A/N: Hello! Sorry if formatting of this chapter is screwed up. Mobile fanfiction has an error. (Are you guys having problems, too?) My iPad fixed itself, so I have all of the later chapters back. For the Percabeth/ Seaweed-Brain shippers, this is a chapter for you! (And to think- this story was only supposed to be about 20 chapters. Annabeth wasn't supposed to fall out of a tree, Luke wasn't even going to be in the story, and I was going to have them try to escape in the airport. This chapter wasn't going to happen, either.)
Also, THANK YOU reviews and follows and favorites and readers and unicorns. Even though I'm cruddy at updating, you have dutifully waited and read the story. And then some of you have taken the sweet time to review, and I'd just lie to thank you for that. You guys are awesome.
So, on to the chapter!
Disclaimer: I am not a middle-aged man with exceptional writing skills. I'm just a teenage girl, living in a geographical oddity (O Brother Where Art Thou, anyone?) that's 2 hours from anywhere. Okay, for real this time. I'll stop talking (err... typing?)
Thalia
I'm about ready to pull my hair out, and it's not even noon yet. Escape plans are so difficult! I don't understand how Annabeth has any of this organized, and it's not like I can go grab Luke from the kitchen and drag him to help. I glance back to the paper in my hands. It's covered in mathematical calculations, like budget and miles we can travel before stopping. It all looks like a jumble of Xs and numbers, so I put it aside and pick up a green folder.
"Gah, this is such a fucking mess!" I slam the folder down. "I can't read any of this. Annabeth probably doesn't even want to-"
There's a knock one my door and I look up in panic. No one ever knocks. Luke's never come in here, and Annabeth just barges right in. So whoever's on the other side of the door is not meant to see all these files.
They knock again. I jump off of the bed and shove the papers under the covers, trying to smooth out suspicious-looking bumps in the comforter.
"What?" I shout, giving up on the comforter. I toss a pillow over the lumps and dash to the door. It's Pansycake Percy. "Can I help you?" I say in a dull tone. I lean on the doorframe, hoping to block his view of my room. He's going to see the papers.
Percy scratches the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. I think so. It's- it's about Annabeth." My brows lift in interest.
"And?"
Percy takes a breath. "Her parents are flying in for the wedding." No shit, Sherlock.
"She doesn't have parents," I mumble. And she doesn't; Annabeth would never consider Carol as her mother, much less a guardian. And her Dad's been absent for a few years, so he doesn't count, either.
"Oh well... I... Uh... Her guardians, then..." I roll my eyes.
"She doesn't have those, either." As she once said, they're only her guardians if they give a shit about her, which they don't. "Try 'relatives by paperwork'."
"Whatever. Anyway, they're flying in three weeks from now." 3 weeks from now?
"But the wedding's not-"
"For six, I know. Her stepmother wants to 'help'." Even Percy knows that Carol's a load of crap. At least he isn't that dense.
"Then why are you telling me?" I dig my nails into my palms to keep me from glancing at my bed. If I ignore the papers, he'll ignore the papers. Hopefully.
"I... I don't know how to tell Annabeth." Percy's cheeks pinken slightly, and I nearly laugh. He's coming to me for... Relationship advice?
"Well," I say, crossing my arms and smirking, "Just tell her. You're going out this evening, right? Just say 'hey, Annabeth! Lovely weather we're having. By-the-way, your father and mentally abusive stepmother are flying in to nag about your forced marriage, have fun with that!' " That came out harsher than it sounded. Whoops.
Percy's eyes widen. I can see why Annabeth talks about them; they're a unique shade of bluish-green that would make any girl fall head-over-heels... Until he started talking, anyway. "Is that really-" Might as well spare him the panic.
"No. But if you grew up listening to someone nag you to be more feminine-" I grimace at the word. "You'd be wary of seeing them." I've been too open. The only other ammo I could have given him was the physical abuse, but those instances were sworn to secrecy between Annabeth and I. They weren't frequent and they weren't bad, at least not compared to the ones I used to get when Mom and her boyfriend of the month were drunk. "Goodbye, Pansy." And I shut the door in his face.
Annabeth
"Goodnight?" I say tentatively. Percy lingers in the doorway. It's late, and I can tell he can hardly keep his eyes open.
"Hmm? Yeah, goodnight." He kisses my cheek and makes his way down to his room. I close the door and sit on my bed. My head's spinning, with thoughts and possibilities and music.
With Percy, there's always music. So many songs spread throughout our lives, playlists eventually melding together to form a sequence of songs that mean something to us both. I've made so many playlists for every event in the last years. The playlists seem to be a way for me to stay connected with my life and memories, without having to confide in anyone else.
I put on some music and begin making my playlist for Percy. Soon, though, like Percy, I'm fighting to keep my eyes open. Setting my phone on the nightstand, I get up and change into my owl pjs, turn off the lights, and let sleep overtake me.
"I love you so much, Annabeth." The voice is sweet and light, even as it sucks for breath. "Always remember that." I nod. Of course I'll always remember, I want to reply, but my mouth can't form words. I don't make a single sound or movement. Then she dies, gray eyes so like my own no longer seeing the day. My mother was gone, taken by the pneumonia.
It changes.
"You're nothing but a burden to this family. Ungrateful child. No wonder your mother died. I wouldn't want to be around you, either. And I'm stuck with you." A slap, but I knew better than to cry.
Carol turned into a horrible monster with snake hair and attacked. I was screaming by now, but Thalia and Daddy didn't come to help. I was alone. "I've tried shipping you off. He won't allow it." She always refused to call him my father, because that implied that she had some sort of relation to me. Carol gripped my arm tighter, causing pain to shoot through it. I was trembling, trying not to make a sound, but couldn't keep it in. A single whimper set the snakes to cutting off my air supply.
I wake, gasping for precious air. Tears flow down my face and my body is racked with sobs.
My nightmares had returned.
The only emotions running through my mind were fear and panic. I need to find Thalia. She can help. She'd always helped before. I throw my bedroom door open and stumble across the hall before barging into Thals' room. I flip on the light switch, eyes darting around frantically. She's not here. My breathing becomes erratic, and I feel a breakdown coming on. Help, I need help. I was never going to be able to function like a normal human being if the nightmares kept reoccurring. My feet lead me down to the only person who's here. I open the door to Percy's room and sit in the chair by his bed. He sleeps peacefully, gentle lines of his face made visible by soft moonlight coming through the window. A small smile graces his face. My breathing slows and my heartbeat calms, and I'm beginning to leave when the floorboards creak.
His eyes shoot open. "Annbef?" His voice is slurred with drowsiness. "Wha' are you doin' in here?" He yawns and rubs his eyes. This causes him to focus a bit more. He glances at the clock. "It's three a.m.! Why aren't you asleep?" I sniff and wipe at my eyes.
"Sorry. Just go back to sleep." I turn to walk away, but Percy grabs my wrist.
"Annabeth. You have nightmares." Not a question, not an accusation. Just stating a fact. There's a chill to the air. Goosebumps run over arms and I nod. I can't speak. Percy pulls me into a hug, and I finally break. Tears flow more freely. He begins to lead us backwards to sit on his bed. I cry until I have no more tears, and Percy does nothing but be there. "Shh, it's okay. They're just dreams, Annabeth." He murmurs as he rubs my back. "They won't hurt you, I promise. Shh." Then he asks the golden question, the one I need to hear most but can't bare to answer. "What are the dreams about?"
I begin my tale. "They'd stopped. I haven't had a nightmare in months." And I hadn't, once I got away from the cause of them. "I don't really want to talk about it." Maybe I need to, but talking will only resurface the memories that I'm not ready to face. I won't be able to go back to sleep after this, and I don't want to bother Percy again. Thalia's nowhere to be seen. Afterwords, I'd try to make the excuse that it was the adrenaline of the nightmare, the terror and the lack of sleep for asking the question. But it was regular me, and I was scared. "Can I sleep with you?" I probably sounded like a three year old.
Percy doesn't hesitate. "Go ahead. We need to talk in the morning. Here." He lies down and offers me a pillow. I take it and lie beside him, the warmth of his body already chasing away the nightmare. I yawn.
"Goodnight, Percy," I mumble before sleep takes me.
I'm not sure if it was real or my imagination, but there's a reply:
"Sleep tight, Wise Girl. It'll be okay."
Percy
I'm beat. It's a wonder, really, how I make it back to my room without collapsing onto the floor. Once I say goodnight to Annabeth, I trudge to my own sleeping quarters and promptly pass out the second my head hits the pillow.
I couldn't have been asleep for long, but my phone starts ringing. I groan, praying that it will stop, but the incessant beeping continues until I answer it. "What?" I say harshly.
"Fish face, you okay?" It's Jason.
"What do you want?" I spit, leaning up and rubbing my eyes. "I was asleep, asshat."
"Calm down, Aquaman. Just thought I'd mention that we have a recording session for our NEW ALBUM NEXT WEEK!" Jason's squealing. Jason never squeals. Leo, definitely. Frank, not likely, but he has before. But Jason? Jason? Never. Maybe he's drunk.
Maybe I'd be squealing, too, if I was coherent. New album? Cool beans, now let me go back to sleep. "Mhmm. Can we talk in the-" my sentence is broken with a yawn. "Morning?" I don't bother to let him answer, hanging up and turning the phone off. Now I can go back to sleep.
But the relationship between me and my sleep was just not meant to be.
I woke to darkness and creeping floorboards. And a small shadow. "Annabeth?" I tried to ask, though the words come out muddled. She stops and slowly begins to turn around. Her hair shines in the faint light from the moon, and her eyes are bright in the darkness. Streaks run down her cheeks, alerting me to her tears. "What are you doing in here?" Maybe I'm dreaming. Sensible Annabeth wouldn't wander around at night, right? Not unless something was wrong... I rub my eyes. Maybe I'm dreaming. This wouldn't be the first time I'd had this dream, though normally she isn't crying.
I glance at my bedside clock. The blue numbers tell me that it's just past 3. "It's three a.m.! Why aren't you asleep?" The moment the words leave my mouth, I mentally slap myself. She's clearly upset, and experiencing the same things I experienced years ago, after the... problems.
Annabeth wipes her eyes. "Sorry. Just go back to sleep-" She turns to leave, and I stand and grab her wrist like a caveman. Even if she leaves, she won't be able to go back to sleep. I should know.
"Annabeth. You have nightmares." She doesn't speak, but her posture says so much. Annabeth nods, and I pull her close. Hugs helped when I was younger. They were the only thing that ever did, though I didn't get them much after the first two weeks. Her tears pour freely, and even though she's hurting I can't help but be comforted by the emotional intimacy we've achieved.
"Shh, it's okay. They're just dreams, Annabeth." I croon into her hair. "They won't hurt you, I promise." I hate to ask this, because dreams are one of the most private things a person has, but it will help. And I'm dying to know: what are Annabeth's monsters?
"What are the dreams about?"
She slows her panicked gasps into more normal breaths before answering. "They'd stopped. I haven't had a nightmare in months. I don't really want to talk about it." Meaning: case closed. Subject dropped. Bury it like a dead body.
I'm expecting her to get up and return to her room for a night of terrified, restless half-sleep. I'd never expected the words "Can I sleep with you?" to come out of her mouth.
"Sure," I say automatically, handing her a pillow and lying down. "We need to talk in the morning." If she doesn't talk, the demons will come back. They'll never leave, and this will occur on a regular basis until she does. Annabeth lies down next to me and snuggles into my side. She yawns, and her eyelids close, the tears stopped for now.
"Goodnight, Percy," she mumbles quietly.
"Sleep tight, Wise Girl. It'll be okay." And I, too, fall asleep, the quiet sounds of crickets and Annabeth's breathing lulling me into my own dreams.