Annabeth wasn't at school the next day. Neither was Jake. At this point Brett was used to worrying about Annabeth during her many absences, but Jake had never been involved before. Brett could count on one hand the amount of times Jake had been absent from school. Something was seriously wrong. He had tried texting Jake after school, but had gotten no response. Randy also said that he hadn't heard from Jake at all when Brett asked him in the morning.
"He's probably just got the stomach flu," Randy reassured Brett. "He seemed a little off yesterday, anyway. He's probably just taking some time to recover.
"Maybe," Brett said, unconvinced. Something had Jake seriously spooked yesterday when he was talking to Annabeth. That had to have something to do with his absence. Did Jake find something out? Did he confront Annabeth about something he knew about Percy? Maybe Annabeth got scared that Jake knew too much and tried to hide him away to protect him from Percy. Maybe Jake and Annabeth were in trouble right now, and there was nothing Brett could do about it.
He kept looking for both Jake and Annabeth over the next couple days, but neither of them showed, and Brett just grew more and more worried. He was contemplating calling the police if they stayed gone for much longer, but then Annabeth came back. She was sitting alone in the cafeteria with a book. Her and Mara still hadn't made up, though Annabeth hadn't been at school enough for them to really even have a chance to make up, but Annabeth didn't seem to mind eating alone. As much as she gave off the air of not minding sitting alone, she still didn't look content. Something was still bothering her, though Brett didn't know if it was the same thing that had been worrying her before she had disappeared, or if this was something entirely new. He'd have to ask her.
But first, he had to ask her about Jake. Jake still wasn't back, and Annabeth was the last person Brett had seen him with. He had thought that if Annabeth was back then Jake must be too, but Brett hadn't seen him all morning.
"Annabeth?" He spoke up, sitting down in the empty chair across from her.
She looked up. "Oh," her voice was completely void of emotion. "What do you want, Brett?"
"I want to know where Jake is." He demanded.
Annabeth frowned. "Jake is your friend, Brett. Why should I know where he is?"
"I saw him leave school with you, and he hasn't been back since."
"And?"
"He was terrified. Something was clearly going on, and I know you know something about it." Brett was not going to stop pushing until he had answers.
Annabeth sighed. "I can't tell you where he is."
Brett started to say something, but Annabeth held up her hand to stop him.
"I can't tell you where he is," she repeated, "but I can tell you he is safe."
"If he's safe then why can't you tell me where he is!"
"Jake was going through something. He found some stuff out about his family, and he needed a safe place where he could figure it all out. I helped him get there. Anything more than that you'll have to find out from him if he comes back."
Brett stared at her, his mind running through a thousand scenarios those cryptic words conjured. "What do you mean, if he comes back?"
"It's entirely up to him to decide," was all Annabeth said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think we're done here." She stood up, but Brett caught her wrist. She looked down at his hand and raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, I'm not just worried about Jake," he admitted, "I'm worried about you too."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well there's a surprise."
"You seem off," he continued. "I heard you talking to someone a couple days ago. What's wrong?"
"Why am I not even a little bit surprised that you eavesdropped on my private conversations?"
"I'm just concerned."
"Well don't be."
"Annabeth."
"There's nothing you can do to help even if I wanted it!" Annabeth explodes suddenly. "There's nothing anyone can do! Percy just had to go and save the world again and now he's hurt and I don't know if he'll ever wake up and there's nothing I can do about it!"
A couple students look up at her outburst, but they quickly go back to what they were doing. Annabeth shakes her head once, then turns and basically runs out of the cafeteria. Brett rushes to follow her.
"Annabeth, wait!" She's fast, and Brett loses sight of her for a short while. When he finds her, she is leaning against the lockers in an empty hallway, taking deep breaths and trying to compose herself. "Annabeth," he says again, slightly out of breath from chasing her. "It's okay."
She glares at him. "Clearly it's not okay."
"This is your chance, Annabeth," Brett pressed on. Brett didn't understand what Annabeth meant when she said that Percy had saved the world- apparently multiple times- but he had latched onto the fact that Percy was out of commission. "Percy is out of the picture. He can't hurt you, or blackmail you at all. You should take this as your chance and get away while you can."
"How dare you," Annabeth hissed. And before Brett could even blink, she swung her fist, knocking him right in the jaw.
He crumpled to the floor. She was so much stronger than he thought she would be. The pain blossoming from the left side of his face was almost too much. He groaned, holding his jaw. Brett never thought Annabeth would ever punch anyone, much less him. Percy must have had more influence on her than he'd previously thought.
"You were never like this before," Brett managed to gasp out through the pain. "Just look at what Percy's done to you. Is this really the person you want to be?"
There was fire in Annabeth's eyes. "Believe me, Brett, Percy has helped shape me into a better person. I was much worse before I met him." She let out a humorless laugh. "You don't survive on the streets at seven years old without learning how to throw a punch."
Brett could hardly think through the pain. Black spots danced in his vision. What did Annabeth mean? He hadn't known that she'd lived on the streets. And at seven? Why was she on her own that young? What could have possibly happened that left her on the streets to fend for herself? Where were her parents in all this? Did it have anything to do with Percy?
He groaned again, trying to come up with the words that would convince Annabeth, but through his watering eyes he could just see her retreating silhouette. She still wasn't ready to listen to him, even though despite everything she might say, it was clear that Percy was corrupting her. There was no way that Percy made Annabeth a better person. She was just blinded by him. Brett would just have to find another way to make her see the light.
