We made it! We made it all the way to Speak Now! I can't believe the incredible success this story has had, and I am so blessed to have all of you as faithful and loyal readers. I hope you enjoy the second half of To The Beat Of Their Own Drum as much as you have the first. You guys are the best thing that's ever been mine! Xoxox
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the song "Mine".
"Rob?" I croaked miserably, poking my head into my boss's office.
"Annabeth, what can I do for you?" he asked, glancing up from a pile of blueprints.
"Sir, I'm so sorry but I think I need to take the rest of the day off, I'm feeling really lousy and-"
"Oh yes, Ellen was telling me she heard you throwing up in the bathroom earlier this morning." he said pleasantly, as if he was discussing the weather instead of the dramatic up-chucking of my breakfast.
Damn that Ellen, she was always such a gossiper.
"Yeah... anyway, I think I'm gonna go home now," I said, and my stomach rumbled as if on cue.
"That's fine, Miss. Chase, as long as you have those sketches for the new project on my desk by Friday."
"Yes, sir," I said weakly.
"We'll see you tomorrow then."
"Thank you, Sir," I said quickly, backing out if the office and scurrying to my cubicle in desperate attempt to get out. As I hustled toward the door though, a nasal voice rang out across the office.
"Oh Annie!" cried Ellen. I turned around warily to see her and her friend Meg standing casually outside the kitchen, clutching mugs of coffee. "Leaving sick, dear?" she said with a falsely sweet smile, and Meg snickered.
"Yes, I don't feel well," I said stiffly, resisting the urge to projectile vomit onto her pointy designer heels.
"Well," she said deviously,"With all of your moody attitude and the throwing up incident this morning... if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were pregnant!" Ellen grinned evilly. "But that couldn't be, our sweet little Annie would never ever be a bad girl and do anything promiscuous to get herself knocked up out of wedlock," she drawled.
That bitch had been out to get me since the day I was hired and Rob praised my 'unique style' and my 'predisposition for architecture' and then proceeded to compare Ellen's ideas to that of bland chicken noodle soup.
I gritted my teeth. "Goodbye, Ellen. Meg," I said, nodding curtly and turning to go.
"Wait!" said Ellen gleefully, who threw a tiny pink box at me, which I instinctively caught.
"Let us know what it says," she said with a wink. I turned the box over in my hand and realized that it was a pregnancy test.
I glared at Ellen and shoved the test into my purse as I rolled my eyes and left the office, ignoring every word she said. As soon as I got in my car though, I sank into the front seat and let my composure fall, groaning in discomfort.
I felt awful. I had woken up completely sick to my stomach, but had forced myself into my work clothes and was sitting at my desk at eight, dutifully trying to keep from vomiting all over my designs and swearing that I would tough it out and last the whole day.
So, naturally, three hours later I was in my car, feeling clammy and nauseated once more. Though I had originally intended to go to my apartment, I realized Percy's was twenty minutes closer and had my favorite history channel on cable. So instead of taking a left I turned right, accidentally cutting off an angry taxi driver who made a rather rude gesture as I zipped down the street.
The first thing I did when I got to Percy's flat was wiggle out of my work clothes and take a hot shower. After giving my hair a quick blow dry, I went into Percy's room and began rummaging through the drawer of my things that I kept at Percy's place. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and walked back out into the family room, snuggling down into the couch with a blanket and a mug of tea. I flipped on the TV and went straight to my favorite history channel, which was featuring a special on European Castles through the ages. I became absorbed immediately.
I woke up several hours later, the late autumn sun sinking below the horizon as the faint light streamed through the window. Someone had taken my tea and put it on the coffee table and tucked me in. I slowly propped myself to see Percy in the kitchen, hurriedly tying his tie in the reflection of the microwave.
"Hey there, sleeping beauty," he said, turning around to smile at me. "I was pretty surprised to find you here when I came home this afternoon."
"Sorry," I said sheepishly, yawning and stretching my arms. "I wasn't feeling good at work so I came here... say, where were you?"
"I had class this morning," Percy explained, nodding to a stack of books and binders on the counter. "Look Annabeth, I wish I could stay and make you some soup or tea or something but I've got to get to work-"
"It's fine, really," I said. "I'm actually feeling just fine now," I said, swinging my legs off the couch and standing up. "Must have just been a little virus or something."
"Hopefully," Percy said, looking around desperately for his shoes. "This really sucks, being in college and working part time waiting tables- I feel like I never get to see you."
"Well, maybe we can have a nice dinner tonight when you get back," I suggested, pointing across the room to where his shoes had carelessly been thrown after his previous shift.
"Deal," he said, tying the laces quickly. "I'll bring something home from the restaurant, okay? I assume you want-"
"Shrimp Diavolo," I said cheerfully.
Percy looked taken aback. "But you always eat the Sausage Tortelloni. Always."
I merely shrugged. "I'm just craving shrimp, that's all."
"Okay then," he said doubtfully. "I'll see you in a couple hours," he said, kissing my forehead before he dashed out the door.
Making myself another mug of tea and booting up my computer, I privately marveled at my quick turn around. I felt completely fine now, as if I'd never been ill.
Must have been a strange six hour bug or something, I thought to myself. After all, I've never heard of anyone getting sick exclusively in the morning...
Oh.
Realization practically slapped me across the face as I grabbed my purse and ran to the bathroom. My brain was in over drive, connecting the dots in horror. The vomiting, the unusual craving... but this couldn't happen, I was on birth control!
But it could have happened, a tiny voice nagged. You've forgotten to take it plenty of times before.
Oh, hush.
Locking myself in the bathroom, I clumsily opened the box that Ellen had tossed me earlier. After several agonizing minutes of peeing, pacing, waiting, and stressing, I held a positive pregnancy test in my hand as my heart sank all the way down into my stomach.
I was, quite simply, floored with the thought of being a mother. Mother. The title seemed too old and mature to belong to me. And it was, I guess. I was hardly twenty one, just out of Harvard, a new job... how was I going to do this?
How were we going to do this?! For the first time since the test had flashed positive, I thought of Percy. What was he going to say? He certainly wasn't ready to be a father, he was still in school and scraping just enough cash to get by as a server at a restaurant. The thought of him changing a diaper was laughable, and actually raising another human being? He was practically a child himself!
I was practically a child myself!
I walked out of the bathroom in a daze, my thoughts filled with visions of swollen ankles, bulging stomach, and the actual act of giving birth- ugh! I caught sight of myself in the mirror in the hall. I looked at my stomach from every angle, lifting up my T-shirt to reveal a rather scarred but flat stomach. There was no way I could have a little quarter Poseidon, quarter Athena, half human baby chilling in there.
Holy Hera, what was that even going to look like?
Averting my eyes from my stomach, I took a good look at my face. Fear and panic were definitely present in my expression, but the most blatant emotion to be found was guilt. After a lifetime of being raised in an unconventional family situation, what was I doing? Dragging some poor kid into the same scenario. What had I done? This baby was going to grow up while Percy and I come and go, trying to balance work and school and money and gods know what else. We were unmarried, unprepared, uneducated... taking on the world together was easy. Taking on parenthood? Yeah... I didn't think so.
I swore I'd never make my parent's mistakes, yet here I was. Perhaps royally screwing up was a genetic thing.
I was pretty lost for the next hour. I cried, I worried, I broke the toaster, and just when I had calmed down and got a grip... I started crying again. I just didn't know what to do with myself... after all, what can you possibly do when your entire life is crashing down around you? One thing I did know- I had to tell Percy, and soon. Every minute spent without him knowing seemed unfair to him and painful to me. I wanted to call him at work, but I didn't want him to panic or rush home, we needed the money now more then ever... but I was terrified and alone. And I needed him.
My cell phone began ringing inside my bag, and I dove for it as soon as I saw Percy's name flash across the screen. I hoped this was my sign from the gods to break the news to Percy.
"Hello?" I said breathlessly.
"Hey, sweetheart," said Percy. "How're you feeling?"
"Well better I guess but-"
"Great, because my manager asked me to stay on late and help out at the bar, and you know how great the tips are-"
"Yeah, I've got something to tell you-"
"Do you still want some dinner?" asked Percy. "I'll be home well after midnight, but we can sleep in tomorrow."
"Yeah sure but here's the thing-"
"Perfect. I love you, see you when I get home! Bye!"
"Percy, just wait!"
But the line had already gone dead. Sighing, I tossed my phone aside and slumped onto the sofa, defeated. All there was left to do was wait.
And wait I did. I watched a History Channel special about the Ancient Egyptians, walked down to the corner to get something from Starbucks, made an omelette that I never ate, and paced. I paced a lot.
Finally, at 2:30 AM I heard the jingle of keys as Percy unlocked the door and came into the apartment, looking exhausted but satisfied.
"I've got dinner!" he said, hoisting a to go bag up. "And... I have five hundred dollars in tips," he boasted, emptying his pockets in front of me. "Not too shabby, eh?"
"No, not shabby," I said weakly as Percy began to pull food out of the bag and setting it out. "Hey, before we eat, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?" asked Percy, already shoving an ungodly amount of lasagna in his mouth at once.
"Well," I said, suddenly talking very quickly. "You know how I wasn't feeling good this morning, and then I got better, and then Ellen threw a box at me at work and the stupid toaster... there was nothing I could do really! And I'll be honest I just cried because I wasn't even sure what to do but then I watched the history channel here and Egyptians and the pyramids you wouldn't believe-"
"Is there a point to this? Because you're not making any sense," said Percy, cutting me off. "I mean I love hearing about your day, but you seem awfully wound up about it."
I looked at him nervously.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Oh sure, now he's intuitive!
"Percy, I took a pregnancy test today," I said slowly. He frowned at me, but continued to much his lasagna thoughtfully. "And... It said I might be pregnant."
He stared at me for a second, then swallowed. "Might? There's a symbol for that?"
I winced. "Well, no... It was positive."
Percy put his fork down. "So... you're having a baby."
"We're having a baby," I corrected him, smiling anxiously. Percy swore loudly, putting down his steaming container.
"How did this happen?" he asked angrily, pointing at my stomach.
"Well," I said sarcastically, a little miffed that he was mad at me, "When two people love each other very much--"
"Oh, shut up," he snapped. "You know what I mean!"
"I don't know!" I said helplessly, throwing my hands up. "The pills can be defective sometimes, or just a weird quirk, or-"
"You forgot to take it, didn't you?" Percy said plaintively.
"Well," I stuttered, "I guess that's a possibility-"
"Annabeth, did you or did you not forget?"
I bit my lip uncomfortably as Percy's eyes bore into mine. "Well, I mean, I have before..."
Percy looked furious.
"You can't seriously be angry with me!" I said defensively.
"Oh, yes I can!" raged Percy, positively livid. "This is your fault!"
"Is not!" I cried. "In case you forgot, it takes two people to have a baby!"
Percy opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it. He took a few calming breaths and said softly, "I know. I'm sorry, I just panicked."
"It's okay," I said quietly. We lapsed into silence for a moment.
"So... what do you want to do about it?" he finally asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.
"Wouldn't it be smart to give it up for adoption?" Percy said, a little hesitant as he picked up his lasagna.
"Adoption?" I said, thoroughly scandalized.
"Well, yeah," he said, shrugging. "What, do you want an abortion? I don't really like the idea of it, but I can't deny that it'd be less of a hassle, not to mention avoiding having to face the wrath of Athena when she finds out I-"
"Abortion?" I practically screamed, my voice going up several octaves, so high I was fairly certain Cerberus in the Underworld had heard me.
"Yeah, it's this procedure where-"
"I know what it is!" I shrieked scathingly. "And I cannot believe you would suggest murdering our child-"
"Hey, I never said I liked it either!" said Percy, holding up his arms in protest. "But hey, you didn't seem excited about adoption, so what other options do we have?" I stared at him blankly. "Well, you can't expect us to keep it," he said simply, shrugging once more.
"Keep it?" I asked.
"Will you quit repeating everything I say?" asked Percy irritably.
I ignored his comment. "Percy, you don't just 'keep' a baby, it's not a puppy! It's ours. Besides, we can hardly just pawn off a hybrid demigod to a pair of unsuspecting mortals."
"Are you saying..."
"Yes, I'm saying we're having this baby, and we're going to be a family," I said. "A proper family. Like we've always talked about."
Percy looked annoyed. "Yeah, talked about after we got married, and got real jobs, and, oh, let's see... graduated college."
"I've graduated!" I snapped.
"Yes, sorry, I forgot you're a freaking genius," he sneered. "Look, I know we talked about having kids in the future, but right now we just aren't in a good situation to raise a kid. So we aren't going to."
"Well when we were fifteen we weren't really in a good situation to save the world, but we did that anyway!" I said angrily. "How hard can parenting be after that?"
"Oh, don't use the 'We've battled monsters and survived Tartarus and saved Olympus' and that whole spiel, because you know this is different!" Percy argued, his shaking index finger inches from my face. "We aren't ready for this! We have bills to pay, we have nothing figured out!"
"We don't have a choice!" I shouted, throwing my hands up dramatically. "We just have to deal with it-"
"No!" insisted Percy angrily. "I will not go through with this crazy idea that you and I can raise a baby when we aren't even married or financially able!"
"Well, I'm not giving up my baby!" I yelled, tears threatening to fall as Percy got closer still.
"After everything you've been though?" asked Percy disbelievingly. "After your experience with a dysfunctional family, you're going to drag another innocent person into this?"
His words caused me to cringe. "You don't think I realize that?" I asked. "But what else can we do?"
"I don't know!" snapped Percy. "But you better figure it out, because this is your fault!"
"It is not-"
"And we can't keep it. Absolutely not! I'm not ready to be a father!" he shouted. We were in each others faces now, yelling as if whoever was loudest would get their way.
"Well, it doesn't look like you have a choice!" I said, tears streaming down my face.
"Yes I do, dammit!"
"No, I have the final say!" I sobbed.
"YOU DO NOT!" Percy exploded, and I immediately dissolved into tears.
"Stop crying!" he shouted, shaking my shoulders, which only made me cry harder. "Stop!"
I broke down. Wether it was raging hormones or too late of a night, I decided I couldn't handle this right now.
"Fine!" I screamed, looking around for something good to throw at him, but finding nothing. "Just leave me alone! Just like dad did, just like Luke did! Just don't talk to me!"
I ran out crying, throwing open the door and walking quickly down the hall, blindly making my way down the back stairs as I continued to sob. Everything was slipping right out of my hands; Percy, my future, my sanity.
"Annabeth!"
My mind was reeling. I thought Percy would have understood. You should've known better, whispered the voice inside my head sweetly. Your father left you out in the cold, Luke ditched you... all men are the same. It was only a matter of time before Percy fell too.
But Percy was different.
Was he? Was he really?
I vaguely wondered why I bothered with love if it never lasted. Here I was, a careless man's careful daughter, getting her heart broken again. Wiping my eyes on the back of my hand, I punched the crosswalk button and started to walk.
"Annabeth!"
I turned, and there he was. Percy followed me out into the street, his expression one that I could not place. I braced myself for the goodbye; it was all I'd ever known. You get used to the procedure when everyone in your life runs out on you at some point.
But he took me by surprise, taking my face in both of his hands and, in the middle of the streets of Manhattan, crushed his lips onto mine.
"I'll never, ever, leave you alone," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine. "I'll do whatever it takes, honey," he said, and I felt like the weight of the world was taken off my shoulders. I buried my face in his chest and wrapped my arms around him tightly, and he held me there as we rocked gently on the deserted street.
"Do remember our first official date?" he said softly. "We went to New York and watched all the city lights on the water, and I put my arm around you for the first time." He chuckled, an action that caused his chest to shake. "I was so nervous, I thought I was going to mess it up, but I figured since I'd already kissed you that I should be able to handle some arm action." He began to stroke my hair as he kept talking and holding me. For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I felt safe and secure. "You know, every time I look at you, it's like the very first time. It's ways been you... I've always loved you. I will always love you. And we're going to get through this." I looked up at his face. "We're going to be great parents." I grinned, and reached up on my tippy toes to kiss him again.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you too," Percy whispered. "You are the best thing that's ever been mine."
I didn't have anything decent to say to try to top that beautiful sentiment, so I decided to kiss him again.
Back up in the apartment, we realized that three in the morning was probably a prudent time to finish dinner and go to bed. We talked a lot of things over; money, logistics, the frightening meeting with our parents, ect.
"First things first," I said, climbing into bed and feeling significantly better now that Percy and I were on the same page and had a plan. "We need to see a doctor tomorrow to make sure I'm actually pregnant."
"Yeah, how annoyed would you be if we got in that huge fight and you weren't even having a baby?" asked Percy, chuckling.
"Pretty annoyed," I said.
And we were extremely annoyed the next morning when an all too chipper doctor told us we were not, in fact, pregnant.
"I'm not?" I asked in disbelief.
"Nope!" she said. "False positive."
"You're kidding," said Percy.
"Sorry, I'm quite serious," she said merrily. "Better luck next time!"
She left the room, and Percy and I looked at each other helplessly.
"I'm not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed," said Percy.
"Me either," I admitted, hopping down from the examination table and walking out. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."
"Guess not," said Percy aimlessly.
"Well..." I said, a little apprehensive. "There's something else you should know."
"Oh gods, what?"
"I accidentally broke your toaster," I said guiltily.
"You what?"
The rest of the morning we spent in Bed Bath and Beyond, purchasing a new toaster.
I just wanted to mention that this chapter is dedicated to the unborn whose lives are in danger of being brutally terminated via abortion. Please pray for them and for their parents so they may make the right decision. Everyone is a miracle from God.
I would love a review from you. I'm going through a rough time right now and could use some lovely sentiments or suggestions. Thank you. :)