Chapter 5
Annabeth
Annabeth needed to break up with Luke. She knew that, deep down, somewhere inside her. The rational part of her knew this, the one that said that he wasn't the one for her, that he treated her like shit. For the latter part of their date last night, he had flirted with the bartender and still - still, Annabeth had posted on Instagram, letting her one thousand, two hundred and thirty one followers know they were still going strong, still so in love. She disgusted herself.
And yet, her heart wasn't about to let him go. She confronted him about everything, and each time he would give her that smirk and kiss her and tell her he was sorry and she would forgive him because she was weak. She couldn't bear the thought of being alone, of having to tell her family that she had failed, having to explain to everyone at school - fuck, everyone in this whole dumb town - why there wasn't a ring on her finger when he came home from college.
"Annabeth." Athena's voice was sharp. She shook Annabeth's leg, and she realized her mom had been trying to get her attention for a while now.
She looked up from where her fingers had twisted her napkin into a wrinkled mess. "Yeah, sorry?" She asked, before Poseidon spoke up.
"I was just asking if you had any plans for college, yet. It's a little while aways, but I know Luke is going to USC, right?" Percy's dad asked, stabbing a bite of eggs while waiting for her to answer.
Annabeth felt like she was on fire. In reality, she was pissed. It wasn't Poseidon's fault, really, that he assumed she would follow Luke. The whole town did, honestly, and it bothered Annabeth more than she let on. Nobody even knew her around here. Nobody knew she got straight A's. Nobody knew that she was smarter than that entire school and had scored a perfect score on her SAT. Nobody knew that she had applied to Columbia early action already. "I'm not following Luke to California, if that's what you're asking." She spat out finally, her words nastier than she meant.
Poseidon seemed taken aback. "Oh no, I just -"
"It's whatever." She threw her napkin down on the table, ignoring everybody's eyes. "If you'll excuse me." She heard her parents protests, but she got up and stalked up the stairs, pretending to be in search of a bathroom. Instead, she walked until their voices were out of earshot so she didn't have to listen to the aftermath, and stumbled upon the only room that had the door open.
Unfortunately, that happened to be Percy's. It was a disaster, unsurprisingly. Most teenage boys' rooms were. Annabeth sank on the unmade bed, the sheets warm as if he had gotten out of bed right when they all sat down. There was a picture of Percy and an older woman on his bedside, most likely his mom. She had kind blue eyes, with pretty brown hair. She looked weathered, like city life had taken its toll on her. Percy stood next to her, possibly fourteen or fifteen in the photo, a glittering smile on his face. They were standing on a beach, a small town behind them.
"That's my mom." A voice said from the doorway. Percy was standing there, green eyes shining in amusement, like he found her display down there funny.
Annabeth whirled around. "Do you make it a habit to sneak up on people?" She snapped, glaring.
He held up his hands in defense. "Hey, it's my room."
She sunk deeper into the bed in defeat, blowing a whisp of hair out of her eye. "Yeah. Sorry. Just stressed."
Percy cracked a smile. "I can tell." He took the picture from her, staring wistfully down at it. "I wish I was in Manhattan."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "This is still too much hick for you?"
Percy shook his head, not noticing her bad attitude returning. "A little, but honestly I just miss my mom. She's my best friend. And my actual friends, too. Anyways, they sent me to come get you. Thalia said she needed you back to survive the morning."
Annabeth laughed. "Tell them I'll be down in a minute."
Percy nodded, turning to leave but stopping in the doorway. "Hey, Annabeth?"
"Yeah?"
"If you ever need to talk…" He paused, looking uncomfortable. "I mean, about Luke, or life, I-"
Annabeth's eyes iced over. She was not about to start talking to the new kid about her relationship problems with Luke, and for him to assume that was awfully presumptuous. "I think I'll be okay." She said coolly. Percy looked like he was biting back a nasty response, but he kept his mouth shut and left her alone.
She groaned, and flopped back on the bed trying to ignore the smell of Percy and ocean and clean linen that was making her feel a little funny. She counted to sixty before she got back up, straightened her yellow sundress, and put on a fake smile before going downstairs.
Two long hours later, the adults had finally decided they had had enough of sitting around a huge table drinking expensive coffee and talking about politics and the weather. They stood up, gathering purses and keys, kissing cheeks and saying their goodbyes in those sickening sweet southern accents.
"What's the plan for today?" Jason asked, popping a grape in his mouth before the platter was taken away.
"I'm taking Lily out riding today." Annabeth said, pulling on her boots. She needed some good quality time out in nature after this morning. "You guys are welcome to come."
"I'm down." Thalia said, Jason nodding behind her. "Percy?"
He looked uncomfortable. "I've…" He rocked back and forth on his heels, looking slightly sheepish. "I've never ridden a horse."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No shit. Come on, city boy, it's not hard." She took his truck keys from him. "I'll drive." She got in before he could speak another word, but he spent the whole drive protesting from the passenger seat. Thalia and Jason were riding in their own car behind them, and Annabeth was starting to regret not going with them. She turned up the radio, a country station (the only kind they had out here), but that just made the protesting worse.
Ten long minutes later the four of them were in the stables, saddling up the horses. Annabeth was kind of waiting for Thalia or Jason to deal with Percy, but they were over there arguing over who was going to get her pure black horse, Blackjack. The two of them fought over the stallion pretty much every time they came over. Blackjack was their best horse probably in the whole stables. Gentle, but young so you didn't feel like he wasn't moving.
"Move over." Annabeth said. "Take Tempest and Guido. I'm giving Blackjack to Percy."
Thalia stared at her like she had dropped from the sky. "You're kidding. Blackjack's what, five? There's no way a beginner should be on him."
Annabeth glanced over at Percy who looked even more uncomfortable than previously. "I think they'll get along. Come over here, he's not gonna bite."
"Y'all are crazy." Jason said, shaking his head but obeying and got out a saddle for Tempest.
"They seem to think I'm gonna die." Percy said, jerking his thumb over to his cousins.
Annabeth shook his head. "They don't know my horses like I do. You'll be fine. Besides, you must have already built some kind of connection with Blackjack, working here and all."
Percy didn't respond, and Annabeth tried not to laugh. She had given multiple people riding lessons - it was part of her family's livelihood, but something about watching this arrogant city boy having to adjust to their way of life was bringing her a little too much joy.
"Here." She said, handing him a brush. "Start with this. The first thing is making a connection. Horses can sense fear, so the more scared you are the worse this is going to be for you."
He took the brush from her, hesitantly starting to brush Blackjack's side.
"Good." Annabeth said, "I'll be right back, just going to saddle up Lily." She finished up with her horse, checking the girth before heading back to a slightly more comfortable Percy. "I'll teach you the saddle later. For now, we'll just get going." She said, doing it quickly before making sure his stirrups fit. After a short instruction on how to make sure the horse wasn't going to go running off in a random direction, they left the stables.
"Just stay by me. Blackjack knows he can't do anything dumb if I'm near." She told Percy. "And loosen up." She said. He sent her a death glare, but her face showed she was just teasing.
"This isn't as easy as the movies make it look." He grumbled. The siblings were in front of them, arguing once again over who hit who with a stick.
"Do they ever stop?" Percy asked.
Annabeth shook her head, snickering. "Unfortunately, no." She responded. They were entering the forest, but she made sure she stayed on a path big enough that her and Percy could ride side by side. Her friends had been right - Blackjack was possibly not the most reliable and she wasn't exactly sure why she gave him to Percy. Maybe because Blackjack didn't really have an owner. He was a rescue, from an abusive farm a couple states away. In a way, both Blackjack and Percy were kind of homeless.
Half a mile in, Percy looked infinitely more comfortable in the saddle. "I'm gonna be so sore." He commented. "Is this why you guys walk weird around here?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Probably. We'll do real lessons soon. I'm assuming you want to learn how to keep up at some point."
"Keep up?" Percy asked. "I couldn't really imagine doing anything other than walking."
Annabeth smirked. "Thalia?" She asked. Her best friend turned around. "Switch spots with me for a sec."
Thalia grinned, like she knew what was happening. They switched, Annabeth gave Lily a slight couple kicks and then they were running. The wind was in her hair, the intoxicating smell of nature entering her body, and there was nothing better. This was exactly what Annabeth needed after a morning like the one she had just had. She slowed, letting out a loud laugh before turning around and trotting back to her original spot.
Percy shook his head. "Show off." He commented. Annabeth just started giggling again.
"By the end of the summer with me, all you'll need is a hat and some boots and I can make you into a cowboy." She said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.
"Great." He grumbled. "Just what I want."
By the time they got to the creek, Percy was so happy to be on solid ground again he literally kissed it. The boys stripped quickly, jumping into the water as fast as they could with loud whoops! that would have bothered neighbors if they had any. Annabeth pushed the redness down out of her cheeks, pretending that it was from the heat not the fact that Percy had a very nice six pack and he was currently shirtless.
Instead, she joined Thalia on a rock, one of their favorite spots to sit and talk. Annabeth rolled up her jeans, sticking her feet in next to Thalia, the two of them quiet and drinking in the sun for a moment. "I think I need to break up with Luke." Annabeth said quietly, rolling a stone in her hand.
Thalia snorted. "No shit."
Annabeth shot her a look. "Thals, this is serious. You know how it is around here. Everybody's convinced we're getting married. Myself included, up until a few weeks ago."
"I know." Thalia said, bumping her shoulder.
"Get in!" They heard from below, the boys waving at them.
Annabeth laughed. "In a minute!" She called down, the answer seeming to please them for the moment.
"Why?" Thalia asked. "I mean, besides the obvious."
Annabeth shrugged, throwing the rock somewhere deep in the woods. "I think I've just realized that there's not that… spark? The one that everybody talks about. And I'm not a romantic, I'm not even sure I believe in the 'spark' but I feel like seventeen is too early to give up on that."
Thalia nodded. "And there's the other reasons, like he makes you feel like shit and ditched us for the football stars."
Annabeth smiled. "And those."
"Are you sure this isn't because somebody else gives you this 'spark'?" Thalia asked. At first, Annabeth was confused until she followed her friend's gaze down to a certain black haired boy.
Annabeth shoved her. "Ew. Never. Like I could be interested in some city kid. I'm a country girl, and I will be marrying somebody who knows how to ride a horse and drive a truck. And listens to the right kinda music."
"The important stuff." Thalia mused. "But seriously. I'm here for you, whatever you need."
Annabeth gave her friend a one-armed hug, surprised she didn't push her away. "Love you."
"Love you." Thalia said, a rare show of affection. Before they could get too sappy though, her best friend was stripping out of her clothes. "Race you!" She squealed.
"Hey! You got a head start!" Annabeth protested, slipping out of her denim and racing after her, the four them splashing around for a good part of the afternoon. By the time they were back on the horses, the sun was setting.
Summer was magical. It was warm out, the sky was displaying shades of pink and orange, and the smell of fresh flowers was strong. Percy rode next to her quietly, no longer asking excessive questions like was he holding the reigns right for the sixth time, or was kicking the horse hurting Blackjack.
"You know." Percy drawled, shifting slightly in his saddle.
"Hmm." Annabeth hummed, slowing slightly to let the siblings get a little further ahead. She wasn't sure why, but she had actually enjoyed Percy's company today. It scared her, honestly. He's annoying. She reminded herself. But in all reality, he really wasn't. He was just somebody who was out of his element and scared. Annabeth could relate to that.
"It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be here." He said quietly.
Annabeth laughed. "What was that? You wanna say it louder?" Percy rolled his eyes, blushing, and Annabeth laughed again. "Kidding. Just wait until the end of the summer, you're never gonna want to leave."
Percy smirked. "We'll see about that."
That night, after the horses had been put away and her friends had left, Annabeth was sitting on her bed, the moon shining in the window. It was late, maybe eleven, and she had hoped that Luke wouldn't be up when she texted him.
I think we need to talk.
Same. The response came too soon, like he had been expecting a text.
Tomorrow? Lunch at Auntie Mae's?
12 PM. I'll pick you up.
I'll drive myself. She responded. There was no way she was going to want to be in a car with him after the conversation they needed to have.
