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Of Corporate Scandals

Chapter 37. Running Away

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"You look like shit."

"I feel like shit."

"You smell like shit."

"My life is shit."

"Whoa."

Percy shrugged, turning his head back towards the TV. He had a ESPN on, but if someone asked him what the score was or what teams were playing, even what sport he was watching, he wouldn't be able to tell him. "What do you want Grover?"

His best friend had shown up at his door for the third time this week so Percy eventually had to let him in. Percy saw the disbelief in his eyes as Grover had taken in the state of Percy's penthouse apartment - Chinese takeout leftovers, empty pizza boxes, dirty dishes everywhere, and a fridge that only contained Sriracha and a mysterious beige substance in a tupperware, but Percy didn't care about his judgement.

After stepping over several piles of trash, Grover settled on the couch next to Percy, "Dude, it's been weeks."

"Your point?"

"You have to get out of this house, and do something."

"I go to work."

"You barely go to work." Grover protested. He was less than a foot away from his best friend,, but he'd never felt farther away.

Percy could as easily tune Grover out as he could the rest of the world. He ignored him, his eyes drawn back to his flat screen. Grover sighed, staring at Percy for a moment - stained, white T-shirt, blue flannel pajama pants, tired eyes, unruly hair, and a scruff of a beard that was coming in fully. He didn't look like Percy.

"Percy."

Percy looked at him again.

"Are you okay?"

Percy laughed, but it was without mirth, "Do I look okay?"

These past few weeks had been hell. She was gone. Percy could barely step foot outside his door because everything reminded him of her. Being holed up in their former home was even worse. She had clearly done a hasty job of packing so bits of - he couldn't even bear to think her name - Annabeth, his mind choked out - were strewn all over the apartment. Every little belonging of hers another stab of hurt.

The first day after she left, it had been Silena who had shown up first. She came after work, bearing his phone and his briefcase which he left at the office. She walked into his apartment to find Percy gathering every trace of Annabeth, from leftover blueprints, forgotten items of clothing, pictures, trinkets, and shoved them all in his dining room by her drawing board.

Silena walked farther into the apartment. She had also brought him his favorite pastry from the Open Seas building café and set it down on the counter, "Oh, Percy." She said, softly. "What happened? Where's Annabeth?"

Honestly Percy was glad it was Silena who found him first. He only had to tell the damn story one time to her, and she managed to get the word out fairly quickly to their friends. His mom had called the next day. He hadn't picked up.

The worst was when Thalia showed up at his door. (Damn. He had too many visitors.) The last time he'd seen her was the night before she left. It had been tense at the door. She brushed into his house without waiting to be invited in, "I'm here for the rest of Annabeth's stuff."

Percy had almost keeled over right there. "No."

"What?"

"I need answers first." He hadn't attempted to contact Annabeth since she left. But he still wanted to know.

Thalia walked over to the stool by the kitchen counter and sat down. She patted the stool next to him. (Jesus Christ. This was his own house, and here she was ordering him around.) Thalia launched into her story of how the morning after he proposed she had woken her and Luke up, crying and panicking and begging them not to wake Percy up. Annabeth hadn't given Luke and Thalia specifics, just the gist of their fight and the proposal. She had panicked, and needed out. They had reluctantly returned to her and Percy's apartment with her and helped her pack up all of her stuff. She was on a plane back to her dad's house in California by that afternoon. Lines of jagged heartbreak cracked through Percy with each word as Thalia told him how overwhelmed and trapped and panicked she'd felt about getting married and quitting school and her promotion so she fled. She just hopped on a plane and left him.

Despite everything, Percy had offered to help Thalia get the boxes of the remainder of Annabeth's belongings downstairs into a cab, especially her drawing board, but Luke had shown up. He patted Percy on the back, apologizing, and he helped Thalia. That was the last source of contact he had with her since.

Percy was jolted out of his memory when Grover started talking again, "Silena told me you haven't been to the office in two weeks."

"Silena could tell anyone my whole life story if she had too."

Grover ignored the jab, "And she said Beckendorf has been taking over your duties. He's moving up to your office."

Percy neither denied nor confirmed.

"That sounds like a pretty permanent position for him if he's moving to the twelfth floor, and don't think I didn't see that 'Penthouse For Lease' sign down in the lobby."

Percy shrugged.

Grover croaked, "You're leaving New York, aren't you."

"If she can run away, why can't I?"

A/N: Hey, y'all! Back at it again with the daily updates :) Ahah, do you all hate me now? Reading your reviews honestly makes me so happy since the past few years have just been semi-resentful reviews begging me to update. Some you guys are so dang funny haha. Special shoutout to RussianDragon96 for my favorite review, it made me laugh. Also some of you were wondering about while I'm updating so quickly and so often. So I just finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which is about a girl in her first semester of college, and she's a pretty well known fanfic writer in the her fandom. I related to her so much, and so much of the book was about her writing fan fiction, and ugh it made me want to start writing again so bad so here I am!

Also, anyone else watch the total solar eclipse today? I just got back from the park, and it was so awesome!

Anyway, thanks for reading:)