Chapter Seventeen
Time Machines Would be Nice
ANNABETH POV
As soon as Percy had grabbed the biker, I ran. I felt stupid and weak for running, but I did. I felt...shame, embarrassment, anger. I got looks from the few people who were roaming the streets. New York was never this quiet normally, so why was it when I needed help? I rushed into a nearby thrift store, purchasing the first thing I saw in my size. Only then did it occur to me to call the NYPD, so I did. I shared as much add I wanted to. They responded quickly enough. As soon as I left the store, I saw them heading down the street. I waved them down to show them the location.
"Here!" I shouted. They followed me until we rounded the corner, where they took over. Which, was a good thing, because I became frozen in place, staring at the man's body. I couldn't believe it. An officer handcuffed Percy and began reading his rights. This isn't how I imagined this happening. An officer brought me a blanket to cover myself with.
"Gods, Percy...you...you just killed a man." I managed to get out. I looked up into his eyes. No regret was in them. Pure hatred, anger, and pleasure. I gulped, a lump rising in my throat. What had he done?! Where a man's face should be, there was only blood. Something the newspaper wouldn't be able to cover. I knelt to the ground, sinking to my knees, wiping the tears from my eyes. I all I asked for was one perfect date, just one! Was Aphrodite so selfish that she would ruin this just for the sake of entertainment?
"Ma'am, could you come to the station with us so we can get your statement please?" A female voice asked. I nodded. Cautiously, I stood and walked with her to a police car.
I gave my statement, then the woman told me I could wait and make some phone calls, if I wanted, to family only. I for sure was not going to call Sally. She would go ballistic. Instead, I called Andrea.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Andrea, honey."
"Mom, is everything okay? Why are you calling?"
"No, we're not good. Your father just killed a man."
Blunt, to the point, the way I liked it.
"HE DID WHAT?! Mom, are you serious?!"
I could hear other voices in the background asking what was going on.
"Here, put me on speaker, Baby. That way all of you can hear me."
She paused, and I heard a click.
"Okay, Mom."
I took in a deep breath, calming my nerves.
"We-we were walking back from Tony's, because The Club was too crowded, and these men jumped us out of nowhere..."
My brain wandered off, replaying memories I had been trying to repress. Tartarus, the Cain Ugliano incident, Johnny Rockets...I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that it wouldn't help shake them. I finished the story. No one on the other end of the phone said anything. Eventually, Andrea spoke. Her voice cracked with emotion. I might should have called someone else. My mind stayed on Cabin Ugliano. I had nearly forgotten. The red on my ledger needed to be cleaned.
"We'll be right there, Mom."
She hung up. The agonizing moments in the waiting room have me time to reflect. Percy had killed before-in self-defense. That's what this was, in a way.
But he had killed monsters, a part of me argued.
Yeah, but isn't that what Jeff is?
My insides struggled. This was different, though. The other times, Percy had a weapon, a sword, or his powers. This-this was with his bare hands. Percy had physically beaten a man to death in mere minutes.
For you. The voices in my head whispered. He was protecting you.
That was true. He loved me. But did I love a man who killed another?
Of course, Jeff would have killed you afterwards.
I chided myself to stop and just waited. Waiting always pained me, because my mind was always racing with thoughts and ideas. The same female cop, Alana was her name, I discovered, came out to me.
"Hello, Mrs. Jackson? We've determined that your husband was acting in self-defense of himself and another person, you, so we will let him go. All of the other men's stories checked out. They were all truly...terrified of him. I don't want to get in your business, ma'am, but I recommend some sort of counseling."
I nodded. "Yes, thank you."
Alana nodded. She rubbed her shoulder nervously. I noticed how pale her skin was. Almost one shade away from snow.
"We'll bring him out, and then we'll have some paperwork to fill out."
She motioned for me to follow her to a booth window.
"Wait here."
She disappeared, reappearing in a few minutes with Percy being escorted by two guards. The lump in my throat returned, too. Percy came to stand beside me, looking a lot worse in appearance than when they had taken him in earlier. His hair was tousled like his fingers had been tugging at it forever. His eyes couldn't stay focused on anything. We signed the papers in silence, listened to their warnings about a possible court hearing, then walked to the waiting room. I sat Percy down in a chair and took a seat beside him. More silence ensued.
"Percy." I began. He cut me off quietly.
"I want to go home."
I cocked my head to the side, unsure what to say.
"Excuse me?"
"Home," he repeated, "I want to go home." He spoke evenly, and coldly.
He seemed devastated, almost like he was a child who had lost his favorite action figure. Sympathy washed over me temporarily, then irritation, then more pain. I studied him. What was he feeling? Andrea rushed through the door at that moment, providing me with extra time to think of what to say.
"Daddy!" Andrews cried, wrapping Percy in a hug. He embraced her as well, relishing in the comfort it brought him. Luca stood behind Andrea, glancing apprehensively at Percy, like he was afraid we were his next victims.
"I'm so sorry, Baby," Percy said over and over. There was a possibility that he himself was still going through shock. I don't know why it hadn't already occurred to me that Percy might be delirious.
"Hey, Andrea, thanks for coming. Despite me not wanting you to come. Uh, we're going to take your father home now. He uh...he needs some rest." I said
"Lucas drove the car around to the front. We can take you and Daddy to your house so you don't have to walk."
I nodded appreciatively. "Thanks honey."
Andrea held Percy's hand on the way out. She also twirled her golden hair with her other free hand. She does that when she's anxious. Lucas supported Andrea. I held back, although I'm not sure why. Both rides were completed in silence. Once we arrived home, we got Percy to the kitchen. I fixed him several glasses of water and we sat. Andrew strode in. Andrea coaxed Percy, but he wasn't talking. Eventually, she and Lucas left. I didn't like this. Percy had never been this dark and moody, but the last few years, he had grown increasingly so. Fed up, I left him in the kitchen to go get a shower. I stood under the water, letting it cool me down. Ever since I married Percy, I loved taking cold showers. A few minutes in, I heard a voice.
"Have you ever thought about how you're going to die?"
It was Percy. I twisted the knob to shut the water off. I stepped out and reached for a towel.
"Don't bother."
Percy waved his hand nonchalantly and the moisture dissipated from my body. Our bathroom had a design like you would see at a fancy hotel. I liked it that way. The commode sat exactly adjacent on the other side of the bathroom. That's where Percy sat. I had thought many times about how I'd go out. Did I want to share that with him right now?
Why keep it secret? My brain responded.
I walked past Percy into the bedroom, picking out my night clothes. I slipped them on and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Yes. Many times."
He responded by standing up and coming beside me.
"I figured. But this was different, Annabeth. I was thinking about how this man would die. How did I want to kill him? Injury wasn't an option. It was death."
I shuddered. Maybe because he was frightening me partially, or maybe because I had thought the same thing initially.
"But what you did, Percy, was-"
"He was trying to hurt you, Annabeth!"
I huffed. "You didn't let me finish. What you did was wrong and right. I have no problem with it, except that...you killed him...with your bare hands. There was no self-control. I wanted him dead, but..."
I didn't know what to say. That was the epitome, really: we wanted him dead. I was just as bad as Percy? Were we both twisted, demented souls? I climbed under the covers, tucking myself in.
"Oh, gods" I said. "We're screwed up."
Percy finally cracked a smile. He crawled under the sheets with me.
"I love you, Annabeth. That's why I killed him,"
I sighed.
"I know, yet, I feel like it's completely fine."
I turned in bed and faced him. His eyes were pained, as I'm sure were mine. But they were still sea green, like rolling waves. I could see right through him. He did love me, I knew that. He was truly worried that he'd done the wrong thing.
"I love you more, Percy." I announced.
"Uh-huh. Well, I love you most." His lopsided grin was coming back. I wrapped his arms around me and have him a peck on the lips.
"Let's just put this behind us. Like we've been doing with Gaea." I suggested.
"That's fine by me. I'm sorry for not talking to Andrea. I was trying to process everything. When they took me into the holding cell, I had no problems with the fact that I had killed him. In the cell, I had time to ponder. It just rattled me."
I placed a finger on his lips. "Shh. Behind us."
Percy draped one arm over me, pulling me in to snuggle close. I feel asleep with a smile, content that I had a wonderful husband that would always protect his family. I came to terms with the night's events. He had simply rid the world of another monster.
