I do not own anything from Rick Riordan's Universe.

Chapter 25

After knocking three times on the door, there was a sound of papers shuffling, and a muffled voice said, "Come in."

Annabeth took a deep breath before turning the knob and opening the door to the room she had neglected for a long time. She really didn't want to be there, but a promise had been made, and her friends would freak if they found out she hadn't even tried.

"Ah, Miss Chase," Hestia said smiling, patient as always. "Welcome back. Please take a seat."

After setting just a foot inside her office, Annabeth remembered how she hated it so much. With the white walls, ticking old clock, huge bookstands, and comfortable chairs. They all made her feel…vulnerable and human. Nevertheless, she ignored those feelings and sat in her usual place.

Hestia gathered up her notes and what Annabeth believed was her file and also sat in front of her, legs crossed. She smiled warmly.

"I know you like getting to the point, right?"

"I do."

"Well, then. Tell me what has happened since our last phone call, please."

Annabeth played with her pearl bracelet as she told Hestia about her stay with her dad a few days, her trip to LA, and then her decision to come back to New York.

"Where are you staying?"

She cleared her throat. "With my ex-boyfriend. I didn't want to come back to that place after what had happened."

"And why him of all people?"

"Uh, he offered it before I went to the West Coast. It's just temporary anyway."

"Why didn't you stay with any of your other friends? I'm sure they would have helped you too."

Annabeth shrugged. "He offered first…" No, that wasn't the only reason. "…and I do feel safer with him."

"Safer? Can you describe that?"

She bit her lip and looked outside the window. Could she?

"I guess he knows me better than anyone, and when I'm with him I tend to feel warmer, happier, stronger…stuff like that."

"Have you been feeling like that for the last two weeks?"

She laughed. "Not quite. Things are a little bit awkward between us, but…It still feels good having him around."

Hestia nodded and wrote something on her notes, before asking "What about your job? Are you looking for something new?"

"Uh, no. I'm taking a break from it." Hestia remained with her poker face. "That's good, right?"

"It depends."

Annabeth frowned. "On what?"

"On what you feel. You love architecture, but if you're saying you need to take a break from it because you're feeling discouraged of doing it, then I might say you're feeling depressed. But, if you still love designing and you just want to take a break from the competitive market and the abusive jobs, then yes. I would say it is a good thing."

No answer.

"You don't have to tell me, but just think about the matter." She read something on her clipboard. "So, let's address the elephant in the room, shall we? How are you coping with Luke's death?"

"I'm fine."

Hestia raised an eyebrow.

"That's it."

"Yeah. LA really helped." Silence fell into the room. "I mean," she continued. "Sometimes I have flashes of that night and I think I have hallucinations of him standing near me…but…I'm fine. I think I've moved on."

Hestia took off her glasses and sighed.

"You don't believe me." Annabeth deduced.

"Oh no, Miss Chase, I am confident you truly believe that yourself. But sometimes our brain can deceive us in ways we can't even comprehend, and I find some of those behaviors somewhat rare."

"You think I'm crazy."

Hestia smiled warmly. "Nobody is crazy. We just have different ways of functioning." She turned in her expensive chair and looked at the clock. "Sadly, our twenty minutes are over. I would like you to get an appointment next week for a forty-minute session, and also…"

She stood up and headed towards her computer, where she typed for several minutes. Then her printer began working and she grabbed a paper from it, put her medical stamp on, and then handed it to Annabeth.

A prescription.

"They will help you in case you feel overwhelmed by certain thoughts or actions."

Annabeth accepted the piece of paper and looked at it like it was radioactive. "Is everything okay?" Hestia asked, seeing her reluctancy.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in."

"It can be but remember that you're not."

"Thanks…see you next week, then."

Once Annabeth was out of the small room, she felt she could breathe again. No matter how kind Hestia was, her questions always asphyxiated her, mostly because she had never wanted to know the answer to them.

She walked down the hallway until she reached the reception desk once again. Percy was still seating in the same chair with his earphones on, probably playing or watching videos again. Whatever it was, he seemed really bored and his eyes lighted up when he spotted her approaching him.

"How was it?" he asked, rolling up his earphones and putting them in his pocket.

"It was okay," she looked at the receptionist. She didn't want to make a longer appointment with her. Twenty minutes was enough to make her question her whole life, she didn't want to know what Hestia could do with forty. "Are we ready to leave?"

Percy seemed confused by her urgency, but still got the car keys out of his jacket's pocket and said, "Yep. Let's go."

They walked side by side to the elevator, both apart from each other. Annabeth's hand was aching to grab him and just forget everything that had happened between them. But she wasn't sure he would have liked that. And more if something had happened between Rachel and him.

Gods she wanted to ask him so bad.

The elevator finally arrived, and they started their long journey to the underground parking. Percy had his arms crossed and his jaw clenched, surely holding back something. Maybe he had noticed her session had not been 'okay' but didn't want to push her into anything. That was their new dynamic. They were both too afraid of hurting each other.

But this time, Annabeth decided to help him out.

"She called me crazy," she told him, glad that they were the only ones in the small elevator. Percy let out a sigh of relief, making her smile. She also knew him too well. "I even got a prescription."

"I'm sure she didn't call you crazy." He said, gently. "I'm not even sure they are legally allowed to do it."

"They are not. But there's always a diplomatic way of saying it." She showed him the little paper with the medication. "This is one."

They stayed quiet for a while, watching the digital numbers go down.

"Do you want to pass by a pharmacy first?" Percy asked.

"Why?" She watched his stare shift to the paper in her hands. "I'm not taking them. I seriously don't need them."

"Getting them is not the same as taking them. You should have them…just in case."

Annabeth pondered on what he had said as the door finally opened, and they walked through the parking lot until they reached Percy's car. She loved his Prius, and now even more since it was full of Estelle's toys because her parents had used the car while Percy was in Australia.

Just as they left the underground part of the building, Annabeth's phone rang. Thalia. She answered it, happy to hear her voice again.

"Hey! How did it go?"

"Bad. She thinks I have a problem."

"You do have a problem. Several, actually."

"Jeez, Thalia. Thanks."

"We all do, Annabeth. You're just wise enough to seek professional help."

"I guess…"

"But did it help?"

"I don't know. It was too short, and she just told me what I already suspected."

"You should ask for a longer appointment when you go back."

Annabeth bit her lip and watched the snowy sidewalks as people hurried through them, New Yorkers always busy. Annabeth used to be one of them, and now it felt really weird not worrying about her next step in her career. She felt kind of empty.

"I don't know if I want to go back." She admitted, and she could practically feel Thalia wrinkling her nose at the other end. Not only that, but Percy wasn't able to hide a frown while he took a right turn. "I know what you guys think, but I don't want to go back just so she can tell me I'm mentally damaged, and that I need pills to keep me calm. I am perfectly capable of diagnosing that myself."

"You're not. You went through a traumatic experience. You need help, at least for some time." Thalia sighed. "But fine. It's your choice."

"Thanks." But somehow, she didn't feel any better. "I'll call you today after your show."

"You better. Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up and an uncomfortable silence filled the small car. Percy, however, didn't hold up for long.

"You should go back." He said.

"I can't. I'm afraid of what she's going to say." She hadn't told them she had been experiencing hallucinations of Luke. That would be confirming what she feared the most: that she was mentally scarred. And she wasn't. She just needed a little more time.

"Don't you want to get better?" he continued.

"I am better! I am, Percy. I don't understand why everyone is saying I'm not fine when I actually feel okay. I'm just tired of everything that has happened in the last few months, and I am allowed to feel that way without thinking I've lost my mind, okay?"

Percy gripped the stirring wheel tightly, and Annabeth wasn't surprised when he put on the stationary lights and roughly pulled over. He left the engine on parked and started searching for something on his phone.

Annabeth frowned. "What are you…" He handed her his phone. "What do you want me to…"

"The voicemail you left me that day. Listen to it and tell me if that's not someone asking for help."

She paled considerably. "You kept it?"

His face adopted a terrible sad expression, and Annabeth wished she could take that pain away. A pain she had caused. "You have no idea how many times I listened to it."

Annabeth didn't want to hear it. Whatever had caused the strong and carefree Percy to put on that face, was not something she wanted to live. But that moment did tell her something. If Percy was worried about a voicemail, it surely meant something. She wanted to ease his pain, and the best way to do it was to please him in going to the therapist.

She shook her head and gave him back the phone. "I'm not ready…but I believe you." She sighed, leaning her forehead against the cold window. "Let's stop by a pharmacy."

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeyth

The empty Inventor archive was mocking her with the Last-Modified date by the bottom right corner. She didn't need to know she had spent the last two hours sitting in front of her new laptop (a gift from her dad), looking at a blank screen without being able to start any design.

Besides, it was not her fault that Percy looked severely attractive when he was so focused on his work. His eyebrows got all scrunched up and he had a habit of playing with his hair. Sometimes he played with the ship in the bottle, Annabeth had given him a couple of Christmas ago.

She shook her head and focused back on the blank screen.

It had been her idea to stay home on that rainy day. Annabeth had told him she wanted to design a few ideas that were dancing on her head, and he had stayed with her, working on his investigation from home.

She had lied. Ideas didn't just flow into her head since she had started working in Arachne, but the commentary Hestia had made her question something. Was she depressed or tired?

The untouched pills she had picked up from the pharmacy a few days ago where peeking at her from their place next to the stove. She tapped her fingers against the kitchen counter and wondered if the inspiration would come back to her if she took one.

After a few more minutes of internal debate, Annabeth stood up from her improvised desk and grabbed the yellow bottle before sitting back in front of her computer. Would she get even more tired? Sleepier? Drowsier? All of the previous ones?

A clap of thunder boomed outside their window and Annabeth raised her stare just as the lightning invaded the room, highlighting a shadow standing in front of it. At first, she thought Percy had stood up from his desk, but then the figure turned, revealing its face, and Annabeth almost fell from her chair.

Luke was standing there with the jersey he had given her when she was still in high school. He had his hands inside the pockets, and a sweet smile he used to reserve just for her. He was so full of life…

It should have been her.

Another thunder passed, and suddenly he was gone.

"Everything okay?"

Annabeth blinked to find that Percy had taken off his earphones and was looking at her with his chair facing away from his desk. She shook her head and fixed up her glasses on her face.

"Uh, yeah. The thunder surprised me."

Percy turned to look at the window, which was currently being bombarded with heavy rain. Then he faced her once again with an adorable smile. "Good thing you decided to stay at home today."

"Checking the weather channel, it's actually useful, Seaweed Brain. You should try it one day."

"Nah, too much work. I'll use my instinct for next time."

Annabeth laughed softly. She loved it when they could have easy conversations like in the old times. But it didn't last long, since his eyes then traveled to the yellow bottle in her hands. His sea-green eyes sent her a silent question.

"I just thought they could help me in letting my creativity loose." She pushed the bottle further. "But I've changed my mind."

He shrugged. "I don't think having one will harm. You can try it, and if you don't like it, don't do it again."

"What if it makes me tired?"

"Then you take a good nap." He answered, simply. "It's not like you have a deadline."

Annabeth wasn't convinced, but her eyes kept wandering to the spot Luke had been standing on before, and she decided to try it out. She took the bottle once more and took one out.

"I'm going to make some Hot Chocolate," Percy said suddenly, standing out from his desk and then heading towards the kitchen. Annabeth was still looking at her medication when he passed behind her and started fidgeting with the machine they had bought exclusively for hot beverages.

"Did you design anything?" he asked, probably trying to distract her from her internal struggle.

"Oh, yeah. Lots of stuff," she said, before realizing he could peek at her white screen from where he was. Percy leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. I knew you were a good architect, but invisible walls? You should have a patent for that."

"Okay, fine." She closed her laptop in irritation. "I am dry." Then she took off her glasses and started rubbing her eyes. She almost flinched when a pair of warm hands landed on her shoulders. Percy gave her a reassuring squeeze and that was enough for her to relax a little.

"Can you get me a glass of water, please?" she asked softly, and Percy gladly obliged. Without giving it much thought, Annabeth finally took her medicine and waited anxiously for any side effects to appear out of nowhere.

But nothing happened. She felt the same.

Percy put a mug of hot chocolate in front of her and stood on her right, sipping from his.

"Give it time," he said, and she thought he was talking about the pill. "Your blockage, I mean," he explained. "It's not the first time you're out of ideas, and they always come back."

"Yeah, but…" Should she tell him? Would he think she was crazy?

"But what?"

"Nothing," she settled for saying. "You're right. It'll pass." Lately, she had been giving him the reason for almost everything, partly because she didn't want to fight, and partly because she didn't want to make the same mistakes as before. Percy had been pleased by this, so it was a surprise when he set his mug down and sighed with frustration.

"Why are you holding stuff from me?" he complained. "You used to tell me everything. Do you still trust me?"

"I do!" she affirmed, softly. "But after everything that happened in Australia…we both lost communication with each other, and I guess I lost the habit of telling you stuff."

Percy looked at the floor with an unreadable expression and then said, "I want to help you."

"You've already had…countless of times. I'm staying in your home for gods' sake."

Annabeth started drinking her chocolate as they settled in uncomfortable silence. Percy seemed deep in thought and she was just thinking about how easier things would have been if she had stayed in Australia.

"Then let's get it back." He said out of the blue.

"What?"

"The habit of telling stuff to each other. Let's get it back." He hopped on the counter and smile brightly at first. But Annabeth just looked at him with confusion.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"After all I made you go through…after all you did for our relationship. Why do you keep wanting to be with me?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Annabeth shook her head, and Percy chuckled slightly. "Annabeth, you were the one who changed the most for us, the one who did more sacrifices. I haven't changed anything since I met you. No, that's not true. I've been a better person since I met you. I used to have no idea of what I wanted to do with my life, and then this stubborn, work-freak assistant stole my dessert one day and continued to push me to be the better version of myself."

Annabeth smiled. "Was that crème brulee even good?"

"Oh, yeah. The best."

"Do you really think all of that?"

"I do."

"I did screw up at the end."

He chuckled. "You did. But it's not about deserving, Annabeth. It's about what the other means to us."

She grimaced. "You've been spending a lot of time with Piper."

"Yeah…"

Annabeth took a deep breath and tried to assimilate everything he had said. Her rational part, the dominant one, was sure none of what he had just said made any sense, but her emotional part wanted so bad to believe it.

"So," he continued as he grabbed his mug and moved closer to her. "Talk to me."

So, she told him everything. From her hallucinations, nightmares, and flashbacks to her possible depression caused by the abusive firm she had abandoned him for.

And, for the first time in weeks, she felt free.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeyth

The elevator ride took longer than ever. Maybe it was due to its age, or maybe it needed some maintenance. But whatever it was, it was just prolonging her anxiety. She didn't remember the lights of the elevator being so bright, but then again, she hadn't been back since that day. And everything seemed darker in her memories of that dreadful night.

Percy noticed her uneasiness and said, "We don't have to do this today. We can leave now and just come back when you feel more prepared."

"I'm never going to be prepared for this. Besides, we have no choice. The landlord says he has a new client waiting for it." She sighed. "It'll be like ripping off a band-aid, and it might help me close a chapter."

"A band-aid over a bullet hole," Percy whispered and then grimaced. "Sorry. Wrong choice of words."

"It's okay." She smiled, sadly. "I'll be fine, Percy. Piper is taking me for drinks later, and there's nothing that can't be fixed with a bottle of strong vodka."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm kidding." She assured him. "It'll be a bottle of wine." Percy shook his head, and she laughed. "I'm joking! Hey, you were the one who started with the dark humor."

"And now I'm regretting it."

The elevator finally stopped on their floor, and they walked with no rush to Annabeth's old apartment. She set the empty boxes down and looked for the key on her handbag. She had difficulty opening the door because her hand was shaking noticeably.

"Let me do it," Percy said, also setting his boxes down and taking the key from her hands.

"Thanks," she muttered.

He opened the door and stepped inside first. Annabeth had to take a long breath before following him. The living room was exactly as she had left it. Only the lights and T.V were off thanks to Magnus. It was as if she had entered a time capsule created exactly a few minutes before she left to find Luke. The blanket was still on the couch, some of her blueprints were on the coffee table, some pots were still next to the sink where she had left them to dry, and Luke's other pair of winter boots were next to the entrance.

The only thing preventing her from living that night again, was an awkward Percy setting the boxes down next to the table. He rolled up the sleeves of his grey cotton sweater before crossing his arms and scanning the place.

"It's nice," he said. "Nicer than mine at least."

"He had a good job," she answered and then smiled sadly. "His salary was much better than mine, and he was paying almost all the rent by himself, as well as the groceries. I never stopped to thank him." Her eyes traveled to the trail of blood Luke's nose had left several months ago. She had tried cleaning it with all possible products, but they had only bleached the carpet. If only she had pushed him sooner. Her eyes stung with tears.

She also set the boxes down.

"We need to clean the fridge. I bet there's some rotten food still in there. Luke was collecting mugs from the gift shops of different stadiums, so we need to take those too. Almost all my stuff is here, so there's that." After Luke's funeral, Annabeth had traveled almost immediately to her dad's home in San Francisco, where she had gotten a lot of her old clothes back to replace the ones in her apartment. She was finally retrieving all her grown-up clothes. "And…Luke's bedroom."

"I can do that part if you want." Percy offered.

"Thanks, but it has to be me. I owe it to him." Percy seemed to have a different opinion but just nodded. "You can start in my room." She hated when people went through her stuff, but Percy had a special permit. Besides, there was nothing in there he hadn't seen before. He even knew her underwear.

"Yes ma'am." He grabbed a couple of boxes. "If you need something…"

"I'll call you."

He smiled before disappearing down the hallway, popping his head through every door until he found her room. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, before also grabbing some boxes and heading straight towards Luke's room.

Luke had been a relatively simple person. He didn't hang anything on the walls and rarely kept miscellaneous stuff around his room, except his laptop which was currently sitting on his bed.

So, the closet was the only place where she could actually retrieve his personal stuff.

She started with his clothes since they were the easiest ones. She wanted to cry every time traces of his lotion reached her nose, but bravely remained calm and focused. She took her time to fold them neatly and carefully into the boxes.

She finished sooner than she had wanted to.

Next, were the tons of random items in his drawers. She found several pens from his office, unwrapped gifts, lonely socks, and some tape. At the bottom of the last drawer, however, she found a picture of Luke, Thalia, and she, when Luke had bought his first car. Backbiter. He loved that old truck.

She carefully took off the tape holding it in its place, and put the picture on the nightstand, deciding to keep it for herself. Then, she started opening the boxes on the top of the closet. Her heart stopped when she took off the lid on the last one and found a familiar metallic object staring back at her.

"I had it for protection."

Annabeth turned violently with a heavy box still on her hands. Cold sweat started rolling down her face as a young Luke sat on the bed, looking at her with empty eyes. He was wearing his usual jersey, and the scar on his face seemed redder than usual.

"We both know that's not true," she whispered, putting the box down.

"And yet, you did nothing. You could have saved me."

Tears started falling from her eyes. "I never thought it would end like this."

He laughed dryly. "How else could it have ended? C'mon, Annabeth. We both know you're smarter. What do you think I was doing in that bar?"

She held back a sob. "You died a hero."

"Because I stopped a fight? Have you ever thought that maybe I played a part in it?" She shook her head. "Oh, but you have. We wouldn't be having this conversation if you hadn't."

"You're not real." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"I may not be. But your guilt surely is."

"Annabeth, what are you doing?"

Percy's voice brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes to find Luke was gone, and the cold gun was laying on her hands. Percy was standing in front of her, his eyes fixed on the weapon. She didn't know if he was scared of it or scared for her.

"I…" She shook her head and put the gun back on the box. Percy felt more comfortable in standing closer to her and he wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

"Did you see him?" he asked, and Annabeth nodded. Since she had told him about the hallucinations, weeks ago, Percy had begun asking frequently about them. It was sweet but sometimes annoying. She didn't need to be reminded she was going crazy, every five minutes. "Do you want to take a break?"

"No, I'm fine. The sooner we finish, the better. Besides, I'm almost done here."

Percy nodded and narrowed his eyes at the gun. "We should give it to the police."

"No," she begged. "He can't be the bad guy, Percy. We can't let that happen…"

"Okay, okay." He cupped her cheeks with his hands. "I'll figure out what to do with it. Just don't worry about it."

Annabeth nodded again, and he pulled her into a warm hug, his scent of sea-breeze wrapping around her. But something was still tugging at her heart.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeyth

All eyes were on her as Annabeth finished her fourth martini. Or was it her fifth? Honestly, she didn't care. They all had been giving her furtive looks through the whole night, and only Reyna had had the decency of been upfront with her,

"I can't believe you went to clean his stuff today. You really are out of your mind." She had said, before ordering another round.

"I think it was brave," Hazel said, still on her first Cuba libre.

"Whatever it was, I'm glad you had Percy with you," Piper said, winking.

Annabeth sighed disappointedly at her empty glass. "Yeah…he helped a lot."

"What are you guys, anyway?" Reyna asked playing with her drink. "Friends? Strangers? Roommates?"

"I'll tell you when I figure that out myself," Annabeth said, smiling. "We are definitely not lovers anymore. We barely touch each other even if we are living under the same roof. And it's so hard not to kiss him every time he does something stupid…which is pretty often."

"I always thought you guys were going to be like one of those couples who immediately fell in love again by just looking at each other's eyes after being separated for so long…" Hazel said.

"Like a crappy 90's movie?" Piper asked laughing, and Hazel shrugged. "This is real life though. Annabeth did screw up, and it would take time for them to rebuild their relationship."

"Exactly," Annabeth said, and then frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Well, you still wanna have something with him, right?"

"I do…but I don't know if he's with Rachel now. For all I know, she might be waiting in Australia for him to return, and I'm just ruin their relationship…for the second time in a row."

"Why don't you ask him?" Reyna said.

"Because it none of my godsdamned business any longer." She said, trying not to slur the words. "I lost that privilege when I dumped him." She turned to look at Piper who was biting her lip and avoiding her eyes. "What are you not telling me Pipes?"

Piper cleared her throat. "I don't know if I should tell you when you're like this."

"Au contraire, this is the perfect time for you to tell me. So, do it."

"Jason and Percy have been talking…and apparently something did happen between Rachel and him, but it's not what you're thinking. They are not dating or something like that."

Annabeth blinked. "And?"

"I believe they were friends with benefits while they were in Australia…or at least that's what I managed to get out of Jason."

"Ouch," Reyna said, while Hazel looked uncomfortably elsewhere.

Annabeth shrugged. "It's fine. We weren't together. For all I know, neither of us believed in reaching marriage without having sex, so I'm glad he enjoyed himself."

Her three friends shared a look and then exploded into laughter, and Annabeth joined them. When they finished, Piper said "This is getting depressing. We should go to a club and dance or something."

"That sounds fun. I approve of it." Reyna said.

"Let's go back to Kronos," Annabeth said suddenly and she got worried looks. "It was fun! Except for the drug part. I want to go back there and make some better memories. What do you say?"

Piper sighed. "It was fun…"

"Then let's go!" She stood up a little too fast and Piper had to hold her arm to stabilize her. Her friends laughed and also stood up. They paid the check and left looking for adventure.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeyth

The night had been amazing…until he showed up.

For a couple of hours, Annabeth felt like she was back in L.A having a good time with her friends. They shared stories, danced with strangers, and drank exotic cocktails. She even relieved good memories, like when Percy and she had danced for the first time or when they had bonded after she had thrown up on the sidewalk outside of the club.

The current song finished, and Annabeth thanked the guy who had just danced with her, before going back to her table.

"How was it?" Piper asked.

"It was okay." Not as good as Percy though.

"You should have kissed him."

Hazel almost fainted at that suggestion, and Annabeth laughed.

"Wasn't my type."

"It's hard to find your type when you're only into sea-green eyed marine biologists," Piper remarked.

"I'm sure there are a couple of those around." Annabeth joked, and her friend shared a smile before yawning.

"Gods, we're getting too old for this."

"Yeah, for some reason I just want to go home and sleep now," Hazel said, and Reyna narrowed her eyes at her.

"You always want to do that Hazel."

Annabeth didn't want to go home. She was having a really good time and going back to Percy's apartment would be going back to reality, where she was considered depressed and crazy. But her friends had put on with her all night, and it was only fair she let them rest.

"Can you pass me my phone?" she asked Hazel, who was in charge of their purses. Maybe they could all take an Uber back home. Once she had the small device in her hands, Annabeth frowned at the time on the screen. Three o'clock. She must have had a good time if she didn't notice the time passing by. There was also a text from Percy.

11:30 p.m. Having fun?

She smiled at the text and wrote:

3:03 a.m. Yep! It was an amazing night. Girls are tired though. We're going back home now.

He answered almost immediately.

3:04 a.m. I can pick you up. I'll be there in 20.

3:04 a.m. You really don't have too. We can call an Uber.

He didn't answer after that.

"Percy is picking us up," Annabeth yelled to them over the music and her friends gave her a thumbs up. "I'm gonna go ahead and pay our check."

The girls nodded and Annabeth made her way to the bar. As she waited for the bartender to hand her their bill, Annabeth recalled how incredible/terrible her experience had been when Thalia had played on the club. Percy had been so nice to her, and Luke had acted like an idiot. If it hadn't been because of his friend…what was his name again?

"A bottle of Jägermeister," someone asked beside her, and her mind stopped working. She turned to see the one and only Ethan Nakamura. She should have just ignored him, but her body betrayed her as she tried to transmit all the hate, she could muster towards him. He noticed it of course, and finally turned, acknowledging her.

"Did you lose something?" he spat.

"You had no place at his funeral," Annabeth said without thinking. His eyes were confused until he finally understood what she was talking.

"Why? Because I was a bad influence? Last time I check, he was the one who introduced me to that world." He said with an awful grin.

"You were the one who drugged me."

He laughed and Annabeth just wanted to punch his face. "That's what he told you? Of course, he would throw me under the bus to save his butt. Typical of him."

"You're wrong." She said, desperately her voice drowning. "He was a better person. If you hadn't convinced him…"

"Better person? Are you sure we are talking about the same person, princess? Luke has always been in troubled waters…more so after you two broke up in college."

What?

No.

"That can't be. He told me he was doing better. That he had a great job…"

"He lied," Ethan said shrugging. "He gained money doing the wrong things, and he died for it. End of story."

Her heart was being torn into shreds.

"What do you mean?"

Ethan sighed, irritated. "He did bad things Annabeth, and in the end he wanted to escape that life without any repercussions at all. He said he wanted to be better for you, and his boss didn't like that. Luke threatened to accuse them all with the authorities and they took matters into their own hands. He reaped what he sowed."

The bartender arrived with her bill and his Jägermeister, and then Ethan left without saying another word. The check was sitting on the bar, but Annabeth made no move to grab it.

It had been her fault.

She had tried to change him, but it was too late.

She shouldn't have left him in college.

She should have been there for him.

She should have given him a second chance sooner.

But she had been selfish and self-centered.

And now he was dead.

And she would never have the opportunity of making it right again.

"I needed you," Luke said, appearing suddenly next to her. The noises from the bar had been muffled up.

"I tried…" she begged.

"No. You just gave up on me."

Annabeth shook her head. It was just an illusion. She needed to get away from him. Grabbing the bill, Annabeth tried to find her way back to the table, but her head was spinning, and Luke started to appear in every direction she looked at.

"I was gone three days, Annabeth. You should have looked for me."

It's not real.

"Did you think I was a lost cause? That I was beyond salvation?"

She didn't find her table. Where had she come from?

She tripped with someone and went to apologize but soon noticed she was looking into baby blue eyes. Luke's eyes.

"You never cared for me. You only wanted to get out of the hole you were trapped in, just like your mother. And you even let me die for it."

Annabeth turned over and over again.

Where was she?

The air was running low. She was suffocating.

"Are you gonna do the same to Percy?"

"No.," she said. "Never."

"Because you learned from me."

"Because he isn't you." She yelled.

Now everybody in the room had Luke's face and all were looking at her with desperation.

"Why didn't you save me?" They all asked.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

…

Who was she?

What was she doing?

Suddenly, one Luke appeared next to her and his lips moved but no sound came out of them. She couldn't understand it. She couldn't breathe. She was hyperventilating.

Someone grabbed her hand and she felt numb as the different colored lights on the room flew past her. A door opened, and the color of a dark night greeted her, along with a burnt yellow from the lanterns.

But she felt nothing else, and the air was still missing from her lungs. She fell on her knees into the hard sidewalk and tried with all her forces to breathe. But Luke's voice kept distracting her from it.

"It's too late." It said. "You failed."

She tried screaming with all her forces to break free from her own mind.

But nothing worked.

Until she heard a voice calling her.

She closed her eyes, wanting to push Luke away, but the voice called her louder this time and she realized it wasn't Luke's.

She needed to follow the voice. She needed to get out of her own mind.

"Annabeth." She heard the voice again. It was a strong one. "You have to breathe." It said.

Breathe. Breathe.

Right.

She needed to stop hyperventilating first.

The numbness started fading away slowly. First, the feeling of the dirty and cold sidewalk invaded the palm of her hands. Then, muffled voices and the sound of cars started slowly traveling into her ears once again.

"Come back to me." The voice said again.

Her sight was the last thing she recovered. She started focusing on the grey asphalt and the black dirt dancing through it. Now, she just needed to remember how to breathe.

"Annabeth, look at me."

She shook her head violently. She couldn't see his face. Not again.

"It's me," the voice assured her with a warm tone. "I need you to look at me."

But he wasn't Luke.

She finally lifted up her head and found herself looking into sea-green eyes. They looked familiar to her. Why?

The eyes belonged to a guy also kneeling in front of her. His hair was ruffled up and he seemed to be wearing pajamas under a big black coat. Did she know him? His hands were cupped around her cheeks.

"Breathe," He said again.

"I don't know you," she said with a broken voice. "Who am I? Where are we…"

"It's fine." He tranquilized her with a smooth voice. "Your name is Annabeth and you're having a panic attack."

"I am?" Panic. Why was she…?

Luke.

"Listen to me." The man said. "I need to you only to breathe and…"

"He's dead." She whispered and all serenity abandoned the guy's face, now replaced by an expression of pure terror.

"What?" he asked his voice starting to quiver.

"He's dead." She repeated. "I was too late, and he died in my arms. I should have gone for him sooner…I should have been there for him when he said he needed me, and I wasn't." She winced in desperation. "It was my fault, and now he's gone."

Her heart was aching so bad she waited to rip it away from her chest. She wanted the man to call her again, to ease her pain, and to make her feel better. But he did something that really got her out of that whole.

He started crying.

The most beautiful eyes in the world were flooded in pain.

And then, everything came back to her.

She was Annabeth Chase, and she had had her first panic attack.

"Turns out," she whispered, her grey eyes fixed on his green ones. " That I'm not okay as I thought I was."

A/N: Hi everyone! So, in this chapter, we explored how Annabeth dealt with her grieve, and we started to build Percy and Annabeth's friendship once again.

Only 5 chapters left.

I'm so sad since I'm really gonna miss this story.

Thank you all for being the most awesome readers!