Chapter Three: Shattered Ones
Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not
own the songs I put into this book either.
I only own my fan made characters and of course
the plot line.
Added Songs – In Order of Appearance
No songs added in this chapter.
~Author's Note~
Hey everyone, would you look at that. Back once again and I think so far with TYFA, I'm starting off quite well I must admit and I am very pleased with that. Well, here are with chapter three, and finally, we get to see what's been happening with the other broken heart that was left at the end of Lies. Who could it be? Read and see.
~Tuesday Night News~
BREAKING NEWS! FIRST OFFICIAL SIGHTING OF ANNABETH CHASE SINCE THE TWENTY-FIFTH OF APRIL!
Photographed and videoed leaving Belleview hospital earlier today, a very different Annabeth chase was seen emerging out the same hospital where an hour before, ex band member of the Heart Throbs and Frank Zhang was seen arriving moments after a pregnant and presently in labour Hazel Levesque accompanied by other ex band member Leo Valdez were brought in after being involved in a horrible accident earlier today.
According to sources, Miss Chase was seen leaving stoic and un-enthused by all the cameras and attention, reasons unknown but it was later informed that ex boyfriend and music board director Luke Castellan has tragically passed away... but what has suddenly brought the pop star out of hiding since the messy unveiling of her relationship and secrecy of her identity as a woman named -
Black...
Nothing but black was seen on the television screen...
It had been switched off, the owner no longer interested in seeing or hearing the name of something that ruined the very stable foundations of life around him. the name that was a memory but a nightmare, a construct of lies and deception, all to hide the truth...
Anna Olympia... a name that was permanently stained on his skin and mind... but it was not real. The woman was not real. She never was. It was a facade, a mask of deception, a stupid manipulative game where the unsuspecting pawn was a broken man by the name of Percy Jackson.
For six months two names coupled with his on the news in repeated fashion.
Anna Olympia... the woman who never existed and never had.
Annabeth Chase... the snake that lay beneath the guise of a woman who suffered a broken heart and never got to pursue her dream of music and live a life of happiness and not confrontation and hate... the woman who played as a fiddler and made him dance like her puppet... she was the puppet master and he was a toy for her game.
He was a truly broken man... his love for life and love in general were dead and empty like he was.
Percy sat on the floor of his unkempt and tornado animal attack torn room, not caring about the stench of unwashed clothes and empty assorts of alcoholic beverages adorning the floor around him.
He was a hob living in a home that no longer felt of his own... it was his own version of hell because every where he looked... he saw her! He pulled the beer bottle in his hand to his lips and emptied the half full bottle.
There was not enough alcohol in the world to make the pain go away.
He was overzealous in his finishing of his beverage that some spilled onto his vest... he cursed. It was the last clean thing he owned and now it too was stained with the torturous and agonizing pain of ruin like his soul had been subjected too.
He pulled it off and threw it at the television, not caring anymore.
He just didn't care anymore.
Caring meant feeling and he didn't want to feel. He never wanted to ever fucking feel again.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Percy groaned in annoyance. If it was another fucking neighbour he was going to bash their head in with a beer bottle.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Percy, I know you're in there!" A familiar voice called through the door. Percy ground his teeth, of course he of all people, would come looking for him. He was his boss after all.
He sluggishly climbed to his feet, kicking bottles around and cursing so much that it would make an army of pirates turn red enough that the earth glowed brighter than the sun. He stumbled to the door and undid the numerous locks on the door and wrenched the door open and stared stoically at the man that was his boss... and his father.
"Jeez Percy. What happened?" Poseidon asked in concern as he took his son's appearance in but froze. Since reconnecting with Percy, he had never bore witness to the scars of Percy's past that adorned his body... today was the first time he was seeing what that monster did to him.
But he also couldn't help but take in the true appearance of his son. the rough uneven growth of his son's facial hair where skin used to be smoother than a babies butt, and the matted mess that was once his midnight hair that looked like it had been dipped in dust and been unwashed for a month... it probably had because that was the last time Poseidon saw his son come to work.
Out of respect, Poseidon gave Percy his space... he wished that he hadn't now.
"What does it look like dad? Nothing happened; I was just taking your advice on letting go." Percy said with a distinct scowl on his face.
"You know this is not what I meant Percy." Poseidon said softly, noticing how pained Percy's eyes were and how empty and sad they were. The sparkle was gone, his son was most likely gone. This man wasn't the son he knew and loved, he was a shell of an amazing person that had been hurt badly.
"Well I told you I am never forgive them. Ever!" He said with explosive anger and sorrow. "They all fucking lied to me. My own mother lied to my face. She is dead to me." He hissed as he made to close the door but Poseidon was quick enough to wedge his foot between the door and the frame and pushed his way inside and closed the door behind him as his son stormed off to his fridge and grabbed another bottle of beer. "Sure, fucking come in uninvited, so fucking classy dad." He spat as he opened the bottle.
"Percy, I just want to help. You have to let me in son!" Poseidon said in a soft plea. For months since the incident, he'd tried to get his son back, to get him to feel and open up, but Percy refused to let him in.
"I don't want to let you in!" Percy growled as he turned and glared at his dad. "The last time I let someone in, I fucking lost everything and got my soul fucking stomped on and broken heart plastered all over the news, everywhere in the fucking world because of a snake wanting to play dress up!" he hissed with tear filled eyes. "I let someone in and I got burned worse than I've ever been burned because the person was never real!"
"I know Percy." Poseidon whispered as he moved forward and cupped his son's face in his hands and looked into his son's tear filled eyes, "I know you are hurting and I'm sorry you got hurt but please, don't shut me out because it will kill you." He whispered as he wrapped his arms round his son's shaking from as he cradled him close. "I'm right here Percy, I'm right here." He promised.
Percy bit his lip and tried to keep it in.
He'd stopped himself feeling for so long, he just wanted to stop the hurt.
As the first tear fell, he felt his wall crumble brick by brick and the promise and assurance made it all come tumbling down as he gripped his father in a fierce hug, his face buried in his father's neck as the sobs escaped his lips and the raging waterfalls of tears poured from his eyes.
Agony filled his soul, complete and utter pain overwhelming him and forcing him into submission as he let all the pain out.
Poseidon held onto his son, rubbing his back as he comforted his son... he never saw him so broken like this and it broke his soul to him so broken.
Percy just let it all go...
For the first time in nearly six months, he let his flood gates open and let himself feel the pain of being manipulated, lied to and be deceived by someone he loved... but never existed...
At Apollo Records...
It's hard to realise just how little you knew about someone who was supposed to be your best friend...
Reading Luke's journal was like reading his life story. Hundreds of pages of scribbled, stained, faded pages that stared up at her. At times it was hard to read the writing because everything was in here, including reasoning's she'd never understand but would one day come to understand.
His mom was really sick... mental issue upon mental issue upon mental issue. She was a very troubled woman. She twisted love into hate, harm into her own version of trying to protect him, hatred was her form of love in her mind. Love was poison to her so Luke never truly knew what love was growing up.
When they were kids, the day Annabeth missed school with Thalia and her dad, Luke got cornered by bullies and they were awful. She had to stop reading because of how intense the emotions on the page were for a young teen at Luke's age. They scared him and set off the trigger.
Luke was never the same...
And Thalia and Annabeth never even saw it.
For a time he wrote about the good, about how much he cared about Annabeth, about his feelings... they were real, he didn't truly understand them but they were real and they showed...
But the reason he changed was the power of corruption.
This industry had the power to corrupt and take advantage of the weak minded.
Calypso Greaves label was one of those corrupt embodiments... they offered him the darkness that haunted his mind and took him as their prey... they refabricated it all, erased his recovery... they took him off his medication and let the bitterness in.
But the truth was, if Annabeth and Thalia had come to school, he never would have gotten hurt the way he did.
To this day, Annabeth had felt guilty about not bringing him along... and she would for the rest of her life, partially blame herself for this all.
She did love Luke Castellan... the sweet hearted guy who smiled effortlessly when you made him laugh, or the young man who didn't have a single ounce of rhythm in his bones but did hesitate to get down and have a shit tonne of fun when it mattered. The guy who didn't hesitate to pull a prank on Clarisse La Rue and risk death by insanity to complete that dare.
She smiled sadly... that was the person she remembered... not the person who... who destroyed everything to get back at her because of competition.
For the last few months, Annabeth really hadn't had any love for music itself anymore.
Since everything had happened, she had lost the spark that made her love music and the truth is, for a long time she had been considering not renewing her record deal...
It expires pretty soon... less than a year, a few months, she wasn't even sure anymore because she wasn't sure if it mattered anymore.
But she still had an obligation... she had to make one more album, write a whole album... the last one she had an obligatory amount of songs to write... plus one extra...
She had to have a minimum of thirteen songs to write... but her maximum was eighteen
The irony... eighteen... a few months ago, eighteen August... it was Percy's birthday...
She... she had written a message... but she never sent it because she knew he wanted nothing to do with her...
She looked at the journal.
She was at the end of the story... the end of an era.
It was the neatest bit of writing but it was so so simple, but above it was two photos that she recognized very clearly.
Both the past but one was more recent than the other...
Three people, two girls and boy... one with black hair and two with blonde...
Three best friends that shared a life time of memories but their future had one missing from the picture now...
Annabeth...
If you are reading this, it means that I am gone.
I know you won't miss me but I will miss you.
I know I messed up a lot in my life and did some unforgivable things that harmed you and Thalia in the worst way possible and I am sorry that I was never able to tell you how sorry I am in person.
I ruined your life and I truly regret doing that to you...
I was messed up and it's not an excuse but I hope you and Thalia remember the person I was in these photos, not the person I became.
Don't let what happened to me Annabeth happen to you.
Don't let this business ruin the good and kind person you are.
You're better and stronger and braver than I will ever be. Don't lose yourself because of the paparazzi and the hatred... don't let yourself be tainted like I was.
Leave while you can... don't let yourself be taken hostage.
Get out whilst you still can Annabeth.
Remember how I was before everything... before I hurt the people I loved.
I'll always love you Annabeth, you and Thals were my best friends... my family... I'm sorry for everything... I'm sorry...
Annabeth had a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked at the photos, pain in her eyes as she looked at the happy and carefree smile on the face of Luke castellan when they were teenagers.
She still remembered the smile on his face... the way he made her laugh and feel like she was floating on air. The way he made her smile and tease her about her crush on Mr. Shaw but he never knew that her crush had always been on Luke. She just used Mr. Shaw as an excuse to hide her crush on Luke when Thalia confronted her in front of Luke.
Annabeth had cared about Luke for a long time... and given everything... now that he was gone... she missed him, more than she thought she would.
She looked at her lap as her phone vibrated...
Dad calling...
Annabeth sighed as she picked up her phone and answered the call with a soft and defeated, "Hey."
"Annabeth... what's wrong?" He asked in a soft and genuinely concerned tone.
Annabeth smiled sadly. Her father was always so caring it made her want to cry all over again. all she did was sigh, "I'm stressed and conflicted dad..." She confessed softly to him as she reached up and shifted her beanie, her true secret hidden beneath her hat.
"Annie... what's going on?" He asked her softly. He wouldn't stop until he knew she was one hundred percent okay.
She bit her lip as she confessed to him, "Dad, Luke died yesterday... at the hospital where the photos of me were taken... Hermes was there, crying because he had to take him off the machines dad... he was so broken and he gave me Luke's journal and... and I... I... he wrote me a message and now, I'm actually thinking about what he wrote..." She admitted to her father as she rubbed her arm.
"Talk to me, Annabeth. What are you thinking about?" He asked her softly as there was a rustling in the background, making it seem like her dad was getting comfortable.
"Daddy... I... I don't know if I want to pursue music anymore..." She whispered into her phone as she scratched at the underside skin of her arm. She always did that when she was nervous.
"Why baby girl?" Frederick Chase asked in confusion, "Music is your heart and soul. It is your life, your everything."
"I know dad... but for the last six months, I haven't touched an instrument or a music sheet or my notebook... I don't want to... I don't feel like I love it anymore, like it matter. You always said I got the magic in me which was always so corny... but ive lost that magic... and I don't think it's coming back." She confessed to him as she hung her head, "I stayed all these years because I love music... but I despise it. It killed Luke, drove him to try take his own life... the competition between the music labels manipulated a good person and ruined a family... publicity ruined the love... I wanted to protect him from this... part of me knew about this destruction and I lost him because I was trying to protect him..." She whispered in a pained voice.
For a long time she held in this guilt.
She never spoke about it because she knew she was wrong to lie to him, to manipulate him and make him believe she was someone else... it was selfish because she couldn't let him go. She never could find it in her to let him go like she should have.
She had always been a selfish person and she wanted to keep him because he was real, he was true. Percy Jackson was everything that was good in this world and she wanted to protect that good light... she wanted to bright it back to its beautiful brightness and shield it from the darkness... and her selfishness and dishonesty destroyed that light and she had to live with it.
"Annabeth... you can't blame yourself for that." Her father pressed as Annabeth shook her head.
"I lied to him... he was a good man and so was Luke... it was my fault. I couldn't protect either of them and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life." She said as tears rolled down her cheeks in an effortless stream. "I just want it to be over... I just want to leave and forget it all... I'm going to talk to Apollo and tell him I can't write this album, that I'll pay him whatever he needs for me to buy out the rest of my contract... I just want to leave dad." She whispered to him.
"Annabeth... at the end of the day, this is your choice, your decision. I will not force you to stay or write but I am going to appeal to the little girl inside of you that loves music." He whispered softly to her, "Annie, my little girl. I know how much music means to you. I know you are hurting and that you are overwhelmed but baby, listen to daddy. Don't make any rash decisions that you may come to regret in the future... finish the rest of the contract, write your album, use it to tell your final story and then decide if you wish to say good bye to this life. It is a hard world, I know baby how hard it is but don't rush. Give yourself time to consider what your heart wants, what you want." He told her softly.
"I don't know if I can daddy." She said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Please Annabeth... don't give up. I know you are stronger than this. Please Annabeth; promise me you will think about it." He whispered softly to her.
Annabeth sighed as she let out a shaky breath as she gripped the phone, "I... I will try." She promised... she had promised to try but she didn't believe it would be the outcome he wanted.
Apollo usually never spied on people but after everything that had happened, his concern for a certain blonde haired woman had grown. He was in his office, door shut and locked to prevent anyone from entering and seeing what he was doing.
He stared helplessly at the live feed from the camera he had put on the rood, watching with an aching sadness etched on his usually happy face. An aura of deeply burrowed concern and worry in the purest of forms surrounded him in an invisible blanket. He looked at the broken form of Annabeth Chase who had subjected herself to isolation and privacy that he felt he was invading on the roof.
Looking to the reality that was now, nothing had been the same in a long time.
The Heartthrobs were no more, and Jason had decided with a heavy heart to sign a solo artist contract with the record label but had yet to produce and release an album, let alone a single song. Apollo viewed Jason as a son and didn't have the heart to force Jason to meet his contractual obligations even though he was his boss. The young man who once just looked at the instruments with love looked at them with sadness and regret. He longed to pick one up but just didn't have the heart to do it.
It wouldn't be the same anymore.
He was obviously struggling to adjust to the life as a solo singer and it was understandable. When Jason came to Apollo Records, it was a hopeful dream that his band of friends would get a record deal but the Heartthrobs were way more than friends. When they walked in for their audition, they looked like a band of brothers... a family n everything but blood and now that family had been left in shambles and Jason's spirit had been killed as well as his love for music.
And then there was Annabeth who was just shattered. The soul that Apollo had seen in her that thrived and was driven towards her music was gone. It seemingly didn't exist anymore; she was broken in more ways than mind. Emotionally and mentally she was lost wounded deeply. Every time he caught her staring helplessly at the photo she had set as her screen saver on her phone - wishing for a dream that no longer existed because of a number of things – his heart broke a little more.
She was nothing but an empty shell of her once joyful, happy and bright former self that kept coming here but seemingly without a purpose... without any form of love towards the music she once played anymore. In her eyes he saw the burning question she had been debating for so long, since the day returned to Apollo Records after that day. He knew for some time she had been trying to find the answer to that question.
Is this what I want to do anymore?
He'd today; accidently listened in on a very emotional conversation Annabeth was having with someone over the phone, possibly her father where she admitted that she was considering retiring from music and quitting it all together.
He knew it should be her decision to make but after not releasing the album that she had nearly completed, she has been in this trance like state that Apollo needed to break. As an artist, she was one of the best, he wasn't ready to lose her as a singer and a colleague and a friend. He knew how her mind worked. If she said good bye to music, it would kill her because it meant everything to her. Music was her. It saved her from a life of self loathing, seeking approval she would never get from a woman to absorbed in her career to notice her daughter and the hatred she would have felt towards herself for not trying instead of giving up like she would have had he not come across her.
She would be a totally different person if he hadn't met her that day.
Everything was affected her and he knew she needed a distraction and she needed a challenge to reinvigorate her deep love for her craft she once had. He knew what he was considering was a big risk but he didn't have much of a choice as he closed the live feed and searched through his emails for the very cryptic email he had received a couple of weeks ago from an artist he hadn't seen since the auditions he held many years ago.
He picked up his cell phone and typed the number that had been sent in the email and hit the dial key and waited anxiously, hoping he had made the right decision.
After a few rings the person he was hoping for picked up, "Hello." A sweet melodic feminine voice spoke.
"Hello Miss Titan." Apollo greeted, his voice professional and calm as he leaned back into his seat and continued, "It's Apollo Solace of Apollo Records." He was the prime example of professionalism.
"I was beginning to wonder if I would hear back from you sir. After all these years since I signed with your rival label, I didn't think you would contact me." That fact was true, he never thought he would ever contact her again but the situation had changed and with the email she had sent him, he wanted to hear exactly what she had to say.
"Well your email has gotten me curious. I was wondering if you would be willing to meet me so we could talk." Apollo asked in a calm tone, closing his eyes and praying that he was doing the right thing. He knew this woman well but with this email and the things said in it, he was more curious than a cat. "Unless you've decided against it and decided to stick with this gimmick Mistress Gee."
"No, as I said in the email, I am looking to talk; unlike I did when we last met." The woman spoke softly. "And sorry Apollo, it's not Greaves. It's Titan, Calypso Titan."
"Forgive me Calypso. I've been watching the young sixteen year old girl I once knew wear a mask for years. I wasn't sure who you were anymore." He explained in a soft tone as he re-read through the email.
"I do apologize... I have come to realise in these last few months since... since I made a very big mistake, just how wrong I was." She said with a soft tone. "I am no perfect human being. I've made a lot of mistakes and I am looking to rectify those mistakes... starting with the wrong I've done to you and your family."
Apollo leaned back in his seat and held the phone closer to his ear. "Do I have a guarantee on your termination from your label?" He asked in a plain, non-emotion filled tone.
"You have my word... are there any conditions that you wish to broach now?" She asked him softly.
"In regards to your possible record deal... I have a condition... I need your help with something." He said as he gnawed at the inside of his cheek, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.
"What can I help you with Mr. Solace?" She said in a soft tone that exuded curiosity and intrigue as she sounded like she was getting comfortable.
"Can you be in either tomorrow or the day after?" He inquired in a curious tone.
"Yes." She said without any hesitation.
"Miss Titan, here is what I will need you to do, if you sign with my label." He said in a not so confident tone but a hopeful one that this would work.
Lord I hope I am doing the right thing... he thought in a hopeful tone as he explained his plan to Calypso.
Well, what an interesting turn of events, one that I am excited about. I hope you like this chapter. I am glad that I managed to get it done and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and many of you were wondering where Percy was, well that is where he was, and he is hurting. Let's patiently wait and see where this goes... and what is Apollo's plan. We'll have to wait and find out my dear Fictioneers. Love from me, and enjoy your freedom cause school, is getting a whole lot harder. Bye for now, hope to see you again soon.
~Michaela~