Clean

It was just after five in the morning when Annabeth got home. She carefully padded into her bedroom, not wanting to wake Piper. Her bones ached with exhaustion as her wearied eyes caught her bed. Sighing, she dredged to her bathroom and turned on the shower.

Annabeth couldn't help but stare at herself in the mirror as she stripped off her clothes one by one, her gaze tracing each and every sluggish movement. She struggled to remove her blouse, finding it uncomfortably tight, wrapped around her neck. Steam was beginning to fog the room, clouding her reflection. She found herself surprisingly grateful for the natural occurrence.

Annabeth had never understood the movie cliche of sitting down in the shower. It had always seemed overdramatic and a waste of time, not to mention unsanitary, but the moment she stepped foot inside the scalding shower, her legs buckled beneath her. Her back hit the cool glass behind her, a quiet shiver spilling down her spine as she slid down onto the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, balancing her chin across the peaks as beads of water caught between her lashes. Beneath the steady beat of the shower, she could almost convince herself there weren't tears streaming down her face.

The next hour washed away like a faint memory, slipping through her fingers like a delicate whisper. When she finally stood, her back was red and raw. Her fingertips were wrinkled and white as they turned the water off. The room was white with steam, rendering her momentarily blind. She couldn't make herself out in the mirror as she pulled herself out of the shower and wrapped a rough towel around her torso.

She blinked, waiting for the fog to clear but it didn't. She felt it clog her windpipe, bogging down her mind, smothering her emotions. She half-wished she could stay in the misty bathroom forever but there was a pesky voice in the back of her head, reminding her she had obligations. If she didn't have Percy, she needed something—and this job—her job—was something.

Wasn't it?

-00000000000000000000-

Annabeth's head was still a little fuzzy as she strode into her office at seven. Nico seemed to sense something was wrong—or more wrong than usual—as he met her eyes upon entry and chose not to pursue a conversation.

She entered her office and sat down at her desk, staring out at the myriad of blueprints spread across the dark wood. Her vision remained cloudy, lost in a haze of confusion and nostalgia as the minutes ticked by. Her phone pinged, her daily reminder to check her email breaking her from her trance. Taking a deep breath, Annabeth willed herself to focus. She stood up, rubbing her temples to extinguish her pesky emotions. They'd never stopped her before—then again, though, she'd never felt like this before.

No. She shook her head, clearing her mind as she stared down at the paperwork. Her meeting with Zeus was in a few hours, and now that Percy was gone, she'd have to work twice as hard to impress the CEO.

Annabeth's fingers skimmed over the plans before her, mentally sorting them chronically. She'd been a little distracted lately but that didn't mean she'd neglected her work. She could easily finish this presentation in the next few hours—

And then, with a sharp inhale, her eyes landed on the earliest blueprint of all. The original design. The mockup. The page she and Percy had scribbled all over in the midst of their first fight.

His words echoed through her head.

Would you forgive me?

No.

Maybe she should have lied, given him hope for the future. But she would have been lying; and that had always been their issue, hadn't it? her dishonesty. So she figured he deserved the truth—just once—after everything.

Annabeth groaned, falling into her chair as tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She blinked back the feeling, taking up another task to get her mind off of it. Hastily tying her hair up, she took out her phone, finding Leo's contact amongst the plethora of business calls and emails.

We never watched Friday's tape. Could you watch it for me and let me know if you see activity in the main office after hours?

Leo's reply came back within seconds.

I guess. Did you get Percy's okay?

Annabeth stared down at her phone, her lips pursed in contemplation. It was the last chance to right what she wronged, to undo all the damage she'd done. Even if Percy never forgave her, she wasn't sure she was ready to let go just yet.

Yes, she texted back.

-00000000000000000000-

Zeus was late to the meeting—17 minutes late to be exact. Annabeth shouldn't have minded. It wasn't as though she had anything incredibly important to accomplish during those 17 minutes, but it was the thought that her time meant so little to him that lingered in the back of her mind when he walked in.

"Hello Annabeth," he chortled as he entered the room. No excuse or apology for the delay. "Glad we could meet today."

"Likewise," Annabeth nodded, forcing a smile, hyperaware of the faint emptiness to her right, the space Percy used to fill. "I've prepared a presentation for you today, showing the improvements, setbacks, and successes we've had so far during construction."

"Great," Zeus grinned, reaching into his back and retrieving his phone as she changed the slide.

"First, I thought we'd cover the changes we've made so far and the effect they've had on the budget." He didn't look up. Annabeth inhaled slowly, allowing herself a second to plaster a smile across her lips. "Upon your instruction, we replaced the suite's counters with marble. It set us back a few thousand dollars, but we're still coming in steadily under budget—"

"This all sounds just great!" Zeus interrupted excitedly, glancing up from his lap to shoot her a good-natured smirk. "I knew you could handle it yourself. If that's all—"

"Oh," Annabeth protested with a frown, clicking onto the next slide. "But I still haven't covered the setbacks, success, or my recommendations moving forward—"

"S'fine," Zeus assured her, staggering to his feet and waving goodbye. In a matter of seconds, he'd walked out the door, leaving her speechless.

-00000000000000000000-

As Annabeth settled back into her desk, her head spun with frustration. It seemed the months and months of being overlooked, being treated as second best were finally catching up to her. Her temples began to pound relentlessly into her psyche, drilling holes in her mind.

Annabeth's eyes darted around her desk, desperate for anything to hold onto, anything to focus on instead of the ringing in her ears. Her eyes hung over a picture frame. She frowned, her brows quirking as she realized she'd never seen it before. She reached for it, her hair falling half-hazardly into her eyes as she absorbed the photo. Piper must have left it while she was out. The thought made her tear up.

The picture was one they'd taken their senior year of college. Piper was smiling broadly, sunshine radiating from her features, and she was—she was laughing, her head thrown back in rapture. Annabeth traced the image delicately with her fingers. She'd almost forgotten there was a time before all this. That there was an Annabeth before Chase.

With the cheap wooden picture frame between her fingers, her gaze swept the rest of the desk only to find herself lingering on the mug. The one Percy had bought her. He'd said it was a gift, but she knew it was more. It was proof that he'd thought of her, even back then.

I'd rather be working.

Annabeth laughed humorlessly, disbelief shining in her eyes as she recalled the person she used to be. The person who used to rush into work every morning with a broad smile. Even the sound of her work phone had brought her joy, filling her with excitement at the potential of pleasing another client. For years, she'd fought for respect of her mother, of the board, of herself —and at the end of the day, she'd only lost her integrity.

There'd been a question in her mind before, a faint whisper of a worry, telling her she was nothing without this job, nothing without her mother, but she'd never felt less like herself. Her phone buzzed, underlining just how much she'd changed. Her heart dropped, dread filling her chest as she reached for it.

Her fingers stilled as her gaze read the contact: Leo.

I found something.

Annabeth's heart stopped, a decision weighing on her shoulders. She picked her head up, staring at the maroon mug as a smile crept onto her lips. A warmth she'd long thought she'd forgotten how to feel filled her chest.

-00000000000000000000-

It was just before lunch when Annabeth arrived at Percy's building. Her mind buzzed with newfound determination as she sped into the lobby and down the hidden hallway. She burst into Leo's office without a second thought, throwing open the doors to find him hunched off over his computer.

"Hi," he blinked, glancing up at her in mild disbelief as she caught her breath. "Did you run here?" he questioned, raising a brow at her disheveled appearance.

"What did you find?" Annabeth asked, ignoring his comment and stepping towards him.

"Something," Leo said cagily. "Now will you please tell me what this is all about. I hate being the last to find out."

"I—fine," Annabeth sighed, blinking fervently at him as though it might make time move faster. "But after."

"After what?" Leo moaned with a huff.

"Just after," Annabeth insisted, coming up beside him to watch his screen. "Now show me what you found."

"Fine," Leo agreed with a sniff, clearly not understanding the severity of the situation. "You asked me to look over Friday's tapes which—by the way—didn't know you and Percy were so buddy buddy—"

"Please Leo," Annabeth pleaded. He seems to read the glimmer of something serious in her eyes because his expression changed from playful confusion to genuine concern.

"Anyway," Leo continued, loading the tape into the VCR machine and began increasing the playback speed. "You told me to watch the main office, and to my surprise, I actually found something."

Annabeth's heart was beating faster and faster with every sped up frame that flew by.

"Here," Leo declared finally, stopping the tape and pointing to a lone blonde figure standing near the corner of the room. "I have no idea who that is, but I'm almost certain that they are the one who's been accessing the Jackson servers after hours."

Annabeth leaned forward, nearly pressing her nose to the screen as she attempted to make sense of the fuzzy familiarity of the figure. Something about the smooth way he moved and the short hair and tall silhouette pricked at the back of her mind, digging through the recesses of her mind. Leo reached for his mug, slurping at his coffee. Annabeth turned towards him to complain when the sight sparked something, making everything click together.

"Thank you, Leo!" Annabeth exclaimed suddenly, the realization rushing through her as she shot to her feet. She planted a wet kiss on Leo's cheek before striding forward and out of his office without another word. She thought she faintly heard him protest behind her but was emboldened by the blood rushing through her ears, blinding her senses to anything else.

And then she saw Percy.

He was walking through the lobby, briefcase in hand, hair swept back by the transit. Had she blurred her vision ever so slightly, she might have convinced herself he was walking towards her, but while his movements pointed in her direction, his eyes were glued to something to her right, completely captivating his attention.

Annabeth's face fell, turning slightly as he persisted forward without even noticing her. Her eyes went immediately towards the woman he was rushing towards. She had dark hair that was just beginning to gray and deep blue eyes, so dark they were almost navy. Most noticeably, however, her face was light up by a warm, welcoming smile.

It would have impossible for Annabeth not to recognize her. She was Percy's computer password for god sake.

But the biggest blow to Annabeth's stomach wasn't seeing Percy's mother for the first time, nor was it the fact that she would likely never meet her. It was the look on Percy's face. He was beaming, his smile bright and radiant. His posture was loose and relaxed as he fell into her embrace, his cheeks flushed with animation and excitement.

And in that moment, the fog seemed to clear, any question had left Annabeth's mind as she watched them greet each other. They shared a few hushed words, the both of them grinning as Percy's mother took his face in her hands, inspecting him as he laughed jovially. Annabeth realized then, that she hadn't seen him like that in weeks. How had she failed to notice it before? In the same way Chase Inc., something that had once brought her joy, had begun to suck the life out of her over time, she realized she had done something similar to Percy. In those final days, he'd been a shadow of himself, a glimmer of worry tracing his every move.

Annabeth took a step back, dipping her head as she fell back into the darknesses of the hallway so that she wouldn't be seen. A melancholy air of acceptance cleared her mind, leaving a single resounding truth. She'd been the one holding him back, dragging him down, and she refused to be responsible for Percy's sorrow ever again, even if it meant finally letting go.

-00000000000000000000-

"What do you think you're doing here?" Poseidon boomed as soon as she entered his office.

"This will only take a second," Annabeth assured him, stepping forward and trying to soothe his worries.

"I don't care," Poseidon sputtered out a strangled laugh. "I'm calling security—no, I'm calling your mother—"

"Please," Annabeth pleaded, gesturing with her hands as he reached for the phone. "You're welcome to call her, but listen to what I have to say first."

"Why should I?" Poseidon frowned dubiously, skepticism laced between his every syllable.

"Because I know who's defrauding your company," Annabeth declared, undeserved pride swelling in her chest as Poseidon's eyes widened, his hand falling away from the phone.

"Okay," he blinked, nodding slowly. He took a deep breath, put on a pair of wire-framed glasses, and stared at her. "What's your angle?"

"Excuse me?" Annabeth frowned. That certainly hadn't been the response she'd been expecting.

"You want something—obviously," Poseidon reasoned with a hardened purse of his lips. "You are your mother's daughter after all."

"No," Annabeth protested softly. "I—I don't want anything."

"So what?" Poseidon questioned with a deep frown, his brows knitting together in confusion as he barked out a derisive laugh. "You did this out of the kindness of your own heart."

"I—I—" Annabeth swallowed, realizing she hadn't adequately prepared herself for this conversation, then remembered the reason she'd been in all this trouble in the first place: dishonesty. "I do want something actually," Annabeth decided.

"Finally," Poseidon sighed, leaning back in his chair. "What is it? Money? A contract?—"

"No," Annabeth cut him off, shaking her head. "I just want you to listen."

Poseidon was silent for a couple of seconds, staring at her in apparent disbelief. "Fine," he agreed eventually. "What's so important you would risk Athena's wrath?"

"It's Percy," Annabeth explained slowly, furrowing her brows in thought. "You should listen to him more. You—you've raised a really kind young man and—and he's different—" Annabeth felt her eyes burn with unshed emotion and rejected the feeling, shoving it deep inside. She would not look weak not now. "He's incredibly thoughtful and patient, and he's one of the best people I've ever met and—and please keep him out of design. Give him a costumer facing leadership role, he does his best work when he's trying to impress others. He's a big picture person, he not detail-oriented."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Poseidon faltered faintly, his head visibly spinning behind his green eyes. "Why are you doing this? I swear if this is another ploy—"

"Sir," Annabeth pressed on, her chest growing with confidence as he went silent. "Despite what you surely think, my mother and I are two very different people. What she did was wrong. She might not be able to recognize that, but I certainly can. I'm simply trying to amend the damage I've already inflicted on you and your family."

"And now you're hoping I'll tell my son so he'll forgive you," Poseidon guessed gruffly.

"No," Annabeth denied again, then thought better, the weight on her shoulder's lessening with every truth he told. "Well—I'll admit, those were my intentions at first, but now I simply want to fix what I've done. I have—I have inflicted so much pain that I'm not sure how else to fix it."

"And Percy?" Poseidon questioned lightly, his voice softening.

This was the moment, Annabeth could feel it, like a symbolic climax, the final chip at her heart. And though her heart had already been broken, she could hold some pride in knowing she had dealt the final blow. This was the moment when she had to let go.

What had Piper said? Unconditional love was loving someone even when they were mean to you?

No, Annabeth decided. Unconditional love was putting their own wellbeing before yours, doing what was best for them, not for yourself. It was letting go, even when she didn't want to.

"Percy is a great person and he deserves to be with someone who makes him happy," Annabeth illustrated quietly, tears springing up before she could shove them back down. "And I'm afraid I'm not that person anymore—but I'd rather you didn't tell him I came. I won't ask you to lie, but maybe just to omit the truth."

"Okay," Poseidon agreed slowly, as if he still couldn't believe his ears. "And you said knew the source of the fraud?"

"Oh," Annabeth laughed with an ill-timed sniffle. "Right," she smiled. Her chest had never felt so light. "It's Luke Castellan."

When Annabeth left Poseidon's office, she wasn't sure she'd ever felt cleaner. It was as if her soul had been purged. She reached the elevator, the same one she'd ridden to Percy's office a hundred times just to see him, just to hear his voice because even when they were bickering, even when she hated him, she still hadn't been able to stay away.

The memory just made her smile now as she reached for her phone, dialing her mother and holding it to her ear.

"Hi Mom," Annabeth spoke. "I've made my decision."


a/n: welp, this is odd. i want to apologize obviously for taking so long with this chapter, but this is the second to last chapter, and that's just crazy to think about so i'd rather focus on that. anyway, yeah this story is ending, which is insane. next chapter will be the last and then poof, it'll be finished. thank u for everyone who's stuck with me despite my irregular updates and complete and utter lack of editing (didn't edit this one either, in case you were wondering). i know i usually save all the sappy stuff for the last chapter, but it still amazes me that so many people want to read what i write lol. love u all

dedicated to Marshmallow29, sameerahm142, and traviscot

ciao