" she suddenly asked as she reached for his things.
Percy shrugged. "Alright." In truth, he was feeling a little lightheaded and wishing he knew if Annabeth texted him back or not. Wishing he deleted his text.
The nurse, Hannah, beamed. "That's great. Why don't you visit your personal advisor later today, then?"
Percy racked his memory for some mention of that in Mr. Janus' speech. He might've said counselor….and while the role here was probably different from Annabeth's, he was going to continue therapy. With a new stranger. In rehab. He swallowed and tried to nod.
Hannah checked her old-fashioned wristwatch. "Let's see…your roommates are having recreation time now. Think you can handle meeting everyone first and then going to your room to rest?"
He didn't care much about either way. "Recreation time" was held in the grassy spot inside the dip of the building's U. Everyone wore similar white tracksuits with the embroidered Sunny Mountain logo. "Pollux, Butch, Octavian!" Hannah sang out. "Your new roommate has arrived."
The whole flock of his roommates' group turned to stare. Percy simply set his shoulders and faced the two people picking their way over. The last guy that looked up, chubby-cheeked with blond hair, lifted his chin and kept picking at the grass.
The extremely burly dude on the right waved a hand. He had a shaved head and an accompanying rainbow tattoo. "Butch," he announced, pointing to himself with a large hand. "That's Pollux."
The weedy, scarecrow-like guy on the left gave Percy a disturbing grin. "Hello, who are you?" he said in a sugary villain voice.
Percy backed up two steps before walking into Hannah. "Um," he tried to compose himself. "I'm Percy."
"Ah," the guy who must've been Octavian said. His blond hair was blinding in the light. "Well, Percy, I'm your bunkmate."
Hannah waited patiently for Percy's expression to untwist itself. When it didn't, she exclaimed cheerily, "It was very nice of you all to introduce yourselves, I'm sure you'll get along well." Percy pivoted and tried not to stride faster than her.
Hannah chided him a little bit, which he found himself automatically tuning out, a habit that had gotten him into trouble every year he was in school. They stopped at a row of offices decorated with framed pictures and one room belting out Queen. The nurse yanked the right open before Percy could see the picture, and gently pushed his IV inside.
A tall, curvaceous woman put down her Vogue magazine and her raspberry-purple lips spread into a slow smile. Under the table, her legs were crossed, and Percy could see six-inch stilettos. "Hello," she purred. "I'm Dr. Tanaka, but you can call me Drew. What's your name?"
Percy forgot all about his guilt and wondered how painful climbing over the barbed wire on the chain-link fence would be.
Uh-oh. So, some more trivia. De Sol is probably not a real French name, but "Sol" means sun, so that means someone who would be an Apollo demigod joined the Hunters. (Okay, I know last names don't really have anything to do with their parents but, like, Gardener and Stoll?) That would be absolutely hilarious. Asch Windley is short for Asclepius, god of medicine. She's a woman, so I don't know what that's supposed to be, maybe also a demigod.
Also, I'M SO SORRY this is really late. I've been working on Percy's b-day oneshot (yup, that's also very late) which you guys should check out by the way, and then been not terribly productive. Still, though, I've been writing every day for, I don't know, maybe two weeks and it's been really great. That's definitely one of the most common advice authors give, and obviously, there's a reason. Its helping with growth, and at a young age, our brains are still pretty moldable, so we can make it into a habit for ourselves easily. I probably will have to adjust my usual writing time once school starts, but just use really any free time you have. Totally helpful!
8/31 Edit alert: mention of Thanksgiving on Montauk trip, comparison between Wallie and Beckendorf (Ch. 16), left out the part about shortened meeting times (Ch. 17), changed Jason's spinning pen to flipped coin ;), and edited scene where Thalia visits Percy (Ch. 20)
Review Replies:
Guest: Thank you so much for always following up with updates! No, I'm not feeling rushed, I just spend too much time on stuff that's less important. I should really try to update faster, sorry, this should be the last time. And I'll be doing my best to keep giving out good work. Thanks again!
Guest (2): Okay…I don't want to be rude, but I hope you're not sending those kinds of reviews to other authors. That could be taken in a wrong way (not that I know what your intentions are). The rating of this story and the general content would not allow that, sorry. And there's no need to be coarse, thank you.
BethnPercy: Hi! I'm so sorry I made you wait so long. The next chapter will be out within the week, though my promises are pretty untrustworthy, but I think so. Thank you for telling me you binge-read this, it does get pretty lengthy so I hope you didn't get too tired ;). Anyway, I really appreciate it. I totally agree, love can help with problems, but rarely fixes everything. In fact, it usually causes a few issues of its own. Tropes can be revitalized and interesting from a new perspective, but it would definitely be difficult reworking that one. And thanks for your comment on my characters, I've honestly not put that much thought in them, but yeah, diversity is important (though I personally think I could still use more work). Yeah, rehab will be an interesting experience. And thank you so much for stating that about addiction, it does have a lot of myths and prejudices and etc around it, but it really is a lifelong thing. Even just writing from a fairly inaccurate point of view, it feels exhausting to imagine, much less plan out, and that has really helped me with realizing I wouldn't be able to understand but it would be so, so hard. I'm glad you like the story, hopefully it keeps being good, and sorry for the long reply!
Mr. Gilborg: It's totally fine, review when you want, there's no need to lie in wait for new chapters. I just wanted to say, I told you there wouldn't be new characters but I forgot about the ones that are coming. Heh. And thanks for checking out my competition submissions and telling me about the issues, they've definitely been interesting to write. I didn't notice I used the wrong doc, but I wasn't able to change the double-post because I hadn't received any feedback yet…but it's all good.
Yes, I've hit one of the turning points, the bigger ones are coming. I totally agree with you, and thanks for pointing that out (honestly, I'm often subconsciously aware of these things but I never fix them ugh), there should've been more anger. I guess…I just didn't want to hurt Percy *sobs*. No, it's okay, I mean while most of them would care about his feelings or expected this, they wouldn't just easily throw anyway their own pain or his well-being. I have gone back and added some of that, so hopefully your future rereading of this should have less blimps.
I'm just going to say this, I really admire how you can read deeply into things and see all these paths. Um, *spoiler* Reyna does not play a direct role with Annabeth. But yes, she will bring back some things from Percy's past. I still think I have some work to do with dialogue, but thanks! The romance is going to come later, definitely after rehab (not going to say how it affected him), but there's going to be some more slow burn. So, about Grover, I'm glad you asked. Yeah, he is financially better off. I remember mentioning this in the earlier chapters, I think, that he earned a lot of money dealing drugs and did not spend it on buying more. He didn't really spend it on much; Juniper wouldn't like fancy stuff anyway, but some of that is probably still in his savings. And not that it would make much of a dent, like you said, his job is remotely better than Percy's.
Dude, I know, they (sorry, gotta love my so-OOC-I-can-claim characters I'm writing about) are all wasted there. Though I'm not sure I could put up a good argument for the Stolls, but oh well. Environmental activism doesn't really pay a lot of money, and he would probably want to keep an eye on Percy. Because, um, otherwise, Percy doesn't really have a social life….? Anyway, thanks for reading, hopefully the indents are better for your eyes, and I'll be posting soon!