chapter seventeen: through stained glass
Finals week proves to be the most painful aspect of the school year, but Percy manages to find respite with Annabeth in between the studying and gruelling stress. She's managed to rope him into helping with her photography final—which admittedly didn't take much convincing on her part. It's Saturday night, and he's sitting on a chair in her bedroom in the dark. Annabeth angles a softly glowing lamp in the direction of his face, holding a piece of foliage paper over the bulb. Its light falls through the paper and over Percy's face, casting interesting shadows. "Keep still," she tells him, raising her camera.
"I'm trying," he mutters.
Her camera shutter goes off again, startling him enough to flinch. "Percy! What did I just tell you?"
"Sorry." He resumes his previous position, trying not to look irritated. Annabeth switches angles, constantly adjusting the knobs and settings of her camera. Her hands are certain, practised and methodical. "Alright, these are good," she says, changing to a new point of view again. "Stay right…there."
"Okay." This close to Annabeth, he can see every one of her pale, sprawling freckles.
He swallows, trying to slow his racing pulse as Annabeth tilts his head sideways with her fingertips. After taking another photo, she steps back with satisfaction. "Alright. Let's try something different, now." She picks up some blue filter paper and attaches it to the lamp with tape. Before long, her camera's back in her hand.
"Have you got church tomorrow?" he asks. She takes several photos of his side profile in quick succession.
Without breaking concentration, she shakes her head. "Nah. Helen never goes these days—she doesn't want to, not without my dad—and I'm kinda too scared to go by myself."
Percy doesn't speak for a moment, and his silence is punctuated by the incessant clicking of Annabeth's camera. "Do you want to?"
She halts in motion, hands stilling. "I don't know," she sighs. "It seems stupid. I'm not sure I even believe in God, anymore. And if I set foot in there, I'd probably just…cry, or something." Wordlessly, she turns around and changes the filter on the lamp to a red one. "Look down," she says.
Percy follows her instructions, letting his gaze fall to where his palms rest in his lap. Quietly and before he can stop himself, he says, "I could come. If you want."
Annabeth laughs. "What, to church?"
For some reason, that makes him defensive. "Hey, I've been to church before!"
She rolls her eyes. "Like, years ago." Raising her camera again, she continues, "I guess I just can't picture you there. It's all…orderly."
"Yeah, well. I'd come, if you wanted me to."
She smiles. "That would be really nice, actually. Maybe with you next to me, I won't cry like a little kid. Look up, please."
"I wouldn't put it past you, honestly," he jokes, raising his eyes to the ceiling. Her camera clicks, immortalising yet another moment in time. "So…I'll be here at eight?"
"You'd better show up in your Sunday best." She smiles. Percy smiles back, and her camera shutter goes off again like clockwork.
The next day, Percy wakes up and changes into the nicest outfit he owns: a white shirt and slacks, both of which have been stitched up a few times at the seams. He wishes he could just wear the suit he wore to the premiere, but that was returned ages ago—so this is the best he can do. He cycles to Annabeth's estate, uncertain why his palms keep sweating and his stomach's become knotted with apprehension.
He knocks on the door, running a hand through his hair. He washed it this morning to get the machine grease out, but it's not quite dry yet. Annabeth opens the door, a smile on her face. "Hey." A button-up blue dress falls to her knees, and her hair's been styled.
"Wow," he says, caught off-guard. "You look…"
"Like a Catholic schoolgirl?"
"No," he laughs. "You look really nice. Way better than me."
"Nah," she shoots back, smiling. Reaching out, she smooths out the shoulder pad of his jacket. "Suits definitely work for you."
He rolls his eyes, but warmth still blooms in his chest. "Let's go, then."
It doesn't take long to reach Annabeth's church. As they approach it, fear suddenly glistens in her eyes. She stops, dragging Percy back.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"I don't think I can do this," she mutters.
His brows furrow. "What?" She tries to step back again, so he gently takes hold of her sleeve. "No, of course you can."
Annabeth shrinks, shaking her head. "You don't understand. I can't go in there."
He meets her eyes, stopping her from looking away. Softly, he asks, "Why?"
"Because I'm scared."
"I know. I know, but you can do this. You wanted to. Right?"
"I still do, I just—" She cuts herself off.
He pauses. "Just?"
She sighs, hands subconsciously lifting to clutch her upper arms. For comfort, maybe. "I don't know if I'm strong enough."
Percy steps forward, gathering her into a hug. "You are. God, you are."
She sniffles. "What if I go in there, and I see him?"
"Then you look at me. You look at me, okay?"
"That won't work."
He pulls away, but not entirely. "Maybe not, but…will you try?"
Annabeth doesn't respond immediately. Her gaze flits behind him to the looming church. She swallows, then nods. "Yeah, okay."
Most of the churchgoers are already inside, waiting for Mass to start. Percy and Annabeth slide into a pew near the back. Annabeth looks pale, but determination sings from the careful set of her jaw. The priest begins his sermon, Latin words echoing through the church. He switches to English after a while, but Percy still doesn't understand much of it.
Instead, his gaze lifts to the stained-glass windows. Sunlight filters through them like watercolour paint, falling in shafts across the pews. A discordant ray catches on Annabeth's closed eyelids, shifting and changing. She's mouthing the words of the prayer that the priest's begun to recite, and her hands are clasped in her lap. Her brows are furrowed in something akin to pain. Grief, maybe. Percy nudges her, making her jerk out of her stupor. You okay? he mouths. Shakily, she nods and offers him an uncertain smile. It's enough to reassure him. He turns away, but he can still feel Annabeth's eyes lingering on his profile.
At long last, she looks away. Strangely, Percy misses the warmth.
Freshman year ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. Percy tries not to think too hard about the mess that comprises of his exam results, instead focusing on the long summer ahead of him. He's got a few more years of high school to get his act together, anyway. And there's a thousand things that seem more important—like all the shitty things that have happened this year. All the things Annabeth has gone through. He never could've anticipated that they would still, somehow, sometimes manage to be happy.
Most days, though, Percy can see Annabeth struggling. He doesn't know how much of it the others notice, but Percy does—he always does. He notices everything about her: the dark circles of exhaustion under her eyes, the half-scrubbed away mascara she sleeps in but never properly takes off. He wants her to get better, but with each passing day the chance of it seems slimmer and slimmer. Sometimes, Percy thinks he'd give all of himself to make it happen.
As Annabeth's birthday approaches, the five of them begin to wonder what they should do to celebrate it. Given everything that's happened, there's an unspoken agreement that there needs to be a distraction. This coincides with Piper suggesting they stay for a few days at a beach house, and before long they've planned to spend Annabeth's birthday weekend in a bungalow near Bethel Beach. As all of them are minors, Thalia and her girlfriend are coming too; they require adult supervision in order to rent out a place to stay.
Annabeth tried to say they didn't need to celebrate so hugely when they asked her about it, but she was easily broken down by the idea of a vacation. God knows she needs one, Percy thinks.
The day before they're due to leave, Percy stops in town after a late shift. He already knows that he wants to buy another charm to go on Annabeth's necklace for her birthday, and now it's just a matter of finding it.
As pushes open the door to a small jewellery store, an antique customer bell chimes above him. The store is dimly lit and smells like dust. Stacks of metal beads, charms and earrings surround him, and chain necklaces hang on the walls. There are books, too. The entire setup is beautiful, albeit overwhelmingly maximalist. Percy feels like he's stepped into some sort of faerie lair. A woman sits with her legs up on the till, an atlas open on her lap. She doesn't even look up at Percy.
Swallowing his nerves, Percy walks over to a locked glass cabinet that's labelled Sterling Silver. Dozens of charms are neatly laid out in cubby holes within it, and he tries to avoid looking at their prices. Some gleam in the light, others refract colour from their embedded gems and rhinestones. Percy notices a tiny owl charm, feathers intricately carved and eyes inlaid with pin-sized green gems. Instantly, he knows Annabeth would be drawn to it. It's in the forty-dollar cubby, which seems excessive. At least it'll be good quality, Percy supposes. Turning to the woman at the till, he points into the cabinet. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could I get the owl charm?"
Once the charm's been wrapped in tissue and he's paid, he tucks it into the pocket of his jacket and steps out of the store. Virginia's summer heat beats down on him as he cycles home to the trailer. He's excited to give Annabeth her gift, but a different anxiety is beginning to consume Percy's thoughts. He still hasn't told Gabe that he's going away for the weekend, hasn't even asked him. Percy's usual strategy of waiting until Gabe's in a good mood to ask him anything hasn't worked—his stepdad's been in a piss-poor and volatile mood all week. At this point, Percy's getting worried.
It's getting dark by the time Percy cycles into the trailer park and chains his bike up. He reaches into his pocket, just to check the charm's still there. Thankfully, his fingers close around its tissue wrapping. He slips his key into the trailer door's lock and pushes the door open, stepping out of his shoes as he closes it behind him. It's dark inside, and Percy looks up to see that the lightbulb hanging above him has blown. Percy makes a mental note to buy a new bulb as soon as he gets the chance.
Gabe's sitting on the couch, cigarette in his mouth and feet on the coffee table. The television casts a dim, ghostly light on his face. He doesn't react to Percy's entry, so Percy heads into the kitchen and fills up a glass of water to drink. Gabe turns off the television and stands up, cracking his stiff back. "There any beers in the fridge?"
Obediently, Percy opens the fridge door to check. There's one left—never a good sign. "Yes, sir." He steps back as Gabe reaches into the fridge and grabs it, popping the metal lid with a fizzing crackle. Percy peers into the cupboard to grab a can of tomato soup. He should ask Gabe now, right? Percy clears his throat, steeling his nerves as best he can. "Sir, I wanted to ask…" He trails off.
Gabe takes a swig of his beer. "What?"
"It's, uh. It's my friend's birthday this weekend, and we're thinking about going camping." He doesn't mention the fact that they'll be staying in a beach house. Even though Percy hadn't had to pay for any of it, he knows Gabe would still flip out.
"Camping?" Gabe glowers at him. "So, you're not gonna be working?"
Percy tries to meet his stepdad's gaze. "It's only a couple days. I even took some extra shifts this week to make up for it."
"You expect me to scrounge up the money for the bills on my own, then?" Gabe's logic is the same as it always is: greedy and blind to a fault.
"No, I—"
Gabe slams his beer bottle down on the counter, making Percy jump. "Ungrateful shit." He steps forward, jabbing his finger into Percy's chest. "You're not going anywhere. You better call up the machine shop and tell them you're working, or I'll fucking do it myself."
Percy sets his jaw, determined not to let Gabe win this one. He wants so badly to go, wants to be allowed this one thing he's dared to want. "It's only a couple days," he repeats. "Please—"
Out of nowhere, Gabe backhands him across the face. Percy cries out, clutching his smarting cheek. Numbness seeps through Percy, the only defense mechanism he knows. "Don't fucking talk back."
"Sorry, sir," he manages. The metallic tang of blood sparks on his tongue from where his gum's broken, bitter yet sickly sweet. "I just…"
Gabe gets up in his face, grabbing the underside of Percy's quickly bruising jaw. "What?" he sneers. From here, Percy can smell the drink on his breath. Dimly, he wonders how many bottles Gabe's got through this afternoon alone.
Percy swallows, trying not to let panic overwhelm him. "I'll double my shifts next week," he tries desperately, turning to bargaining. "And I'll re-chain your bike. Please."
That seems to give Gabe pause. He narrows his eyes, loosening his vice-like grip on Percy's jaw. "You'll do it tonight?"
Percy nods hesitantly, afraid to hope. "I will."
"You better run 'round to the store and grab me a couple six-packs to last the weekend, too. Go to that one on the corner—they sell to minors."
Relief floods Percy's chest. "Okay. Thank you, sir."
"You better stay out of trouble, now," he hisses. When Percy nods, Gabe grabs the front of his shirt and jerks him forward. "I'm fucking serious. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir," Percy grits out. That seems to satisfy Gabe. He shoves Percy backwards into the counter, turning around to pick up his abandoned beer. Pain flares through Percy's spine, but he ignores in favour of booking it out of the kitchen. He hasn't grabbed anything to eat, but at this point food is too much of a risk. Once Percy's closed the door to his bedroom, he leans against it. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth, and he can feel a painful bruise blossoming on his cheekbone.
Percy squeezes his eyes shut and slides slowly down to the cold, hard floor. Around him, the universe has gone quiet.
The next day, Percy throws everything he'll need for the weekend into an old, tatty rucksack and cycles to Jason's house. When he pulls up outside, Annabeth's finishing getting Thalia's car packed. It's a hot day; she's wearing a chalk-white summer dress that ripples around her knees, caught by the fluctuant breeze. "Annabeth!" he calls, hopping off his bike as he hits the curb.
She spins around, rucksack on her arm. When she sees him, a smile blossoms into existence on her face. "Percy. You ready to go?"
"Yeah. Should I put this in the trunk?" he asks, already slinging his backpack off his shoulder.
But as he steps forward to put it in, Annabeth stops him. There's something like concern in her eyes. "What's that on your face?" she asks haltingly, half-reaching up to touch his bruise before stopping herself.
"Oh, right. I got in a fight with one of the trailer park kids," he tells her, allowing nonchalance to seep into his tone.
Annabeth chews on her lip, expression unreadable. "You really ought to be more careful."
He tries for a half-smile, loading his backpack into the trunk. "It's okay. It barely even hurts."
"I bet it does," Annabeth says, so quietly that her words seem almost unconscious. It looks as though she might say something else, but their attention's jerked away in the same instant.
Leo leaps out of the door, whooping. "We're going on vacation!" he practically screams. For some reason, a garland hangs around his neck.
Piper and Jason closely follow him. She rolls her eyes as they approach Percy and Annabeth. "It's hardly a vacation. I mean, we're only going for two nights."
"And the beach is, like, barely two hours' drive," Jason adds.
"Hey, don't kill the mood," Leo complains. He perks up again, pulling his phone out. "I made a banging road trip playlist. Annabeth, look—"
"Can't we just have the radio?" Piper complains as Annabeth and Leo hunch over his phone. "I don't trust his music taste."
"You might have to admit defeat on this one," Percy grins, eliciting a groan from Piper.
Jason's door slams shut, and the five of them look up to see Thalia and her girlfriend walking down the path. "Alright, kids," Thalia yells. "Get in the car."
"Okay, mom," Jason mutters, but they do as instructed.
The five of them have to squeeze across the backseat, and Annabeth's half-sitting on Percy's lap. "Sorry," she mutters, cheeks pink.
Thalia's girlfriend takes shotgun. As she braids her dark hair into a single plait, her silver bangles clank around her wrists. Inaudibly, she whispers something to Thalia across the dashboard, making her laugh. Grinning, Thalia leans around to introduce her. "Y'all, this is Reyna. Don't piss her off, alright? I barely convinced her to come in the first place."
Reyna's eyes cut across to Percy's in the rearview mirror. "What, I was meant to be excited to hang out with a bunch of twelve-year-olds?" she snipes, but her mouth still curves in a smile.
"Dude, you know we're all fifteen," Jason argues. "There's no need to be so rude, Reyna."
"Annabeth and I aren't fifteen yet," Percy cuts in. His birthday's over a month away.
Beside him, Annabeth laughs. "Well, I'm fifteen tomorrow. So, you're the youngest here."
For some reason, that doesn't quite compute in Percy's head. "Oh, God," he mutters. At that, the others laugh.
The rest of the drive is bliss. Leo's playlist perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere of the scorching day as they soar across Virginia's prairies. Percy finds himself throwing his head back and mouthing the lyrics along with the others, entirely swept up in their elation. At one point, Annabeth opens the sunroof and sticks her head through. "Percy, come on!" she yells, voice distorted by the wind.
Trying not to fall over, he manages to stand up and stick his head and shoulders through the sunroof. The world hurtles past them, a blur of pale grass and hazy sunlight. Annabeth grins at him, grabbing his sleeve for stability. "Hold onto me—I'm gonna let go." She whoops loudly, throwing her arms up as Thalia breaks the speed limit. Percy can feel the music, feel the wind whipping his cheeks and Annabeth's warm waist between his hands. He's utterly detached from his sane mind, but he doesn't mind the feeling. It's a perfect, beautiful distraction from all the bad things.
He laughs, and Annabeth's arms come down to rest on his shoulders. With the sun blazing down, Percy thinks the two of them might be invincible.
I'm loving these road trip vibes, haha! thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts! the next chapter will be up on wednesday as usual :)